Let’s all admit that body hair inspires all kinds of feelings.Most of us have have a love-hate relationship with it: if we don’t love it on us, we might love it on our partners. To some of us, being hairy means oodles of shame and we want to get it all off. And some of us just don’t care.Given that half the business of removing body hair is to do with being more attractive, do we know if body hair serve any purpose in our sex lives? We decided to take a closer look.
Why do we even have body hair in the first place?It’s supposed to help regulate body temperature (which is why your hair stands on end and you get goosebumps when you’re cold). And some kinds of hair, like eyelashes, nostril hair and eyebrows, are meant to protect sensitive organs from foreign objects. More hair, more sensation?Body hair can play a role in increasing sexual pleasure through sensation. Every hair follicle contains a nerve ending, and when you touch a hair, it sends a sensation down the shaft of the hair to that nerve ending. This nerve ending is located inside the follicle, not on the skin, so having body hair allows you to feel a whole extra range of sensation. And when you consider that you have around 5 million hair follicles on your body, not to mention thick, dense pubic hairs… oh boy.
Body hair and those mysterious pheromonesSome people suspect that the growth of hair in the underarms and groin regions are meant to trap and launch “pheromones”. Pheromones are airborne hormones that convey sexual signals in mammals. However, while pheromones have been identified in several mammals, there’s no consensus on whether humans have them.
Can we please talk about pubic hair? YesIn recent years the idea that pubic hair should not just be trimmed, but be removed altogether, has taken greater hold. Some people find it fun to fashion designs or alphabets into their pubic hair as a surprise for their partners. Others remove their pubic hair entirely because they think it’s aesthetically appealing.Some people choose to remove their pubic hair for slightly more serious reasons – like if they have crabs aka pubic lice. These work a bit like head lice, and require strong medication to remove them.However, it’s good to know that other than the possibility of making sexual sensation groovier, pubic hair is a security guard. It acts as an additional barrier to the sensitive reproductive organs against the following things:
Remove or don’t remove?Either way, it isn’t a big deal. The amount of body heat conserved by goosebumps is negligible in the larger scheme of things. And today, perhaps we can attract lovers in other ways than mysterious pheromones hiding in armpits and the pubis! There is no science to conclusively prove that body hair lessens or increases sexual pleasure on your pubis or elsewhere.Some people think removing body hair makes you cleaner, more hygienic, and less smelly. But that’s not true. If you keep yourself generally clean, body hair isn’t going to interfere with that one bit.In other words, the choice to keep or remove body hair is more or less personal, and influenced by culture. What to keep in mind if you are removing body hairThere are various ways for removing body hair:
Why do we even have body hair in the first place?It’s supposed to help regulate body temperature (which is why your hair stands on end and you get goosebumps when you’re cold). And some kinds of hair, like eyelashes, nostril hair and eyebrows, are meant to protect sensitive organs from foreign objects. More hair, more sensation?Body hair can play a role in increasing sexual pleasure through sensation. Every hair follicle contains a nerve ending, and when you touch a hair, it sends a sensation down the shaft of the hair to that nerve ending. This nerve ending is located inside the follicle, not on the skin, so having body hair allows you to feel a whole extra range of sensation. And when you consider that you have around 5 million hair follicles on your body, not to mention thick, dense pubic hairs… oh boy.Body hair and those mysterious pheromonesSome people suspect that the growth of hair in the underarms and groin regions are meant to trap and launch “pheromones”. Pheromones are airborne hormones that convey sexual signals in mammals. However, while pheromones have been identified in several mammals, there’s no consensus on whether humans have them.Can we please talk about pubic hair? YesIn recent years the idea that pubic hair should not just be trimmed, but be removed altogether, has taken greater hold. Some people find it fun to fashion designs or alphabets into their pubic hair as a surprise for their partners. Others remove their pubic hair entirely because they think it’s aesthetically appealing.Some people choose to remove their pubic hair for slightly more serious reasons – like if they have crabs aka pubic lice. These work a bit like head lice, and require strong medication to remove them.However, it’s good to know that other than the possibility of making sexual sensation groovier, pubic hair is a security guard. It acts as an additional barrier to the sensitive reproductive organs against the following things:- Friction
- Excess moisture
- Bacteria
- Foreign particles
Remove or don’t remove?Either way, it isn’t a big deal. The amount of body heat conserved by goosebumps is negligible in the larger scheme of things. And today, perhaps we can attract lovers in other ways than mysterious pheromones hiding in armpits and the pubis! There is no science to conclusively prove that body hair lessens or increases sexual pleasure on your pubis or elsewhere.Some people think removing body hair makes you cleaner, more hygienic, and less smelly. But that’s not true. If you keep yourself generally clean, body hair isn’t going to interfere with that one bit.In other words, the choice to keep or remove body hair is more or less personal, and influenced by culture. What to keep in mind if you are removing body hairThere are various ways for removing body hair:- Short term ones – waxing, shaving, threading or creaming it away, which are inexpensive and can be done by yourself or by a beautician.
- Long term ones – electrolysis, which removes individual hairs using heat or chemical energy, or laser hair removal, where the hair follicle is pulsed with laser light, remove hair permanently. These are fairly expensive methods and can only be performed by doctors.
- If you shave: Use a sharp fresh razor, never a blunt or rusted one, because they cut into your skin easily and could leave you with serious infections. Shave in the same direction that the hair grows to avoid painful ingrown hairs.
- If you wax: Always test the wax on a small part of your arm before you really go for it to make sure there’s no allergic or irritating reaction. If you’re waxing yourself, make sure you don’t burn your skin with hot wax. If you choose to get it done professionally, make sure the implements are clean and hygienic and cloth waxing strips are not musty.
