The Guide to Getting It On (106 page)

While the following title is a tad on the academic side, it could be the most interesting and spot-on period book to date. This chapter owes much to it and it should be in the library of any women’s studies major: “Girls in Power: Gender, Body, and Menstruation in Adolescence” by Laura Fingerson, Albany, New York, State University of New York Press.

Special thanks to
Maureen Whelihan, MD, a gynecological goddess, and to Rear Admiral Anne Schuchat, MD, from the Center for Disease Control and Nina Bender at Whitehall Laboratories for their help on TSS. Also, thanks to Harry Finley at the
Museum of Menstruation
for consultation on the history of sanitary napkins and tampons, and to Jane Farrel-Beck for being so generous with photocopies of her articles! The original negative of the 1920 Kotex ad belongs to the Wisconsin Historical Society.

CHAPTER

52

Shaving Down Below

W
e have managed to put golf carts on Mars. We are engineering cows with genes that nature never intended. But we have yet to find an exceptionally good way to get rid of unwanted body hair. In this chapter, we look at temporary methods for removing unwanted body hair, then at permanent methods.

NOTE:
Both of our gynecology consultants have encouraged our readers to not shave their pubic hair, but to use a mustache trimmer instead. They are not opposed to getting rid of pubic hair, but they are concerned about the extensive amounts of vulvar irritation they see due to shaving.

Body Hair Removal

“I’m more aware of myself and my sexuality when I’m shaved. It feels sensual, like the first time you wear silk underwear. It’s too much trouble to keep up, though. If there was an easy way, I think I’d do it more often.”
female age 36

“Shaving is painful and I look about 12 years old, it grosses me out. Trimming works! Borrow a beard trimmer and go for it! One crew cut coming up!”
female age 29

“My husband really likes to trim my pubic area for me. He gets turned on by this. I think it’s highly arousing, too.”
female age 45

Women have shaved or plucked their body hair for thousands of years. However, here in the U.S., the current trend of shaving the female frame got its start in the year 1915, when the people at Wilkinson Sword began an ad campaign to convince women that their arm-pit hair was unfeminine and unclean. This coincided nicely with the introduction of the first sleeveless evening gowns. Razor sales started to soar.

Now, almost a hundred years later, even guys are getting into below-the-neck pruning. It used to be a man who did this was considered limp-of-wrist. Now he’s liable to be a member of the football team.

As for sex differences between men and women, a hair follicle is pretty much a hair follicle, there aren’t boy ones and girl ones. Some follicles might be more androgen-sensitive and grow a thicker hair, but the underlying mechanism is the same. What is different among the sexes is the timing and predictability of hair growth.

By the time a male is 25, he’s got a pretty good idea of how much body hair he is going to have, and where. Not so for women. Mother Nature has reserved the right to play wicked hair tricks on a woman’s body at any point during her lifespan. A female reader sums it up quite aptly:

“I used to have this lovely, neat, wonderfully behaved triangle of pubic hair. And then I turned thirty, and the thing started to spread...”
female age 32

Trimming & Shaving the Male Crotch?

When we first started asking takers of our totally unscientific sex survey whether men trim or shave between their legs, we expected to see a 10% to 20% “yes” rate. We didn’t expect to get blown away with 50% and more. Nor did we expect to see nearly total agreement between the men’s numbers and the women’s assessment of their partner’s pubic-hair status. (Men and women can’t agree on how much sex they’ve had with each other, but when it comes to the well-coiffed crotch, detente abounds!)

On the other hand, while a lot of guys say they trim their pubic hair, they usually only do it once a month or so. Not many men subject their genitals to the kind of porn-star shaving that’s expected of women.

Far more men trimmed than shaved, and when they did shave in their pubic area, it was usually the scrotum. They report that their wives and girlfriends prefer a kinder and gentler crotch for giving oral sex to. And that’s exactly what we heard from female survey takers: they went on and on about how annoying it is to get a pubic hair stuck in the back of their throat. Many of them commented on how much nicer it is to lick and suck on a well-trimmed or shaved scrotum, but they thought it a bit weird if a guy shaved off all of his pubic hair, saying it was like sleeping with a Cub Scout. They appreciated maintenance as opposed to scorched earth, and they rewarded it by giving more oral sex. Men, likewise, often said they preferred going down on a woman with a manicured mound.

Men with hair backs and shoulders are likely to shave, wax or laser that part of their body, but we haven’t done any surveys on that.

Not Everyone Wants Their Partner Bare

Some people are finding that they prefer their partners with pubic hair, or at least some of it. One guy says he thinks it’s sexy when a woman has more than a tiny landing strip, and a woman tells us she’s fed up with her boyfriend’s bare scrotum that feels like the fruit on a cactus. So before you go to the pain of waxing or plucking your privates, why not ask your partner what he or she thinks?

Shaving & The Big Myth

Contrary to what you often hear, there is no truth to the myth that shaving results in a thicker hair follicle or increased hair growth. The reason hair might look thicker after you shave or trim it is because you are whacking the hair off at the thickest part, around the base. A normal, full length hair is thickest at the base and tapers toward the tip. So instead of a soft, well-worn tip like that on a fully grown hair, a newly shaven hair stump will look thick and have a nasty, sharp edge. En masse, they create the 5 o’clock shadow.

Shaving is by far the safest method of temporary hair removal because it does no damage to the follicle. There are two different kinds of razors to consider, depending on whether you are shaving a large flat area, like your legs, back or chest, or something more rounded, like your face or pubic area.

For chest, back and leg hair, try a woman’s razor for leg hair. It doesn’t matter if you are male or female, women’s razors are often made for large, flat areas. If you are shaving your crotch, you’ll want a razor with a head that swivels, like many of the razors that are for men’s faces. A razor designed to navigate the chin will make small-time of the scrotum. Experiment and find what is best for your hair type and skin type. No matter what parts you are shaving, it may take several weeks before your hair and skin settle into an obliging routine.

If you are shaving between your legs, it is often easier to do it in the shower or bath. Or, you can warm the area for several minutes first with a wash cloth. Getting it warm and wet can help make shaving easier. You might try using shaving cream that’s for sensitive skin or your “bikini area,” although there’s little difference between shaving cream that’s marketed to women as opposed to men, except for the fragrance. Keep extra cream in the hand that’s not holding the razor, so you can reapply it each time you are going over an area that you’ve already done. You don’t want to pull a razor across skin that doesn’t have shaving cream on it.

For the first month, you might try shaving in the direction that the hair seems to grow in and not against it, although this can be a challenge in the pubic area because the hair often grows in swirls. Be satisfied with an okay job instead of a great job. At the start, an okay job means shaving with one stroke or two, and not against the grain.

If you’ve been at it for a couple of weeks and want to experiment with going against the grain, give it a try. But wait until you get a good sense of the different directions that the hair can grow in, and the price your skin might pay for a perfect shave. Doing an obsessively neat job often results in shaving off some of the skin, especially the little bumps in the skin that frequently populate the large labia and scrotum. These are called Fordyce spots.

The skin on your genitals is not as resilient to shaving as the skin on other parts of your body. For that reason, the latest and greatest five-blade razor that works great on your face or legs might behave more like a meat-slicer when confronting your labia or scrotum. It may also be necessary to pull the skin in your pubic area tight in order to get a good shave. Throw a pair of gonads under the surface, and good luck. Assume there will be a learning curve.

A lot of people report experiencing itchiness and discomfort for the first month of shaving. If you have concerns, a dermatologist or a licensed hair-removal professional can be good people to consult. And if you are using an electric shaver, beware those with rotary heads. They may not be the best choice for pubic hair.

The “pimples” that can form after shaving or plucking and up to five days after waxing aren’t pimples at all and should never be popped. While they are often pockets of pus resulting from bacteria that have gotten into the follicle, they do not have the structure of a pimple. If you are concerned about these, check with your healthcare provider. Antibiotics might be necessary.

To help prevent ingrown hairs
(pseudofolliculitis barbae)
, a number of shaving experts suggest that you exfoliate often. Try using a loofah or skin-scrubbing product, or a liquid exfoliant like Tend Skin. Some people say to do it right before you shave, and others say to do it right after. If ingrown hairs remain a problem, try using an electric razor and shave only every other day if you can get away with it. Also check in with a dermatologist to come up with the best strategy for your skin type. For the most thorough discussion you will ever find about ingrown hairs, click on the “razor bumps” section at
www.hairtell.com
.

Loofah Note:
There is some concern that natural loofahs can harbor bacteria. Some people suggest using synthetic loofah-like materials instead, although there’s no science to guide us on this burning question.

Hair on Women’s Nipples and Assorted Hair Facts

Number of Hair Follicles:
All of the hair follicles anyone will ever have are formed while we are in the womb. The average newborn (and adult) has 2 million hair follicles and sweat glands. Hair follicle density is similar in women and men.

Nipple Hair:
It is very common for women to have nipple hair. The hairs around the nipples tend to grow out in pairs and crisscross over each other due to the placement of follicles.

Hormonal Birth Control:
Hormonal birth control can impact the growth of body hair. For some women, it can result in less body hair, and for others it can cause more. Also, pregnancy can cause an increase in body hair. Fortunately, things usually go back to normal within six to twelve months after delivery.

Inner Lips:
Shaving hair on the labia tends to accentuate the size of the inner lips, assuming you are concerned about that. In addition, the inner labia of some women end up sticking unpleasantly to the sides of their legs when all of their pubic hair is removed. When this is the case, it might be better to use corn starch for a possible remedy as opposed to talc, since partners can’t taste corn starch when performing oral sex. (Whatever you use, check with a gynecologist before putting any kind of powder on your vulva.)