Yes, the full bush is making a genuine comeback. After nearly two decades where going completely bare was the dominant norm, survey data and fashion trends point to a clear shift toward keeping more pubic hair. A poll of over 14,000 people found that only 15% of straight women now go completely bare, while nearly 30% report rocking a full or slightly trimmed bush.
What the Numbers Actually Show
The poll, conducted through the beauty newsletter The Review of Beauty and reported by The Guardian in 2024, breaks down how women are actually grooming. The largest group, 40%, maintains a bikini-shaped bush, removing only the hair that would peek out of a bikini bottom. Another 29.5% keep a full or lightly trimmed bush. About 11% opt for a landing strip, and just 15% go fully bare. That’s a significant departure from the peak Brazilian era of the 2010s, when total removal was so widespread it felt like the only option.
Even the waxing industry acknowledges the shift. Stacie Harding, an associate manager of field training at European Wax Center, has said that while the full Brazilian remains popular, there’s been a noticeable move toward embracing a more natural look over the past decade.
Why the Shift Is Happening Now
Several forces are pushing the trend. The COVID-19 pandemic played a surprisingly big role. When salons shut down for months, many women stepped off the maintenance treadmill and realized how much time, money, and discomfort they’d been investing. Fashion journalist Emily Kirkpatrick has suggested the pandemic “made women realize how silly the hamster wheel of hair removal was to begin with.”
There’s also a predictable fashion cycle at work. Grooming trends swing back and forth over decades: shaving gives way to waxing, which gives way to laser removal, which eventually gives way to growing it back. The pendulum has swung before, and right now it’s swinging toward natural.
Meanwhile, the global pubic hair trimmer market was valued at $554 million in 2024 and is projected to grow at about 4.2% per year through 2033. That growth reflects a middle-ground reality: many women aren’t choosing between totally bare and totally wild. They’re trimming and shaping on their own terms, which requires tools rather than salon visits.
Fashion Is Making It Visible
The trend has reached the runway in ways that would have been unthinkable a few years ago. In early 2024, John Galliano’s Maison Margiela Artisanal couture show sent models down the runway in see-through skirts paired with prosthetic pubic hair. Björk wore a merkin on the cover of Vogue Scandinavia. Julia Fox stepped out in trompe l’oeil bikini bottoms designed to look like visible pubic hair. Doja Cat showed up to the Grammys with a visible bush.
By late 2025, the momentum had only grown. Skims released a $32 thong with synthetic pubic hair attached, generating immediate buzz. Duran Lantink featured a bodysuit printed with chest and pubic hair in his spring 2026 runway show for Jean Paul Gaultier. Designers like Dilara Findikoglu, Schiaparelli’s Daniel Roseberry, and Collina Strada’s Hillary Taymour have all incorporated real or synthetic hair into their collections. Fashion commentator Victoria Lee argued in a viral TikTok that the industry’s on-and-off fixation with body hair was heating up again, and brands were leaning into the conversation because they recognized the cultural energy behind it.
The Health Case for Keeping It
The trend lines up with what doctors have been saying for years. Pubic hair exists for a reason. It acts as a physical cushion that reduces friction during sex and from tight-fitting clothing. Without it, skin is more vulnerable to irritation and microtears.
Hair removal carries real risks. A study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology found that among people who experienced complications from pubic hair removal, nearly 33% reported ingrown hairs, about 5% developed infections, and over 90% of those with complications had been using a razor. Less common but still documented problems include burns, contact dermatitis, and inflammation of the vulva.
There’s also an infection angle that goes deeper than skin irritation. A nationally representative study published in Sexually Transmitted Infections found that people who groomed their pubic hair were 1.8 times more likely to report a history of STIs compared to non-groomers, after adjusting for age and number of sexual partners. For skin-to-skin infections like herpes, HPV, syphilis, and molluscum, the association was even stronger: groomers were 2.6 times more likely to have had one of these. People who removed all their pubic hair more than 11 times a year, classified as “extreme groomers,” were 4.4 times more likely to have experienced a cutaneous STI. The tiny tears created during shaving and waxing are invisible to the eye but large enough for bacteria and viruses to enter the body.
How to Care for a Natural or Trimmed Bush
If you’re growing your pubic hair back or simply trimming instead of removing, maintenance is straightforward. The American Academy of Dermatology recommends using your own grooming tools and never sharing them. Shared razors and trimmers have been linked to STI transmission, including a documented case where two brothers who shared a razor used for pubic hair trimming transmitted HIV from one to the other.
If you do trim, use a clean, sharp razor or trimmer and go slowly. Dull blades create more friction and increase the chance of nicks and ingrown hairs. For those growing it out fully, there’s no special hygiene routine required beyond normal washing. Pubic hair doesn’t make the area less clean. It’s simply part of the body doing what it was designed to do.
The transition period can be itchy if you’re growing back from a full shave. That irritation typically fades within a couple of weeks as the hair gets past the stubble stage. Loose-fitting underwear made of breathable fabric helps during that window.