Pubic hair serves several biological functions: it reduces friction against sensitive skin, helps block bacteria and other pathogens, traps moisture, and may play a minor role in scent signaling related to sexual attraction. It develops during puberty as a secondary sex characteristic driven by hormones, and while it might seem like a leftover feature, the evidence suggests it still offers meaningful protection for the genital area.
Protection Against Friction
The skin in the genital region is thinner and more delicate than skin elsewhere on your body. Pubic hair acts as a cushion that reduces direct skin-on-skin contact during everyday movement, exercise, and sexual activity. Without it, the repeated rubbing of skin against clothing or another person’s body can cause irritation, chafing, and microtears in the skin. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists specifically notes that pubic hair protects delicate skin from friction during sex.
This buffering effect matters more than most people realize. Those tiny skin breaks from friction aren’t just uncomfortable. They can also serve as entry points for bacteria, making the friction-reduction role closely tied to the infection-prevention role.
A Barrier Against Infection
Pubic hair functions as a physical barrier that helps trap and block microorganisms before they reach the vulva, vagina, or urethra. The hair follicles themselves also contribute: sebaceous glands attached to each follicle produce an oily substance that contains bacteriostatic peptides, compounds that slow or stop bacterial growth on the skin’s surface.
Research into what happens when that barrier is removed paints a clearer picture. A dermatology case study published in the BMJ found that among 30 patients presenting with sexually transmitted molluscum contagiosum (a viral skin infection), 93% practiced some form of hair removal. Seventy percent used shaving, 13% used clipping, and 10% used waxing. Associated complications included ingrown hairs, staphylococcal folliculitis, and genital warts. While a small study, it aligns with broader findings suggesting that removing pubic hair, particularly through shaving, can increase susceptibility to certain skin infections and minor STIs.
The logic is straightforward: shaving and waxing create microscopic wounds, remove the physical hair barrier, and alter the skin’s microenvironment all at once. Complete removal of pubic hair may increase vulnerability to infections in the vulvovaginal area specifically because the protective buffer is gone.
Moisture and Temperature Control
The genital area contains a high concentration of sweat glands and stays relatively enclosed by clothing throughout the day. Pubic hair helps wick moisture away from the skin surface, reducing the warm, damp conditions that encourage yeast and bacterial overgrowth. It also helps with airflow, keeping the area slightly ventilated rather than sealed against fabric. This moisture-regulating function is one of the reasons pubic hair is consistently listed alongside friction protection as a core biological role.
Scent Signaling and Attraction
Your genital area is packed with apocrine sweat glands, a type of gland concentrated in the armpits and groin. Unlike regular sweat glands that release watery sweat directly onto the skin, apocrine glands secrete an oily sweat into hair follicles. The sweat travels up along the hair shaft to reach the skin’s surface, where bacteria break it down and produce body odor.
In many mammals, this system plays a clear role in sexual attraction through chemical signaling. In humans, the picture is less definitive. Cleveland Clinic notes that while apocrine glands may play some role in sexual attraction, experts believe this function, if it exists in humans, is minor. Pubic hair likely amplifies the process by increasing the surface area available to disperse these scent molecules, but whether modern humans respond to those signals in any meaningful way remains an open question.
A Signal of Reproductive Maturity
Pubic hair is one of the secondary sex characteristics that develop during puberty, alongside breast development, voice changes, and shifts in body fat distribution. In females, its growth is driven primarily by estrogen and androgens. In males, testosterone is the main driver. The appearance of pubic hair signals that the body has reached a stage of hormonal development associated with reproductive capability.
From an evolutionary perspective, visible signs of sexual maturity serve as signals to potential mates. Many secondary sex characteristics, from broader shoulders to wider hips, likely evolved in part because they communicated information about age, health, and fertility. Pubic hair fits into this category as an external marker of the hormonal changes happening internally.
What Happens When You Remove It
Given all these functions, the complications associated with pubic hair removal make more sense. Grooming injuries are surprisingly common. A study of U.S. emergency department visits found that lacerations accounted for 36.6% of pubic grooming injuries, and razors were responsible for 83% of them. Beyond acute injuries, 80.3% of people who groom their pubic hair have experienced genital itching on at least one occasion, making it the most commonly reported side effect.
None of this means removing pubic hair is dangerous. Millions of people do it without serious consequences. But it does help explain why the hair is there in the first place. It reduces friction, supports the skin’s microbial defenses, manages moisture, and may subtly contribute to scent-based communication. Removing it doesn’t cause harm for most people, but the body does lose a functional layer of protection when it’s gone.