Pubic hair grows for several practical biological reasons: it reduces friction against sensitive skin, hosts protective bacteria, and likely played a role in sexual signaling for our ancestors. It appears during puberty when the body begins producing higher levels of sex hormones, transforming the fine, nearly invisible “peach fuzz” in the groin area into thick, coarse hair. While scientists still debate the exact evolutionary story, the functions pubic hair serves today are increasingly well understood.
It Protects Sensitive Skin From Friction
The skin around your genitals is thinner and more sensitive than most other areas of your body. Pubic hair acts as a natural cushion, reducing direct skin-on-skin contact during sex, exercise, and everyday movement. Without that buffer, the repeated rubbing in this high-friction zone can cause chafing, irritation, and small skin tears. This is one of the most straightforward and widely accepted explanations for why the hair is there.
It May Help With Sexual Attraction
Your pubic region is packed with a specific type of sweat gland called apocrine glands, far more than most other parts of your body. These glands don’t just produce sweat for cooling. They secrete chemical compounds that may function as pheromones, subtle scent signals that can influence attraction and mood in other people. The theory is that pubic hair traps and holds these secretions, giving them more time to become airborne and reach potential partners. The science on human pheromones is still unsettled, but the concentration of these glands in the groin (and armpits, another hairy area) is hard to ignore as coincidence.
It Hosts Bacteria That Guard Against Infection
Pubic hair isn’t just a physical barrier. It’s a miniature ecosystem. The hair follicles and surrounding skin harbor communities of bacteria that appear to play a protective role, particularly for women. Female pubic hair hosts several species of Lactobacillus, the same type of beneficial bacteria found in the vagina. These bacteria have a strong inhibitory effect on E. coli, the most common cause of urinary tract infections. Hair itself may contribute too: researchers have identified proteins and peptides within human hair shafts that show antimicrobial activity against both bacteria and fungi.
A 2023 study in Scientific Reports found that women who completely removed their pubic hair were three times more likely to experience recurrent UTIs (three or more infections within a year) compared to women who left their hair alone. Single UTIs weren’t significantly more common in the hair-removal group, but the pattern of repeated infections was striking. The researchers suggested that removing pubic hair may eliminate an important microbial niche, essentially clearing out the beneficial bacteria that help keep harmful organisms in check.
Interestingly, research on facial hair tells a similar story. Clean-shaven male healthcare workers were found to be 10 percent more likely to carry Staphylococcus aureus on their faces and more than three times as likely to harbor antibiotic-resistant bacteria compared to their bearded colleagues. The pattern suggests that body hair in general, not just pubic hair, supports microbial communities that compete with more dangerous organisms.
Why It Shows Up During Puberty
Before puberty, the groin is covered in vellus hair, the fine, pale fuzz that covers most of a child’s body. When sex hormones rise during puberty, some of that vellus hair transforms into terminal hair: thicker, darker, and coarser. This shift typically begins between ages 9 and 14, though the timing varies widely. In girls, pubic hair usually appears about a year to a year and a half after breast development starts. In boys, it coincides with other genital changes.
Pubic hair development follows a predictable progression. It starts as sparse, downy hair, gradually becomes coarser and curlier, and eventually fills the entire pubic region in a triangular pattern. In some people, it extends onto the inner thighs. The full process from first appearance to adult pattern takes several years. Because pubic hair is driven by adrenal hormones (a separate system from the hormones controlling other pubertal changes), its timeline doesn’t always match up neatly with breast development or genital growth.
What Happens When You Remove It
Removing pubic hair is extremely common, but it does carry some trade-offs worth knowing about. The most frequent side effects are itching, skin irritation, ingrown hairs, and small cuts or nicks. Shaving and waxing can create microtrauma, tiny breaks in the skin that aren’t always visible but can allow bacteria or viruses to enter more easily. Some researchers have raised concerns that this microtrauma could facilitate the spread of certain skin infections in the genital area.
Changing your pubic hair status also appears to shift the composition of your vaginal microbiome. A study of 42 women found that those who switched from having hair to removing it (or vice versa) showed measurable changes in vaginal bacterial diversity, while women who maintained the same grooming habits did not. The urinary microbiome, by contrast, stayed stable regardless of grooming changes. This suggests the vaginal environment is more sensitive to what’s happening on the surface nearby.
None of this means you need to stop grooming if that’s your preference. But the biology makes clear that pubic hair isn’t vestigial or purposeless. It reduces friction, supports a protective bacterial community, and may play a role in your body’s scent-based signaling system. Whether you keep it or remove it, understanding what it does can help you make that choice with better information.