The research shows that body hair by itself is not a cause of bad body odor. But everyone is unique. Some guys report smelling better after their shave their armpits, body hair, or pubes. They feel that it makes them sweat less and smell better.
If you sense a little body odor, it's because your pubic hair is doing its job of trapping sweat, oil, and bacteria. To care for your pubic area, all you need to do is regularly rinse with water. Long story short, there is nothing dirty or unclean about pubic hair. There is no medical reason to remove it.
It's easy to keep your vagina clean without making it smell like a flower shop. You just need to shower or wash every day with a mild soap and plenty of warm water. Some girls like to take warm baths during their periods to help relieve cramps.
Body odor is caused by a mix of bacteria and sweat on your skin. Your body odor can change due to hormones, the food you eat, infection, medications or underlying conditions like diabetes. Prescription-strength antiperspirants or medications may help.
A strong vaginal odor may be a sign of vaginitis, or it may be a temporary smell related to your hygiene, lifestyle or other changes. Take note of whether you have other symptoms. If the odor is related to an infection, you'll usually notice other changes, like vaginal itching, burning and discharge.
The research shows that body hair by itself is not a cause of bad body odor. But everyone is unique. Some guys report smelling better after their shave their armpits, body hair, or pubes. They feel that it makes them sweat less and smell better.
Should you shave your pubic hair every day? It might be tempting, but you definitely don't want to shave down there every day — this could lead to increased irritation. “It's best to give the skin some time to recover,” Dr. Garshick explains.
Keeping it clean can help prevent odor. In separate studies, 59% of women and 61% of men stated that they groomed their pubic region for hygienic purposes. However, there is currently no scientific evidence to suggest any health benefits associated with removing pubic hair — other than the removal of pubic lice.
Trimethylamine has been described as smelling like rotten or decaying fish. As this compound builds up in the body, it causes affected people to give off a strong fishy odor in their sweat, urine, and breath. The intensity of the odor may vary over time.
Pubic hair holds on to residual urine, vaginal discharge, blood and semen. Bacteria line up all along the hair shaft just lunching it up and creating odor.
In general, pubic hair in females naturally covers the labia majora (outer lips) to the inner thighs and form a triangle-like shape up to the pubic bone. Some women will naturally grow thicker or thinner hair than others, so typically there's no cause for alarm when there's slight variation.
Pubic hair can trap bacteria and moisture. A mass of pubic hair can trap heat in the skin and cause apocrine glands to secrete excess sweat. Bacteria may also build up in pubic hair, which can lead to infections if a person does not clean the area properly.
Good hygiene helps only so much. Your genes can also play a big role in how good or bad you smell. In fact some people, no matter how much they shower, still smell bad. Callewaert has found these individuals have a larger amount of “bad” bacteria.
Just rinsing the body with water will improve the body odor. Additionally, using a good shower gel, fragrant lotions, maintaining freshness deodorants, and classy perfumes are what make the skin stay fresh and smelling good for longer.
It is more hygienic not to shave it (although depilation does make pubic lice homeless). In removing their pubic hair, most women will get cuts or ingrown hairs, and some will develop inflammation of the hair follicles or hyperpigmentation.
In fact, according to research published in Nature, your nose can detect about one trillion smells! But your own underarms could reek and you might not be able to tell: Humans are prone to what scientists call olfactory fatigue; our sense of smell just gets plain tired out by familiar odors and stops detecting them.
Smell your armpits, feet, and groin area.
If you think you have body odor but you're not sure, take a whiff of your underarms, your feet, and your genitals. If you smell something, then chances are, you probably have B.O. Try doing a sniff test toward the end of the day, or whenever you feel the sweatiest.
Using a sharp razor means that you could cut yourself. Then there's the regrowth stage: Shaved hair grows back after a couple of days, and when it does it can be prickly or itchy. This can leave you feeling uncomfortable. There's also a chance some hairs will become ingrown.
From the gynecologist's perspective, shaving regularly to eliminate pubic hair has drawbacks. Razors harbor bacteria and cause some abrasion of the skin; especially in a moist environment. This creates a setup for a bacterial skin infection.
Overall, the better choice of the two methods is totally up to you and your personal preference. For some, the pain of waxing is enough to put up with all the tedious parts of shaving. For others, the idea of shaving every day is much too high-maintenance. There is no better or worse process—only what's right for you.