As a cyclist, you don't want a wild, unbridled mane of pubic hair because it can trap sweat and odor, or add additional
Women's current preferences for men's pubic hair
Ninety percent of women reported in a survey that they like their male partners groomed down there. Another survey of 300 women found 64 percent preferred their guys trimmed, 16 percent preferred a clean-shaven man and 20 percent found the natural look best.
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.
One of the most common reasons that cyclists' give for shaving is that it makes massages easier, more effective, less painful and you are less likely to suffer a follicular infection. This is certainly true and, if you are lucky enough to have regular massages, well worth doing.
The musculature is simply quite different. Runners tend to have small, more elongated muscles in their legs whereas cyclists tend to have larger muscle mass.
Straight up, there is no science to support a reason not to shave above the knee, says Dr Elizabeth Farrell, gynaecologist and medical director at Jean Hailes for Women's Health. Some women don't feel the need to because the hairs on their thighs are finer and thinner than those on the lower half of their leg.
Pubic hair removal is common — approximately 80 percent of women ages 18 to 65 report they remove some or all of their pubic hair.
Pubic Hair Trends
According to the researchers, when asked if they removed their pubic hair, 80% of women and 39% of men removed their pubic hair near the time of the survey. Also, 3% of women and 21% of men had never removed their pubic hair.
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.
Pubic hair may extend out to their thighs, and some girls may have a line of hair up to their belly button. Most girls attain their peak height by age 16, but some may continue growing through age 20.
To keep the pubic area smooth and hairless, you'll need to shave regularly, even daily. Consider if this is worth the trouble; it may become tedious after four or five weeks.
A combination of polls shows that 80 to 90 percent of women prefer some amount of grooming for starters. Only 10 to 20 percent prefer guys with a completely unkempt bush; this means that going wild below the waist is not the default look. It may require less work, but you're not playing the odds.
Male pubic hair is currently less "full bush" and more "clean-cut," which is the current trend. As a result, not all men should completely shave off their pubic hair because doing so can cause excruciating discomfort and even unpleasant skin conditions like razor burn or ingrown hairs.
Interestingly, 84 percent of the men surveyed had a preference when it came to a woman's pubic hair, but only 9 percent would end a date or sex because of a women's grooming habits -- so they must not care all that much. And of the men polled, a whopping 88 percent do some grooming of their own.
The practice of removing female body hair is not new, it can be traced back to ancient Rome and Egypt. Some of the first razors, made of copper, were used in Egypt and India around 3000 BCE. Egyptian women removed their head hair and considered pubic hair uncivilized.
Shaving, whether it's your legs, armpits, or pubic area, is a personal choice. You certainly don't have to shave before sex if you don't want to. Shaving pubic hair (or not) is a cosmetic preference, and it does not mean you are "cleaner" if you shave. If you do prefer to shave, try not to do it right before sex.
Pubic hair growth begins at the onset of puberty when estrogen and progesterone levels increase. After menopause, when estrogen levels decline, pubic hair - along with the hair on the head - stops growing. Not everyone will experience pubic hair loss after menopause, it may simply turn grey or simply thin.
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. (Very appetizing, I know.) Trimming your pubic hair reduces that surface area for bacteria, thus reducing odor.
China. China isn't fully westernized, so Chinese notions of beauty differ greatly than American ones (which is refreshing). In China, underarm or leg hair is nothing to be worried about; body hair is considered completely natural and acceptable in their culture. As a result, hair removal just isn't very popular there.
Easing Friction
Not shaving reduces skin-on-skin contact friction, which means when you do activities that involve arm movement, like running or walking, your skin is much less likely to get irritated by the friction. This might lead to fewer skin issues like rashes and ingrown hairs.
Research has shown that men who keep their pubic hair have a lower chance of getting warts. This is because pubic hair acts as a shield to reduce skin contact between people during intercourse. Getting rid of pubic hair is different from going to the barber for a haircut.
In conclusion, cycling more and eating better will certainly help lose belly fat. But the benefits of cycling aren't reserved for lean riders and weight is no barrier to cycling.
Exhaustive endurance exercise such as cycling has been shown to decrease testosterone levels for up to 72 hours after exercise [1].