If you shave or wax your bikini line, you may be at an increased risk of a sexually transmitted infection (STI). This is according to French researchers, who have warned that ‘Brazilians’ and other pubic hair removal may increase the risk of a highly contagious viral skin infection, known as Molluscum contagium.
This viral infection can be caused by the ‘micro trauma’ of waxing and shaving, and can easily spread through skin-to-skin contact with someone who is infected, or with the touching of contaminated objects, such as a flannel or towel. Molluscum contagium commonly affects child wellness, and the wellbeing of those whose immune systems are compromised by illness or medication. However, sexual transmission is also possible, and the number of cases in which this is the cause has risen over the past decade.
The sexual health study, which was published in the journal Sexually Transmitted Infections, looked at whether the rise in the number of such infections might be connected to the increasing popularity of pubic hair removal among patients who, between January 2011 and March 2012, visited a private skin clinic in Nice, France. During this time, 30 people were infected with Molluscum contagiosum, six of whom were women, and the average group age was 29.5.
Molluscum contagiosum causes small flat circular skin lesions, which may be flesh coloured, white, translucent or yellow. In four of the cases, signs of the infection – pearly papules – had spread up to the abdomen, and in one it had spread to the thighs. 10 cases demonstrated other associated skin conditions, such as ingrown hairs, warts and folliculitis – a bacterial skin infection, cysts and scars. 93% of the 30 infected patients had had their pubic hair removed, 70% of whom opted for shaving, whilst 13% went for clipping and the remaining 10% for waxing.
The researchers suggested that hair removal – as popularised in the UK, along with vajazzles, by the TV programme The Only Way is Essex, may facilitate transmission because the resulting scratching could cause ‘micro trauma’ to the skin, causing self-infection. This is supported by research from the University of California San Fransisco, who warned last year that the growing trend for Brazilians and vajazzles has led to a five-fold increase in the number of women admitted to hospital with injuries to their genitals.
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