The Sunday Mail
LOVE AND BEAUTY with Mainini Beatrice
Recently an unmarried brother-in-law of mine asked me point blank: “Maiguru (that’s Mainini to the rest of you!), why do women keep their body hair? I am so pissed off, Maiguru, because there is this young woman that I have fancied for long and just as I thought I have won her over, what do I see?
“In fact, I should say, what did I not see? There is hair everywhere! It appeared so untidy and unhygienic to me. I was and am still so pissed off I don’t ever want to see that girl again,” blurted Babamunini Ngoni, as we call him at home.
Because of his palpable anger, I could not bring myself to ask him what he was doing examining the private areas of girls he was not married to. And to cap it all, said Babamunini Ngoni, the girl let her under-arm hair grow into dreadlocks! Knowing Babamunini Ngoni as I do, I suspected there was a lot of exaggeration going on here.
But he is one of a million guys who express displeasure at why women keep body hair. And like many such guys, he himself has a mass of sweat-discoloured hair under his arms! The defence for men is usually that it is manly for them to keep body hair. So, is it hygienic for both men and women to keep and maintain body hair?
Online medical sources say apart from the fact that it’s a sign of sexual development, pubic hair also adds beauty to the overall nude look of a woman. The experts say although there might not be a fixed reason why people have pubic hair, there is a widespread scientific theory that links pubic hair to erotic attraction.
“A healthy number of men hold that they find women attractive who do not completely shave off their hair. To some, it gives off the picture of a full woman and not a child. To others, it’s primal while another group says it prefers things natural. Whatever the preference, pubic hair goes beyond sexuality and has other functions like protecting the genitals from cold weather and foreign bodies that can get into the vagina,” says an online health magazine.
Some beauty experts advise that pubic hair be trimmed while others, healthcare professionals inclusive, feel it is not necessary as long as it is clean.
“When it narrows down to sexual health and people’s personal choices, no one side has won the argument. It does not really matter at what length it is kept, it is hygiene that is of utmost importance.”
Leaving body hair unkempt and unattended to can create breeding grounds for germs, genital lice and bacteria, and can also lead to vaginal infection and unpleasant odours. I see Babamunini Ngoni smiling as he is reading this!
“When you have long pubic hair and you urinate, the hairs could keep some of the urine if you do not wipe with a tissue in a proper manner. A suitable care of the pubic area should be maintained to avoid bad odour,” says a beauty therapist quoted on an online health website.
The website provides a list of how to maintain your body hair:
(a) Trim with a sharp pair of clean scissors. Get a mirror so you have a full view of what you’re doing. For really curly hair, apply baby powder and straighten it out, especially if it is long. Be extra careful around the clitoris and labia areas.
(b) Shave, if you must but first, trim with a scissor as detailed above. This makes for an easier, smoother shave.
(c) Don’t go bare completely. Women who shave off their pubic hair totally on a regular basis, will over time, suffer from an eczema-like skin irritation and thinning of the skin. You also risk having nicks and cuts that leave wounds prone to be exposed to bacteria, herpes, genital warts and other sexually transmitted infections. In addition, there is that annoying condition of razor bumps. Do you hear this, Babamunini Ngoni?
(d) Avoid using soap. Use shaving creams and gels and reduce the threats of deep cuts.
(e) Dampen the hair before you shave, but not with hot water. Use warm water. To get the best shave, you have to straighten the hair out with some water so that the blade can come in contact with them in the direction of their growth. Shaving against hair growth direction and curly hair without straightening it out can cause razor bumps.
(f) Use a new shaving stick for each shave. The reasons are to have a smooth and easy shave, and to avoid any infection from rust. Try shaving sticks that have strips of moisturisers around the blade
