DISCLAIMER: This isn't an anti-pubic hair blog post. Hair on your body grows there for many reasons, including protecting you from infections and bacteria. However, these are just my personal thoughts and experiences with grooming methods. Enjoy :)

Ladies, it's the beginning of July, and we've reached the apex of summertime. The heat outside is getting more and more disrespectful, and long awaited vacations to the beach are right around the corner for most of us. Grooming is usually something that we keep up with on a regular basis, but over the summer it's one of those times when it's especially more imperative to make the most strategic decisions on what to do with our hair...down there. But why is there such a struggle or taboo to figure out what to do with it?

My earliest memory of having any kind of recognition of pubic grooming was at a cheer camp during the summer right before my junior year of high school. The high school I went to was still developing so that was the first time that the cheer squad had ever been to a big camp like this, hosted on UNC-Chapel Hill's campus. Not only did it mean a lot to have that opportunity to learn new things with a bunch of other cheerleaders from across the United States, but it was a good bonding experience for us to get to know each other on a more personal level. And that's exactly what we did. As soon as we got to the dorms that night, we put our luggage down and immediately made a schedule of who was going to take their showers first depending on how long some of the girls needed. One of them said "I'm gonna need some time to shave my vagina too." Some of the girls nodded in agreement while others almost looked a little puzzled.

"You guys have your vaginas, right?" She asked around the room and then finally looked at me.

"Like entirely? Yeah...totally," I remember saying that with a nervous laugh on the outside, but on the inside I was shocked. I did shave around the inner leg/bikini zone so little hairs wouldn't poke out through my bathing suit, but that was it. Even the thought of having something so sharp going anywhere further down made me feel nauseous. I only said yes to sound cool, but boy was I SHOOK.

Flash forward a couple years into my first year of college, I made constant attempts to shave every bit of pubic hair off, but I hated it every time. Not only did it take quite a bit of time already, but I felt like I had to contort my body into demonic-like poses in those small showers in the dorm just so I could get the right angle to shave in...and don't even get me started on razor burns. I even experimented with hair removal creams a few times, but I knew the main downside to using them was that I couldn't get the full bald look that I wanted because the chemicals in the cream weren't meant for that type of use. Eventually I decided to stop trying so hard to force it and go back to just shaving my inner thigh/bikini line. Looking back on it now, I think that's part of the few reasons why things between me and certain guys never went too far physically during my first two years of college. There was already a bit of a stigma of still being a virgin in your early twenties so not having that desired freshly shaved looked made me feel self-conscious.

Flash forward another year into my junior year in college, I had finally met the dude who I would end up losing my virginity to. The funny thing about it is that never once did he ever say that he wanted me to get rid of my pubic hair a particular way or even imply anything like that, but I was so adamant on finally achieving the bald look that you typically see in porn especially since I knew at some point or later I was going to start having sex. So one day I booked an appointment, and went to the European Wax Center to get a full bikini wax. Now when I tell you that waxing is a different kind of pain, I mean it with all my heart. It's not on the level of jamming your pinky toe against a rough surface or getting a tattoo, but it's definitely not a comfortable feeling at all. Not only do you have your legs spread open in a butterfly pose in front of someone you barely know, but they place hot wax on you until it dries, and rip it off so that your hair is pulled directly from the root. Then just when you start to get used to the feeling, they end with removing the hair from the sides of your labia (the lips) and that's the most brutal part. Eventually, the more you get them, the less painful they are. The first one or two times, however, were quite the experience. Though it's pricey and uncomfortable at times, I will say that waxing has been the best option for me. I remember looking down and taking a look immediately after my very first wax was complete and I practically whispered to myself "Wow, it looks so much more beautiful than I ever could have imagined."

Ultimately, when it comes to the way you should handle pubes, the best thing you can do is experiment. I know a lot of girls who prefer to shave, and I understand it because it's cost efficient and convenient. For girls like me who are more prone to razor burns, I personally feel better getting waxed every 4-6 weeks because it assures that I have the cleanest look that I want and it takes a while for the hair to actually grow back. There are even some girls I know who have gotten laser hair removal and though it's the most expensive choice, they never have to worry about hair growing back again. There are pros and cons to each method, but never base your decisions on what other people do and think. See for yourself what works best for you!