IF YOU REGULARLY trim, shave, or wax your pubic hair, you may have noticed an interesting phenomenon: It seems to grow back so quickly. It might feel like you’re always keeping up with your manscaping. But does it really grow back faster than other hair?
“Pubic hair grows at about the same rate as the hair on the head,” says Chris Bustamante, D.N.P., N.P-C, an aesthetic nurse practitioner and founder of Lushful Aesthetics in New York City.
How you choose to remove your pubes can affect how they grow back—and how much you notice it growing back—which might give the impression that it’s growing back faster, he adds. The thicker, coarser nature of the hair might trigger ingrown hairs and irritation if you shave, while trimming, waxing, and lasers might lead to less irritation.
If you’re prone to acne or have extra-curly hair, you might notice more razor bumps and ingrown hairs than others, adds Amy Huang, M.D., a board-certified dermatologist at Medical Offices of Manhattan and a contributor to LabFinder. “This can lead to painful boils in the area.”
Still, grooming pubic hair is completely safe for men, she says. It’s also common. More than 50 percent of men report regularly grooming their pubes, research shows.
“This is strictly a decision revolving around aesthetic desires,” Bustamante says. “There’s no medical reason to groom your pubes, as long as good hygiene is being practiced. So men should pursue pube grooming to fit the needs of their aesthetic.”
The hair-removal method you embrace may affect the perceived speed of regrowth, however.
What’s different about pubic hair?
Pubic hair tends to be thicker than hair on other parts of the body, Dr. Huang says. This is because it has a thicker cuticle layer, which is the outermost part of the hair that contains numerous overlapping scales and serves as the protective layer of the hair.
Hair follicles there are also more irregular in shape, causing the hair growing out of them to be curlier, Bustamante explains.
Does it really grow faster?
It might seem like your pubes grow back at lightning speed, and you always need to shave or wax. But that’s actually something of an optical illusion, says Alexes Hazen, M.D., a reconstructive and cosmetic plastic surgeon at NYU Langone Health.
“People who trim or shave their pubic hair often think it grows faster than the rest of their hair, specifically the hair on their head, but this is not the case,” she says. “We simply notice hair growth most, and the speed of that growth, the shorter the hair.”
All hair, regardless of its location, follows a cycle: growth, regression, rest, and shedding. Part of the perception that your pubic hair grows much faster than the hair on your head may be due to the growth cycle it follows.
Pubic hair grows about an eighth of an inch per week, but the entire process takes about a month, Dr. Huang says. That means the same pubes that started to grow will shed in about a month to a month and a half.
The hair on your head follows a much more spread-out process, Dr. Hazen says. In fact, it can keep growing for up to six years before it falls out. As a result, the hair on your head grows to much longer lengths than your pubes can ever reach.
This difference adds to the perception that your pubes seem to be on the fast track to growth, Dr. Hazen says. So if you buzzed your pubes, you notice the regrowth more because there’s simply not much there.
How Different Removal Methods Affect Hair Regrowth
There are several ways to remove or groom your pubic hair, and each might affect the rate of regrowth. Here’s how:
Shaving
It’s a myth that shaving makes hair grow back quicker and thicker, Bustamante says. Still, it’ll seem to start growing in pretty quickly compared to other hair-removal methods.
However, shaving is more likely to cause ingrown hairs and irritation as the hair grows back, he says. That’s especially true if you’re prone to ingrown hair or have sensitive skin, Dr. Huang adds.
Trimming or shaving with an electric razor can reduce your risk of irritation and ingrown hairs, Bustamante says.
Waxing
When you wax, the hair is ripped out of the follicle from below the skin, Bustamante says, and “an entirely new hair bulb needs to form.” This can seem to delay regrowth since it’s starting from scratch.
“It might make it appear that pubic hair grows slower with waxing,” Dr. Huang says.
Waxing can also damage some hair follicles, and some may not regrow, Bustamante says.
Laser hair removal
Laser hair removal permanently destroys hair follicles, but it’s not necessarily a permanent way to banish your pubes. “Healthy individuals are always able to create new hair follicles,” Bustamante says.
Younger men with higher testosterone levels might see the highest rate of follicle regrowth, he adds. “It’s the norm to experience ongoing hair follicle development until your 40s, where you really start to see testosterone levels drop.”
Lower testosterone can reduce body hair. But, if you’re on testosterone replacement therapy, Bustamante says you’ll see continued hair follicle development.
In general, men can see about a 90 percent reduction in pubic hair with laser hair removal, but will usually need a touch-up three to four times a year, he explains.
With laser hair removal, the hair typically grows back finer and lighter in color, Dr. Huang says. Some people may never see some or all of their hair follicles regrow.
Other Factors That Affect Hair Regrowth
Besides the method of hair removal, some medications can influence growth rates and hair strength, Dr. Hazen says. For example, finasteride (also known as Proscar or Propecia) and minoxidil, known as Rogaine. Minoxidil can increase blood flow to hair follicles, enabling hair growth, while finasteride regulates hormones, which could affect hair follicles and cause hair loss.
Hormones can also play a part, says Dr. Hazen, particularly androgens like testosterone and dihydrotestosterone. Lower amounts of androgens, or issues with hormone balance, may cause some hair loss and is one of the biggest factors for male pattern baldness.
