Shaving anywhere on the body, including arms and armpits, comes with the potential for ingrown hairs, razor burn, and skin irritation. If you exfoliate and lubricate the delicate skin of the arms and armpits, you're less likely to experience irritation associated with shaving.
By having less hair under your armpit (or none at all), there's less room for sweat-based bacteria to multiply. Crucially, this means a fresher post-gym grooming routine and less questionable smells once you're back at your desk.
By leaving the armpit hair intact, you're helping trap odor, since moisture (sweat) attaches to hair. This makes the pheromones even stronger. A study in 2018 including 96 heterosexual couples found that there were stress-relieving benefits to smelling a person's natural scent.
2.2 Helps reduce friction Armpit hair also helps prevent skin-to-skin contact when you do certain activities, such as walking or jogging. The same goes for pubic hair, as they help reduce friction during sex and other activities.
Our underarm hair traps the moisture on our skin, giving bacteria more time to produce the bad smells that you want to avoid. Shaving your armpit hair can help maximise the effectiveness of the antiperspirants that you use.
In another study, the axillary odor of shaved armpits was rated as significantly less intense and more pleasant than the odor of unshaved armpits.
As with shaving any part of your body, shaving your armpits also opens up the possibility of getting razor burn, ingrown hairs and irritation, and the underarm area is definitely one of the more uncomfortable areas to experience this in.
Bumps, irritation and ingrown hair
Shaving your armpits doesn't automatically lead to a smooth underarm. Sometimes, using blunt razors can lead to bumps, irritation and even infections. Some people want to circumvent this whole process, so they don't shave.
Electrolysis. Approved by the FDA, electrolysis is a safe way to remove all your underarm hair permanently since it destroys the root of the hair through the use of electric current. This makes hair impossible to grow back and it's the best choice for those with thick or coarse hair.
Everyone has some hair in the area between their butt crack. This hair wicks away moisture and protects the sensitive skin around your anus.
Put simply, armpit hair is being seen for what it is: entirely normal.
Is armpit hair the same as pubic hair? Armpit hair is also known as axillary hair and grows in the underarm area. Pubic hair is darker and thicker body hair that grows in your genital region.
Studies have found the difference in the smell of regularly shaven pits compared to hairy ones is minimal at best. That's because our sweat is actually odourless and it's the bacteria it comes into contact with that causes a nasty smell.
So, do men shave their armpits? You might be surprised to find that a recent survey by MANSCAPED™ found that 68% of men do groom their armpits.
While armpit hair is absolutely fine, given India's weather overall, it probably is advisable to not let them grow way too much to avoid excessive sweat and stench. A little bit of growth is absolutely fine, even when you're shirtless on the beach playing volleyball. However, how you decide to groom it is important.
Armpits. Armpit hair can be a friendly forest for odor-causing bacteria, so keep it as short as possible. Trim it every couple of weeks with scissors or a trimmer. If you want it gone, use a razor in the shower, just like your wife does.
Smelly armpits occur when bacteria break down the otherwise odorless sweat on your skin. Some people sweat more than others and have a condition called hyperhidrosis. This excess sweating can lead to body odor. While it might cause people to be self-conscious, there are many solutions that can help.
You really don't need to remove your pubic hair for any health reasons, sexual or otherwise, other than perhaps decreasing odor from sweat. When it comes down to it, pubic hair grooming is a personal preference.
All body hair that sprouts during puberty—think hair on your underarms, genitals, and chest hair on guys—is controlled by hormones. Since our estrogen levels drop as we reach middle to later age, body hair growth corresponds by becoming sparser and thinner, too.
Regardless of how manscaped you are, hair-producing areas like your armpits and your groin are particularly prone to these smells because they're home to large populations of apocrine sweat glands.
Similar to how we style our hair or grow a mustache, shaving arm hair is all about personal preference. There isn't any medical reason or athletic reason to shave your arm hair. Instead, it's purely an aesthetic preference. Since hair holds on to moisture, having less hair could help with sweating problems.
Pubic hair serves a similar function to eyelashes or nose hair. That is, it traps dirt, debris, and potentially harmful microorganisms. In addition, hair follicles produce sebum, an oil which actually prevents bacteria from reproducing.
Hairs are commonly found at crime scenes but they rarely provide human DNA unless they have been forcibly removed, leaving some part of their roots attached.
Marc Glashofer, a dermatologist and fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology, claims that the texture of pubic hair tends to be thicker and more coarse than hair on the rest of our body because of its origins as a buffer. “It prevents friction during intercourse that can cause skin abrasion and rashes,” he says.