# Is shaving unhealthy?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shaving-unhealthy/709453
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [January 10, 2015, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shaving-unhealthy/709453 "2015-01-10T02:35:47Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)
#### Post date: [January 10, 2015, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shaving-unhealthy/709453/1 "2015-01-10T02:35:47Z")
[This article](http://www.salon.com/2012/08/12/the_war_on_pubic_hair_salpart/) by a doctor sets out reasons why shaving pubic hair is unhealthy, some of them having to do with “microscopic wounds.” It got me to thinking – what about other parts of the body people sometimes shave – men’s faces, women’s armpits, women’s legs – should they all be left unshaven? Is there no healthy use for a razor?
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### Author:  [@vomit\_comet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vomit_comet)
#### Post date: [January 10, 2015, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shaving-unhealthy/709453/2 "2015-01-10T02:37:51Z")
Aren’t they all technically ‘pubic hair’?
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### Author:  [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)
#### Post date: [January 10, 2015, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shaving-unhealthy/709453/3 "2015-01-10T02:42:00Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#):
>
> [This article](http://www.salon.com/2012/08/12/the_war_on_pubic_hair_salpart/) by a doctor
being a doctor does not mean one knows everything there is to know about the human body. I’m an engineer, but my expertise is in automotive and acoustics, and I wouldn’t dare claim I know how to design a suspension bridge. sadly, far too many people have no idea how to stay in their own lane.
> [@](#):
>
> sets out reasons why shaving pubic hair is unhealthy, some of them having to do with “microscopic wounds.”
“microscopic wounds” translates to “shit I can’t prove but sounds plausible and supports my point of view.”
> [@](#):
>
> It got me to thinking – what about other parts of the body people sometimes shave – men’s faces, women’s armpits, women’s legs – should they all be left unshaven? Is there no healthy use for a razor?
when most of us die due to accidental trauma, heart disease, cancers, etc. worrying about razor burn is fucking stupid. Oh, and from your link:
"Pubic hair does have a purpose, providing cushion against friction that can cause skin abrasion and injury and offering protection from bacteria and other unwanted pathogens. "
apparently people only need that protection after about age 12 or so.
these people are loony. Period.
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### Author:  [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)
#### Post date: [January 10, 2015, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shaving-unhealthy/709453/4 "2015-01-10T02:53:22Z")
Of all the things that could potentially be dangerous to people, this seems pretty low on the list. Humans of various cultures have been shaving their body hair pretty much since we invented knives, with little apparent ill effect.
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### Author:  [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)
#### Post date: [January 10, 2015, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shaving-unhealthy/709453/5 "2015-01-10T03:01:42Z")
It is true that surgeons have stopped shaving their patients nearly as much as they used to.
It is true that shaving can cause irritation (hence, all the soothing after shaving preparations sold OTC) or wounds of one degree or another (hence dabs of tissue, styptic pencils, and the like). Same for other methods of hair removal.
That said, I think the “don’t have at all” position can be as extreme as the “eliminate every hair forever” position.
As for the getting by without public hair “protection” until age 12 - puberty is when you start rubbing your bits against other peoples’ bits, so it makes some sense that’s when you’d need the extra, um, “protection”.
Is shaving unhealthy? Yes, if you _do it to excess_ or in an unsanitary manner.
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### Author:  [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)
#### Post date: [January 10, 2015, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shaving-unhealthy/709453/6 "2015-01-10T03:08:11Z")
> [@Broomstick](#):
>
> As for the getting by without public hair “protection” until age 12 - puberty is when you start rubbing your bits against other peoples’ bits, so it makes some sense that’s when you’d need the extra, um, “protection”.
but that’s not what they were talking about.
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### Author:  [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)
#### Post date: [January 10, 2015, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shaving-unhealthy/709453/7 "2015-01-10T03:10:03Z")
Shaving exfoliates the skin. If anything, it’s _healthy_.
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### Author:  [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)
#### Post date: [January 10, 2015, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shaving-unhealthy/709453/8 "2015-01-10T03:13:23Z")
> [@jz78817](#):
>
> “microscopic wounds” translates to “shit I can’t prove but sounds plausible and supports my point of view.”
Not so much. There have been calls to stop pre operative shaving for at least 30 years for this very reason.
For example:
[THE DOCTOR’S WORLD; SHAVING AREA OF OPERATION NOW SEEMS DANGEROUS](http://www.nytimes.com/1983/06/21/science/the-doctor-s-world-shaving-area-of-operation-now-seems-dangerous.html) fom June 1983, _The New York Times_ quoting _The Lancet_
> [@](#):
>
> Studies with scanning electron microscopes show that a razor shave by even skilled hands produces nicks, invisible to the naked eye, that can provide entry points for microorganisms, providing a focus of infection that may begin before the incision is made. Even electric razors can do the same. Intact skin acts as a mechanical barrier to the entry of such germs.
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### Author:  [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)
#### Post date: [January 10, 2015, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shaving-unhealthy/709453/9 "2015-01-10T04:42:35Z")
If I shavd with a blade, or use a very close electric shaver on my face I get horrible infected bumps and ingrown hairs. I could see that getting dangerous for someone with a depressed immune system.
I have to use a shaver intended for head hair cutting with a short guard that prevents it from touching my face.
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### Author:  [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)
#### Post date: [January 10, 2015, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shaving-unhealthy/709453/10 "2015-01-10T05:21:46Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#):
>
> Shaving exfoliates the skin. If anything, it’s _healthy_.
What? Humans do not shed their skins. You’re thinking snakes and scorpions. And lawyers.
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### Author:  [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)
#### Post date: [January 10, 2015, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shaving-unhealthy/709453/11 "2015-01-10T05:44:05Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#):
>
> What? Humans do not shed their skins.
Sure they do. Many a woman shave their faces as a ‘beauty enhancement’ (but it’s called “dermaplaning” instead of shaving).
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### Author:  [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)
#### Post date: [January 10, 2015, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shaving-unhealthy/709453/12 "2015-01-10T06:37:06Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#):
>
> Sure they do. Many a woman shave their faces as a ‘beauty enhancement’ (but it’s called “dermaplaning” instead of shaving).
Is that healthy? Or just harmless?
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### Author:  [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)
#### Post date: [January 10, 2015, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shaving-unhealthy/709453/13 "2015-01-10T13:42:07Z")
It’s unnecessary, strictly speaking. There’s nothing unhealthy about skin that shows its age, has wrinkles, etc.
“Dermaplaning” can be done in a relatively safe manner, but it’s not as absolutely safe as not dermaplaning. For healthy people with intact immune systems, though, and some grasp of basic hygiene the risk is minimal.
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### Author:  [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)
#### Post date: [January 10, 2015, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shaving-unhealthy/709453/14 "2015-01-10T14:42:21Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#):
>
> Shaving exfoliates the skin. If anything, it’s _healthy_.
No offense Ambi but that is silly.
FWIW I actually did have one teen aged girl patient who developed abscesses from pubic shaving that needed pretty extensive incision and drainage. The first time didn’t stop her from continuing the habit and she ended up having it happen recurrently. No immunocompromised state.
Something else to consider - anal sex spreads diseases like AIDS much more easily than penile vaginal sex - why? The thought is because anal sex is associated with small tears hence not just mucosal contact but direct to bloodstream contact. Sex soon after shaving when the skin does have those very small tears may replicate that circumstance.
That said I am with **freido** - pretty dang low on the list.
It does raise the related question though - evolutionarily why has post-pubertal pubic and axillary hair and male facial hair been selected for in humans?
I have read, somewhere once upon a time, the speculation that pubic and axillary hair may serve to wick out compounds that serve as pheromones, helping them become just a bit more airborne. FWIW.
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### Author:  [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)
#### Post date: [January 10, 2015, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shaving-unhealthy/709453/15 "2015-01-10T15:12:10Z")
I know a lot of black men can’t shave their face everyday or they’ll get an insane amount of ingrown hairs, back when I was in the Army some guys would get profiles so they didn’t have to shave as rigorously.
[http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudofolliculitis\_barbae](http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudofolliculitis_barbae)
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### Author:  [@wmnpwr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wmnpwr)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2015, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shaving-unhealthy/709453/16 "2015-01-11T06:56:21Z")
I read about a study that found a correlation with women shaving armpits, then using deodorant, and an increased incidence of breat cancer. Study compared US women with European populations of women who used deodorant but did not shave. The theory was that the commercial deodorants contain ingredients that are linked to cancer, and are more easily absorbed into the body and into the lymph nodes under the arm pits of freshly shaven skin. I’m not citing the study because it hasn’t been replicated and most breast cancer organizations say a connection is unlikely. So it may not be true, but if it were, that would be an argument that shaving is unhealthy.
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### Author:  [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2015, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shaving-unhealthy/709453/17 "2015-01-11T13:00:41Z")
> [@jz78817](#):
>
> but that’s not what they were talking about.
> [@jz78817](#):
>
> "Pubic hair does have a purpose, providing cushion against friction that can cause skin abrasion and injury and offering protection from bacteria and other unwanted pathogens. "
It sure sounds like it…
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### Author:  [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2015, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shaving-unhealthy/709453/18 "2015-01-11T15:00:18Z")
> [@DSeid](#):
>
> No offense Ambi but that is silly
How so? Are you saying that shaving does _not_ technically exfoliate the skin? I’d post links but I don’t know how on my phone.
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### Author:  [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2015, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shaving-unhealthy/709453/19 "2015-01-11T15:02:23Z")
> [@wmnpwr](#):
>
> I read about a study that found a correlation with women shaving armpits, then using deodorant, and an increased incidence of breat cancer. Study compared US women with European populations of women who used deodorant but did not shave. The theory was that the commercial deodorants contain ingredients that are linked to cancer, and are more easily absorbed into the body and into the lymph nodes under the arm pits of freshly shaven skin. I’m not citing the study because it hasn’t been replicated and most breast cancer organizations say a connection is unlikely. So it may not be true, but if it were, that would be an argument that shaving is unhealthy.
That claim is about antiperspirant, not deodorant.
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### Author:  [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2015, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shaving-unhealthy/709453/20 "2015-01-11T16:39:19Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#):
>
> How so? Are you saying that shaving does _not_ technically exfoliate the skin? I’d post links but I don’t know how on my phone.
No, I am saying that the idea that “exfoliating the skin” is something that is “healthy” is silly fluff you read in beauty magazines and that gets sold by spa services including medical cosmetic services. Maybe there is some short term cosmetic benefit of getting some superficial dead cells off the surface (I hear snake oil is also a marvelous moisturizer) producing a “brighter complexion” but “healthy”?
You want exfoliation get yourself Staphylococcal Scalded Skin Syndrome; that’ll exfoliate you fine.
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