I’ll never forget the time I convinced a bush-enthusiast client (at the legal brothel I work at) to book a sexy hour with me, even though I’m bald as a baby down there. He’d denied four girls before me, citing their (typical in sex work) lack of pubic hair, but I was determined. “Trust me, you’ll mostly be focused on my amazing ass!” I assured him. After the session, I was $4,000 richer, but reminded of one major regret…
I wish I’d never lasered off my pubes.
That’s right: If I had a time machine, I’d go back to 2009 and close the Groupon tab for Brazilian laser hair removal. As a mere 18-year-old girl, I’d decided I never wanted hair down there again, lasering off every last pube from top to (literal) bottom. I “thought it through,” concluding pubes would never make sense—they were a nuisance, something I spent countless dollars (and tears) having waxed over and over.
But reader, I regret to inform you that I was…so wrong. Now, I crave the creativity a bush can provide. I dream of having hair to spare—dying it hot pink and shaping it into a heart, if my heart so desires. And I’m not alone. I’ve noticed a stirring in porn and among the chatter of my girlfriends that “the bush is back!” (Or, at least the landing strip is.)
Did I fall prey to the “bare down there” craze of the early aughts? Is the bush really back? And was it ever actually gone?! To find out, I asked 12 Millennials and Gen Zers what’s up with their downtowns, and if their below-the-belt style has changed over the years.
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"Mine are long enough to braid! I shape them in the Mr. T mohawk and I’ve had it that way for years—never been one to follow trends. Everyone who sees me loves it!" —Sparkle, 33"I was always ashamed of how thick and wiry my bush was and I’ve definitely had male partners comment about it in the past, so I used to either get a full Brazilian or shave everything completely off. But now that a) I’m a lesbian and most women don’t care what my hair situation is, and b) I’m a busy girl and don’t have time to care what my hair situation is, I let it grow and occasionally get it sugared. (But the back door is always 100 percent bald.)" —Ari*, 31"I prefer to keep it pretty smooth in the lip region, with a little patch of blonde up top. I used to think 'bare down there' was the way to go, but the awkward itchy stages of growing it out were the WORST, so I love the new way I keep things trim and tidy. It makes me feel very sexy and Goddess-like with my lil bit of au natural hair." —Jess, 32"My below-deck vibe is giving ‘70s, ginger-bush queen (with a clean undercarriage), and I am so happy with it! I grew up thinking less pubes was better because I thought that’s what men wanted. But when I let mine grow out they all LOVED it. And I do too! My fiery, queen pussy and her bush of power reign on." —Meg, 32Related Story
"I’m a manscaper and keep it trimmed relatively short. (It’s the least I can do if I’m going to ask someone to shove their face up in there.) I don’t do any shaping, just a short buzz all around, and a close shave on the shaft to get any stragglers. I also shave my butt these days because…(not sure when the change took place)…but girlies have been eating BOOTY recently! I don’t follow any trends, but I do think more men should be trimmed!" —Michael*, 38"I have a bare bikini, bare booty, and hair on my cookie because I tend to have more orgasms when I rock the locks down there. In my teens and twenties, I would shave completely bare (even though I didn’t like the feeling) to 'please' men—most of the ones I would sleep with were 'grossed out' by hair. Now, in my thirties, I’m fully embracing the beauty of hair on my pubic area and outer labia!" —Rubina, 32"I used to shave or wax everything off (for my partner) but my skin was too sensitive. Now I just love my asshole to be waxed! I feel so aerodynamic. And up front I like to leave a French (think a landing strip, but thicker)." —Jamie, 37"I’m currently waxed pretty bare, and I’m sad because I wish I liked having a bush and leaning into that! I feel like the whole 'bare down there' thing is guided by beauty standards and I wish I could just enjoy my natural body, but I really hate the feeling of hair regrowing. I get ingrowns that hurt like hell and I get over-stimulated by the regrowth, so alas, I am bald." —Jasmine, 24Related Story
"I’ve had a few different styles for my pubes throughout the years. When my bush started to get lots of positive attention in my late teens through early thirties, I would just groom it a bit, waxing the sides only. Then in my forties and on (when the gray sprinkles showed up), I started seasonal grooming like I’m a lawn care specialist or something—in the summers I go bare, in the winters I groom to a small, tailored strip." —Emily*, 55
"I got laser hair removal years ago—everything gone but kept a triangle shape. I can also turn it into a landing strip when the mood strikes. I definitely like the low maintenance laser hair removal brings! The temporary pain of the treatments was so worth it!" —Becca, 38"I keep a full bush! I have for years. I condition and do an oil treatment on the hair to make it soft. I feel like if I don’t it feels coarse and it bothers me so much." —Cece, 27"Mine is all natural—dark, curly and I’m LOVING IT! It’s the perfect shape to stay under bikinis and make a fun surprise for partners to discover when they undress me. In my early teens, I tried shaving because it seemed like the IT thing to have a bare p**sy. Society definitely put some shame on my bush! But the bare look wasn’t working for me—I was just an ocean of pale, white curves, missing that thing that made me feel feminine and beautiful. So my bush is back!" —Pearl*, 20Related Story
GG Sauvage is a writer and all-around artist on a mission to f*ck shame away and empower people with self-love. She designed The Sexiest Deck Alive: Erotic Oracle Cards to Turn You On & Help You Turn the Corner, co-hosts the Basic Witches podcast, and wrote the audio drama Sex and the Synchronicity. See her work at Refinery29, Vogue Italia, Vulture, CollegeHumor, and WhoHaHa, and check out her website for more!
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