August 23, 2017

033: #askalexandra Does Waxing Make Me More Prone to Getting Herpes?

12 minutes

Ask, Answer and Get The Facts About Herpes [video_player type="youtube" style="1" dimensions="560x315" width="560" height="315" align="center" margin_top="0" margin_bottom="20" ipad_color="black"]aHR0cHM6Ly95b3V0dS5iZS9TMGN3YU9qQ004QQ==[/video_player] Life With Herpes Podcast Welcome to episode 33 of Life With Herpes! I love all of the episodes of this show, but the #askalexandra ones are extra special to me because I get to hear directly from you! Do you have any questions of your own? Send them to me on LifeWithHerpes.com. When you’re on the web site scroll down to the bottom where you'll see the #AskAlexandra section and click. Fill out the Google form with your question and tune in to hear me answer it! Today's question is from Emily in Memphis, TN. she wants to know if waxing makes a person more prone to herpes. This is such a good question, thanks, Emily! Are you ready to hear the answer? Then join me for episode 33 of Life With Herpes More About Life With Herpes Emily wants to know if waxing makes us more prone to herpes. Now as women a lot of us remove our pubic hair either via waxing, shaving or sugaring. It's a trend now, thanks to the porn industry. When she asks this I think Emily is talking about complete pubic hair removal. But before we get into her answer, let's understand a few things about why we have pubic hair in the first place. It is a natural part of our genitals, it's there to protect us and act as a buffer and barrier. It also helps to maintain lubrication during sex, and it helps reduce friction during sex. Pubic hair does a lot of good things for us! Now here's where it gets tricky. The short answer to Emily's question is yes waxing and hair removal makes you more prone to getting herpes. And the reason why is because herpes is transferred from skin to skin contact. When the pubic hair is removed there is less protection of skin and more skin is exposed during skin to skin contact. Tweetable: “Waxing and hair removal makes you more prone to getting herpes.” - Alexandra Harbushka Also when we remove the pubic hair it creates abrasions on the skin, and microscopic open wounds in the skin. When there are more open wounds there are more areas for bacteria and viruses to enter the body. It's something to think about and keep in mind. I'm not saying you'll get herpes if you remove your pubic hair, just that it makes it easier for the virus to get in. And if you have herpes you might want to keep your pubic hair so there is another buffer that can reduce the chance of passing it onto your partner. But if you want to remove your pubic hair, of course, go ahead and do it, I'm not saying you can't! However, you want to maintain your body is up to you. I just want you to know that does make you more susceptible to passing or receiving herpes and other STDs. What are your thoughts - will knowing this change how you maintain that part of your body? Let me know what you think after you listen to episode 3 of Life With Herpes. Episode Resources