Hold up on scheduling that Brazilian, ladies – because new evidence is surfacing that may show waxing your bikini area could lead to infections, including those of the STD sort!

Physician Emily Gibson, in an article for KevinMD.com, says that despite women’s (and men’s) desperate attempts to keep pubic hair at bay, the hair itself serves a purpose, and by removing it people are opening tiny wounds that are susceptible to infection, saying that “irritation is combined with the warm moist environment of the genitals,” making it optimum breeding grounds for diseases like A streptococcus and staphylococcus aureus, both that in the long term can have serious effects.

Via KevinMD:

“Pubic hair does have a purpose, providing cushion against friction that can cause skin abrasion and injury, [and] its removal removal naturally irritates and inflames the hair follicles left behind, leaving microscopic open wounds. Freshly-shaved pubic areas and genitals are also more vulnerable to herpes infections due to the microscopic wounds being exposed to virus carried by mouth or genitals.

No matter what expensive and complex weapons are used – razor blades, electric shavers, tweezers, waxing, depilatories, electrolysis – hair, like crab grass, always grows back and eventually wins, and in the mean time, the skin suffers the effects of the scorched battlefield.”

Eeek. Open wounds? Scorched battlefield? CRAB GRASS? I’ve always been pro-hair removal, but this news is making me reconsider my trips to the salon.

What do you think? Should men and women stop their hair removal routines (or at least switch to less abrasive trims?)? Does this make you reconsider your opinion on hair removal, or is a freshly-shaved nether regions too important to you? Let us know in the comments?