The scrotum does grow hair, and for most people who have gone through puberty, scrotal hair is completely normal. It develops as part of the same hormonal process that produces hair in the armpits, above the genitals, and on the face. The density, coarseness, and distribution vary widely from person to person, and the scrotal skin itself has some unusual properties that make the hair there behave a little differently from hair elsewhere on the body.
Why Hair Grows on the Scrotum
Scrotal hair appears because of androgens, the same hormones responsible for most body hair changes during puberty. Androgens transform the small, nearly invisible “peach fuzz” follicles (called vellus follicles) into larger terminal follicles that produce thicker, pigmented hairs. This transformation happens at different body sites in a fairly predictable sequence: pubic hair and underarm hair typically come first in both sexes, with facial hair, chest hair, and other body hair following in males.1PubMed. Androgens and hair growth The scrotum sits within the pubic region, so its follicles are among the earliest to respond to rising androgen levels.
In boys, pubic hair development generally begins between ages 9 and 14, with scrotal hair arriving around the same time as hair on the mons pubis and inner thighs. When pubic hair appears before age 9 in boys (or before age 8 in girls), it is called premature pubarche and is most often caused by premature adrenarche, an early maturation of the adrenal gland’s hormone-producing zone.2PubMed Central. Approach to the girl with early onset of pubic hair This is usually benign but occasionally signals an underlying endocrine condition worth investigating.
How much scrotal hair you end up with depends on genetics, ethnicity, and individual hormone levels. Some people develop dense, coarse hair across the entire scrotum, while others have sparse, fine growth limited to the base where the scrotum meets the body. Neither extreme is abnormal.
What Makes Scrotal Skin Unique
The scrotum is unlike most other skin on the body. It is notably thin, elastic, and heavily wrinkled, which allows it to expand and contract in response to temperature changes. Beneath the outer skin sits the dartos muscle, a layer of smooth muscle that contracts in cold conditions to pull the testes closer to the body and relaxes in warmth to let them hang lower. This thermoregulatory function is the whole reason testes are external in the first place: sperm production requires temperatures a few degrees below core body temperature.
The thinness of scrotal skin means hair follicles there sit relatively close to the surface. Combined with the loose, wrinkled texture, this makes scrotal hair tricky to groom compared to hair on flatter skin like the chest or legs. The folds create uneven terrain where razors or trimmers can easily catch, a practical reality anyone who has tried shaving knows well.
Scrotal Hair and Temperature
One interesting wrinkle (pun intended) is that scrotal hair may play a small role in the scrotum’s temperature regulation. A study looking at this found that simple scrotal shaving significantly decreased scrotal skin temperature, and that scrotal skin temperature reliably reflects the temperature inside the testes themselves.3PubMed. Scrotal temperature reflects intratesticular temperature and is lowered by shaving The researchers suggested that scrotal shaving could even serve as a useful tool for testicular cooling in cases where elevated scrotal temperature is a concern, such as in some fertility evaluations.
This does not mean that scrotal hair causes infertility or that shaving will improve sperm counts on its own. Testicular temperature is influenced by many factors, including clothing, body position, ambient heat, and varicoceles. But the finding does highlight that hair on the scrotum is not purely cosmetic; it interacts with the thermal environment of the testes in a measurable way.
How Common Is Scrotal Grooming
Grooming pubic hair has become widespread. A nationally representative survey of men in the United States found that about half reported regular pubic hair grooming, with the rate declining steadily with age. Among men who groomed, the most common area was the hair above the penis (about 87%), followed by the scrotum at roughly two-thirds of groomers, and then the penile shaft.4PubMed Central. Prevalence and Motivation: Pubic Hair Grooming Among Men in the United States So while the scrotum is not the most commonly groomed area, a substantial number of men do trim or shave it.
A more recent probability-based survey from 2023 found that nearly half of U.S. men reported having removed pubic hair at some point, with about three in ten reporting removal within the past month. Sexual orientation, age, and sexual activity all predicted grooming behavior. Gay and bisexual men had nearly three times the odds of having ever groomed compared to heterosexual men, and men who were sexually active in the past month were also significantly more likely to groom.5PubMed Central. Pubic Hair Removal Practices and Motivations Among a Nationally Representative Sample of U.S. Men
The motivations are varied. Research into what drives men’s body hair removal found that social pressure, attitudes about appearance, and perceived similarity to peers who remove hair were all associated with the intention to groom. For pubic hair specifically, these social factors accounted for a substantial portion of men’s decision-making.6PubMed. A theory based examination of factors associated with male body hair removal Qualitative research has also noted that men frequently discuss groin shaving in terms of enhancing genital appearance, with discourse analysis of online forums finding that men frame hair removal as a way to make their genitals look larger or more aesthetically appealing.7Sexualities. ‘When there’s no underbrush the tree looks taller’: A discourse analysis of men’s online groin shaving talk
Grooming Injuries and Complications
The scrotum’s thin, loose, wrinkled skin makes it especially vulnerable to grooming injuries. A study examining emergency department visits related to pubic grooming injuries found that the number of incidents increased fivefold between 2002 and 2010. Razors were involved in about 83% of injuries, and lacerations were the most common type, accounting for roughly a third of cases. The vast majority of people were treated in the emergency department and sent home.8PubMed Central. Pubic hair grooming injuries presenting to U.S. emergency departments
Beyond cuts, common complications of scrotal grooming include razor burn, ingrown hairs (pseudofolliculitis), contact dermatitis from shaving products, and folliculitis, which is infection of the hair follicle. The scrotum’s warm, moist environment makes it more prone to bacterial colonization after microtrauma from shaving. Ingrown hairs on the scrotum can be particularly uncomfortable because the thin skin tends to become inflamed quickly, and the constant movement and friction in the area can delay healing.
For people who want to remove scrotal hair with less risk of cuts, electric trimmers with guards are generally safer than manual razors. Chemical depilatories (hair-removal creams) are another option, though the scrotal skin’s sensitivity means patch-testing is important to avoid chemical burns. Professional laser hair removal and electrolysis can provide longer-lasting results, but both require multiple sessions and carry their own risks on the thin scrotal tissue.
Does Grooming Affect STI Risk
This is an area where the evidence is genuinely mixed, and the headlines have sometimes outpaced the science. A large nationally representative study found that people who groomed their pubic hair had higher rates of self-reported sexually transmitted infections overall, with the strongest associations seen in “extreme groomers” (those who removed all pubic hair frequently) and skin-to-skin STIs like herpes and HPV.9Sexually Transmitted Infections. Correlation between pubic hair grooming and STIs: results from a nationally representative probability sample The researchers hypothesized that micro-abrasions from grooming might create entry points for pathogens, and that the grooming-STI link could also reflect that people who groom tend to have more sexual partners.
However, a study that tested for actual infections (gonorrhea and chlamydia) rather than relying on self-report found no evidence that extreme grooming increased the odds of these specific bacterial STIs.10PubMed Central. Association between pubic hair grooming and prevalent sexually transmitted infection among female university students The discrepancy matters. Studies based on self-reported STI history are vulnerable to recall bias and confounding by sexual behavior. When researchers actually tested participants and controlled for confounders, the grooming-STI connection faded.
The most sensible takeaway is that grooming itself probably does not dramatically change your STI risk, but freshly shaved or irritated genital skin may be more vulnerable to certain skin-transmitted infections in the short term. Avoiding sex immediately after aggressive grooming is reasonable general advice.
Pubic Hair Removal and Pubic Lice
One surprisingly clear relationship exists between grooming trends and a specific parasite: pubic lice. As pubic hair removal became mainstream over the past two decades, rates of pubic lice dropped dramatically. A study examining this trend found a strong correlation between the falling incidence of pubic lice infections and the rise of pubic hair removal, with a Pearson correlation of 0.97.11PubMed. Pubic lice: an endangered species? Pubic lice need coarse hair to cling to, and widespread removal of that habitat has made transmission far less common. Some researchers have half-jokingly called pubic lice an “endangered species.”
This is a case where an ecological relationship is straightforward: remove the habitat, and the organism that depends on it declines. It is probably the clearest documented health consequence of the pubic grooming trend, even though it was never the reason most people started grooming.
How Scrotal Hair Changes with Age
Like hair elsewhere on the body, scrotal hair can change significantly as you age. Some men notice that scrotal hair thins, lightens, or becomes patchier with time, a process sometimes called scrotal alopecia. Others experience the opposite, developing excessive scrotal hair (hypertrichosis). Both changes fall under the umbrella of age-related scrotal changes that also include increased wrinkling, skin laxity, and the development of angiokeratomas (small, dark vascular lesions).12PubMed Central. Scrotal Rejuvenation
The dermatology literature on this is thin, but a published review on scrotal rejuvenation noted that treatments for scrotal hair loss could hypothetically include topical minoxidil, oral finasteride, or even hair transplantation. For excess scrotal hair, depilatories, electrolysis, and laser treatments were suggested as options. These are largely theoretical proposals from a review paper, not established clinical protocols, so take them with appropriate skepticism. Most men who experience age-related changes in scrotal hair never seek treatment for it.
When Scrotal Hair Becomes a Surgical Problem
There is one medical context where scrotal hair causes genuinely significant problems: urethral reconstruction. When surgeons repair a condition called hypospadias (where the urethral opening is in an atypical position), they sometimes use skin flaps or grafts from nearby tissue, which can include hair-bearing scrotal or penile skin. If hair follicles end up inside the reconstructed urethra, they can grow hair into the urinary tract, causing recurrent infections, blockages, and stone formation around the trapped hairs.
One published case described a 66-year-old man who had undergone urethral reconstruction using skin grafts as a child, five decades earlier. He presented with burning urination and recurrent urinary tract infections. Examination revealed a urethral diverticulum with 12 to 15 hair follicles inside it and a narrowing of the urethra farther up. He required laser treatment to destroy the follicles.13PubMed Central. Laser epilation of luminal hair following skin graft urethroplasty for hypospadias: the hair snare
To prevent this complication, modern surgical practice prioritizes using non-hair-bearing tissue whenever possible. When hair-bearing skin must be used, preoperative hair removal with Nd:YAG laser has shown good results, as the laser penetrates deep enough to destroy follicles more reliably than older methods like electrolysis.14PubMed Central. Management of Urethral Hair Following Urethral Reconstruction: A Systematic Review for Evidence Synthesis This same challenge applies in genital gender-affirming surgeries, where scrotal or penile skin is used to construct a neovagina. Diode laser systems have become a mainstay for preoperative hair clearance in these procedures, offering a good balance of effectiveness and safety across different skin tones.15International Journal of Reconstructive Urology. Hair management for transgender genital surgery: A comparative review of techniques and implications for neovaginal and urethral health
Humans and Body Hair in Evolutionary Context
Humans are often described as “the naked ape,” but that framing is a little misleading. A comparative study measuring hair follicle density across primates found that humans actually have a hair follicle density similar to chimpanzees, both of which are significantly lower than macaques.16PubMed Central. Comparative evidence for the independent evolution of hair and sweat gland traits in primates The difference is not that we have fewer follicles; it is that most of our follicles produce only fine, short vellus hairs instead of the thick terminal hairs that cover other primates. The genital region is one of the few places where humans still grow conspicuously thick hair, likely because androgens override the default miniaturization that keeps hair elsewhere on the body fine and short.
Why pubic and scrotal hair persists in humans when we have lost thick hair almost everywhere else remains debated. Hypotheses include pheromone dispersal (the groin has a high density of apocrine glands), friction reduction during movement or sex, and visual signaling of sexual maturity. None of these explanations has been definitively proven, and the honest answer is that evolutionary biology does not have a consensus on the specific adaptive value of pubic hair in humans. It may simply be a byproduct of the androgen signaling system that has not been selected against strongly enough to disappear.