A pube is a single hair that grows in the genital region, typically appearing during puberty. The term is informal shorthand for “pubic hair,” which refers to the coarser, curlier hair that develops on and around the genitals and groin area in both males and females. Pubic hair serves several biological functions, from reducing friction to trapping scent signals involved in attraction.
Why Pubic Hair Is Different From Other Hair
Pubic hair looks and feels noticeably different from the hair on your head, and that’s not a coincidence. Under a microscope, pubic hair has a much thicker outer layer made up of more scales than scalp hair. Researchers believe this evolved as a defense mechanism against chemical irritation from urine and ammonia, which the genital area is regularly exposed to. The internal protein structure of pubic hair is also fundamentally different from scalp hair, which contributes to its coarser, wiry texture.
Pubic hair tends to be curly regardless of your ethnicity or the texture of your scalp hair. This curliness, combined with its coarseness, helps it form a natural cushion over the skin. It grows about half an inch per month and typically maxes out at one to two inches in length. That’s because it has a much shorter active growth phase than scalp hair, which can keep growing for two to eight years. Pubic hair’s growth phase is brief enough that it naturally stays short.
When Pubic Hair Develops
Pubic hair appears during puberty, driven by hormones produced by the adrenal glands. This process, called pubarche, usually begins between ages 8 and 13 in girls and 9 and 14 in boys, though it varies widely. Doctors track this development using a five-stage scale. In stage one, there’s no hair at all. Stage two brings fine, downy hair. By stage three, coarser hair starts to appear. Stage four fills in the triangular area over the pubic bone, and stage five extends slightly beyond that region onto the inner thigh.
Adrenal hormone production and the broader hormonal changes of puberty often happen around the same time, but they’re actually independent processes. Seeing pubic hair appear doesn’t necessarily mean all other aspects of puberty are underway.
What Pubic Hair Actually Does
Pubic hair reduces friction during physical activity and sexual contact, protecting the sensitive genital skin from irritation and small tears. It also acts as a barrier against bacteria and other pathogens that could otherwise reach broken skin more easily. Beyond protection, pubic hair traps pheromones, which are chemical signals your body produces that play a subtle role in sexual attraction and communication between partners.
The skin beneath pubic hair also hosts a community of microorganisms, primarily species of Staphylococcus and Corynebacterium, which are typical residents of moist skin. This microbiome helps maintain the skin barrier, modulates inflammation, and supports wound healing. Disrupting it through aggressive grooming can sometimes invite problems.
Grooming and Health Risks
Most adults groom their pubic hair to some degree. A nationally representative survey of over 7,500 people found that 74% reported grooming, with 84% of women and 66% of men doing so. The methods range from trimming to complete removal through shaving, waxing, or laser treatments.
Grooming isn’t risk-free, though. That same survey found that people who groomed were roughly 1.8 times more likely to report a history of sexually transmitted infections compared to non-groomers, even after accounting for age and number of sexual partners. The association was strongest for skin-based infections like herpes, HPV, and molluscum. People who removed all their pubic hair more than 11 times per year had 4.4 times the odds of these skin infections. The likely explanation is that shaving and waxing create tiny cuts and inflamed follicles that give pathogens an easier entry point.
Interestingly, people who groomed less frequently but still did so had about twice the odds of pubic lice compared to non-groomers, suggesting that occasional removal doesn’t provide the same lice-deterrent effect that either full hair or very frequent removal might.
Ingrown Hairs and Irritation
The most common problem associated with pubic hair is ingrown hairs, where a shaved or waxed hair curls back into the skin instead of growing outward. This creates red, sometimes painful bumps that can fill with pus and look like pimples. The condition is diagnosed just by appearance: a rash that shows up after hair removal, with visible bumps around the follicles and sometimes a hair visibly trapped beneath the skin’s surface.
If you get ingrown hairs frequently, the simplest fix is to stop shaving for a while. Symptoms may briefly worsen in the first few days before improving. When only a few hairs are affected, they can be gently freed with a clean needle. For persistent irritation, over-the-counter products containing salicylic acid or glycolic acid help by softening the skin and allowing trapped hairs to break through. Using electric clippers instead of a razor and leaving at least a millimeter of hair length significantly reduces the problem. Laser hair removal, typically requiring three to seven sessions, is the most effective long-term option for people who want to stay hair-free without recurring ingrown hairs.