Ah, male grooming. So much hair, so little time. Where and how much to trim seems to change faster than you can say “back wax.” But do women really care?
It is one of those weird conversations that guys might not discuss with one another, but most men do wonder: Bush, bare or somewhere in between?
A recent study by Remington asked 440 women in the U.S. what they thought about men’s body hair. While it’s important to remember that this data comes from a company hoping to sell grooming products, it’s pretty much on target with what we have gathered through our conversations with other women.
Most women absolutely prefer a clean backside. Mixed opinions surfaced surrounding chest hair: 43% of women like a hairy chest. When it comes to facial hair and, um, down below, 40-60% of women prefer these areas to be at least trimmed. (Curious about products? We found a good one: Panasonic Wet/Dry Body Shaver.)
I spoke with Michael Boroughs, a Fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital, who has studied male body hair removal since the late 90s. According to Boroughs:
In the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand, research has found that there’s a great amount of variance on how some women find hair to be part of a masculine ideal, and how other women find hair, depending on where it is, to be sort of unacceptable. There are several factors, such as the amount of hair and where it is.
In Boroughs’ opinion, it’s great that science and the media are having a conversation about why, where, and how much men are trimming things down. But no matter how many studies are conducted, the truth is that every woman will have her own thoughts about body hair (hers and yours). If you really want to know which parts she’d like to see waxed, trimmed, or left completely alone, you’re better off starting the conversation.
