Waxing men’s groin hair vs shaving men’s pubic hair

To wax or to shave, that is the question. 

When it comes to a man’s pubic hair area, there are two main ways to get rid of the hair down there: wax it off or shave it off. 

There are benefits to both:

Shaving benefits

• Quick
• Easy
• Not painful
• Little prep
• More cost-effective

Waxing benefits

• Lasts longer
• Can be done DIY-style or you can have a professional do it (and make a spa day out of the experience, so bonus!)
• Removes dead skin cells which makes the area smooth and exfoliated

And there are risks to both:

Shaving risks

• Itchy
• Nicks or cuts
• Razor burn
• Ingrown hairs

Waxing risks

• Pain during waxing
• Redness
• Irritation
• Rashes
• Wax burns
• Ingrown hairs 
• DIY kits and waxing appointments cost more than razors and replacement blades ongoing 

The point of this article is not to persuade you one way or the other, but to inform you so you can make your own damn decision. Knowledge is power, men. 

Let’s talk about wax

When it comes to the groin area, a lot of guys ask if they should wax everything. By everything, they mean the bush, the shaft, and the berries. 

In our opinion, waxing works well for the pubic hair area, but when it comes to your testicles, we actually recommend shaving those. 

Let’s dive into what’s involved with waxing though so you can start to visualize why we recommend waxing for certain areas down there and not others. 

The waxing process involves four steps:

1. Melting hot wax 
2. Applying hot wax to your skin so it grabs onto any hair
3. Then before it fully cools, a piece of cloth is applied to the wax so it sticks to the cloth
4. And then once the wax hardens, your skin is pulled one way and the cloth is quickly ripped off the other way. 

Then repeat until all hair in the area is gone!

It’s basically like pulling off a series of Band-Aids on steroids. By ripping off the cloth stuck to the wax all the hair caught in the wax is pulled from the hair follicle. By pulling out the entire piece of hair from the root you’re going to be left with a super smooth surface. 

If wax is too hot or if it is left on the skin too long, something called skin lifting can occur and that’s not positive. Yes, it’s what you’re thinking, a layer of skin comes off with the hair. Not good. 

As you were reading the wax process above, odds are you probably winced or thought to yourself, whelp—that sounds like it would hurt. Yeah, it does. Waxing is fast, and the results last a lot longer than shaving, but no pain, no gain. 

So, do you really want to do that to your balls?

While the flat part of your man bush makes sense for waxing, the testicle area is full of really stretchy skin. Getting good results from waxing involves pulling your skin taught and then ripping off a cloth stuck to all the wax on your body and balls just don’t get that taut. 

Trust us, waxing your balls is bordering insanity. 

We developed a whole MANSCAPED™ line through a lot of trial and error. Yes, that means we’ve witnessed the unholy sounds a man makes when his balls get waxed. 

Waxing the bush, yes. Waxing the balls, no. 

We’ll also put in a disclaimer that you do not need to wax your bush. Being completely bare down there is a personal preference, and it’s not for everyone. If you think it’s right for you though, try it out. Get some opinions other than your own (in a legal way, please). 

Oh, we almost forgot, waxing is ALSO a great option for your hairy butt or other hairy body areas. If you’re going to wax, you might as well get all the pain out of the way in one session. A solid wax job has the potential to last more than three weeks, so we think that’s worth it. 

Waxing overtime also means your hair will be finer, softer, weaker, and less pigmented, meaning you’ll notice you will be smoother for longer and the regrowth won’t be as noticeable.  

Let’s talk about shaving

When it comes to shaving your bush, there’s a lot of surface area to tend to. 

You need a sharp, clean razor, and you will need to trim down that bush a lot in order to shave. Shaving your bush is similar to shaving your face. You can’t just start shaving a full bear with a razor. You need to get the hair short enough so that a razor is effective. It’s the same idea with your manly bush mane.

The steps to shaving your pubes are also actually quite similar to shaving your face (you’re just dealing with a slightly different area):

Go to your shower room

You’re going to be in an awkward position that you might have not been in before. You’re also getting ready to touch yourself, and we’ve heard that’s frowned upon in public spaces. Go to the bathroom and be prepared to spend a little time in there. 

Drop your drawers

You kind of need access to your groin area, so take 'em off. Take em’ all off. 

Prep thy space

Trimming pubic hair means a bunch of little hair bits are about to fall all over your bathroom floor. Nobody wants pubic hair slippers, so we recommend putting down a towel or better yet, putting down the MANSCAPED™ Magic Mat® (a disposable shaving mat that will catch everything you trim, and then you throw it away when you’re done). 

Spread ‘em 

There are a lot of dangling bits to a man’s anatomy, lots of skin, and lots of crevices down there. Get those legs positioned so you can see, feel, and work down there. Stand over your Magic Mat® and get ready. 

Grab your cordless electric pubic hair trimmer, The Lawn Mower® 4.0.

Nuff said on this one we think. The Lawn Mower® 4.0 is the best trimmer for groin and body grooming we can offer, and it’s awesome. Just awesome. 

Trim, trim, trim, trim

If this is your first time, you want to start by trimming a little off at a time. The Lawn Mower® 4.0 comes with a set of four adjustable guards, so start with the longest trim guard and go from there. Since you’re set on shaving everything with this process, you’re going to want to trim really close. Think about shaving your face. The hair needs to be short for you to shave it without pulling your hair. 

***Note: If you just want to trim and NOT shave your bush, all of this information is still relevant, but just don’t trim as short. You can choose how short your bush hair is and adjust the guards accordingly. When shaving after a trim, the hair needs to be really short.***

Now, hop in the shower

You need to rinse all the trimmed hair off your body and prep the groin area for full shaving glory. Plus it’s a good thing to just wash your man bits often. 

Wash, wash, wash (with soap and Crop Exfoliator™, our gentle scrub for the groin area).

Get all clean. This step should also be pretty clear. Good hygiene, men. Good hygiene. 

Coat your bush with MANSCAPED™ Crop Gel™, our clear lubricating shave gel.

A good shave requires a good shaving gel and Crop Gel™ is top-notch. Plus, we’ve made it clear for you so you can see everything. Convenient, eh?

Grab The Crop Shaver™, our specially designed three-blade groin razor.

The better the razor and the sharper and cleaner the razor blades, the better the shave. Do not go for a cheap option here, men. The Crop Shaver™ was designed for your groin area. It’s special. 

Shave in single, smooth strokes pulling the skin taut with one hand while using The Crop Shaver™ in the other.

If your razor blades are sharp one stroke is all you should need per section. 

Remember to rinse off your blades every few strokes so nothing builds up.

As you shave your razor blades are going to build up with hair which risks not giving you the cleanest shave, so pay attention. For your first time, we suggest rinsing out your razor under the shower water after every stroke just to be sure. 

As you’re feeling around, if you missed a spot, reapply the shave gel and gently shave over the same spot again.

Shaving over the same spot increases the risk of irritation and razor burn, so just be cautious. 

Go ahead and shave everything while you’re at it! Give your shaft a nice shave and give the boys a nice shave. 

Same technique, just different bits: pull the skin taut with one hand while using The Crop Shaver™ in the other.

Rinse and admire your work.

Well done, sir. Well done. 

Dry, dry, dry

Pat dry and air dry. Let the boys hang. DRY!

Refresh and protect with Crop Reviver®, our super cool patented ball toner and refresher formulation.

Just like you need to take care of a freshly shaved face, take care of your freshly shaved nether regions. 

Go forth and conquer! 

Note: For those of you shaving ALL your pubes for the first time, you’re definitely going to notice that underwear feels different. You don’t really think about it, but your underwear is touching your skin down there for the first time since you’ve gone through puberty. 

Shaving your man bush should probably be done every week (or maybe every few days) and you’re going to notice the same kind of stubbly thing going on down there like you do on your face after a shave. 

At the end of the day, the man bush stubble is a little too much for us, so if you want a smooth, hairless bush, we are leaning towards waxing. For your balls though, shaving is the way to go. 

If you can’t tell, we’re a super huge fan of TRIMMING the bush.

Shaving the balls and trimming the bush seems to be the ticket and the most popular option we’ve seen around the office. 

Verdict?

So, have you made up your mind which way you want to go when it comes to your bush hair and ball hair?

We’ve discussed a few different options today:

1. Full-out waxing 
2. Waxing the bush combined with shaving the balls
3. Full-out shaving 
4. Trimming the bush while shaving the balls
5. All the things (trim the bush, wax the butt, shave the balls, etc.)

There are pros and cons to each option, but long story short, the important thing is that you take care of your groin area. No section of pubic hair needs to be untrimmed or particularly long. The days of pubic mullets and oversized bushes are over (and we honestly do not know why that was even a thing in the first place once trimmers were invented). 

If you have not made up your mind, don’t sweat it. We just laid out five different routes. Your fork in the road has five paths. Try each of them out. See how you like each one. See how your partner reacts to each one. 

Take your male grooming destiny into your own hands.