Hair removal for paps?

[ex-swaggerd.livejournal.com]

I'm curious. How many non-regular bikini shavers/waxers remove their pubes before a pap test?

Comments

[naath.livejournal.com]

Not me, fuzzy all the way.

[violentviolet09.livejournal.com]

NO


NOOOOO

sorry you said "wax" and it reminded me of my ~near~ trauma. eek.

i dont specifically shave before i see a gyn or get a test done, but im a frequent shaver so its usually already done.

[anowyn.livejournal.com]

I just trim up. I figure they've seen so many vaginas it's just routine for them, and if they're judging me because of my hair, well, I'm just grateful I can't read minds :)

[nickelshoe.livejournal.com]

Not a chance. My gynecologist works for me. It would be like getting a perm to eat at McDonalds.

[bloods-a-rover.livejournal.com]

LOL I was just thinking that! If my gynecologist has a problem with my pubes I need to find a different doc.

[nightmer.livejournal.com]

Perfectly said! XD

[frogs-n-turtles.livejournal.com]

Nope!

[sonarafaey.livejournal.com]

Never. I figure they see vulvas/vaginas of all shapes, sizes, colors, etc, so a little hair isn't going to be a big deal. I do shower and make sure everything is clean down there before I go, but that's it.

[princessmange.livejournal.com]

me XD I dont wax, but I shave and trim up extra good.

Last time I forgot, and I said "sorry its so messy down there, I didnt shave in a while" and the gyn goes
"I dont care, Im not here to look at how well shaven you are"
LMAO :so embarassed:

[archangelbeth]

Nope! When I was trimming, I trimmed as usual (and since that wasn't every day, then however trimmed it was depended on random chance). I might remember to snip down the current fuzz a little, but then again, I might not!

They've seen it all. I got more comment about my legs being shaven -- another thing I don't do everyday, so the doctor hadn't hit the random chance before of Smooth Legged Beth!

[frolicnaked.livejournal.com]

I might remember to snip down the current fuzz a little, but then again, I might not!

This is me too. I trim on occasion (every few months), and if my pap appointment nears the trimming "occasion," I have a tendency (but not a certainty) to make the trimming happen before the appointment rather than after.

[niki28.livejournal.com]

No, I try to stay trimmed but I don't put any extra effort in. With my last pregnancy though, I had trimmed using my husbands beard trimmer and I did the best I could given that I couldn't see over my belly button and didn't have a mirror that let me see my lower half. When I got undressed at the OB's I realized that I had shaved what looked like a mustache and goatee. I yelled at my husband for not telling me. I can only imagine what the doc thought!

[gryphonwing.livejournal.com]

The extent of my preparation is showering. :)

It's my body, they're my doctors, they deal with my body as-is.

[kansassatin.livejournal.com]

This.

[knittinggoddess.livejournal.com]

Yes, showering and ensuring that you're well-rinsed (externally) is a must.

Everything else? They don't really care. They've seen it all.

That said, if a trim or something would make you feel more relaxed and less self-conscious at the doc's, then go for it!

[misheymo.livejournal.com]

before i started getting laser hair removal i always trimmed up. but it was because i had a lot of hair.

[10acgirl.livejournal.com]

I never shave for a pap smear. I don't think the hair interferes with the test. I like a full bush but my boyfriend likes it trimmed so i "pruned" it. If it wasn't for him, i'd be jane from the jungle!

[dizziedumb.livejournal.com]

yes, me too!

[misspaigeb.livejournal.com]

I shave anyway, but I definitely wouldn't do it just for a pap smear.

[elfbert.livejournal.com]

I've only shaved it all off twice in my life, and once was just before a pap (which I'd completely forgotten about) and I was mortified that I'd have to see the doc while hair-free! Back then I had no idea that so many people chose to be that way and thought the doc might judge me on it.

Of course now I know that a. Loads of people do all sorts of wax/trim/topiary/jungle variations and b. the doc doesn't care.

Now I intend to trim, but generally never get around to it.

[tehfanglyfish.livejournal.com]

I shave regularly and I also used to be embarrassed for the doctor to see me completely bare as I, too, figured there would be some kind of judgment. Several different doctors have seen me this way though and the world hasn't ended. None of them really seem to care.

trigger for brief non-graphic mention of medical trauma

[hikerpoet.livejournal.com]

I never shave, but do trim. A visit may remind me it has been a while and I may neaten but I'm not concerned if I don't--as others said, they've seen everything!

Although I did admittedly have an "it figures!" moment recently. As mentioned, I do usually prefer to trim, but hadn't at the end of my last pregnancy this year because it is very difficult in that condition (see niki28's story!).
Then it was confirmed I needed a C-section (footling breech). I know OBs used to shave even before vaginal births and that is very rare now but I guess they usually still do before a surgery. But this OB doesn't like when it is done--he was like, "Eh, there is still really no strict reason to, and many people don't like having the nurse go to town [my words] with the trimmer right before surgery, and the prickly regrowth makes an uncomfortable recovery that much more uncomfortable, blah blah blah". I was like, "Cool, this guy is open-minded and enlightened and looking out for our comfort".
Fast forward to a week after. I end up getting a hematoma and my incision burst! I had to have visiting nurses come and pack the gaping wound for almost a month. Not ultimately serious insofar as long-term repercussions or risks, but messy. And that darn hair was soooooooo in the way while dressing was being changed constantly and with the very slow re-healing. I sorta wished I or they had shaved after all!

Re: trigger for brief non-graphic mention of medical trauma

[makale-83.livejournal.com]

Man that is really shitty I am sorry you went through that! :(

[sxdx.livejournal.com]

I shave for no person but myself, haha!

I had my baby with a big bush and did not care.

[thereshedances.livejournal.com]

Haven't done a pap smear yet but when it comes to visiting the gynaecologist, I'm all "ehh" with the hair. I used to be very ashamed of all the hair but now I'm not when visiting. If I am shaved/waxed, it depends on if I simply am (basically: during the summer, I wax more regularly). As someone with hirsutism, my gyn has seen me freshly waxed AND when I'm furry all over. They don't care :)

[faithful-summer.livejournal.com]

I trim. But I do that periodically for myself sometimes as well. I know the doctors don't care and have seen everything. It just makes *me* feel a little less awkward if I feel well-groomed beforehand.

[sabishii-kirito.livejournal.com]

This.

I also have a weird fear of rogue discharge getting clumped in my pubes, so I try to reduce that chance before going to a gyno.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

I am a nurse specialist in a uro-gynae clinic and, quite honestly, we don't care about your pubic hairstyle any more than we care about the one on your head.

[ardnaid.livejournal.com]

Sometimes I trim, most times I don't. Hell, usually when I go my legs are hairy too. I'm so lazy about shaving, lol. But whenever I apologize for the hairyness, she just says her job isn't to inspect my hair and she's seen it all before anyway.

When I do trim, it's more for my comfort so hair doesn't get pulled or in the way of her viewing.

[chamilet]

Nope, she's lucky if I've shaved my legs.

[fallconsmate.livejournal.com]

oh. oh my. i cant... *shudders*

i cant stand it if i havent shaved my legs. my pits, who cares. cooter? only if TheEngineer feels like doing the landscaping, since i have hand issues. but the legs? that's for *me* and me alone.

sensory issues suck.

[chamilet]

LOL. I used to care, but I'm old now.

[fallconsmate.livejournal.com]

i'm coming up on 49 and it still bothers me. :D

ah well. i can take a nice soak in the bubblytub and then shave, then sleep like a little spoiled poodle dog. ;)

[chamilet]

Maybe it would be worth it if I could do that...but not to struggle in the shower. I will only struggle in the shower if I'm going swimming, then everything gets the treatment.

[fallconsmate.livejournal.com]

we have a separate shower that is little bigger than a phonebooth. if i had to struggle with *that*, i'd doubt on shaving, too! :D

[dizziedumb.livejournal.com]

it depends how i'm feeling about my bush generally. i've gone with full bush when i let it go wild for a few years, i've gone totally shaved when i did that, and right now i keep it well manicured as a courtesy to my partner. they're professionals, and they see all sorts of things all the time. frankly it's the last thing on my mind when going for an exam!

[killertatertots.livejournal.com]

not me. for me, that would be making it into something it isnt. like sexualizing a medical procedure almost.

[thnidu.livejournal.com]

Funny, I only ever heard "pubes" mean "the pubic area/genitals", not the hair. That's what the "-ic" is for in "pubic hair": it makes "pubic" an adjective, so "pubic hair" = "hair on/around the pubes".

[ex-swaggerd.livejournal.com]

o.O Really? I've always heard it reference the hair, not the genitals themselves.