Creating Pubic Art: Some of the Latest 'Dos (And How to Do Them)

by Deborah Driggs & Karen Risch

Do you have a private fashion sense? We'll bet you do. Or that you'd like to. Perhaps you've considered giving yourself a trim, maybe taking a little off the sides, or actually going all bare. You aren't alone: for hundreds of years, women have been primping their pubes. Before razors, before bikini waxes, before Nair, the ancient Greeks and Asians actually plucked their hair to shape it into an aesthetic ideal. All in the name of beauty!

Today we can achieve our own “aesthetic ideals” by using quicker, easier, less painful methods. And make no mistake about it: the state of our pubic hair—its shape, fragrance, texture, even color—makes a clear statement about us and our sensuality. It's a personal expression of our most private selves, not to mention incredibly sexy no matter whether we comb, condition, cut, shave, wax, or loop daisies in it.

Ready to try something new? Whether you decide to go nearly natural (a full, fluffy look) or totally bare (for maximum sensitivity) or anything in between, it should be a reflection of you…your preferences, your taste, your unique and private personality. Consult the following three options, excerpted from more than a dozen available in the eBook Hot Pink: The Girls' Guide to Primping, Passion, and Pubic Fashion. Whether going it alone or primping with a partner, express yourself and enjoy!

“Nearly Natural”

Description. Bare bikini line, but otherwise just as if Mother Nature had styled you herself.

Instructions. Shave or wax the hair in the crease of the leg and on the inner thigh, leaving the rest naturally full.

Recommendations. Use your imagination and enjoy your long, flowing locks. You can do a lot of preening for special occasions: tie bows, lace daisies, style with diamond-studded bobby pins… Experiment with shampoos and conditioners, or adorn yourself with your favorite flounces to create the look of a garden or treasure chest. One of the latest variations: fluffy on the mons (the visible V) but bare on the lower labia. It's the '70s up top and the '00s down below.

“Completely Bare” (a.k.a. “Slick,” “Smoothie,” “Sphynx,” and “Hollywood”)

Description. No hair anywhere.

Instructions. Take it off, take it all off!

Recommendations. If you have coarse or dense hair, this may be only a once-in-a-while style for you, or else you'll want to wax. Shaving the whole area every day could irritate both your skin and you, as could heavy regrowth, unless you're using one of the new battery-powered shavers, such as the Seiko Cleancut or the rechargeable BodyBare. Depilatories may be a good solution. Once you're there, cotton underwear, or nothing at all if you're wearing a dress and feeling free, feels the best. This style is especially suited to stick-on jewels, temporary tattoos, henna designs, even body paint. You have a bare canvas… create! And here's another popular variation: the “Bollywood” is bare with a henna design.

“Pubic Sculpture” or “Homage”

Description. Any intricate design, such as fruit (strawberry, peach) or shapes (heart, diamond, gift box with a bow), or an imitation of a famous person. There's the “Elvis” (sideburns with a tuft of hair on top) and the “Marilyn” (platinum blonde), among others. For a contemporary tribute, consider the “Beckham,” after the sexy Brit's Mohican, popular recently among Japanese World Cup fans.

Instructions. We recommend you do this with professional help, but if you must do it yourself, you can use a washable ink pen to outline your design, and be sure to crop the hair close first. If your design turns out lopsided or otherwise unrecognizable, you can always go bare for a while.

Recommendations. Start laughing. Consider people with signature features you'd like to install downstairs: Joan Crawford's arched eyebrows? Cher's silky black tresses? (Hair extensions, anyone?) Visit a salon and tell a professional exactly what you want. Ask about dying your hair, too, such as red for a strawberry, bright blue for Marge Simpson's bouffant, or powder blue for a Tiffany box, one of the more unusual hairstyles to hit Hollywood in recent memory.

A stencil can help you get lines straight and symmetrical designs close to matching. Whether you're shaving, waxing, or sugaring, you can create your own. Just follow these directions:

1. First, you need to find a design you like. Check out the clip art available in the free Body Art and Stenciling Kit that comes with our eBook Hot Pink: The Girls' Guide to Primping, Passion, and Pubic Fashion, browse Microsoft Word, or search online.
2. Print the design directly onto heavy-weight paper. (If your printer can't do that, print on regular paper and, using scissors, roughly cut out the design, leaving about one inch of white border (blank space) around it. Coat the back of the design with glue, then attach it to heavy paper or a laminating sheet and let dry.)
3. For a simple shape (such as a star), use an X-acto knife to cut around the edge of the design. Use a ruler or straight edge as a guide for cutting straight lines.
4. If you'll be applying a depilatory, use a laminating sheet. Peel off the protective back to expose the adhesive, then gently stick the stencil on your pubic hair. Put some petroleum jelly around the edges to “seal” it so the depilatory doesn't sneak under the stencil. When you're ready to remove the sticky stencil, lift carefully. If stuck, soak it off in a lukewarm bath.
5. Another option is a “relief,” where you remove hair from inside the design rather than outside of it. You need plentiful pubes for this. Just create a larger stencil piece, remove the design shape from the center to create a mask, and then remove the hair that pokes through the cut-out shape.

In addition to creating a new coiffure with your stencil, you and a lover can use it (or others) to decorate yourselves. Body painting can take on many moods: imaginative, silly, adventurous, romantic, reverent. And experimenting with different paintbrushes yields a variety of lovely sensations. There's a whole new world down there, waiting to be explored…and enjoyed.

Playboy Playmate Deborah Driggs recently co-wrote Hot Pink: The Girls' Guide to Primping, Passion, and Pubic Fashion with professional writer Karen Risch. Visit HotPinkBook.com for more about the book and to subscribe to the Hot Pink free monthly e-zine on all things pubic.

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