DEPILATION AND EPILATION OF THE INTIMATE ZONE: A COSMETIC TREND AND A MEDICAL RISK

Objective: To define preferences in terms of personal hygiene, the spread of agents and methods for depilation/ epilation of the intimate zone among women, as well as motivation for their use and the frequency of undesirable consequences and complications. Materials and methods: This was a population descriptive study that involved 1007 women aged 18–69 years (mean age 31.5 (5.8) years) who practiced depilation/epilation of the intimate zone. The investigators used a questionnaire consisting 28 response questions and variants. Results: Most (83.8%) of the respondents were aged 26–45 years, had a higher education (95.9%), were employed (83.6%), had a high income level (68.7%), and were married (66.3%). More than half of them did not have children (51.3%). The bulk of the respondents (90.2%) had one sexual partner in the last 6 months, lived a regular sexual life (62.1%), and used condoms (29.1%). Depilation/epilation was practiced for an average of 9.6 (6.1) years. Among the reasons that motivated the women to remove hair in the intimate area; comfort in everyday life held the lead (91.2%), benefits of having a sexual intercourse ranked next (77.0% in total), and hygienic practice occupied the third place (36.9%). More than half of women (52.2%) preferred to shave with a razor on their own; the latter was used, by alternating with some other method (26.3%), epilation was done using wax and/or thick sugar paste for hair removal (3.8%). Full depilation/epilation was carried out by 81.7% of women. Washing with water after a hair removal procedure was practiced by half (49.6%) of the respondents; one quarter (23.8%) applied nothing; the rest used disinfectants and emollients. After using a razor, 74.5% of respondents noted injuries (cuts). The spectrum and frequency of adverse events after the procedure were presented by dermatitis (53.8%), vulvar pruritus (22.9%), and folliculitis (10.4%), which often combined with each other. Conclusion: The practice of depilation/epilation in the intimate zone is widespread among Russian women who use more frequently self-shaving than other procedures, which causes a number of undesirable consequences. At the same time, only one quarter of women uses special means for their prevention. After depilation/epilation, it is reasonable to use a specialized agent for daily intimate care with activated glycyrrhizic and lactic acids (Epigen Intim gel), and in case of adverse events, anti-inflammatory, regenerating, and antipruritic agents (Epigen Intim spray). © A group of authors, 2022.