How Often Should You Manscape? Based on Science

How often should you manscape

TL;DR: How often should you manscape? For manscaping in your pubic region, most men often do it once weekly or once monthly according to their preferences. For other body parts, you should manscape once every 2 to 4 weeks to keep it tidy.

Men’s grooming is an awesome healthy habit that every guy should adopt. Personal grooming is perfect to keep your hygiene, boost your confidence and gain more attraction.

The frequency of manscaping is a matter of personal preference. Some men prefer to go all-natural. Others like to go slightly stubbly or completely bare.

Also, there are individual variations like hair type, growth rate, and health conditions that play a significant role.

I tried here to take the scientific approach to let you know how often most men manscape based on reliable surveys and clinical studies.

Let’s get started!

N.B. Check my full list of ball trimmers to choose the right tool for this task.

Before discussing how often you should manscape, you need to know the growth rate of each body part.

How fast does body hair grow?

The hair on your head grows around 2 to 6 years while the body hair ( pubic hair, legs, arms, and underarm) has a faster cycle. It only takes from 30 to 45 days. This makes the body hair always shorter compared to the hair on your scalp.

Both the body hair and the hair on your head go through the same hair growth cycle. This cycle consists of 3 phases:

hair growth cycle
hair growth cycle
  1. Anagen- This is the active stage when the hair grows and the root of the hair divides rapidly. In this phase, the hair grows 1 cm every month. 
  2. Catagen- This is a short transition phase that features the end of active growth of hair. 
  3. Telogen- This is the rest phase where old hair detaches from hair follicles. New hair pushes the old hair and restarts the growth phase.

All these phases occur at the same time. You can have one strand in the anagen stage and another strand in the telogen stage.

Body hair growth rate
Body hair growth rate

As you can see, the duration of each phase varies from one body region to another. If you love the numbers like me, here are some interesting stats:

  • Your entire body has around 5 million hair follicles.
  • Men’s hair is faster to grow compared to women’s hair thanks to testosterone.
  • The longer the anagen phase, the longer your hair can grow
  • Eyebrows have the lowest daily growth rate (0.16 mm) followed by leg hair (0.21 mm).
  • Your hair grows ½ inch every month. That means 6 inches every year.
  • Body hair has much shorter growth cycles than the hair on your head ( 2-6 years in anagen phase). That means that it has much more room to grow compared to the hair in the other body regions. 
  • Pubic hair and eyebrows have the shortest hair growth cycle. 70% of the hair in the crotch area is in the telogen phase and only 30% is in the anagen phase.
  • Technically, armpit hair, pubic hair, and facial hair are the same type. It’s known as “ terminal hair”. The maximum length of pubic hair and armpit hair would be 6 inches.

Generally, the hair growth rate relies on many factors such as:

  • Age
  • Gender
  • Vitamins and minerals like vitamins B5, B6, A, E, C. Also Iodine, Zinc, and Iron are vital for healthy hair.
  • Blood circulation.
  • Climate.
  • Exercise.
  • Stress levels.
  • Diet.
  • Genetics.

Do I Need to Manscape Every Day?

The short answer is no. You don’t need to manscape every day. Trimming your body every day is an intimidating idea. Most men have only one manscaping session every 1 to 4 weeks. So, you should stick to a consistent routine to minimize your maintenance time.

Only 1% of men shave their pubic hair daily. Also, 46.63% of men have injuries due to manscaping. The probability of experiencing itching after shaving your nether region is 80%. That’s what makes manscaping daily an annoying experience. 

How often should you manscape? (In details)

Manscaping has two definitions; one general and another specific one. According to dictionary.com, manscaping (of a man) is to remove unwanted body hair other than scalp hair by waxing, shaving, etc.

Yet, the Urban Dictionary defines manscaping for a guy as to trim his pubic hair or to style it fashionably.

We are going to take the general approach and determine how often you should groom every body region other than the head.

How often should you shave your pubes?

50% of men do pubic hair grooming regularly. 35% of men shave their pubes weekly and 42% commit to shaving monthly. However, 13% of guys manscape their pubic hair less than one time per month or prefer to go natural. Also, the pubic hair growth cycle takes 30 to 44 days with 70% of the hair in the resting phase.

So, shaving or trimming your pubic hair once every 1 to 4 weeks is the optimal option. The exact frequency comes down to your personal preference and your manscaping style. 

That being said, if you need to shave less often, go hairless using a depilatory cream, wax, or laser hair removal. My favorite phenomenal solution is to use a hair minimizer like Keramene Body Hair Minimizer to reduce your body hair density and your shaving frequency as result.

If you have sensitive skin or ingrown hair risk, one manscaping session per month is more than enough. You need to avoid a safety razor as it is more likely to cause irritation. Shave with the grain using a delicate beard trimmer or body groomer and shaving cream (wet shaving).

overgrown coarse pubic hair
Unruly hair down there

N.B. Check my comparison article about the most trending pubic hair trimmers, Manscaped vs Meridian trimmers. Also, you can read my full meridian shaver review from here.

In case that’s your first time or you have an overgrown forest down there, you may use scissors to cut the hair to a suitable length that the pubic hair trimmer can handle. So you can minimize tugging and pulling. Besides, you need to manscape more often to decrease the upkeep time.

Pro tip: Remember to keep your pubes well-trimmed before a date. You need to be always prepared.

Now, we will go more granular and talk about balls in particular.

How often should you shave your balls?

Balls hair often tends to grow slower than the rest of pubic hair. If you want hairless or clean-shaven balls, you need to do it frequently. But, if you prefer well-trimmed balls, you should shave them once a week or once every couple of weeks.

It’s worth mentioning that the hair on the shaft also grows less quickly than the hair above the penis. Yet the balls’ hair growth rate is still lower.

How often should you shave your chest?

On average, chest hair grows up to 1 inch and stops. So, if keeping chest hair well-trimmed is your goal, minimal upkeep will be needed. Yet, if you prefer a hairless style, you need to shave your chest every 3 to 5 days.

How often should you shave your armpits?

Armpits’ hair grows around 0.27 mm every day. Yet, it doesn’t grow forever. So, it’s advised to trim or shave your armpits every 2 to 4 weeks.

Shaving your underarm hair would make you sweat less which means less body odor.

The growth cycle of the hair under the armpits lasts for 7 months with 70% of hair in the resting phase.

How often should you shave your legs?

For women, you should shave your legs every 1 or 3 days to maintain them smooth. Most men have no interest in shaving their legs unless there is a strong reason like a leg injury. If you are a guy who likes to trim his legs, you can do it once every 2 to 4 weeks with a good body trimmer.

How often should I shave my nose hair and ear hair?

It’s advised to shave your nose hair and ear hair once every two weeks. That should keep them at a manageable length. Remember to do it regularly with the right nose or ear electric trimmer.

How to slow down body hair growth?

Shaving is not recommended if you need to slow down your body hair growth. It only removes the apparent part of the hair. Body hair removal techniques like waxing, sugaring, and depilatory creams are your best bet.

FAQs

Why does my pubic hair hurt when it’s long?

There are plenty of reasons to feel that your pubic hair hurts when it’s long. Having ingrown hair, scabies, pubic lice, or sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are among the most common causes.

Does pubic hair fall out with age?

The aging process involves the slowing of the speed of hair growth and hair loss. Expect your hair to turn grey and be thinner as you age. Pubic hair is no exception.

Do Pubes grow back faster after shaving?

No, pubes don’t grow faster after shaving. When you cut hair, it has a blunt tip. This tip makes it more noticeable and this gives you the perception that pubic hair grows faster.

How many pubic hairs do you lose a day?

On average, you lose from 50 to 100 hairs every day. You may not notice them as most of the lost pubic hair ends up in the urinal.

Body grooming timeline (conclusion)

  • Shaving or trimming pubic hair: Every one to four weeks.
  • Shaving or trimming armpits: Every two to four weeks.
  • Shaving chest hair: Every three to five days.
  • Trimming leg hair: Every two to four weeks
  • Trimming nose and ear hair: Every two weeks

More Grooming Coverage

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