Crab Lice: Endangered Species? Blame it on Brazilian Bikini Waxes

A hair removal method that allows people to wear the tiniest bikini bottoms sans peeking pubic hair or unsightly leg hair is to be blamed for public lice becoming endangered species.

Bikini waxing was popularised in the 1990s by a Manhattan salon operated by seen Brazilian sisters, hence the reference to the South American county.

Basil Donovan, head of sexual health at the University of New South Wales's Kirby Institute noted that pubic lice used to be extremely common, but is now rarely seen because of the practice. A 2009 study by the East Carolina University said about 2 to 10 per cent of the human population suffer from public lice, known scientifically as Phthirus pubis.

Bloomberg reports that over 80 per cent of college students in the U.S. remove all or some of their pubic hair. This trend is replicated in many western countries.

As a result of the wide practice of pubic hair shaving, Australia's main sexual health clinic in Sydney has zero cases of women with pubic lice since 2008, while among males it has tumbled down to 80 per cent from 100 cases a year about a decade ago. This is because the practice has also caught on among men.

Until waxing and shaving become popular to remove public hair, catching the crab-like insect was one of the world's most contagious sexually transmitted infections that was usually treated with topical insecticides.

Since pubic lice reside in hair down under, particularly the groin area, clipping, waxing and shaving that private region destroys the habitat of pubic lice. As a result of the widespread practice, manufacturers of depilatory products such as Procter & Gamble and Reckit Benckiser Group enjoy large profits.

In 2012, the global market for depilatories was estimated at $4.69 billion, according to Euromonitor International, with an annual growth rate of 7.6 per cent the past 10 years. The dominant players are P&G, Reckitt, Slough and Energizer Holdings.

Euromonitor estimated sales of depilatory products will reach $5.6 billion by 2016.

Among the reasons cited for the international popularity of Brazilian waxing is the practice being mentioned in popular TV shows such as Sex and the City, explained Spring Cooper Robbins, senior lecturer and sexual health researcher at the University of Sydney.