Editing Hair removal (section)

===Medical===
[[File:Backhair.jpg|thumb|Very pronounced upper body hair growth, probably [[hypertrichosis]], on an adult male.]]

The body hair of surgical patients is often removed beforehand on the skin surrounding [[surgery|surgical sites]]. Shaving was the primary form of hair removal until reports in 1983 showed that it may lead to an increased risk of infection. <ref>{{Cite web|title=The Lancet, 11 June 1983, Volume 321, Issue 8337 - Originally published as Volume 1, Issue 8337, Pages 1291-1344|url=https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/issue/vol321no8337/PIIS0140-6736(00)X7101-2|access-date=2021-10-12|website=www.thelancet.com}}</ref> [[Hair clippers#Electric hair clippers|Clippers]] are now the recommended pre-surgical hair removal method.<ref>{{Cite web|title=SSI PREVENTION – PATIENT PREPARATION: BATHING AND HAIR REMOVAL|url=https://www.who.int/infection-prevention/countries/surgical/ssi-prevention.pt.prep.fact.sheet.pdf?ua=1|website=World Health Organisation}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.texmed.org/Template.aspx?id=4743 |title=Clip, Don't Nick: Physicians Target Hair Removal to Cut Surgical Infections |access-date=2007-05-14 | vauthors = Ortolon K |date=April 2006 |magazine=[[Texas Medicine]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011095659/http://www.texmed.org/Template.aspx?id=4743 |archive-date=2007-10-11}}</ref> A 2021 [[systematic review]] brought together evidence on different techniques for hair removal before surgery. This involved 25 studies with a total of 8919 participants. Using a razor probably increases the chance of developing a surgical site infection compared to using clippers or hair removal cream or not removing hair before surgery.<ref name=":1">{{cite journal | vauthors = Tanner J, Melen K | title = Preoperative hair removal to reduce surgical site infection | journal = The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews | volume = 2021 | issue = 8 | pages = CD004122 | date = August 2021 | pmid = 34437723 | pmc = 8406791 | doi = 10.1002/14651858.CD004122.pub5 | collaboration = Cochrane Wounds Group }}</ref> Removing hair on the day of surgery rather than the day before may also slightly reduce the number of infections.<ref name=":1" />

Some people with [[trichiasis]] find it medically necessary to remove ingrown eyelashes.<ref>{{cite magazine| vauthors = Bailey R |date=June 6, 2011|title=Does going 'against the grain' give you a better shave?|url=https://www.menshealth.com/uk/style/grooming/a748060/grooming-myth-8/|magazine=[[Men's Health]]|access-date=June 3, 2019}}</ref>

The shaving of hair has sometimes been used in attempts to eradicate [[lice]] or to minimize [[body odor]] due to the accumulation of odor-causing [[micro-organism]]s in hair. In extreme situations, people may need to remove all body hair to prevent or combat infestation by [[lice]], [[fleas]] and other parasites. Such a practice was used, for example, in [[Ancient Egypt]].<ref>{{Cite journal| vauthors = Kenawy M, Abdel-Hamid Y |date=January 2015|title=Insects in Ancient (Pharaonic) Egypt: A Review of Fauna, Their Mythological and Religious Significance and Associated Diseases|journal=Egyptian Academic Journal of Biological Sciences. A, Entomology|publisher=Egyptian Society of Biological Sciences|volume=8|issue=1|pages=15–32|doi=10.21608/eajbsa.2015.12919|issn=1687-8809|via=Academic Search Complete|doi-access=free}}</ref>

It has been suggested that an increasing percentage of humans [[Body grooming|removing]] their pubic hair has led to reduced [[crab louse]] populations in some parts of the world.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Armstrong NR, Wilson JD | title = Did the "Brazilian" kill the pubic louse? | journal = Sexually Transmitted Infections | volume = 82 | issue = 3 | pages = 265–266 | date = June 2006 | pmid = 16731684 | pmc = 2564756 | doi = 10.1136/sti.2005.018671 }}</ref><ref>Bloomberg: [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-01-13/brazilian-bikini-waxes-make-crab-lice-endangered-species-health.html Brazilian bikini waxes make crab lice endangered species], published 13 January 2013, retrieved 14 January 2013</ref>