Thanks To Brazilian Waxes, Crabs Are an Endangered Species

When salons began ripping the hair out of follicles on women’s labia and anuses until their privates were completely bald, they probably never knew they were contributing to the fight against one of the most contagious sexually transmitted infections: pubic lice. However, doctors are linking Brazilian bikini waxes with the “severe depletion of crab louse populations.”

Doctors in the UK began to notice a decline in the cases of pubic lice, as cases of other STIs increased. A 2003 study of STIs, conducted in Australia, “found pubic lice was the most common symptom-causing ailment, with at least a third of people experiencing an infestation at some point in their life.” But Sydney’s main sexual health clinic has recently reported that it hasn’t seen a woman with crabs since 2008, while male cases have fallen about 80% in the past decade. This data, experts have pointed out, coincides with the rise in popularity of pubic hair removal.

Ian F. Burgess, a medical entomologist with Insect Research & Development Ltd. in Cambridge, England calls its “an environmental disaster in the making for this species.”