In the mid summer heat, bikinis emerge. On the beach. At the pool. On city rooftops. Nothing motivates a woman more to get in shape than bikini season. Yet as bikinis shrink to bare more, women seek more drastic means to remove unwanted hair. Shaving, waxing, electrolysis, laser removal, depilating creams. It's never enough as bikini lines change as rapidly as the fashions industry dictates. Unfortunately Mother Nature has not caught up to shape female pubic hair to fit modestly beneath a teeny weenie bikini. What's a woman to do?

First, you must understand how hormones affect your bikini line. Early in puberty, the first hairs sprout below the waist under the influence of adrenal hormones. Adrenal DHEA surges well before the pubescent ovaries wake up. DHEA is largely responsible for body hair distributed in female proportions. (DHEA is also responsible for male body hair as it easily converts to testosterone.) The pubic line is fully mature by the age of 25... which is why teenagers can often get away with much smaller bikinis.

After puberty, the ovaries take over to hormonally direct hair growth. It's not too much hormones that makes your bikini line out of control; it's the imbalance of estrogen and testosterone. Estrogen causes the liver to create sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG). SHBG handcuffs testosterone. Only free testosterone unbound by SHBG acts on the skin and hair follicles. Testosterone influences oil production in the skin and male pattern hair growth. The more unbound testosterone the wider the pubic line, the oilier the skin, the more acne, the more unwanted hairs sprouting on female chins and chests.

Women of different ethnicities have different natural bikini lines. It matters where on your skin you have testosterone receptors that largely dictate where the hair will show up. While body hair grows under the influence of testosterone, scalp hair is largely influenced by estrogen.

Hair removal is often accompanied by irritating rashes. Washing the area before and after with a tea tree oil based soap can decrease the bacteria on the skin to prevent folliculitis and razor burn.

If your bikini line is unmanageable seek a hormonal evaluation from a qualified health practitioner. She can help balance your hormones and advise the best hair removal technique for you.

Naturally balancing your estrogen to testosterone can be accomplished through bio-identical hormones, nutritional, and herbal therapies.

May you enjoy your beautiful female form this lovely summer.