There's a trend that has declared the bush is back. But for some of us, it never left.
Growing hair down there is really more of a personal preference than a fashion statement. And if we're honest, women have been doing it since the beginning of time. While I have yet to embrace this movement that still has dozens of ladies tossing their razor and ghosting the woman who does her Brazilian (I personally like a clean cut down there), if you're Team Bush, there are a few things you should consider making sure it's good to go… or, I guess grow.
Keep It Soft
Just like going natural, deciding to grow out your pubic hair is a lot easier said than done. While we like to think it's as simple as not shaving, there's a lot more to think about, sis. For starters, do you really want it to be rockin rough and tough? Just because you have a bush doesn't mean it can't be soft. Thankfully, there are actually products out there like Fur Oil that keep it silky and smooth. You can also take on regular routines like using hair conditioner (that doesn't have any flavor, alcohol, or fragrance), and of course staying hydrated.
Get That Shape Up
Okay, so it's not as critical as getting a shape up as if you were rocking a fade, but if you do want to keep your bush looking nice and neat, it might be a good idea to at least trim it every once in a while. No, it won't ever be stuntin' Rapunzel status, and it's definitely all about your preference. If you decide to shape it, you can go to a pro or save your coins and take care of it right in your bathroom. Feel free to use a trimmer, a pubic hair clipper, or even shears for your hair. Whatever you decide, we can all agree that down there is your sanctuary, so be sure to sanitize and clean everything before and after your grooming session.
Easy On The Products, Boo
Let's not throw off that pH balance. While it might be fun to test out new products and see how your hair down there responds, keep in mind it's not the hair on your head. It's much more fragile and attached to an even more fragile part of your body. I think it's a great idea to determine what works best for you and your body. And sometimes that can only be done through trial and error. But once you find a handful of your go-tos, use them wisely and try not to go all willy nilly. Be smart in your discovery of what works best for you and what you do and don't like, eliminating any products as needed.
Give It Some Room, Y’all
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Another tip in keeping your pubic hair maintained is being sure to give it breathing room often. And it goes beyond that liberating moment when you take off your pants as soon as you get home from work. (But don't that feel good, though?) I know you got it and you want to flaunt it but wearing looser clothes every once in a while is actually a great way to let your pubic hair get some much needed breathing space. As much as we love sexy underwear, thongs (are we still blaming Sisqo?), and whatnot, the healthiest underwear for your pubic hair are the cotton ones as they don't sport synthetic fabrics.
Prevent That Itch
Since you have more hair down there, your vagina could be prone to more itching. But of course there's a fix for that too. Using anti-fungal creams like Gold Bond, specialty vaginal creams such as Vagisil, and anti-itch and burn products like Cortizone (I think most of us can attest to spotting at least one of these tubes in our home at all times) regularly can help prevent any excessive and uncomfortable itching and evenchafing, which none of us are fans of. If these basics don't do the trick, you don't have to take on the big chop and shave it all off. There are more intense options out there for you like CeraVe's Hydrocortisone Anti-Itch cream.
Exfoliation Is The Key
We've all not only experienced ingrown hairs but have given in to the temptation to pick them. If you say you've never done that, you're lying (just kidding). But on a serious note, while we've always heard that it's vital to exfoliate our face, it's also vital to keep our area down there exfoliated as well. This can help prevent or at least reduce ingrown hairs that might try to fight their way through. Instead of using tweezers to show them who's the boss, try a sugar scrub, toner, or even an exfoliating pad. This will get rid of all that dead skin that's trying to stop your vagina from being great. It also strips out any unhealthy bacteria from your hair follicles, which is clearly a major win.
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Featured image by Getty Images
- Care For Pubic Hair Down There - xoNecole: Women's Interest, Love, Wellness, Beauty ›
- Guide To Pubic Hair Mainenance & Grooming - xoNecole: Lifestyle, Culture, Love, Wellness ›
- How Do You Shape Your Bush? - YouTube ›
- The Full Bush Is the New Brazilian! How to Transition Like a Pro ›
- 12 Reasons To Rock A Full Bush ›
- How To Grow Out Pubic Hair ›
- How To Landscape Pubic Hair Without Upsetting Your Vagina ›
- The Best Ways to Keep Your Pubic Hair in Check ›
- The Smart Girl's Guide to Grooming Your Pubic Hair ›
- How To Take Care of Your Pubic Hair | Teen Vogue ›
- How to Trim Your Pubic Hair (with Pictures) - wikiHow ›
- How To Care For Your Pubic Hair | Vaginal Health | THINX Blog ›
RELATED
So, we handpicked one hundred It Girls who embody that palpable It Factor moving through us as young Black women, the kind of motion lighting up the world both IRL and across the internet.
It Girl 100 became xoNecole’s most successful program, with the hashtag organically reaching more than forty million impressions on Instagram in just twenty-four hours. Yes, it caught on like wildfire because we celebrated some of the most brilliant and influential GenZennial women of color setting trends and shaping culture. But more than that, it resonated because the women we celebrated felt seen.
Many were already known in their industries for keeping this generation fly and lit, but rarely received recognition or flowers. It Girl 100 became a safe space to be uplifted, and for us as Black women to bask in what felt like an era of our brilliance, beauty, and boundless influence on full display.
And then, almost overnight, it was as if the rug was pulled from under us as Black women, as the It Girls of the world.
Our much-needed, much-deserved season of ease and soft living quickly metamorphosed into a time of self-preservation and survival. Our motion and economic progression seemed strategically slowed, our light under siege.
The air feels heavier now. The headlines colder. Our Black girl magic is being picked apart and politicized for simply existing.
With that climate shift, as we prepare to launch our second annual It Girl 100 honoree list, our team has had to dig deep on the purpose and intention behind this year’s list. Knowing the spirit of It Girl 100 is about motion, sauce, strides, and progression, how do we celebrate amid uncertainty and collective grief when the juice feels like it is being squeezed out of us?
As we wrestled with that question, we were reminded that this tension isn’t new. Black women have always had to find joy in the midst of struggle, to create light even in the darkest corners. We have carried the weight of scrutiny for generations, expected to be strong, to serve, to smile through the sting. But this moment feels different. It feels deeply personal.
We are living at the intersection of liberation and backlash. We are learning to take off our capes, to say no when we are tired, to embrace softness without apology.
And somehow, the world has found new ways to punish us for it.
In lifestyle, women like Kayla Nicole and Ayesha Curry have been ridiculed for daring to choose themselves. Tracee Ellis Ross was labeled bitter for speaking her truth about love. Meghan Markle, still, cannot breathe without critique.
In politics, Kamala Harris, Letitia James, and Jasmine Crockett are dragged through the mud for standing tall in rooms not built for them.
In sports, Angel Reese, Coco Gauff, and Taylor Townsend have been reminded that even excellence will not shield you from racism or judgment.
In business, visionaries like Diarrha N’Diaye-Mbaye and Melissa Butler are fighting to keep their dreams alive in an economy that too often forgets us first.
Even our icons, Beyoncé, Serena, and SZA, have faced criticism simply for evolving beyond the boxes society tried to keep them in.
From everyday women to cultural phenoms, the pattern is the same. Our light is being tested.
And yet, somehow, through it all, we are still showing up as that girl, and that deserves to be celebrated.
Because while the world debates our worth, we keep raising our value. And that proof is all around us.
This year alone, Naomi Osaka returned from motherhood and mental health challenges to reach the semifinals of the US Open. A’ja Wilson claimed another MVP, reminding us that beauty and dominance can coexist. Brandy and Monica are snatching our edges on tour. Kahlana Barfield Brown sold out her new line in the face of a retailer that had been canceled. And Melissa Butler’s company, The Lip Bar, is projecting a forty percent surge in sales.
We are no longer defining strength by how much pain we can endure. We are defining it by the unbreakable light we continue to radiate.
We are the women walking our daily steps and also continuing to run solid businesses. We are growing in love, taking solo trips, laughing until it hurts, raising babies and ideas, drinking our green juice, and praying our peace back into existence.
We are rediscovering the joy of rest and realizing that softness is not weakness, it is strategy.
And through it all, we continue to lift one another. Emma Grede is creating seats at the table. Valeisha Butterfield has started a fund for jobless Black women. Arian Simone is leading in media with fearless conviction. We are pouring into each other in ways the world rarely sees but always feels.
So yes, we are in the midst of societal warfare. Yes, we are being tested. Yes, we are facing economic strain, political targeting, and public scrutiny. But even war cannot dim a light that is divinely ours.
And we are still shining.
And we are still softening.
And we are still creating.
And we are still It.
That is the quiet magic of Black womanhood, our ability to hold both truth and triumph in the same breath, to say yes, and to life’s contradictions.
It is no coincidence that this year, as SheaMoisture embraces the message “Yes, And,” they stand beside us as partners in celebrating this class of It Girls. Because that phrase, those two simple words, capture the very essence of this moment.
Yes, we are tired. And we are still rising.
Yes, we are questioned. And we are the answer.
Yes, we are bruised. And we are still beautiful.
This year’s It Girl 100 is more than a list. It is a love letter to every Black woman who dares to live out loud in a world that would rather she whisper. This year’s class is living proof of “Yes, And,” women who are finding ways to thrive and to heal, to build and to rest, to lead and to love, all at once.
It is proof that our joy is not naive, our success not accidental. It is the reminder that our light has never needed permission.
So without further ado, we celebrate the It Girl 100 Class of 2025–2026.
We celebrate the millions of us who keep doing it with grace, grit, and glory.
Because despite it all, we still shine.
Because we are still her.
Because we are still IT, girl.
Meet all 100 women shaping culture in the It Girl 100 Class of 2025. View the complete list of honorees here.
Featured image by xoStaff
Kayla Nicole says she wore a dress that was once worn by Braxton herself for the Halloween costume. “It’s not a secret Toni is more on the petite side. I’m obsessed with all 5’2” of her,” she tells xoNecole via email. “But I’m 5’10'' and not missing any meals, honey, so to my surprise, when I got the dress and it actually fit, I knew it was destiny.”
The episode was the perfect way for the multihyphenate to take control of her own narrative. By addressing the viral moment on her own platform, she was able to stir the conversation and keep the focus on her adoration for Braxton, an artist she says she grew up listening to and who still makes her most-played playlist every year. Elsewhere, she likely would’ve received questions about whether or not the costume was a subliminal aimed at her ex-boyfriend and his pop star fiancée. “I think that people will try to project their own narratives, right?” she said, hinting at this in the episode. “But, for me personally – I think it’s very important to say this in this moment – I’m not in the business of tearing other women down. I’m in the business of celebrating them.”
Kayla Nicole is among xoNecole’s It Girl 100 Class of 2025, powered by SheaMoisture, recognized in the Viral Voices category for her work in media and the trends she sets on our timelines, all while prioritizing her own mental and physical health. As she puts it: “Yes, I’m curating conversations on my podcast The Pre-Game, and cultivating community with my wellness brand Tribe Therepē.”
Despite being the frequent topic of conversation online, Kayla Nicole says she’s learning to take advantage of her growing social media platform without becoming consumed by it. “I refuse to let the internet consume me. It’s supposed to be a resource and tool for connection, so if it becomes anything beyond that I will log out,” she says.
On The Pre-Game, which launched earlier this year, she has positioned herself as listeners “homegirl.” “There’s definitely a delicate dance between being genuine and oversharing, and I’ve had to learn that the hard way. Now I share from a place of reflection, not reaction,” she says. “If it can help someone feel seen or less alone, I’ll talk about it within reason. But I’ve certainly learned to protect parts of my life that I cherish most. I share what serves connection but doesn’t cost me peace.
"I refuse to let the internet consume me. It’s supposed to be a resource and tool for connection, so if it becomes anything beyond that I will log out."
Credit: Malcolm Roberson
Throughout each episode, she sips a cocktail and addresses trending topics (even when they involve herself). It’s a platform the Pepperdine University alumnus has been preparing to have since she graduated with a degree in broadcast journalism, with a concentration in political science.
“I just knew I was going to end up on a local news network at the head anchor table, breaking high speed chases, and tossing it to the weather girl,” she says. Instead, she ended up working as an assistant at TMZ before covering sports as a freelance reporter. (She’s said she didn’t work for ESPN, despite previous reports saying otherwise.) The Pre-Game combines her love for pop culture and sports in a way that once felt inaccessible to her in traditional media.
She’s not just a podcaster, though. When she’s not behind the mic, taking acting classes or making her New York Fashion Week debut, Kayla Nicole is also busy elevating her wellness brand Tribe Therepē, where she shares her workouts and the workout equipment that helps her look chic while staying fit. She says the brand will add apparel to its line up in early 2026.
“Tribe Therepē has evolved into exactly what I have always envisioned. A community of women who care about being fit not just for the aesthetic, but for their mental and emotional well-being too. It’s grounded. It’s feminine. It’s strong,” she says. “And honestly, it's a reflection of where I am in my life right now. I feel so damn good - mentally, emotionally, and physically. And I am grateful to be in a space where I can pour that love and light back into the community that continues to pour into me.”
Tap into the full It Girl 100 Class of 2025 and meet all the women changing game this year and beyond. See the full list here.
Featured image by Malcolm Roberson