Short answer
Any method that removes it is allowed. Shaving is the wording of the Sunnah for men, but trimming very short, creams, waxing and home laser all meet the aim of cleanliness. The area includes the hair around the private parts and around the back passage, and it should never be left more than 40 days.
Removing pubic hair is sunnah, ideally every week, and leaving it beyond forty days is makruh tahrimi. Shaving is best for men; trimming close, depilatory creams and other methods are permitted. For women any method is permitted, and some Hanafi texts mention plucking for them.
The four schools agree on this.
Explanation
The Prophet ﷺ named istihdad, removing the pubic hair with a razor, among the five practices of the fitrah (the natural way). Anas said the Companions were given a limit of forty nights for it, along with the nails, the armpits and the moustache. The four schools agree it is a sunnah and that the purpose is cleanliness.
- Shaving: the method named in the hadith, and the best for men.
- Scissors or clippers: allowed if you trim close to the skin. The aim is that the hair does not collect dirt, so leaving a long layer misses the point.
- Creams: allowed. The Hanafi books mention nurah, a depilatory paste used in their time.
- Waxing and laser: allowed, but only if you do it yourself or your spouse helps, because no one else may see this area.
Which area. The hair above and around the private parts, on the pubic mound, and between the thighs where it grows. Many scholars also recommend removing hair around the back passage, since it makes istinja (cleaning after the toilet) easier. You do not need to remove hair on the thighs or stomach.
How often. Weekly is best, and Friday is a good day; never past forty days. Wrap the hair and put it in the bin or bury it, rather than leaving it in a shared shower. For laser at a clinic and other body hair, see shaving or lasering body hair, and for nails, the Sunnah way of cutting nails.
The evidence
Quran, Surah Al-Baqara 2:222
وَيَسْـَٔلُونَكَ عَنِ ٱلْمَحِيضِ ۖ قُلْ هُوَ أَذًۭى فَٱعْتَزِلُوا۟ ٱلنِّسَآءَ فِى ٱلْمَحِيضِ ۖ وَلَا تَقْرَبُوهُنَّ حَتَّىٰ يَطْهُرْنَ ۖ فَإِذَا تَطَهَّرْنَ فَأْتُوهُنَّ مِنْ حَيْثُ أَمَرَكُمُ ٱللَّهُ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يُحِبُّ ٱلتَّوَّٰبِينَ وَيُحِبُّ ٱلْمُتَطَهِّرِينَ ﴿٢٢٢﴾
And they ask you about menstruation. Say, "It is harm, so keep away from wives during menstruation. And do not approach them until they are pure. And when they have purified themselves, then come to them from where Allah has ordained for you. Indeed, Allah loves those who are constantly repentant and loves those who purify themselves."
Allah loves those who keep themselves clean.
Sahih al-Bukhari 5889
Sahih... الفطرة خمس الختان والاستحداد ونتف الإبط ...
"Five things are part of the fitrah: circumcision, removing the pubic hair with a razor, plucking the armpits, clipping the nails and trimming the moustache."
Removing pubic hair is one of the practices of the natural way.
Sahih Muslim 258
Sahih... أن لا نترك أكثر من أربعين ليلة ...
"Anas said: a time limit was set for us for trimming the moustache, clipping the nails, plucking the armpits and shaving the pubic hair, that we not leave them more than forty nights."
Sets the outer limit of forty days for these acts of grooming.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Durr al-Mukhtar with Radd al-Muhtar, Kitab al-Hazr wa al-Ibaha, discussion of removing hair and cutting nails. Weekly removal is recommended and leaving it past forty days is disliked.
- al-Fatawa al-Hindiyya, Kitab al-Karahiyya, chapter on circumcision, hair and nails. Shaving, nurah and the methods for men and women.
- al-Majmu' (Nawawi), Kitab al-Taharah, chapter on the siwak and the practices of the fitrah. On the area that counts as pubic hair.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.