‘Brazillians' and other types of pubic hair removal have become increasingly popular in recent years, however a new study suggests that these may increase a person's risk of developing a viral infection of the skin.

The infection is called molluscum contagiousum and in the past, it was only associated with children. It is passed easily between them, for example through sharing towels or clothes. However among adults, it can also be passed through sex.

Molluscum contagiosum appears as small, flesh-coloured or pink spots on the skin. These are sometimes mistaken for warts. When found in children, they can appear on the chin, chest, abdomen, face, legs, and arms. When it occurs in adults, it usually appears on the genital area, inner thighs and lower abdomen.

According to French researchers, historically, pubic hair was removed for cultural or religious reasons. However in recent decades, it has become fashionable for both women and men to remove it for aesthetic reasons.

The researchers set out to determine whether a rise in molluscum contagiousum cases among adults was linked to this type of hair removal, as opposed to through sex. They looked at people attending a private skin clinic in France between January 2011 and March 2012.

They found 30 cases of the skin infection - six women and the remainder men. Among these, almost all had undergone pubic hair removal. Seven in 10 opted for shaving, while the rest had it waxed or clipped.

"As the molluscum contagiousum can spread relatively easily by self infection, such as scratching, hair removal might also facilitate transmission as a result of the micro trauma it causes to the skin," the French team concluded.

They added that the reasons for wanting to remove pubic hair range from ‘increased sexual desire to an unconscious desire to simulate an infantile look'.

Details of these findings are published in the journal, Sexually Transmitted Infections.