• [Dailystar Icon]
• News
• Exclusives

'Grim' history behind the merkin that concealed horror 15th century health condition

Kim Kardashian's hairy thong broke the internet last week after she launched the SKIMS product. But there's more than what meets the eye when it comes the modern merkin

[Kim Kardashian]

Kim Kardashian has reminded us of the merkin - let's take a brief look back in time (Image: Getty Images)

The word 'merkin' has spectacularly made a comeback into our consciousness since Kim Kardashian and her SKIMS pube thong launched into existence last week.

If you've been happily living under a rock and missed one of the most bizarre moments of 2025 (difficult competition, we know) - then let us fill you in.

The savvy business mogul introduced a new line of faux hairy knickers to her shapewear brand, SKIMS, and it has got the world talking. Already, the 34 Faux Hair Micro String Thong has sold out in all colours and textures on the website.

Despite Kim's invention hitting the sweet spot with consumers, it turns out that the idea of wearing pubes - instead of growing them out - dates back centuries.

That's right. The pube wig - or merkin - was first thought to have been birthed all the way back in the 15th century.

[merkin]

The modern day merkin - but what about its ancestors(Image: INSTAGRAM)

And it turns out they've got a pretty grim past. Here, we take a look at the dark history of the merkin - and how they were used to hide some serious business downstairs.

What is a merkin?

Your first meeting with a merkin might have been last week when Kim Kardashian launched the Faux Hair Micro String Thong.

So, what actually is a merkin? Well, a merkin is essentially a 'pube wig'. The decorative piece is often applied using spirit gum, a safe type of glue for skin, to a shaven pubic area.

Merkins are still used by actresses and actors to avoid full frontal nudity or, perhaps, for a historical period piece where they have to be completely unshaven.

Some modern day sex workers, such as porn stars, also wear a merkin so their parts can play, well, a part.

History of the merkin

But, it's not all sunshine and faux pubes downstairs when it comes to the merkin. That's because the merkin has quite a murky history.

It's thought that the very first pube wig dates all the way back to the 15th century - a time of rebirth for wisdom, art and sex.

[merkins ]

Merkins have been on the market for years...(Image: Public Domain)

So, we guess the former and latter are two big factors as to why the merkin became a popular accessory for a certain demographic back in the day.

Although being hair-free is a sign of status and self-care in modern day, having a happily hairy bush some 500 years ago was the 'in' thing.

In the 15th century, having a full bush down below was a symbol of health - and therefore wealth.

Those with a lack of hair or shaven hair were automatically seen as 'dirty', 'poor' and most importantly, riddled with illness.

But, that's where the merkin is believed to have come in. The exact origins of the merkin in Britain are a little unkempt, but the Oxford Companion to the Body notes that the word "malkin" first appeared in 1450.

It's thought that the pubic wig was first fashioned in the mid-15th century for those suffering some grim goings on down below.

Cleanliness wasn't as much of a thing back in the day, so that created the perfect environment for the spread of lice.

[woman ]

Merkins proved to be popular with 15th century prostitutes (Image: Getty Images)

On a mission to stop the spread, predominantly women would shave their bushes clean off. However, the problem of looking - and feeling - poor and unhealthy arose.

Cue the merkin! The same goes for those battling then-incurable and untreatable STIs and STDs. Instead of admitting to a partner, or letting them discover, the itchy predicament, the merkin would act as a disguise.

This is why merkins became particularly popular with prostitutes as the wig would hide both their illness and their poor status. Merkins would end up saving the livelihoods of many 'women of the night'.

The merkin today

So who would have thought that 15th century prostitutes wearing pube wigs to cover syphilis would lead to the SKIMS pube thong in 2025? We sure didn't.

However, Kim Kardashian's faux bush thong isn't the only modern day citing of a merkin-esque piece. Merkins might have started off as a guise for 'lower' class people to be seen as higher-brow, but now the merkin has become a 'high' fashion accessory in itself.

Back in 2018, fashion bible Vogue declared "the full bush is back". Before that, model Carla Bruni strutted down a 1994 Vivienne Westwood runway in a faux fur fuzzy merkin.

And, last year in 2024, Maison Margiela's haute couture collection made the merkin a stand out piece in their see-through designs.

Away from the fashion world, actress Kate Winslet shared to Allure magazine in 2006 that she had to wear a merkin for film 'The Reader'.

Speaking about the merkin, Winslet shared: "I had to grow the hair down there. But because of years of waxing, as all of us girls know, it doesn't come back quite the way it used to.

"They even made me a merkin - a wig - because they were so concerned that I might not be able to grow enough."

It seems that the pubic wig has long been about then, even in a pre-Kardashian world!

[Dailystar Icon]

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Choose Daily Star as a 'Preferred Source' on Google News for quick access to the news you value.