What am I supposed to do with my “hair down there”? I’m not sure what the norm is. —Sarah

First, let me just say that no matter what “the norm” is, it’s totally fine to do whatever the heck you want with your pubes, including absolutely nothing. But your question got me curious about different grooming methods, so I straight-up took a super-scientific pube poll among the Rookie staff. I went first, telling them (and now THE WORLD) that if I remember to, or if I’m going to be spending a lot of time in public in a swimsuit, I’ll shave my bikini line and trim the rest. But to be honest, I usually don’t think about it. As it turns out, among this somewhat self-selecting group of women, that is the number-one most popular way of semi-handling our own hair down there. Other extremely popular answers were “nothing” and “sometimes I get it waxed.”

VERY SCIENTIFIC PUBE DATA.

VERY SCIENTIFIC PUBE DATA.

So, there you have it. You can join the teeming masses on the right side of this beautiful pie chart by giving a crap probably less than half the time, or you can choose from one of the many delicately sliced pieces of pie over on the left there. And don’t even get me started on the whole other pie chart we didn’t have room for, which contains options such as DYEING IT PINK, as one staffer said she did for a while. Luckily, since hair almost always grows back, you can spend the rest of eternity trying every option under the sun—or none at all! —Jane Marie

I’m of African-Asian-Caucasian parentage, and, for me, that combo has resulted in kinky hair. When it’s wet, my hair goes down to my waist, but my ringlets are so tight that when it dries, it stops a few inches past my shoulders. I embrace my hair rather than trying to restrain it, but I’m kinda running out of ideas about how to style it. I want to dress it up sometimes, but I’m seriously lazy when it comes to hair routines! Do you have any suggestions about easy styles to try, or natural-haired icons to draw inspiration from? —Teya

As a fellow natural-haired girl, I’ve had plenty of experience with shrinkage as well! Your first must-have is a good leave-in conditioner, which will cut down on frizz. I’ve heard Miss Jessie’s MultiCultural Curls styling lotion is a nice formula, but it’s kind of expensive, so maybe try Mixed Chicks Leave-In Conditioner instead if you’re on a budget.

Next, you could try to stretch your hair without heat. This can be done a number of ways, but braids and two-strand twists are pretty easy to do. Here is a good video tutorial about how to do a twist-out, and here’s one about stretching with braids. Your long hair will look lovely down after you stretch it, and it will also be easier for you to style. These knots a super-cute idea to try after you’ve stretched your hair:

You could also try this French roll twist, this braided bun, or this simple and cute ponytail.

As for icons, I would, of course, suggest Solange:

Undeniable goddestry. Photo by Getty Images via Harper's Bazaar.

Undeniable goddestry. Photo by Getty Images via Harper’s Bazaar.

Finally, take a look at the blogs Naturally Curly and Curly Nikki for even more inspiration! —Chanel