While men are expected to do very little grooming when it comes to body hair [1], women often feel pressured to be without any from the shoulders down. Laura Jackson, a 22-year-old student from the UK, started the #Januhairy [2] movement after growing out her armpit hair [3] for a performance and discovered that she actually liked it that way. Since then, she and other women have been sharing their stories about embracing body hair throughout social media.
Ahead, we've collected some of the most compelling reasons women have chosen to keep their hair. They might even make you reconsider your own grooming routines.
Reason #1: You Might Like It
"Is it cold where you are? Then I have a fun suggestion for you. This Winter, grow yourself some fur.
In all seriousness though, if you've never let your body hair grow before and are nervous or apprehensive, I'd definitely recommend giving it a go in Winter! The beauty of stopping shaving in the colder months is that you're covered up more when out and about, so your lil pittens can be sheltered from the world for a bit. You can have some nice private bonding time just the three of you before you have to do the sometimes nerve wracking thing of showing them off to the world.
It can take time to get used to and learn to love a change in your body, and you may find this easier to do in private. Get up in the morning, stretch in front of the mirror, perhaps you notice the hair and it makes you smile, or maybe you're not quite there yet — that's okay! pull on a long sleeve top and give yourself some more time.
Societal views on female body hair are very slowly starting to change, which is amazing, but I won't lie to you and say you won't face any negative responses. It's much easier to handle that negativity when you have already personally developed a loving relationship with your body. When you've learned to be confident in it and see the beauty in it, hair and all, you'll feel much more ready to face the world, arms outstretched."
Reason #2: It's Easier
"I think I stopped shaving my pits mid 2016 after coming across @ripsnorter on Instagram [4]. She was beautiful and just so happened to not shave either and that's when I realised who f*cking cares about hair. I'm half Lebanese, hairy by nature. When I shave my hair grows back within minutes; it's truly pointless and a waste of shower time for me considering how much hair I have to groom solely on my head. So I stopped. Eventually I stopped shaving all together because it simply did not benefit me anymore. Fast forward three years and I haven't bought a single use razor since then. Sometimes I'll shave because I feel like it and that's the point. It should be a choice! Not a beauty standard.
Sure there's tons of criticism but [not shaving] has benefited me in so many ways. No more ingrowns or razor bumps, I don't sweat as much. I used to always have sweat circles on my sleeves [and] contrary to popular belief, my pits don't stink and I rarely use deodorant now because of that. I have much more time in the shower now that I'm not incessantly worrying about removing every last strand of hair on my body. Oh and it's also helped me weed out shallow potential mates in this freaky dating world because I don't want to be with someone who's not comfortable with my body choices.
The point is, do whatever you want because it's your body. Someone is always going to have something negative to say so you may as well do whatever is going to benefit you."
Reason #3: Because Hair Is Natural
"Well I've heard it's #januhairy now, so I decided to join. I had begun to shave in elementary school after I went to a swim class and one classmate asked me why I don't have shaved armpits. I still remember the feeling of surprise and humiliation that something is wrong with my body. At this age, you can easily get the impression that if you're not doing what everyone else is doing, something is wrong with you. I often heard in high school that I would be more attractive if I didn't have such hairy hands. With time, it gradually became clear to me that the main reason why I shave is mainly the inner pressure from this learned norm and the automatic expectation of the society. It sounds banal, but I think this pressure on women is really strong and unnecessary. Now I'm satisfied with all my hair because the hairs are normal. Peace out."
Reason #4: It's About Doing What YOU Want
Translated from Portuguese:
"Letting your hair grow is a choice. Whether you leave it or shave it. The important thing is that you feel good about the decision. Do you feel better without hair? Do you feel better with your hair? Does it work for you? For me it does. Sometimes I shave and sometimes I do not. But I realised that the look of the hairless female body was not really a choice of mine, it was a choice imposed on me. If I let my hair grow in the slightest, I'd feel bad and think about what other people would say about it. Then, about two years ago, I decided to grow it out to see what would happen and if I really felt bad about my hair, without caring about other people's opinions about my decisions to my body. I realised that I did not really care if my armpit was hairy or not. And from there I started to accept my body better the way it is.
It's not a problem if you feel better when you shave. The problem is living with paranoia over your own body because of societal beauty standards, and painful procedures just to please the opinion of others.
I chose to feel good about myself. And I'm learning not to judge the decisions of other women.
Let the hair grow! Shave if you want! But do with your body what you want to do, not what others want you to do."
Reason #5: It's a Choice
"Body hair should be positive, not make you scared of judgement from other people just over hair! This is natural, this is lovely and beautiful and we should have the decision to shave our body hair or not without having society's judgement looming over us. Januhairy, more like do whatever the hell you want with your body!"