It seems some women, including celebs, are opting to let their body hair sprout freely. This trend of going back to our feminist roots and letting our roots grow out (excuse the pun) may give the brave at heart a certain freedom and hassle-free existence, but we’re not sure every woman or man out there is ready to go Neanderthal.
Brave Enough?
On social media to red carpets, from New York to China, hairy underarms are having a mainstream moment. We’ve seen celebs who dared to go natural once, twice or more and not shave their armpits from Katherine Anne True, to Jemima Kirke, Britney Spears, Emer O’Toole, Penélope Cruz, Miley Cyrus, Madonna, Julia Roberts, and more. Some (Lady Gaga) have even sported dyed armpit hair. We’ve also seen a new generation of men forgoing Channing Tatum’s smooth, freshly waxed look in Magic Mike XXL and opting instead for the rugged natural look of Joe Manganiello in True Blood. Though men are faced with a dilemma, while many women report preferring men with chest hair, they’re less keen on back and neck hair.
On China’s popular microblogging site, Sina Weibo, women’s rights activist Xiao Meili even held an “Armpit Hair Competition” (complete with prizes including condoms and a vibrator) to protest societal pressure on women to shave. Meili explained that “to shave or not is up to the woman. The purpose of this contest is not to call on people not to shave their underarm hair. It’s to not criticize those who don’t.”
On the other side of the globe, Leila Noelliste, former newspaper reporter and creator and editor of the natural hair site BlackGirlLongHair — the leading blog in its niche, with more than 4 million monthly page views and 210,000 Facebook fans — posted a display of women showing off their armpit growth and sees no downside: “Much of what women consider beautiful is based on standards set by men, so it’s refreshing to witness a woman-centered beauty movement,” she said.
The gender stereotypes of ridding one’s entire body of hair and being a smooth, hairless doll, are ingrained in our minds from younger and younger ages.
Dare to be Square
If this new trend simply makes you cringe, that’s also fine. The bottom line is to be happy with your body whether it’s as nature gave it to you or with a smooth skin. If you prefer the latter, make your hair removal process as convenient, cost-effective, and pain-free as possible. For example, Sensica’s sensiLight Mini line of affordable, professional-grade, non-invasive and painless hair removal laser devices can be used in the comfort of your own home at a time of your convenience with permanent results. That means no expensive and repeated trips to clinics. The Sensilight Mini range is based on cutting-edge, FDA-cleared, Reactive Pulsed Light (RPL) technology that disables hair re-growth at the root using light and heat.
While not shaving has mutated into a call to action for women who are looking to be free of the constraint or choose for themselves without ridicule, opting to go smooth is also a choice and every person has the right to their personal preferences!
