Considering it’s something that we all grow, the subject of our body hair and what we do with it is surprisingly controversial.
Twenty, or even ten, years ago, the idea of venturing out without shaving your legs or underarms, and then being photographed with that leg/underarm hair showing, would have been highly shocking, and definitely something which most people would have wanted to avoid. When Julia Roberts was photographed with visible underarm hair at the London premier of the film Notting Hill in 1999 it caused a minor uproar. It is still seen to this day by many as a pivotal moment in the history of going au naturel.
Today, that kind of hair-baring act might not be quite as flabbergasting. Recent female stars who’ve be seen to have ditched the razor (even if not for always) include the likes of actress Juliette Lewis and singer Miley Cyrus.
It’s not just stars either. According to research conducted by the analyst group, Mintel, there’s been a steady increase in women leaving their body hair as it is. In 2013 95% of women aged 16-24 said they removed their underarm hair. In 2016, that had dropped to 77%. For leg hair removal the figure in 2013 was 92%, and in 2016 was 85%. However, Mintel also found that 83% of people aged 16-24 believed that there is still too much pressure to remove or groom their body hair.
Paris Jackson (daughter of Michael Jackson) put out a good comment on the hair-removal topic after she was criticised for showing her body hair in an Instagram post: “every human body does it. It’s natural. Get over it.”
Do you agree? Or should shaving be something that we should all still do?
