Reasons We’re Ditching Razors and Embracing Our Bodies

Women have been subjected to unrealistic beauty standards for ages. Everything around us teaches us that our femininity is synonymous with our success as human beings. And this “femininity” is wrapped in a bunch of archaic (pardon my French) bullshit that takes time. One of the strangest aspects of all this is the obsession with the absence of hair on our bodies.

Gender and body hair

Why are people who identify as women supposed to be smooth, hairless creatures, while men are free to walk around with their naturally hairy armpits? Body hair has no gender, and yet it really does feel like it represents one.

Well, we know that’s not the case. always That’s just how it happened. I mean, cavewomen weren’t hanging out at the bar waxing their labia. But somewhere along the way, the practices and expectations of body hair removal became deeply ingrained in “femme” culture.

Most research shows that as hair removal techniques and razors became more sophisticated, the market saw an opportunity to target women. With the rise of hemlines and changing fashion trends in the 1920s, razor manufacturers changed their advertising to focus on women’s body hair rather than men’s facial hair. Soon, women began using safety razors and other methods to remove hair from their armpits and legs to meet beauty standards and stay “clean” and “desirable.” By 1964, 98% of American women reported removing body hair.

Current culture

This hairless beauty standard has remained in the mainstream until now. However, many bold human beings are saying NO to the status quo and proudly letting their body hair grow as they please. In recent years, celebrities such as Julia Roberts, Amandla Stenberg, Madonna, Miley Cyrus, Bella Throne, Ashley Graham, and Lisa Bonet have challenged the body hair norm. At the forefront of this fight to dismantle heteronormative ideals of body hair are PANDC weird trans and non-binary people who are breaking gender barriers every day. Similarly, with the rise of social media and TikTok in particular, we are seeing courageous people from all cultural backgrounds speaking out about the trials and tribulations of self-love and body hair.

So why should you consider ditching the razor?

Here are some reasons

Time

Have you ever wondered how much time you spend in the shower, with your legs up in different positions, shaving? Let’s say it takes you 5 minutes to shave your armpits, legs, and pubic area, and you shave 2 times a week (personally, it takes me much longer and I have to shave more frequently, but let’s keep it simple for the sake of argument).

That’s 502 minutes or 8 hours and 36 minutes per year. Now multiply that number by the number of years you’ve been shaving. For me, that’s 108 hours, or 4 AND A HALF DAYS OF MY LIFE. And that’s not even including the time spent if you wax, sugar, or use other hair removal techniques.

Not to mention the number of times I’ve been late for appointments because I’d changed into a skirt or sleeveless top at the last minute and now needed to shave quickly.

Money

All aspects of hair removal are extremely expensive. Razors alone are very expensive. Even when purchasing men’s razors to avoid “pink tax” (which, if you didn’t know, isn’t really a tax but rather a gender-based price discrimination scheme that allows women’s products like deodorant and razors to cost more than men’s for no reason), it can still get expensive. Shaving creams, exfoliating scrubs, ingrown hair oils, and at-home waxing kits are all pretty pricey.

Not to mention that if you go to a salon to get waxed, sugared, lasered, etc., each appointment is nothing less than an expensive dinner for two. Just like time, it all adds up. If I were better at math, I could tell you exactly how much that is, but I think we can all agree that it wouldn’t be just a sum of money.

Pain

Even though the hairless women shaving their bare legs in razor ads seem happy, shaving isn’t exactly painless and easy. Shaving can be painful during and after the process and can leave you with cuts, razor burn, and ingrown hairs, especially for those with sensitive skin or thicker hair. Dragging a razor across already-shaved hair because the stubble is falling out is a nightmare so many women face, especially in the summertime, and it really sucks.

Hair removal options that offer longer lasting results hurt even more. Waxing and sweetening (have you ever tried a Brazilian? ouch) it has to be done less often than shaving but OH MY GOD! It hurts. Don’t even get me started on laser… Not only is the treatment itself very uncomfortable, but you also risk burns that are not only painful but can leave permanent scars.

The only way to not have pain at all is to leave the hair alone, but that’s easier said than done. If hair removal makes you feel better and you don’t mind the pain, then go for it, soldier! That said, it’s time to put an end to the idea that “beauty is pain” and that painful hair removal techniques are necessary to achieve beauty.

Try!

Summer is coming to an end, and it might be the perfect time to try growing out your body hair without having to expose yourself. But of course, if you want to go completely hairless, that’s your choice – there’s no judgement here. As a society, we need to continue to prioritize how we look and feel more than we do. So if you think ditching the razor is a good idea, then go for it!