Yesterday I took my kid to the pool with their scout group. I had to be in the pool too, and am completely razor free. I wore a suit that didn’t hide my armpits at all and the swim skirt barely covers the crotch, and doesn’t from the back if I bend over. When I got home my husband (who is 100% super supportive of me) asked if I got any weird looks. I honestly hadn’t even thought about it the whole time. I was just having fun existing as a human with my child. I don’t think I got any weird looks, but I didn’t think to notice. It’s so great to finally be at the point, 4 years in, to give zero f*cks what others think!

I have a friend she’s a really good friend. She does not agree that I only trim my leg hair with a buzzer and that’s rarely anyways. The other day she stated “it will be shaving season soon”, as she looks down at my ankles where she can see my hair. I proudly said “and that’s ok because I will wear shorts even this way” Then she said “I wish I could do the same” My point to this post is that some people may just be jealous that we are able to flaunt it and not care one bit.

Posted this pic in a vintage fashion group asking for opinions on how to style them since 60s/70s in normally out of my wheelhouse, and of course got a couple of comments about my hair. Since I found this page I figured I'd share here too. And don't worry, my confidence can never be influenced by the opinions of others.

it’s weird how she thinks hair is only okay on men. i’ve pointed out the flawed logic a lot but she still doesn’t get it!

I’ve had 4th graders snicker about my legs, which doesn’t necessarily surprise me. What did surprise me however, was a KINDERGARTENER, a male kindergartener (5 or 6 year old), tell me I have “boy legs”. To which another 5 or 6 year old also chimed in saying I look like a “werewolf”.

I basically responded with “some girls choose to shave their hair off their legs and some don’t shave it off. I’m still beautiful.”

I hope some of the girls were listening. 5 and 6 is way too young to care about adult women “beauty standards”.

Sigh.

I sat outside today and it was nice enough to pull my pant legs up and feel the air through my hair. My hair looks so light though that I wasn’t sure if it was worth sharing …

This is 2 years worth 🤷🏼‍♀️

You know those 1950s shorts? Little films where a narrator condescendingly dictates all the ways that you can be a perfect suburban drone? One I found on Rifftrax (they do joke commentaries on b-movies) is called "Good Grooming for Girls." It made me think of our group. Doesn't she look so free to be a good girl? 🤡

https://preview.redd.it/zeb32nh7yvwc1.png?width=908&format=png&auto=webp&s=90c5664256336197d786d4a56586b8a38ffd5ded

I mean, a woman with body hair?? Mercy!

It kind of reminded me how much what is normal now has its roots in these earlier times, and the disturbing reasonings often underlying the trends. Because this kind of gender expectation was part of a whole package of strange expectations for proper women (contrasting with those for manly men.)

i don't remember where i read this, but i've heard that men's deodorant sticks to armpit hair a lot better because of the gel formula. i've been using mens deodorant for the past couple of months and it seems to be true! it also doesn't ball up in the hairs. if you're having trouble with your deodorant not sticking, i would recommend giving this a shot!

summertime babey!

sorry for the crotch shot. maybe i’m in my head about it, but i feel like this looks like my pubes extend so far down my legs. this hair is both the reason i continued shaving for so long AND the reason i quit. no matter how great the razor or cream, i would get major razor bumps/rashes. i decided at least the hair looked better than a rash. i feel like its more noticeable in real life, especially if i wear bikini bottoms, but does anyone else have this?

I can't BELIEVE how much time I used to spend shaving! I would shave my legs, my arms, my armpits, and my belly daily! I'm only a few days into the razor free lifestyle and my morning shower took 8 minutes. It used to take like 30!

First time this year that I’ve worn shorts with hair legs. I’m going out to meet some friends. I don’t know them very well, I hope she doesn’t get some kind of dumb impression from me about it.

My natural legs, razor free for about 20 years! Saves time and water!

I just realised that even though I'm on holiday with my partner's family, who tend to follow somewhat more traditional gender roles than I do, I genuinely don't care what they think about my leghair. Felt oddly empowering, so thought I'd share it.

Over the last day, my armpit hair has felt very prickly against my skin. I am easily bothered by sensory and was wondering what a solution to this was. It started after I used an aerosol antiperspirant. Anyone have any tips to prevent the prickly feeling?

I'm so nervous because I am one hairy lady but I'm going to give it a go. I'd love to hear any advice or words of encouragement. I have super light skin and super dark hair everywhere but I'm ready to let it ride. I have such a weird relationship with my body and this is part of my journey to love myself for who I am and not just the potential of what I can force myself to be.

Wish me luck

Sorry y’all, this is pretty much just a rant. Sorry for trauma dumping on you and sorry for all the context, it’s really not that serious.

I have a complicated history with most of my family, the exception being my sister. We went though a lot of shit when we were younger that pitted us against each other but as adults we’ve processed our trauma together and have grown really close.

5 years ago my sister met a man who really grounds her and I’m officiating their wedding in a week! Since I’m not a bridesmaid, we all agreed ded that I would wear a jumpsuit. It’s a sherbet orange, wide legs, and it flatters my body since I recently lost 75 lbs and have quite a bit of excessive skin. It is a halter and I will have bare arms. Surprisingly, one of the few places I DONT have skin is my arms so I am not even feeling self conscious about that!

I’ve told this story a few times in comments on here but this is the first time I’m making a post. I have been razor free since 2020, I stopped during winter and then never picked it back up during lockdown. My skin was happier, I was happier and that’s all that matters…or so I thought. At the time I had moved my sister, her finance (then boyfriend) and my cousin into my home. My cousin and my sister had been laid off as a result of the lock downs so I offered them my spare rooms so they could save money (I was already paying the mortgage and had all these bedrooms so I just ask that they cover food and the utilities in excess of my last 3 bills) it was something we had dreamed about since we were kids! My cousin had just left rehab and his parents were a major trigger so we hoped with some distance he could stay on this path. Unfortunately, he quickly relapsed and things came to a head when he came out of the bathroom screaming for me. He found me on the couch watching TV with my sister and proceeded to berate me for being “a fucking dirty, disgusting, gross pig” for not shaving my legs and that my leg hair was shedding all over the bathroom sink and was making him want to vomit. Now, I am not familiar with anyone having leg hair that shed…However, we also have a black cat who refuses to drink water from a bowl and harasses the family to let him drink out of the sink. The cat was always sitting in the bathroom sink waiting for one of us. This man, in his cocaine rage, decided to scream at me in my own home. He has never apologized. A few weeks later we came to an agreement that he would move out as his behavior continued to escalate. He and I have had very limited contact since.

Because of his drug usage, my sister had been torn about whether or not he should be in her bridal party but in front of our entire family, he announced that he was excited to be a bridesman and wondered who else was in the party, despite never being invited. As a result he has bullied me out of most of the planning and intentionally schemed with the bridal party to have the bachelorette during the only time I was unavailable (was in the process of moving back east from AZ) and refused to budge, even 1 week to accommodate me. It is what it is. That is who he is and I know it’s not a reflection of me.

So now we are a week out and he and all of his family (aka our abusers) are invited and I plan to keep my distance as usual. However, since I am standing up front with the bride and groom for the ceremony I know that my appearance will be visible to him and his family. I was talking to my sister and brought up my body hair and that I would be shaving my body hair for it. She looked confused at first stating that it’s my body, my choice and that I don’t have to do that for her (have I mentioned enough that my sister is the best of my family???) I brought up the incident from 2020 and told her that I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself if my body hair became a distraction on her wedding day. She frowned and nodded and said she knew what I meant by that and that I was probably right. Said she would never ask me to do that but appreciated that I wanted to make sure the day wasn’t derailed by their narcissistic personalities. She encouraged me not to shave my legs since I’m wearing pants and would feel comfortable and just do my underarms. I’m considering it but I did pick out a knee length dress to wear to the rehearsal the night before and also don’t want to hear about it then.

I actually have been shaving my legs little by little over the last week because it’s so long and thick I was worried it would clog the drain haha. Anyways, I feel fine. I’m just hoping this is the last time I will have to interact with that part of my family until their funerals.

Tl;dr my family sucks so I am shaving my body hair so it doesn’t become a distraction at my sisters wedding despite her not giving a shit.

When I was a kid, my family held an “intervention” for me because I didn’t want to shave my legs. They shamed me and while I mostly didn’t cave, I did still shave sometimes and wasn’t proud of it. I wasn’t proud when I didn’t shave either. But today I am. I’m going to a rehearsal dinner with my regular legs, completely unshaven. And today, I’m PROUD.

I'm 15f, I gave up shaving a few months ago. I never found it necessary to shave and finally found enough confidence to be comfortable with my body hair. The weather where I live has been getting warmer, so I've been wearing lighter clothes. My mom doesn't approve of me having visible body hair and has been trying to make me shave. I've tried to explain to her that I choose not to as I find it unnecessary, and I'm the only one who can make decisions regarding my body. She tells me that it makes me look gross, it's unhygienic, that "men don't like body hair on girls", etc., and she won't listen to my opinion. I'm sick of arguing with her about this and I don't know what to do.

For some context, I haven’t shaved my armpits or legs for… 7 years now? I will on occasion, but I’ve been razor free for the majority of my adulthood. Anyway, the point. I found a dress I actually love to wear (which never happens) and it’s perfect for work. I’ve worn it a couple of times, but my boss is super misogynistic. I’m always so paranoid that he’s going to make a comment about it or say I’m in violation of our super strict, super gendered dress code. Have any of you all faced professional consequences for showing body hair at work? Is wearing a work dress I love worth the risk?

Ready to celebrate some love, body hair and all :)

I usually don’t care about any hair on my body. But a sometimes I get jumpscared when I put on a swimsuit or a formal dress😂 Today I got a new dress and was so excited to see how it looked on me, and my hair surprised me!! I usually don’t care with every other outfit I own, because you can’t see it or it just goes with the outfit. It’s kind of silly, but I don’t think my underarm hair goes with my fancy dresses🤷‍♀️ I prefer to remove it if I’m going to a special event. It just feels good to do a little extra grooming, but it’s starting to feel like conformity and it feels icky. It’s just hair… What I do with it shouldn’t feel like this big of a deal.

I've had people question my gender, one person asked me irl too if I really was a woman. I'm a cisgender woman with PCOS, and I'd say choosing to keep facial hair is quite a big decision when it shouldn't have to be. I trim and wax my chin hairs & cheek hairs but choose to keep the stache which to me, now feels like fashion choice. I resemble my grandmother a lot and Frida Kahlo too is an inspiration - they both are woman who were loved dearly & adored. I too feel loved and adored by the people in my life - when I feel down I may fall under the trap of listening to inconsiderate people or feel hurt by the unsolicited advice of "you'd be better without it". Then I remember, how deeply people in my life care and appreciate me as I am & I like me this way vs stacheless