Unshaven armpits seem to many to be one of the worst taboos. It would seem that the modern girl can do anything with her body – except the right to decide her own hair. So one of the big questions of our time becomes, “To shave or not to shave?”
The answer is simple enough.
– If you shave your underarms just because you’re the one who likes the feeling of smooth skin, go ahead, it’s a great excuse.
– If you shave because of social pressure or fear of what others might think of you, it may be time to stop shaving. If only for a little while.
Research shows that more and more women are opting out, which means that shaving your skin without a shave may be slowly becoming the new normal. By the way, it is not so new (the obsession with hair removal appeared not so long ago) and turned out not to be the most viable idea.
Back in 2013, 95% of women between the ages of 16 and 24 shaved or depilated their underarms. But already in 2016, that number had dropped to 77%. Sales of hair removal products are down, too – which means times are changing (and getting hairier, little by little).
Some researchers see the reasons for this change as a diversification of beauty standards; some see a correlation in the fact that fewer women want to traumatize their skin with shaving and depilation.
Why stop shaving your underarms (if only for the sake of experimentation)
1. time savings. Yes, shaving your underarms doesn’t take as much time as shaving your legs, for example. But even 5 minutes that you spend on it every few days, over a lifetime adds up to a decent amount of days. Now honestly answer yourself – don’t you have something better to do with your time?
2- Saving Money. There is a “pink tax”, because of which the female products matching the characteristics of men, for some reason prove more expensive. But even if you choose the men’s razors or disposable razors, then a year accumulates a very nice amount that, like time, can be spent on something more useful.
3. Rethinking your image. Think about it, are shaved armpits really such a big part of your personality and your image that there’s no way out of it? If yes – then shaving right now should stop being your priority in life – because learning to love yourself any, much more important.
4. Rethinking your relationships with other people. I bet you have an acquaintance or acquaintance that you think, “Well, he’s definitely not going to like it”? But do you really care so much about that person’s opinion that you have to do something unpleasant and spend time and money on it? And if the person will stop loving you just because of your body hair, do you really need that person?
5. Impact on Health. No matter how much they say about the “harmful” bacteria that breeds in the unshaved armpits (it sounds like the beginning of a horror movie), shaving is more harmful than beneficial. See for yourself – the bacteria will show up anyway and are more than safe. But by using your razor, you’re forcing a coarse exfoliation on the very delicate and sensitive skin of your underarms every time. That is, remove the layer of skin that is not yet ready to exfoliate. Hence – irritation, coarsening, darkening of the skin and unpleasant feelings.
A favorite argument of “smoothness” advocates is “it’s unhygienic!” But it’s easy to fight it: just remember that it’s not the hair that produces sweat. And means of hygiene, too, do not affect the hair, but it is on the sweat glands – so that a good deodorant works equally well as on a shaved or unshaven armpit.
Most modern women are almost disgusted at the thought of hair on a woman’s body. But if we’re talking about loving ourselves, then why not start by accepting such a natural and normal thing as body hair? Besides, it’s unlikely that you’ll find a woman anywhere who really enjoys shaving and waxing. So why keep worrying about a fairly inconspicuous detail that doesn’t even make us happy?
Just remember that no one and nothing should tell you what to do with your body: in this matter you should be guided only by common sense and your own feelings.
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