So, in this extremely weird time, lockdown 3.0, I just sort of… stopped shaving? It started because I ran out of razorblades, and then by the time I got some, I had gotten into the habit of not bothering. Then, I suddenly realised that actually, I didn’t feel like shaving. Unwittingly, I had taken part in Januhairy. What is Januhairy? Put simply, Januhairy is a movement that advocates loving and accepting body hair. I’ve never really thought about my body hair in any way other than negative, like ‘oh I can’t wear that dress, I haven’t shaved my legs’. This month, I definitely got to look my body hair fully in the face, so in this weeks post, I wanted to talk about it!
Body hair is not something that we talk about that much and to be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever given it much thought. I remember starting shaving, and I remember why – because everyone else was. The only change in my shaving routine was about a year ago when I bought a safety razor, so that I could cut down on plastic use. But as we know, the ultimate eco-friendly solution is to stop shaving altogether, so after getting a few weeks through not shaving, I wanted to see whether I was comfortable not shaving at all. I also wanted to see whether body hair was something that bothered me, or whether it bothered me because it bothered other people. A quick note – of course, this whole thing was easier to do during lockdown in January, because not only have I been bundled up, but I’ve been staying at home and seeing no one, so how I feel now might be different to how I feel in a more normal time.
So what did I think?
I have mixed thoughts. I’m definitely a lot more comfortable with body hair than I was, and I had almost a sense of pride at what my body was capable of? Having no shaving irritation has also been nice, and moisturising has felt more therapeutic. I’ve also spent less time in the shower, and therefore less water, which in terms of sustainability is really good. Pretty much all positives. It’s definitely a strange feeling having hair where I haven’t had hair for roughly 10 years, and I’m not very used to it yet. I also found that when I did push myself to wear tops that exposed the hair, I was very self-conscious of it, even though I was pretty comfortable with it when I saw it like getting out of the shower, or getting dressed etc. So, I’m definitely not all the way there.
So will I ever shave again?
I think I will, yes. I’m definitely more comfortable with my body hair, and I think I’ll be much less concerned about shaving than I was before. If I’m a bit hairy but I want to wear a dress, I will wear the dress. I’ve also learnt more about why I shave – some of it is personal preference but some of it is feeling like I have to. I won’t lie, I’ve missed having smooth legs, and I’ve always enjoyed the ritual of shaving, but I’ve been really impressed with what my body is capable of and it has been nice to eliminate another ‘task’ from my life! Although I didn’t have to deal with going out into the world with my hairiness, I did feel very aware of the stereotype of looking eco-friendly – you know, hairy legged, long hair, smelling bad etc (which of course is not true), but I was so aware of it the entire time.
Overall, not shaving at all is not something I’m completely comfortable with yet, but this is just the beginning of a long relationship between me and my body hair, and I really enjoyed exploring it!
Waste Makes Waste 