I have hairy armpits

I’ve spent my entire life, as a woman, thinking that I needed to be completely hair free - EVERYWHERE! Except, of course, for the hair on my head that needed to be perfectly styled with ‘naturally’ long eyelashes and (in my generation) thinly plucked eyebrows…

Every other hair on my body had to be removed and I started this from as early as I can remember with trying to cut my pubic hair with nail scissors in a hotel bathroom on one of our holidays abroad because my Mam wouldn’t let me near a razor.

I eventually did get hold of a razor - probably belonging to my stepdad (which he maybe still doesn’t know about) - and decided that it would be a good idea to shave the hair below my belly button which, at that point, was almost non-existent but which still now torments me with a thick, coarse black hairy line almost 20 years later…

I tried everything.

DIY wax strips (OUCH!), veet hair removal cream (stinky but surprisingly effective… as long as you don’t leave it on too long), professional waxing (my favourite but definitely not favoured by my bank balance) and, of course, shaving (a complete slog when you’re shaving your entire body as soon as even 1mm of stubble starts to appear again - in my case, almost immediately).

I remember reading about strippers tips for keeping away the stubble rash which, if I remember rightly, involved a whole concoction of exfoliation, men’s shaving cream, roll on deodorant and TCP antiseptic… delicious.

I remember a girl in primary school attempting to dry shave her legs because she’d never been taught how to shave properly and came to school covered in cuts and plasters. I’m sure I’m not the only one to have had my fair share of nicks and cuts as well as a lifelong fear of accidentally getting my labia caught in between the razor blades.

Even just writing that down gives me twinges… and not in the good way.

I was shaving my armpits on autopilot even though it was causing me horrendous shaving rash that was sore and painful. I did it out of pure habit any time I felt even the smallest amount of hair growth when I was in the shower.

Then I started casting with Lydia and I was suddenly exposed to a whole world of different bodies and - SHOCK HORROR - body hair!

As someone who had grown up thinking that body hair was unacceptable, disgusting and shameful even - it was SO refreshing to see women coming in with varying amounts of pubic hair, armpit hair and leg hair. I started to question my own beliefs about why I thought it was so bad and whether that was even my belief in the first place or just what I’d learned to believe…

I realised that I actually didn’t care about body hair - regardless of who it was on. I realised that it was the opinions of mostly boys at school who had influenced the mindset I had that women should be bald from their eyeballs down. I’d even had men tell me that they wouldn’t sleep with me if I had any pubic hair.

I wasn’t removing my hair for myself - I was removing it for this fucked up narrative that I’d learned to believe.

So I stopped.

I stopped shaving my armpits, I stopped shaving my legs, I stopped shaving my pubic hair.

I let it all grow out… and grow it did!

I had never, ever seen my body hair because I’d never let it grow.

I didn’t know whether I liked it because I had never given myself the chance to even live with it.

I was actually pleasantly surprised.

For anyone that knows me, I’m a bit of a wild woman anyway so having hair sprouting from every which region of my body simply added to that persona but what I learned about myself is that I actually really like having smooth legs. I still only shave them when I can truly be arsed which is once a week (or fortnight) if I’m lucky… but there is no better feeling than getting into freshly washed bed sheets with freshly shaved legs - if you know, you know.

What I also learned is that I prefer to keep my labia hair free as well. But I actually quite enjoy having a wee triangle of hair above my clitoris. I keep it trimmed (sometimes) but I prefer having something there to having nothing at all.

My favourite revelation - much to everyone else’s, especially my partner’s, disgust - is that I LOVE having armpit hair. This is the one that I really thought I wouldn’t but it is honestly my favourite.

At this point, my armpit hair could probably beat most men hands down in an armpit hair battle but stopping removing it has honestly been the best thing I’ve ever done. No more rash. No more pain or irritation. A lot of people ask if I smell more because of it but I personally don’t think it makes a difference - as long as I shower daily and use good natural deodorant (Blushberry Botanicals is my favourite) I find that I don’t really smell at all, hair or no hair.

If you don’t like people looking at you - staring in fact - armpit hair might not be the one for you. People in the UK do not seem to be familiar with female armpit hair and I have definitely caught people double glancing on plenty of occasions. I honestly love the shock factor - watching people’s reaction when I lift up my arms in the gym or the pool or when I’m out in public wearing an armpit exposing outfit.

It has given me a whole new wave of confidence to just be myself and even if my bikini line is untrimmed or my legs haven’t been shaved for a week… or three - I still show up to the swimming pool because I no longer give a fuck. Neither does anyone else.

What I’ve realised is that, if they do care about my body hair, that’s a them issue because what I do with my own body is absolutely nothing to do with anybody else.

So I hope this inspires you to get curious about the choices you make about your own body and to maybe just give a little bit less of a crap about having a teeny tiny amount of stubble on your bare skin when you’re out somewhere you maybe wouldn’t have gone before without shaving first.

Your body, your choice.

Do what makes you happy… and always, always just give less of a fuck.