Armpit hair is back whether you like it or not – The Wall Street Journal

Armpit hair for all genders – embraced by celebrities, embraced by laissez-faire hippies since the 1960s – shouldn’t be a problem now? And yet, it still has eyebrow-raising power, even as it re-enters the zeitgeist.

Vogue’s August cover, featuring Emma Corrin of “The Crown,” is the first to feature a non-binary person, and likely the first to show armpit hair. The actor, who uses these pronouns, joins a growing number of female, non-binary people who display armpit hair. A sample of Hollywood: Miley Cyrus, Janelle Monáe, Jemima Kirke and Lourdes Leon, daughter of early adopter Madonna. In a 2019 Harper’s Bazaar article, model Emily Ratajkowski wrote that “sometimes letting my hair grow out is what makes me feel sexy,” and appeared in lingerie with visible armpit hair.

Armpit hair is trickling more and more towards the masses. Growing up in rural, conservative North Carolina, Jada Mackenzie Travis didn’t know that refusing to shave was an option. The florist and singer, now 24, had never seen a woman with armpit hair. A trip to New York that exposed her to different gender expressions inspired her to grow out her armpit hair, and now she sees it as a way to live more authentically.

“In modern history, women have always had smooth armpits in the public eye, so it’s hard to go back,” said Rachael Gibson, hair historian in London. Ms Gibson said people of all genders have been depilating since prehistoric times, with devices as rudimentary as tweezers made from seashells in Roman times. Revealing flapper dresses ushered in razors and hair removal creams marketed to women, such as Gillette “Milady” in 1915.

Ms Gibson observed that the unsavory reputation of body hair is found throughout art history, where it has been scrubbed from paintings and statues of nudes for centuries. Likewise, Emma Corrin’s armpit hair on the cover of Vogue appears to be blurry, implying that the armpit hair detail is still indecent. Vogue had no comment on the image.

Aside from a peak during the first wave of feminism in the 1960s and 1970s, the clean-shaven look has held up until now. Retail analytics firm Mintel said in 2021 that the hair removal market “was already on a slow trajectory before COVID-19, which can in part be attributed to consumers’ relaxed approach to of shaving and waxing routines”.

For some, armpit hair is a statement. For others, it’s simply more comfortable or more effective, less irritating to the skin, or consistent with cultural or religious beliefs, such as the Sikh mandate not to tamper with the hair one is born with.

According to many who take a stand on body hair, it’s as much about hair positivity as it is about empowerment over their bodies. “To me, body hair is another opportunity for women to exercise their ability to choose,” Ratajkowski wrote. As for Ms Travis, who is writing songs about her new release, she said taking control of your body hair has bigger ramifications for your life: “It’s about allowing people to be whatever they want to be. be.”

Hair removal companies are following the zeitgeist, framing underarm shaving as a choice rather than a necessity. Billie, a hair removal startup launched in 2017, bills itself as “the first brand to show body hair in 100 years of shaving advertising.” Its cheerful, millennial-friendly ad shows a range of diverse body types and different amounts of body hair. Gillette Venus also recently showed models with unshaven armpits. Compare that to an early 21st century advertisement for X Bazin depilatory powder, which read, “Summer dances and modern dress combine to make the removal of objectionable body hair necessary.

Ajani Russell, 24, an artist and actress who appeared on HBO’s drama “The Skate Kitchen,” told me she’s always hated shaving, so she doesn’t anymore. She said: “I always wanted to have a beard that I could stroke while I reflected on my existence, and I think armpit hair is right behind it.”