The armpit hair struggle is real. Whether we laser it off or we dye it bright pink, armpit hair will always be a point of contention. Why? Because the stigma against women’s armpit hair is deeply rooted in patriarchal ideas of feminine beauty ideals, women must be soft and youthful and the very opposite of traditional ideas of “masculine.”
I noticed these rules in action when I grew my armpit hair out for a month due to an icky rash I got from a razor burn. It wasn’t necessarily what I had to do, but I admit being fascinated by my body’s ability to grow and change. After all, I never get to actually see my body in its natural, glorious state because I, like most other women, adhered to the standard “rules” of body hair until I decided not to.
Here’s what I learned during my month as a woman with hair:
Shame is what you make of it.
There is a certain level of shame involved in breaking the rules of being a woman; first, you wonder: “How could I do this?” and then you think, “I don’t even care what you think.” The shame dissipates once you decide it’s unnecessary. This is when the freedom kicks in when you let go of the embarrassment. Otherwise, having hairy armpits means you’re constantly finding ways to cover them up for work or for play, even when it’s warmer outside. Stop caring. Trust me. Your body is your body, and this lesson goes for literally everything to do with the regulations of how we dress or what we look like.
People will look at you oddly.
People are judgemental by nature, and what they don’t understand scares them. That’s an unfortunate reality. While most of my friends are feminist, open-minded, body-positive ladies, the outside world can be a harsh place – and sometimes, the judgement from the outside makes a dent in the safe, accepting world we live within. The most important lesson I’ve learned is to disregard people’s nasty looks. Be a rebel. Be different. And, if you can, start a conversation around your choices. Often, just talking about things can be educational and empowering.
Femininity is not dependent on your armpits.
Femininity has no real definition! We use that word all the time in regards to fragrances or makeup looks, but the reality is that hair, body size, and style make no difference. Femininity is self-defined. On the other hand, my femininity is somewhat traditional; I like my curves and red lipstick, but guess what? My armpits caused precisely zero problems there! Yes, there would be a little peek of hair in a strapless dress, but really, who cares?
Hairy body parts sweat a little more…
…and sweat is a total pheromone. You do the math.
Glitter Armpits Is the Holiday Beauty Trend to Get You Into the Party Spirit
Holiday party looks are all about glitter. Sequined and metallic dresses are always popular options, and who doesn’t love a pair of sparkly shoes to hit the dance floor in? Glitter is also an essential part of your holiday makeup look. Most of us will usually add a hint of sparkle to our makeup routines with a swipe of eyeliner, a sparkly nail polish topcoat, or a shimmery lip color. However, glitter isn’t just for your face. You probably covered your entire body in glitter when you were a tween, but the latest trendy spot to put sparkles on is probably somewhere you never thought of before.
Glitter armpits are the latest beauty trend that has taken off just in time for the holiday party season. Sparkle-loving Kesha is going to be so upset that she didn’t think of this first. A quick Instagram search will tell you that the trend isn’t something that was started last week, but it is gaining momentum as everyone is trying to figure out how to stand out at all of their December parties.
As you can probably deduce, the trend involves adding a good dose of glitter to your pits. There doesn’t seem to be one popular color or style. There are pits with a subtle coat of fine glitter; then there are those that have a thick layer applied almost like a paste. People are also trying different types of glitter. Note the gold stars in the above photo.
Glitter roots and megawatt glitter lips were two beauty trends that have been showing up everywhere, but it is no surprise that glitter has spread to the armpits. We’ve seen a lot of armpit trends in 2021, including growing out your armpit hair and dyeing it with crazy colors. You could even combine glitter pits with the armpit dyeing trend for a bold look.
Would glitter armpits be itchy? Possibly. Would they be a pain to wash off? Not as annoying as it would be to get all the glitter out of your roots. Would they get you into the holiday spirit? Heck yeah. If you have glitter pits, who wouldn’t want to go out on the dance floor and show them off with some dance moves. You are not going to be sitting at a table nibbling on a piece of fruitcake and hope someone will see your glitter pits. You are going to be throwing your hands up in the air.
Grab some glitter pots and deodorant and test it out the glitter armpit trend. You can be rocking it from now until New Year’s Eve. However, don’t think that the fun will stop there. Remember the glitter armpit trend along with your customized Flash Tattoos when the music festival season kicks off.
Get Ready To Throw Out Your Razor, Because You’ll Need Armpit Hair For 2021′s Coolest Beauty Trend
A hairstylist at Seattle’s Vain salon recently dyed her coworker’s armpit hair blue. She then wrote a blog post about the process, which is now being credited for starting something of a revolution among young women.
Hairstylist Roxie Hunt said she’d always wondered what it would be like to dye someone’s armpit hair, and one day, curiosity got the better of her. Roxie’s coworker agreed to have her pit hair dyed to match the blue on her head, and much to everyone’s surprise, the process went swimmingly. Of the experience, Roxie wrote:
“I half expected the color not to stick, thinking to myself that something this cool couldn’t really be possible. And if it was possible, why didn’t people do it all the time? … The color stuck. We laughed and marveled at the beauty of her blue pit hair. It was too good to be true. The color in her pits perfectly matched the color on her head.”
Click here to check out photos of Roxie’s handiwork.
Roxie’s blog post has been shared over 31,000 times and has caught the attention of major media outlets like the Los Angeles Times, who are crediting her for starting what they predict could be one of 2021′s biggest trends in beauty.
Cool new trend aside, Roxie considers her experiment to be a “major win for body hair,” and she’s totally right. She’s inspired women like blogger Destiny M. to take to social media to talk about their experiences growing (and dying) their body hair and the serious implications of telling girls that the hair on their bodies is “gross.”
So let me go on the record as saying I love this idea. I’m totally sick of shaving my armpits every other day (please tell me I’m not the only person with pit hair that grows like a Chia Pet). I’ve toyed with the idea of letting mine grow for a while now, but I always end up caving and shaving. Now, if my armpit hair was a lovely shade of purple, well, I wouldn’t dare shave it off. I’d flaunt my purple pits.
What are your thoughts on body hair removal? Would you ever dye your armpit hair? What color would you choose? Let’s talk it out in the comments.