The history of hair removal recently celebrated its centenary. In 1917, McCall's magazine published an ad for Gillette's Milady Decollete razors, a photo of a woman with her underarms shaved and a call to get rid of her hair so as not to feel uncomfortable. They began to remove leg hair much later - during the Second World War.
According to fashion historian Megan Virtanen, due to a shortage of stockings, women had to paint them on their feet with iodine or special paints, so smooth skin became a necessity. The fashion for epilation of the bikini area appeared in the late 1970s. By the 2000s, hair removal had become a cultural standard and a criterion for appeal. It took another 20 years for the refusal of the procedure to cease to be a protest against restrictive beauty conditions, and the desire to have smooth skin or keep hair on the body gradually became an equal cultural norm.
Today, laser hair removal is especially in demand, and professionals will help to open their studio -
Rainbows and unicorns - the social media movement for naturalness
In 2014, on Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter, girls posted thousands of pictures showing "natural" armpits under the motto "Girls don't remove hair." This is how Chinese women challenged social norms and encouraged women to be proud of their bodies.
In the summer of the same year, The Hairy Legs Club on Tumblr invited girls to post photos of unshaven legs to cope with the awkwardness and realize that you can be attractive without salon procedures.
In January of this year, the #Januhairy campaign (a pun in English that turns the month name "January" - January - into the campaign hashtag: "hairy January") was launched on global social networks. Its goal is to help women who do not want to do hair removal to begin to freely show their appearance. Campaigners posted photos showing regrown hair or multi-colored armpits. Since January, 7,000 posts have been posted under the hashtag #Januhairy.
One of the most popular trends has become rainbow coloring. It got the name Unicorn armpits - "unicorn armpits". The author of the idea is the blogger Official Rainbow Girl. In 2016, the girl posted a video on YouTube where she dyes her armpit hair in rainbow colors. The video has collected almost 670 thousand views and more than 5.5 thousand comments. And in 2014, Seattle-based stylist Roxy Jane Hunt proposed a single color scheme for head and armpit hair.
To remove or not to touch - women choose
This is the philosophy of Billies, a new New York subscription service that sells "women's razors." Representatives of Billies note that every woman has the right to choose whether to remove body hair or remain natural. The company entered the market in 2017 with unusual promotional videos: for the first time, models do not slide a razor over perfectly smooth skin, but show hairy legs and a real shave. This summer, Billies' commercials about "beach season readiness," where the models appeared with un-epilated armpits and bikini areas, became the subject of discussion in the media.
Well-known brands have also come out in support of naturalness in the past few years.
In October 2017, Swedish model, photographer and artist Arvida Byström, who is an active advocate of no shaving, starred in an ad for adidas' Fall / Winter Superstar collection. The campaign aimed to change the standards of attractiveness and show what the beauty ideals of the future could be.
The video caused a controversial reaction from adidas fans and a large number of negative comments. In response, Byström wrote on her Instagram that everyone has the right to an individual life experience.
Two months later, Gigi Hadid recorded a video for the Advent calendar of Love magazine, where she appeared in the sports top of the Gigi x Tommi brand, which the model produces in conjunction with Tommi Hilfiger. In the video, Hadid demonstrates several volleyball and boxing techniques. And - no hair removal.
In April 2019, Nike launched an ad for a new clothing collection. In campaign photos, American model Annahstasia Enuke showed off her natural armpits.
It turned out that the situation had changed in two years. There are much fewer negative responses on the Web - the corporation was praised for supporting women who want to feel attractive in any way they feel comfortable.
According to The Guardian journalist Rebecca Tuchus-Dubrow, the motive for refusing epilation in the modern world looks different than in the 1970s. Half a century ago, defiantly rejecting not only razors and tweezers, but also beautiful underwear, cosmetics and stiletto heels, women fought against the standards of beauty imposed by society. Today's natural aficionados often wear dainty makeup, wear feminine clothes and heels, and keep their eyebrows in check. The main idea of 2019 is personal choice and a sense of comfort. According to the American historian and writer Hannah Blank, who advocates for gender equality, there is no wrong way to have a body. Therefore, those who want to have smooth skin and those who like themselves without epilation are right.
Celebrities - for personal choice
Julia Roberts has long been called the pioneer of the no-epilation movement. At the 1999 premiere of Notting Hill, the star was photographed as she raised her hand in greeting, revealing her unshaven armpit. However, this case had nothing to do with the struggle for naturalness - 20 years later, the actress admitted that she actually forgot about the armpits and did not take into account how open the sleeve of the dress was.
Celebrities today deliberately support the natural movement. So, Madonna, her daughter Lourdes Leon, American actress and singer Bella Thorne do not hesitate to pose for photographers.
Julia Tsiruleva, RBC
