Not knowing shaving arms is a thing?

[HarrysOwl]

DH asked me do you shave your arms?

I said no, I don't shave my arms. I looked at him with my whaaa look, he then explained he'd just seen a TV advert (women's razor, she was doing her arms) and wondered how many women feel they have to shave all their limbs.

So I'm thinking if it's on a TV advert, this is a totally usual thing and I'm naive to not know?

can't ask my friends they'd think I was weird

I do, usually, haven't bothered recently because it's been winter. I started doing it because my friend did in secondary school and just carried on.

I only usually shave to my knees now though, my thighs don't seem to grow hair anymore.

I did because of nasty comments when I was about 13! My body hair is fair and fine so I don’t know why it prompted comments now looking back :( made me feel horrible and ashamed and then once I’d shaved it off all the girls made me feel worse for doing it! Kids are so mean. Just remembering it makes me feel crap and self conscious again. The hair never really grew back, it’s very soft not stubbly and I sometimes give them a shave maybe once every year or so. My legs are the same it doesn’t really grow back, just fine and patchy. Upper legs don’t get hairy.

Armpits on the other hand...my god why and how does the bloody hair there grow so quick!! 😂

Never! But tbf mine aren't very hairy. If they were and it bothered me then I would remove the hair for sure.

I don’t, fair hair, and all the freckles also disguise the hair!

In the 80s, I remember a maths teacher who shaved her arms, and we all thought that was weird. Never thought about shaving arms again, until I realised my teen daughter did, and she said it was more common than not at her school.

I feel quite sad that she feels she needs to, but hope that once that awful teenage self-consciousness passes, she’ll stop.

I have never shaved my arms and also did not realise it was a thing either. I shave upper and lower legs every few days - have very dark hairy legs. Looking forward to the day my upper legs stop growing - am 62 now so perhaps something to look forward to when I am in the rest home

Nope but I am not very hairy. I don’t often shave legs or armpits either. Can’t be bothered.

Never in a zillion years would I shave my arms. Prickly arms would be horrendous. Same reason I only shave up to my knees and wax or trim my foof. If I had dark and thick hairs, I would wax perhaps but shave? No. Prickly bristle is just horrible and I can't imagine any partner would find that appealing. It would be like rubbing up against a wire brush.

I noticed that on the ad too and found it really depressing.

I do. I veeted my arms in my mid teens after being self conscious about how thick and dark my arm hair was. A couple of “friends” had mentioned it and laughed, and although looking back it wasn’t even that bad. I did it on holiday when I felt it was really noticeable. I didn’t get how veet worked though and thought it was like waxing, so when it started to grow back stubbly and wasn’t long enough for veet, I had to shave.

At various points I’ve tried to let it grow back and just stop, but it’s never looked right since I first veeted and shaved, so even though I’ve got it fairly long over winter sometimes when I’ve been mostly covered up, it’s looked kind of scruffy and grown at weird angles, and I’ve always ended up removing it again before a night out.

Now, I maybe shave once a week, more regularly in the summer or if I’m going out or something. I wish I’d never started, but now I have, I do prefer not having hair on my arms.

I've never shaved mine, imagine having stubbly arms!

I have never even thought about it

My dd, 16, does the whole dehairing thing.
I was shocked too when I found out.

Life's just too bloody short to shave bits that don't need shaving.

Oh hell no. Shaving your arms is the female-specific version of that Mitchell and Webb stretch where the toothbrush company says "I bet we could get them to brush their tongues..."

I shave my arms in the summer.

I have dark and hair and started shaving my arms when I was a teenager. Now I have to keep doing it as the hair grows in stubbly. It's a pain in the arse I wish I never started it!

I shaved my arms once as a teenager but soon realised that there was no obvious place to stop. I've got dark hair and pale skin so the hair shows up all over my body. I shave legs, bikini line and pits, and wax my moustache, and that will have to do. If people don't like the way I look, they're welcome to not look at me. I'm not an exhibit.

I shave mine just like I do my legs but that's because I spent my child and teen years in long sleeved tops even in the hottest of weather because of my super hairy arms. At 17 I though "sod it. I'm waxing it all off!". 20 years later I'm still shaving (after realising immediately that waxing is excruciating for a wimp like me and shaving was just fine).
It's much finer hair now and I could probably stop but it's just habit now like my legs.

I love my fuzzy arms - can't imagine shaving them. Then again, I don't shave my legs in winter if they're not going to be on show and only ever up to the knee. Being fair haired has its benefits.

I do shave my arms. It's only a recent thing.

The hair on my arms isn't dark (ash blonde), but it's far more dense than on my legs, and it grows much slower.

I probably shave my arms more frequently than my legs now. I'd have no problem at all if it were a thin down like most women seem to have, but it's definitely very hairy without!

I don't, and I've never noticed any of my friends having shaved arms either.

I have blonde hair though, so I don't know how I'd feel if it was dark (I suspect I won't care, I'm not big into shaving anything really). I love it in the summer when I get a light tan and the hairs look silvery and glint in the sun, it makes me happy for some reason .

By very hairy also, to specify, I would actually need to smooth the rucked up fur on my arms when I took off a jacket! It was so long it was like I needed to use hair gel on it.

It's not noticeably stubbly either, except for two days after shaving. Then I don't need to follow up for about eight weeks until it reaches shaggy dog territory.

My leg hair lies flat, so I never care about that.

After the ad, DH asked "would you shave your arms?"

As likely as you starting shaving your ballsack, dear.

Though it wasn't a request, I think he was asking as I'm female, therefore speaking for all our kind.

I can barely be bothered with the forestry of my foof. I might engage in an annual deforestation if the mood takes.

I'm basically a gorilla - PCOS. I'm right fucked off with the pressure to conform that I feel under.

I, too, was bullied badly at school for my tache and legs (my mum forebade shaving because it'd make it worse - thanks mum). I started waxing at 15. Got nhs funded laser for face in my early thirties, spend £400 a year on top ups. Legs, bikini, face waxed regularly.

There is fuck all chance I'm doing my arms.
They're my wee rebellion against the ridiculousness.

i only do the other bits because the professional repercussions of launching a one woman campaign against the hairless tyranny would affect my ability to pay the bills. And because men sometimes comment at the swimming pool. Sad but true.

If you want to shave your arms all power to your elbow (in my case it'd need to be shoulder), but can we please just stop with the idea that it's 'unfeminine' or 'dirty' (shudders) to be a woman with body hair?

(Wanders off grumbling about the perils of social conformism...)

If I had dark and thick hairs, I would wax perhaps but shave

Dark, thick hair really hurts to remove by the root. When you have a fair covering of the stuff you tend to start considering other methods. Saying that I’d still laser from the eyebrows down if I had the cash!

youmeandconchitawurst

But to me, it's nothing to do with pressure or hygiene (I've recently dropped shower gel from my routine to no ill effects and people don't faint in disgust around me).

I simply disliked my furry forearms all ruffled up by sleeves etc and prefer them shaved (or even just shorter). I let my legs get far far hairier! My husband didn't notice for a few weeks until he picked my arm up and stared at it one evening, trying to work out the difference.

He was actually quite upset that I'd felt the need to change, but I assured him it was all me!