Hairy armpits - liberating or gross?

[SausageCrush]

As I'm unable to go swimming at the moment I haven't bothered/been able to keep up with many of my usual beauty/maintenance routines.

For the first time in my life I now sport long underarm hair and am quite fascinated by it! It's very unfashionable in England, but I like it. What are your experiences..?

I'm tempted to keep it and wondering wha

my pits would be red raw if I shaved them every day especially with putting antiperspirant on straight after.

I tend not shave and I have quite dark hair. Doesn't bother me, every few months I'll just randomly shave it and start again. I don't find it liberating, I'm just not bothered by body hair.

Same as my legs, in fact I hate shaving my legs. I have really sensitive skin and I have tried different razors and different shaving creams, but I always get irritated skin when I shave and it goes all stubbly and prickly within a day or 2. Whereas if I just leave my legs then they are lovely and smooth and no irritated skin.

My husband and I have a running joke about my hairy hobbit toes. They're not that bad but we do have a chuckle.

If you like it who cares but I much prefer shaving mine, had laser treatment because I looked like desperate dan straight away but still need to do it every few days for a light dusting of hairs that seem to grow an inch overnight. I found it sweaty and horrible though with hair but ¯\(ツ)/¯

Not RTFT past first few posts.

If it's gross and stinky why don't men tend to do it?

Obviously everyone should do what makes them feel comfortable.

But the hygiene thing is an excuse. If it were actually gross, most men would shave their pits as well.

Not something I have to think about as I have absolutely no armpit hair. Not even a fuzz or a few stragglers. Completely hairless. I have 'normal' hair elsewhere on my body but have never grown any hair under my arms. Have mentioned it to the doc a couple of times and googling brings no answers. Just one of those things I guess.

I haven't shaved mine for a couple of years now and I think I would feel really weird if I did now. I like it. I trim the hair cackhandedly with scissors when it starts to poke out too much when my arms are down. I am happy to wear sleeveless clothes/swimwear and no-one has ever said a word.

My armpits really don't smell any different to how they did when I shaved. I use a cream antiperspirant, so it still goes on my skin. Maybe spray deodorant doesn't work so well with hair? But I think sprays are antisocial and wasteful, so there's my judgyness. (As well as feeling sorry for anyone who actually finds stuff like this "gross", honestly, grow up!)

I don’t think it’s gross or liberating. It’s personal choice.

Fuck what anyone else thinks. If they voice their opinion uninvited they are twats

(As well as feeling sorry for anyone who actually finds stuff like this "gross", honestly, grow up!)
Get over yourself , love.
It’s called personal opinion

Personal choice. My own personal choice is not to have hairy armpits. Less sweaty and deodorant adheres better.

Why is it gross and stinky for women but not men?

I shave mine occasionally in summer, but it makes my body feel weird, like how my face would look with no eyebrows.

The hair wicks sweat away so you're actually less sweaty once they get to a certain length. Stubble is sweaty.

I dont like it, because it makes my armpits smell. I usually dont sweat much. Even after a 1h run i dont have a strong sweat smell. But when i grow my armpit hair i notice a faint smell there a couple of hours after a shower.

Oh and its not just a woman thing. DH shaves his armpits and im so grateful

I shave them periodically, I find they get smellier if they are hairy, but not that fussy, same with legs. (Normally I wax both every 2 months)

Funny this should come up!

On Thursday I shaved my armpits for the first time in nearly 6 months! In the winter months, I'm not wearing short sleeves in public, who who's to see? So I only shave in the summer months. Still haven't shaved my legs yet this season, but probably will soon.

I'm one of the lucky ones, who very, very rarely gets smelly. I don't wear deodorant, and haven't for a couple of years now. Firstly, because I don't need it, and secondly, I don't like the idea too much of wearing a concentrated dose of chemicals all day every day.

I prefer men without hairy armpits too.

I shave mine every day. Not a fan of how it feels having hair or stubble pretty much anywhere on my body, but particularly my arm pits. I don't think I'm a sweaty person, but being hairy has always made me feel like I need a wash!

I’d find a man who shaved his armpits. Bit odd tbh unless it was due to a medical condition. I like hairy chests, they’re manly.

Obviously personal preference but personally I wouldn't be seen dead with hairy pits.

I have never had armpit hair. Never grew.
Very glad too. I don't like it at all. On men and women.

Neither. It's just normal. I don't see how it can be gross. Personal disgust because one subscribes to misogynistic nonsense isn't the same as something actually being disgusting. If it isn't gross or unclean on men, it is not on women, even if one is made to feel it is.

I wouldn't like to imagine either that am so deeply affected by misogyny either that it would be liberating to grow a few cm of hair on my own body and find the strength to disregard the opinion of people who think women are second class citizens so owe society and the male gaze certain appearance based things in order to make the cut.

@AuntieMarys - l’m jealous!

@dontgobackonmyheart - it’s not all about misogymy either. It’s personal choice, that’s all. A lesbian and/or a feminist can choose not to have underarm hair too; many do!

PS: Nobody criticises men for shaving their faces on the grounds that their facial hair is normal.

on any other area of the body I don't mind but underarm I don't like on women. In saying that, your choice!