Do you shave your armpits?

[ShavenUnderarmHaven]

Have just done mine for the first time since last summer. I don't care what it looks like, but the humidity where I live has been a killer lately and I will try anything if it makes me feel less sweaty/ makes my antiperspirant work more effectively.

I have not shaved regularly for quite a few years now. In my twenties I pretty much always did though.

What's normal for you?

Is there less pressure on women to shave their underarms now compared to 20 years ago?

Once a month I can get away with.

Not for about 10 years.
I do legs and bikini line though!

I shave my armpits very rarely, maybe once or twice every 6 months or so, but I’ve never had a lot of hair there so I get away with it.

No, they're sparse but they do get impressive length

Mine got lasered off years ago. Touch up once every year or two

Probably not as regularly as I should.

My daughter (young adult) has NO armpit hair!!!! It's just never grown!

Once a month, am not very hairy.

No, had them lasered years ago- no hair at all.

Nope!!! And I saw a beautiful woman in Waitrose yesterday wearing a vest too and I shaved pits, I love that women are reclaiming their bodies in this way.

Don't shave at all in the winter, a few times over the summer. Who can be bothered with all that faff? Not me!

I used to shave every other day without fail and remember the shock of seeing my Mum's friend who hadn't shaved.
Now I don't bother unless I fancy it so every few months.
DD is a teenager and her friends are quite cool and most don't shave. She does occasionally but quite often leaves it for a few months. I'm glad it's getting to be more of a choice than when I was young and you would quite possibly actually die if a hint of stubble could be seen.

Every day , I wash take an extra probably 5 seconds to do each one and deodrant . I wear vest tops through summer while not at work , and just don’t like the hairy look , rightly or wrongly I associate it with smells , deo can’t work as well through hair , also people who say it does I assume use an aerosol one which I don’t . I guess I’m of an age where not shaving is more closely related to hippy smells and not bothering , rather than reclaiming your armpits .

Yes. I've never let my armpit hair grow !

I let it grow for 4 months last winter when they weren't on display, and about a month in, it went lovely and soft, and sweat wicked away better.

I feel more sweaty when freshly shaven, because the sweat is just sitting directly on the skin. Especially when wearing sleeves. Freshly shaven looks fine for 12 hours then goes stubbly anyway.

I'd love it if society dropped all the predjudice about women's body hair and insinuating that it's dirty, unhygeinic and smelly. I returned to shaving this spring as I wear a lot of vests for sport so my armpits are on public display for most of the year. I shave them entirely because of society, and because fitness and beauty are often so closely entwined, so it really would stand out in that setting. And people would notice when you do activities like boxing, moving your arms in close proximity.

I agree with some PP. Hair wicks the sweat away from the body, and away from the bacteria that create a whiff... I find my pits smell more when shaven.

I shave if my pits are on show, so usually in summer. I lack the confidence to look hairy.

I do mine on a Sunday, same as my legs. Neither are on show very often, legs more so in the summer months but I’d never wear a sleeveless top so my armpits are only on show when I’m in my swimming costume.
It’s just habit, I don’t really know why I do it.
Dds rarely bother.

I don’t have many as I used to wax every 5 weeks but I now shave daily , I hate the feeling of any hair

Hair actually wicks the sweat away from your skin so it dries quicker.

Smell is a product of bacteria plus moisture - same bacteria on hairy as shaven armpits.

I occasionally shave my armpits (once a year or so if I'm going swimming with someone judgy) - I can tell you there is no difference in smell.

Shaven armpits make you more prone to ingrown hairs, spots, cysts etc.

I don't give a shit what you do with your armpits, just saying the association with smelliness is annoying! Same goes for pube shaving.

Hair actually wicks the sweat away from your skin so it dries quicker.OK that makes sense. I thought it was weird that I get armpit odour if I shave, and no odour if I don't.

I don't understand the association with smelliness. Men don't generally smell any more than women and they tend to have hairy pits.

I don't shave my head either, but you wouldn't look at someone with hair on their head and think they had a smelly head just because of the hair. Armpits get washed much more often than heads do as well.

I do also shave when swimming with judgy people though, so I'm not immune to social pressure even though I wish I was.

Shaving, or anything really, for the sake of social expectations or even just another individuals expectations isn't cool with me. Should always be primarily personal choice and preference

I can't say I feel it's a great deal different these days, except perhaps that people are less vocal about it. I do like to explore questions like this about social norms and expectations etc, hearing how people feel and why, and reading about the history of them and how it varies in different cultures

The same people slightly horrified by a women with armpit hair get confused when I expressed an interest in waxing mine, because I'm a man. I wanted to give other parts a go after getting my nose & ear hair waxed, so I did everything except the "private" bits which I can't bring myself to do because I'm uncomfortable with that. I quite enjoy the sensation of having the hair ripped off, and the woman who does the waxing is great to chat with

I shave them when I remember. I went a year without shaving them once, and the pp is right, once it goes to that lovely silky feeling hair, they are much less sweaty than shaved pits.

I lacked the confidence until this year to let it grow completely. Now I’ve done it! I notice people look twice because it’s not normal where I live to see a woman with armpit hair but literally no one has said anything to me.