16 Reasons Why More Women Nowadays Choose to Stop Shaving

Women started shaving in the early twentieth century, and since then, it looks like this habit has been passed down from one generation to the next. However, in recent years, many women have chosen and continue to choose to let their body hair grow. Or they just shave once every few weeks or months, or whenever they feel like it. The point is that women nowadays feel confident and free enough to not care about what others say about their hair behind their backs or to their faces.

• I go back and forth — I shave when I want to, but that’s certainly not all the time. It just feels so high-maintenance. If I wanted to keep smooth legs, I’d have to shave every single day, and that’s just more work than I’d want to put in. localgyro / Reddit
• My skin is super sensitive. I literally do not understand how anyone shaves and doesn’t want to rip their skin off because it’s so painful and itchy. dipdopdoop / Reddit
• I like the aesthetic of it, actually. I always thought armpit hair on girls was super cute, and then I was like, oh yeah, I could just do that. Used to compulsively shave everything, but now I just shave my legs. It’s also helped me feel a lot more confident and have agency over my body. fathomsdown / Reddit

• I only do my armpits because it’s quick, the hair will smell if I go a while without doing it. With anything else, it takes too much time and work for something that grows back and that I don’t care about. tc88 / Reddit
• I don’t shave my legs at all — my leg hair is older than my marriage at this point — and I only shave my pits “when I feel like it,” which is usually when it gets long enough to braid. As for the bits, I’ll treat myself to a wax 3 or 4 times a year, but otherwise, I let it grow. My family went through stages of disgust, anger, and finally amusement at it. My husband switched over from neutral to actually attracted to it. turkproof / Reddit
• I’m pale with dark hair, and I don’t shave anything. I stopped shaving nearly 3 years ago. I stopped with my armpits last summer.
  It has been such a non-issue; I’ve had serious boyfriends, one-night stands, and things in between. I’ve gone to beaches and worn bikinis. My friends don’t care, my partners don’t care — I’ve only gotten a few questions, and none of them have been in an accusatory or confrontational manner. boxersshorts / Reddit

• I’ve come to the realization somewhat recently that not shaving has helped me gain a little confidence regarding my body and appearance because I was finally doing what I wanted, no external motivators. I do still experience some anxiety about my hair being visible in public, even after years of not shaving, but it’s lessened over the years, and it continues to lessen. I want to get to the point where the anxiety isn’t there at all. ayuxx / Reddit
• I don’t shave because I don’t mind having hair on my body. I don’t have a problem with it personally, so don’t feel any compulsion to erase it. My hair isn’t uncomfortable, so there’s little practical incentive to do it.
  I don’t shave because I am prone to ingrown hairs that can be quite irritating and painful. When I do shave, I shave because I feel pressured to because it is an accepted norm. nootqueen / Reddit

• I stopped shaving (everything) last September. It was something I had considered for a while, but I thought I would have to justify it to people on a regular basis. So I prepared myself mentally and finally tossed my razor, only to find that nobody cares. My partner was unfazed, and I feel like it’s brought us closer because he loves my body as it is (not only under very strict circumstances). Nikx / Reddit
• As a joke, I grew out my armpit hair about a year and a half ago. It started because I told my husband that my armpits, grown out, were manlier than his. After having fuzzy pits for a few months, I went ahead and shaved. After seeing my pits bald again, my husband said it looked odd to him now, and he preferred the way they looked with hair, and that they felt nicer when fuzzy. Mother_Of_Odin / Reddit
• I realized I was only doing it because I felt self-conscious if I didn’t. I got no actual enjoyment from it myself, didn’t particularly like how it looked. I dislike the “fresh shave” feel on my legs and I don’t enjoy spending money on supplies for it or dealing with ankle cuts. UristMcD / Reddit

• Skin irritation, mainly. Also, the things I am doing when I am not shaving are mainly things I enjoy better than the act of shaving, so the extra time is a bonus. anytime_yoga / Reddit
• I’m horribly prone to ingrown hairs and have a nice scar on my armpit where one turned into an abscess. That was fun. So these days, I’ll leave it until it’s long enough to be annoying and then just trim it down. Leg hair is sufficiently fine, so I don’t bother with it at all. MuchWittering / Reddit
• Razors are too expensive. It’s just not worth it. notronbro / Reddit

• I have virtually no leg hair, so I don’t bother unless it’s beach time. Armpit hair. I just don’t dare, and it’s not that thick. babyreadsalot / Reddit
• Laziness, plain and simple. Shaving is a pain in the behind. The only thing I consistently do anymore is my armpits cause I sweat a lot, and it would irritate me. Restingbface91 / Reddit

Why do you think society is so fixated on seeing women completely hairless? Should we try to change our way of thinking?