Let it grow: The ‘Januhairy’ movement wants us to embrace body hair

A campaign on social media is challenging people to consider where hairless beauty ideals come from and providing solidarity for those who reject them.

The first month of the year is traditionally a time of change and resolution. Gym memberships spike, people seek new jobs in record numbers and abstaining from alcohol and meat becomes a popular pastime. But over the past six years, this period has also been marked by “Januhairy,” an initiative challenging women to put down their razors for the month. Despite its name, the message is evergreen and the campaign’s official Instagram account, which has over 40,000 followers, posts images of women celebrating their body hair year-round in a bid to normalize it. “Januhairy is liberating because it gets you thinking about the way you treat your body and why,” Januhairy founder Laura Jackson told British newspaper Metro in 2021, adding: “Maybe soon we’ll be at a point where people can just do what they want in relation to body hair and we won’t even need to talk about it. That would be something.” While there’s evidence of ancient Egyptians, Romans and Renaissance-era Europeans practicing hair removal, the status quo for women in the West — namely that hairless underarms, legs, bikini lines and upper lips are more socially acceptable — came about after the men of World War I returned home with disposable safety razors, only for women to experiment with them. Fashions were changing too, with garments that revealed more skin coming into vogue — sleeveless tops that revealed the underarm for instance, and higher hemlines that showed more of the wearer’s legs. Razor manufacturer Gillette saw a golden opportunity and, in 1915, launched the “Milady Decolette.” Various advertisements from the time bill it as the “well-groomed” woman’s solution to “an embarrassing personal problem.” “It was a very conscious decision (by Gillette) to aggressively expand their market to women,” said Breanne Fahs, a professor of women and gender studies at Arizona State University, in a telephone interview with CNN.