Most women shave at least some part of their bodies, but many women have stopped shaving completely. This lifestyle change may be hard to understand at first, but you shouldn’t judge it until you know the details. These ladies have well thought out their reasons for skipping shaving and make sense once you hear their reasoning.
Currently, nearly 85% of women in the United States shave their body hair regularly. This is considered to be normal since it has been the way of life for a very long time. Some women, however, aren’t interested in what is normal in society, and they want to forge their path.
Their reasons for making this change vary depending on which woman you ask. This only shows that there are many reasons for them to have stopped shaving. These reasons range from saving time to having healthier skin and many reasons in between.
5 Reasons Women Stopped Shaving
Here are just five reasons why women across Twitter stopped shaving.
1. To Save Time
It takes up even more time to shave properly, avoiding nicks and irritation than a quick shave would. So, either way, it takes time, and to do it properly, the amount of time is even greater.
Not only do women have to use extra time and caution to avoid nicks and irritation, but they also have quite a bit of upkeep. When someone shaves, the hair can grow back rapidly, which causes uncomfortable, pokey stubble. Because of this, women have to shave often to avoid stubble and use special creams and exfoliators.
The more steps and products added to the mix, the longer it will take a woman to shave. So, many women are just skipping the process altogether and saving quite a bit of time.
A Twitter user using the handle @proboo_east explained, “This sums up exactly why I stopped wearing women’s clothing. Now, I don’t meet the standards of what a woman should be (I also save hours every month by not shaving). The mental energy constantly being expended to exist without conflict from others as a woman is mind-crushing.” While she has a few different reasons why she stopped shaving, she is sure to point out how many hours she saves
Another Twitter user going by the handle @LRohmmy gave a shorter but effective response. She explained, “shaving your legs takes too long, that’s why I don’t do it.”
So, as you can see, many women choose to save their time for more productive tasks.
2. It Can Hurt
Anyone who has shaved before knows the risks they are taking when it comes to pain. There are many painful aspects to consider from common issues such as razor burn and shaving nicks to more serious issues such as rashes and inflammation.
Even the basic risks are painful and uncomfortable and can lead to further issues. Razor burn often comes with razor bumps, which cause a rash, skin tenderness, and inflammation.
It’s not as if they only have to deal with this once in a while for women. When women regularly shave their body hair, these painful issues are something they deal with every couple of days. Even if they went with a different hair removal method, such as waxing or plucking, there is pain involved.
If you only consider the most basic pain involved with shaving, you can still understand why some women stopped shaving. No matter how careful you try to be, cuts from a razor happen. If you end up with one on the back of your knee, consider how much it hurts each time you walk.
One Twitter user with the handle @Ggggcat1 posted, “Stopped shaving armpits as a quarantine experiment bc mine were always really sore. Also partly political I guess. I like it tho – I smell better because my skin’s not irritated & I like the soft hair. Looking in the mirror at an adult woman made me like my body more too.” While she gave multiple reasons for not shaving, she mentions the soreness and irritated skin that she doesn’t experience anymore.
3. They Don’t Mind Having Hair on Their Bodies and Don’t Want to Conform
Some women don’t care about having hair on their bodies. It doesn’t bother them, and if that’s the case, there’s no reason to bother with it. Since it’s natural, they don’t feel the need to remove the hair and conform to society’s standards of women.
Women who stopped shaving to stop conforming realized they were only shaving because of social pressure. By stopping, they feel they are setting a better example for young girls because they are showing you don’t have to conform. They view it as a way of making decisions for themselves based on their desires.
One Twitter user going by @Sian_J67 said, “I used to shave all year round as a young adult, and then I realized that all of this “self-care” was just social pressure to be hairless and I don’t wanna live in that kinda world, so why would I model those expectations for future generations?”
Another Twitter user, @sanguinate, explained, “I feel like society has moved past the need for shaved legs.” She states that it isn’t necessary to shave your legs if you don’t want to and that society doesn’t need it.
4. Their Body Temperature is Better Regulated
Animals have hair and fur to keep them warm, and it can do the same for humans. This is why humans have hair on their heads because it insulates and keeps you warm. Body hair does the same thing, plus it can sense temperature changes and adjust your body ahead of time.
This could be why men tend to stay warmer than women. Men tend to have more body hair as it is, and when women shave theirs off, they are left with little protection.
A Twitter user using the handle @radvaz stated that she needed her body hair to stay warm. In a tweet, she shared, “There will be no shaving until February. I need my fur to stay warm.”
Another Twitter user, @SladeKelsey, posted, “Hairy legs are so freeing! I love my leg hair, it keeps me warm in the cold, it’s soft, you can play with it, and it feels great blowing in the wind! Hair is human and beautiful”.
5. To Be Healthier
Finally, some women have stopped shaving to be healthier. You may think that your body hair has nothing to do with your health, but unfortunately, this isn’t the case.
When you get cut shaving, it opens your body to infections that it would normally protect you from. Ingrown hairs caused by shaving do the same thing, furthering your risk of infection.
The infection that it would cause isn’t a basic infection, either. Oftentimes, staph infections will occur in these areas. Not only are staph infections excruciating, but they can be dangerous if a person does not seek treatment quickly.
Even worse, sometimes shaving causes small tears on your skin that you can’t see or detect. Any bacteria that you come in contact with can squeeze into these tiny tears. This leads to skin irritation, redness, swelling, and even fluid-filled sacs on the outside of your skin.
Body hair is natural.
All of these issues are ones that wouldn’t be as likely to happen if you left your body hair in place. That’s why some women have decided to stop shaving.
One Twitter user mentioned how her lymph nodes became infected often and how those infections eased after she stopped shaving. In her tweet, using the handle @LaVampiraBruja, she explained, “Yes! I would get lymph node infections in my armpits very often, so I stopped shaving, and it helped a bit, but after the detox, they stopped completely. It’s been almost 4 years since my last lymph node infection”.
Another Twitter user, @gothwyfe, explained, “I haven’t shaved my armpits in 2 years. I was self-conscious at first, but now I see my armpits hair as an accessory. I used to get ingrown hairs and cystic acne in my armpits from shaving (gross). After learning the origins of shaving, I decided it is not for me.”
Other Twitter users, such as @MsXandry, also stated that they stopped shaving for health reasons. She posted, “Stopped shaving my armpits and legs three weeks ago for “health reasons.”” While the quotation marks in her tweet may make you wonder if that’s her true reason, it is highly believable based on the health issues it can cause.
Final Thoughts on Women Explain 5 Reasons They Stopped Shaving Completely
While many women are still shaving their body hair, there is a reason for some of them to have stopped shaving. Their decision might have come from a way to stop conforming to society or other reasons such as health or pain. No matter what the reason, it’s important to understand rather than judge.
Who knows, after learning these reasons some women have stopped shaving, you might do it, too. If you have already stopped, you can add these reasons to your lift of reasons why. However, if you want to keep shaving as you have been, at least you’ll now understand why some women don’t.
