Rumor has it we’ve been grooming away our body hair for over 100,000 years, starting by plucking it out one by one, then later moving to actual tools. Back before modern conveniences like showers, shaving body hair may have been considered a way to reduce odors, infections, and pests. Now, however, whether or not to shave one’s body hair is purely an aesthetic choice, and one some are starting to examine more closely. This is because even though all genders have body hair, only women are pressured to shave theirs off. A shaved body has been the ideal of feminine beauty for decades, but that doesn’t make it healthy, or mind blowing thought, or most beautiful way to upkeep our bodies.
Here are some health benefits to help you rethink underarm shaving.
1. The Risk Factor
Most obviously, by not shaving under your arms you’ll eliminate the dermatological problems that can result from doing so: ingrown hairs, razor burn, rashes, and irritation. Additionally, those tiny little nicks and cuts from shaving can lead to infections like MRSA, if they come into contact with it, the potential for which is mitigated by not shaving in the first place.
2. Easing Friction
Not shaving reduces skin-on-skin contact friction, which means when you do activities that involve arm movement, like running or walking, your skin is much less likely to get irritated by the friction. This might lead to fewer skin issues like rashes and ingrown hairs.
3. Pheromones
It’s common knowledge our natural scents play a role in our attractions; just think of how someone might seem made for you on a dating app, but in person your expectations fall flat for seemingly no reason. We fit, or don’t, with others partially based on how our bodies react to the scent of theirs, and that scent is caused by pheromones. A study published in 2018 showed that the natural pheromones of our partners make us feel calmer and less stressed.
4. Chemical Concerns
There’s a lot of talk out there about aluminum and breast cancer, but the claim that the aluminum in antiperspirants leads to increased rates of breast cancer has yet to be widely proven. However, no matter what chemicals you put under your arms, you will absorb a greater percentage of them when you apply deodorant and/or antiperspirant after having just shaved. The rate of increase may seem minor, with the jump being from .01% to .06% with damaged skin, but that is a six-fold rise in chemical exposure regardless.
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