If you are too one of those folks who were scrolling through TikTok on a random day and came across a video of a creator flaunting their rainbow-coloured armpit hairs. You choose to ignore it until you see another video of a creator giving a tutorial on something that's called unicorn armpit hair.
What is this trend? And how did it become so viral? It's the viral female armpit hair trend that everybody from influencers to celebrities is trying out as a statement towards body positivity and celebrating armpit hair, especially on women striving to normalize them.
The Instagram Armpit Hair Trend
Have the women on the internet thrown away their razors to embrace their natural bodily hairs that are human to every grown-up? Or are so many creators playing one big prank on their audience and it's nothing but sarcasm?
Well, in 2019, two university students began this trend called #januhairy, starting this chain of normalizing armpit hair on women. Which is also a take on accepting and embracing the beauty of women’s bodies. This normalization was followed by the glorification of armpit hair on women, where many creators and influencers decided to dye them and add colour to the Januhairy trend as it evolved and so the term “unicorn armpit hair” was coined.
Januhairy has a big part to play in this campaign as it created this supportive environment for women to practise more self-confidence and challenge the ideals of femininity and beauty.
Some of the influencers who have contributed a lot to this campaign and influenced many others across the globe to accept your already present beauty and reject the norms of standardised beauty are as:
1. Queen Esie
Esther "Queen Esie" Calixte-Bea has devoted her entire online platform to normalizing natural female armpit hair trends and creating safe haven for women to feel comfortable in their own skin.
She admits to practising self-love and doesn't believe in “struggling” with hirsutism, but embracing, accepting, and cherishing it because, at the end of the day, it’s what makes it you.
2. Constanza Concha
Cottyconcha is a well-known name in the influencer world, where she not only showcases her personal styles but has worked with multiple magazines like Cosmopolitan and Glamour, she aims to create awareness around different types of bodies and body hair for women. On several occasions, she proudly flaunted her armpit hair showing the world that it's ok to have hair because there’s beauty within it.
3. Carmen mejia
Carmen uses her social media as her personal diary, giving us a glimpse of her lifestyle and casual routines, but her main focus remains clear which is to spread body positivity and bust myths that are related to femininity and masculinity. She stresses the subject of body hair a lot with her statement line “Having hair makes you human, and nothing less”.
4. Ru
Roll with Ru gives voice to a lot of people across the world including LGBTQIA+ community and people with disabilities. She shared the challenges faced by a disabled person if they willingly (or even unwillingly, on some occasions) choose not to shave, either their armpits or any part of the body.
5. Krystal Lake
Krystal Lake is an unapologetic comedian who uses her social media platforms to create awareness on many topics, out of which includes women's equality, where she sometimes often focuses on subjects that are seemingly taboo, like body on women.
Armpit Hair in the Celebrity World
We have witnessed many celebrities walking on red carpets or for movie premiers waving their hands at their fans, all while flaunting their armpit hair. The paparazzi managed to get the perfect shorts for the celebrities and from here on, magazine after magazine printed these images on the front pages which sparked movements of women accepting and embracing their body hair.
1. Julia Roberts
Julia Roberts at the 1999 London premiere of Notting Hill, waved at fans and revealed her unshaved armpits. Although, unintentional Julia Robers, being the Hollywood’s sweetheart sparked a movement across women inciting acceptance of natural parts of a women’s body.
2. Sophia Lauren
During the height of her career, Sophia Lauren often showed armpit hair, especially in Photoshoots radiating confidence and elegance. She was unapologetic and where today, many would applaud her confidence, it was not as widely appreciated back in the day.
3. Madonna
During the launch of Madonna’s new album “Like a Virgin”, Madonna took a path down the road to market her album with photographic implications. Armpit hair pairs with black lingerie were symbolism directed towards the new album.
4. Britney Spears
During the time when Britney reigned the beauty standards, she walked the red carpet in 2003 showing a little bit of stubble under her arms, showcasing and celebrating a completely natural side of women.
5. Drew Barrymore
Draw Barrymore attended the New York Fashion Week in 200 in full confidence and a relentless non-chalant aura about her, in the most stunning sleeveless black dress. Her underarm hair peaked in pictures as she posed for photographs.
Is Female Armpit Hair Truly a Trend?
Armpit hair on women was historically always stigmatised and was seen as a topic of Taboo, largely due to the influence of beauty standards perpetuated by advertising and media where razor and epilator cream companies, advertised their products by depicting the fact the body hair on women was disgusting and unattractive.
The rise of body positivity movements, however, has encouraged individuals to reclaim autonomy over their bodies, breaking away from societal norms and one such trend to incite conversations and empowerment is the Instagram female armpit hair trend. In this context, armpit hair has become a powerful statement against unrealistic beauty expectations, symbolising acceptance and individuality.
Social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok have amplified the trend and given vivid answers to questions like is female armpit hair a trend? Videos of influencers dyeing their armpit hair or showcasing it naturally have gone viral, encouraging conversations about personal choice and challenging the notion that body hair is "unhygienic" or "unfeminine". This trend is often seen as a form of resistance to patriarchal beauty standards, making it more than just a passing fashion statement.
Conclusion
Women are especially led to believe that their armpit hair is unclean and they must remove it or else they won't be practising a hygienic routine. Many myths also surfaced following this trend such as that armpit hair produces more sweat and leads to bad body odor. Models in magazines, advertising agencies, and trendsetters all collectively led women to believe that armpit hair or any kind of body hair, is not natural.
And this is simply not true. Body hair on any part of the body is always 100% natural and taking control over it where you don't let other opinions affect you is a powerful move towards reclaiming your autonomy and promoting femininity in a different yet more realistic light.
