hairy women
by Patsy Westcott
hairy women | history of an obsession | depilation methods | hypertrichosis and hirsutism | can the doctor help? | Find out more
Peta has had virtually every scrap of her body hair waxed away every two weeks for the past 15 years and has never seen herself in her 'natural hairy state'.
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Lynn is a self-confessed 'hair removal addict' who spends £120 a month on defuzzing. She admits, 'Body hair is on my mind most of the time' and says, 'One of the top five things I want to do in life before I die is to get rid of my body hair.'
your hairy questions
pubic image
Our advisors have had quite a few questions from young people who seemed uncertain about whether a pubic trim was a necessity or a fashion choice. 'Is it normal to shave before sex?' asked one 16-year-old. Another wanted to know: 'Do you have to shave all your pubic hair off?'
Rebecca, a glamour model voted the fourth sexiest woman in the UK by a men's magazine, routinely shaves, waxes and tweezes herself to air-brushed perfection, although she insists, 'I'm doing it for myself not for men.'
Fiona's hairy chin is a close-kept secret from friends and family, and she gets up every morning hours before boyfriend, Craig, to pluck out the excess hairs. 'It rules my thinking all the time, every day,' she says.
Although, arguably, only Fiona has a real problem with surplus hair, all four women are obsessed with hair removal, as is a vast proportion of the female population of the UK. No surprise then that the women of this country spend a cool £280 million in the quest for silky smooth legs, arms, face and more. As Germaine Greer has observed, 'However much body hair a woman has, it is too much.'
But what sparks an obsession with body hair? Dr Tony Carr, head of clinical psychology at the University of Plymouth, has carried out several large-scale surveys looking into the prevalence of concern with appearance. He says: 'An unkind remark at a vulnerable stage such as early adolescence may trigger a preoccupation with a particular feature.'
Once such a preoccupation has taken hold it can be perpetuated by faulty thinking along the lines of, 'In order to be loved or successful I have to be attractive,' he adds.
According to Carr, some 30% of women and 12-15% of men are overly concerned with some aspect of their appearance, although an obsession with facial and body hair is fairly uncommon.
As Carr points out, we are all faced daily with a barrage of pictures in magazines, on billboards and on our TV and cinema screens depicting society's preferred body image. And that image is unequivocally young, attractive, healthy – and fuzz-free.
your hairy questions
shaving stories
Some women who contacted us knew they wanted to get rid of their pubes but were concerned about the side-effects of shaving. 'Is it OK to shave or will I get a rash?' asked 16-year-old Polly. Mary, 28, had already shaved her pubic hair and was now red and itchy. 'Will Canesten cream help?' she asked. 20-year-old Suzy was a seasoned shaver but was looking for an longer-lasting alternative with less likelihood of a rash. 'What about Immac?' she wanted to know. We couldn't recommend depilatory cream for all-over pubic hair removal, but it is an option for the more conventional bikini line. 'Shaving makes my bikini line coarser. What else can I do?' asked one 17-year-old woman. She wasn't interested in waxing, but Gwen was. Gwen had tried waxing at home but was unhappy with how long it lasted. Her question was, 'Which is the best waxing kit?' Layla, 16, seemed happy enough with waxing her unwanted hair. However, she was interested in products that might slow down the regrowth: 'Do hair inhibitor creams work?' she asked.
(February 2003, resources updated January 2005)
