Leigh Campbell: 'I hated my hairy arms growing up. Now I shave them, everyone has an opinion.'

Growing up, I had the hairiest arms and I HATED THEM. 

I’m not talking a bit of brown arm hair, I’m talking a Chewbacca-style blanket of black hair that covered my entire forearm and made me feel like I was wearing a jumper in summer.

Okay maybe that’s a slight exaggeration, but that’s how it manifested in my mind and how my self-esteem read it. It really got me down. (And before you recommend laser hair removal, next time you see me remind me to show you the almighty scar I have from a laser test-patch from 2004 when I attempted to get all the hair zapped off in my early 20s.)

A few dumb boys made comments in my teens and 20s and dumb boys are usually the ones you have crushes on at those ages, so it hurt. I’d tried waxing but wound up with lumps and bumps - it just wasn't for me.

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Then one day I thought to myself, “I shave my legs. I shave under my arms. Why don't I just shave my forearms?!” And I did. And I have every few days ever since. And have been much happier as a result.

Until people quiz me on it, which is more often than you’d think. If someone is a hugger or toucher they often then remark, “Your arms are so soft. Oh! You don't have any hair there?” to which I reply “yeah, I shave them.”

“You SHAVE YOUR ARMS? You can't shave your arms!”

And so ensues a conversation about how my arm hair will grow back thicker and darker, which is literally impossible. Lopping off a strand of hair where it meets the skin does not send a signal to the root of the hair to turn evil and thicken in width or texture. It simply grows back as it was before. 

They then ask about stubble, to which I explain that yes, it’d feel a bit prickly, just like legs, if I left it... but that six swipes of a razor in the shower does both forearms in around 10 seconds. I’m the boss, not the stubble

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People then usually kinda nod and we change the subject, but I can see them making a mental judgement because it’s acceptable - and expected - for a woman to shave her legs but to do so to her other two limbs is somehow shameful or wrong.

There really isn't a point to this article, except to say if you shave your arms, or have really hairy forearms, high five to you! I’m a beauty expert with free access to every method of hair removal known to humans and I do what suits me and my lifestyle best, as unglamourous as it may be. 

If you pluck the hairs from your big toe, good on you! If your pubes are so long (thanks, iso) you could plait them to your knees, more power to you! If you shave your face, so do I! 

Feature Image: Supplied.

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