Women ditch waxing as part of “Januhairy” movement

UK women are ditching shaving and waxing this January in a bid to break the taboo surrounding female body hair.

The campaign, called #Januhairy, was founded by drama student Laura Jackson from Exeter University and encourages women to grow out their natural body hair and raise money for charity.

Body Gossip is an arts and education charity that aims to promote body positivity and “empower everybody to be the best version of themselves”.   

“Society seems to be behaving as if the natural hair we grow on our bodies is unattractive and distasteful. We are so used to removing our body hair that we are becoming unfamiliar with our authentic selves,” said Jackson.

“Januhairy is an experiment for women to come together, encourage one another and be sponsored to grow out our body hair for the month of January.”

Women in the UK, US, France, Canada, Germany, Russia and Spain are already taking part. 

Jackson came up with the idea after growing out her hair for a drama performance last year. “Though I felt liberated and more confident in myself, some people around me didn’t understand why I didn’t shave/didn’t agree with it. I realised that there is still so much more for us to do to be able to accept one another fully and truly,” she added. 

Full details of how you can take part are on the Januhairy Instagram page. 

Meanwhile, a Glasgow beauty salon is donating all its profits to raise funds for a hospice. 

Image: ©Instagram/@janu_hairy