Before starting the research for this article, I asked myself whether this should be a blog here at all? After all, this is a women’s blog and I knew I would be a bit offended by the result because, while I am surrounded by men, I know that just like children, they can be mean. That said, curiosity is a powerful force and so I asked my male friends to canvas a group of men representing a cross-section of males from their 20s-50s throughout the spectrum of races and economic strata. If there’s a dude in your life, chances are I got an opinion from someone that matches his profile. If you’re worried about your body hair issues, you are not alone, about 2/3 of the fairer sex worry about either having too much body hair or having hair in the wrong places (think chin, toes, and armpits to start with). As an Indian woman with lighter skin you can bet I am one of them. Before we get into the results though, I want to go on the record as saying that I too, was horrified with the results. Yes, Rose’s is a purveyor of shaving products, but we do what we do with one goal in mind. Confidence based upon a choice you make (see our first blog here). Women feel confident when we feel beautiful, and for a lot of us, smooth is beautiful. What you read below may be a blow to that confidence. If that is the case keep in mind that we love you regardless of how much or how little body hair you choose to live with. So without further ado, the top 5 reasons men don’t like fuzzy females…
1. Stubble or hair feels nowhere near as nice as smooth skin: This was the single most popular reason why men said they weren’t into female facial or body hair. Hairy or stubbly legs were cited as a major turnoff with one charming respondent stating that he did not “want to lick sandpaper”. Other areas below the waist were cited as well with another soul likening going downtown on a full bushed woman to “an unwanted flossing session” while yet another said, “it just prevents access to the fun bits so it’s in their best interest to keep my path clear”. In each of these circumstances, it was clear that smooth skin was much preferred to any sort of hair. The same was true above the waist with men citing an unwelcomed tingling sensation from kissing a girl with even a slight mustache, cause you know – we like that sensation.
2. It just looks better without hair: A close second – the “it just looks better” argument was another reason men cited as a reason for us to remain hairless from the eyelashes down. Facial hair was the main culprit here with mustaches and errant chin hair garnering the most hatred. This was followed by leg hair which was deemed a strict no-no especially if going out. While men cited shaved or trimmed lady parts as being “easier on the eyes” this was less of a concern than I would have originally thought. Armpit hair was another high-ranking area where men thought it just looked “wrong”. It seems to me that much of what men are afraid of here is less their own preferences; it's what they would view as embarrassing if they took said woman out for a night on the town and her hair habits did not conform to American cultural standards.
3. Too much hair on a girl is emasculating: This was an interesting reason that came up enough to warrant its inclusion. Men felt that excess hair on a girl (this is actually a condition that affects ~10% of women) is emasculating. Several men cited their own inability or difficulty growing either facial or body hair. While I thought this was a cop-out answer, I do believe there is truth here. Men are supposed to be the stronger, hairier sex as dictated by historic cultural norms. When a man is nearly hairless he generally gets teased for this and so it makes sense that one way for him to regain his relative masculinity is to be the hairier of the two persons in a couple. This, however, means that his partner is expected to be completely free of hair from the eyelashes down, a difficult task to maintain.
4. I take care of my body hair so women should do the same: This came up several times when speaking to men who are naturally hairy and have taken steps to become less so. While they generally understand the need to shave, they do not understand that the frequency requirements for women are much higher and the tolerance for a slip-up in the public eye is much lower. That said, several men said that women don’t have to shave their backs or chest so that evens the shaving load. Men also are less likely to spend as much on hair removal. Men typically will shave body hair only a much smaller percentage of men utilize waxing, chemicals, or electrolysis as a means of ridding themselves of hair. Women, on the other hand, have often felt forced into either waxing or chemicals despite the pain or the damage to their skin. This was exacerbated by the fact that women paid dearly for good razors or were burned (literally) by the cheaper ones. Luckily, we are here to solve that problem – Roses Razors can be used on any and all parts of the body with little to no irritation. Just remember to change your blade often, blunt blades make for bumpy skin regardless of the brand!
5. Poor grooming habits are reflective of a lazy character: When I first saw these comments as a reason that women should shave I nearly threw up in my mouth. It was simply that distasteful. Men don’t seem to realize how busy our lives really are. We take on the roles of friend, wife, girlfriend, fiancé, worker bee, boss, manager, nurse, mother, daughter, cook, head of the house, maid, entrepreneur, sex demon, party maven and negotiator nearly every day. We are generally responsible for the children, for our own jobs, for the men in our lives and for ourselves. It’s not a matter of if we will slip, it’s a matter of when we will slip. A missed day of shaving is not a testament to our laziness but to our extremely packed lives. Unfortunately, we can’t make your lives super simple but we can definitely simplify your shaving routine. Just join one of our shave plans and voila, you don’t need to worry about shaving equipment ever again. It’s shipped to you just when you need it for a price that won’t bust your wallet.
So there it is – the reasons men tend to shy away from fuzzy females. My hubby was like this too initially, so I made a bet with him. Do my routine for a week. That was it – just one week. He saw the amount of time that was needed and the thoroughness of our process. Since that day he hasn’t given me too much guff about my shaving regime or my slip days. After all, those are MY routines which I will keep to on MY schedule. Most men won’t do the routine citing either its emasculating effect or just the fact that they are a man “and don’t have to”. Dealing with these guys isn’t easy and frankly, I don’t have a good answer for this but my guess is that most men will take bush over celibacy.
Comments will be approved before showing up.