Companies also picked out language carefully, creating a story where body hair had negative connotations and would dock points from a woman's scorecard.
For example, X Bazin , a shaving powder brand, shared that their product was used by "women of refinement" for generations to remove "objectionable" hair. Gillette labeled body hair "an embarrassing personal problem" and smooth underarms a "feature of good dressing and good grooming," while another ad claimed you'd be "unloved" and "embarrassed" if you had "ugly, noticeable, and unwanted hair.
If you didn't, you risked being pegged as the opposite. The ads also made sure to make it sound like all the refined and fashionable women were already doing it — or even better, requesting it — making the woman at home feel like she had to keep up with the Plastics. For example, this Gillette ad reads that the razor was finally created after " numerous requests from the leading summer and winter resorts and all the metropolitan fashion centers. Buying a razor wasn't just buying a product, it was buying a social distinction.
A hairless woman was a superior woman. Now that women were on board with keeping their underarms smooth, Gillette wanted to up the ante and move that same urgency to the legs. After all, the more hair you had to shave, the faster your razors would dull and the more you'd have to buy. But the ploy didn't really work. While the fashions in the s flashed some shins and hemlines rose, stockings also came into style. Although no such fashion existed for the problem of underarm hair, wearing stockings seemed to be a quick, hassle-free solution for leg hair," Hansen shared.
While there wasn't much you could do to hide wisps of hair when you threw up your arms in a Charleston, there was an easy way to hide your leg hairs. And seeing how shaving was messy and required a lot of upkeep, women didn't see the need to bother. The indifferent shoulder shrug towards unshaven legs began to change in the '40s, thanks to World War II. Or more specifically, thanks to the boys fighting overseas and taping up pinups to their bunkers.
Enter Betty Grable, her iconic white swimsuit, and her long, smooth legs. She sold over five million pictures throwing a smile over her shoulder and wearing nothing but a one piece and high heels — with those " million dollar legs " going on for miles.
With that one image, "objectionable hair" suddenly applied to a lot more than a small patch of underarm. This was the opportunity advertisers and razor companies were waiting for: For years long hems and tights were women's excuses, but with pinup girls posing in short skirts, playful bathing suits and rompers, companies had their ticket in.
Women wanted to emulate sex appeal, and they couldn't do it with hairy shins. But sensuality wasn't the only reason smooth-shaved pinups inspired women to pay attention to their legs. It was also a way to show their patriotism. Much like with makeup and red lipstick at the time, being beautiful was seen as a duty to the country — to boost both the morale of the nation and the soldiers missing home. Another means of hair removal was also invented when Dr.
Gouraud created one of the first commercial depilatory creams, called Poudre Subtile. Then in , King Camp Gillette his name, not his title released a straight razor that was even safer than Perret's model and would soon evolve into the convenient razors we know today. Though it would be decades later before a razor specifically marketed towards women would appear, this era marked a time when there wasn't any strict beauty standard dictating how women groomed their own body hair.
During World War II, women couldn't wear stockings every day due to the shortage of nylon, meaning they had to go bare-legged on a daily basis. This spurred the practice of women routinely shaving their legs. The first electric razor for women was also released by Remington in Around the time the first women's razor was launched, ads for depilatory creams were becoming increasingly popular. Beauty standards for women were soon being shaped by the media, through images in magazines and in the movies.
In fact, a women's fashion magazine ran an ad featuring a model with her arms raised and her armpits bare. This marked the first time that fashion directly influenced how women groomed their body hair. As hair removal ads ran throughout the midth century and continue today , women felt more obligated to rid their body of hair.
With photoshoots of models embracing hairless armpits and bikini lines, it became clear that the ideal beauty standard for women at the time embraced the no body hair image. Razor ads for men also existed, but they were more focused on facial hair removal.
The most popular method of leg and underarm hair removal soon came into the market. Waxing strips were widely popular due to their efficiency and effectiveness, tied to the growing fashion trends that involved showing more skin, such as the rise of the mini skirt and hotpants.
This also aligned with the Sexual Revolution and Women's Movement of the s, as women gained more liberties and defended their autonomy over their bodies. On one end of the spectrum, many women continued with the clean shaven, body hairless look that had been popularized in the s and '50s, and on the other, feminists turned their back on hair removal and opted to go au naturale.
New hair removal methods continued being developed as the beauty trend became more widespread. The first laser hair removal method was introduced in the mid-'60s, but quickly lost popularity due to its damaging effects. That said, the s eventually brought the development of transistorized equipment, allowing safer methods of electrolysis and laser hair removal.
While bikinis have been around since the s, they continued getting smaller throughout the 20th century, and by the s the style was completely mainstream. With more exposure came a growing desire to remove hair around the bikini line, in addition to other areas of the body like the legs and armpits. Brazilian waxes, a beauty treatment consisting of removing all pubic hair, became a standard by the '80s. It is reported that the first full body waxing experience was first offered in the U.
From that point on, waxing centers and spas have provided whole menus dedicated to waxing treatments, addressing just about every part of the body with hair. Today, body hair is no longer tied to any standard of beauty. After thousands of years of being told what to do with their hair, society has reached a point where body hair is now celebrated, and men and women alike are free to do whatever they want with it.
In , Julia Roberts sent shockwaves throughout pop culture history when she waved her hand during the premiere of Notting Hill and revealed her underarm hair.
At the time, the image made headlines and tabloids claimed she was making a feminist statement. Druggists also sold commercial depilatories, which chemically break down hairs so that they can be wiped away. Electric razors made hair removal more convenient and less dangerous. However, the Hair Removal section relied on the following references:. Adams, Russell B. King C. Boston: Little, Brown, Jones, Geoffrey.
Peiss, Kathy Lee. New York: Metropolitan Books, Sherrow, Victoria. Encyclopedia of Hair: a Cultural History. Westport, Conn. To skip the text and go directly to the objects, CLICK HERE Personal care products which remove unwanted hair from the face and body were developed to address interwoven concerns about hygiene and personal appearance.
She does not approve of the massage-finish of the tonsorial artist. Steel straight razor Folding safety razor Safety razor with replaceable blades Schermack Round Razor for armpits Because personal safety razors use disposable blades, men who shaved every day also had to purchase a constant supply of blades.
Gillette Catalog Advertisement for Razor sets. Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution American beauty standards and practices for women were also affected by the innovation and marketing of the safety razor. Krank's Brushless Shave Kreem. Hair Ender. Smith Double Edge Blades.
Treet Blades Double Edge. Handy Grip Shaving Stick.
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