Body Hair During Quarantine 

It isn’t news that we officially live in the Upside Down: any semblance of normalcy has gone out the window, and so too have our previous lives’ attitudes and routines, including self-care and beauty. With hair, nail and wax salons a thing of the past, a decidedly DIY mentality has emerged in its place. This new reality begs the question: when it comes to body hair while in lockdown, how have your attitudes and behaviors changed (if at all)? We asked six women to find out. 

“Having more regular sex since being quarantined means I have to shave way more frequently. I lasered a few years ago on my legs and bikini zone, but still get patchy spots that I maintain with shaving. I think I’ve also just gotten way more into self-grooming out of boredom during quarantine; it really passes the time. Maybe it’s also a way to keep your sex life interesting, when you don’t have the normal sexiness of both being busy. When sex is so available and easy, you have to make it interesting somehow.” - Katherine, 35

“I’ve been single a while and generally only ‘lady-scape’ when I know I’m getting laid. In this climate, my body hair is the last thing on my mind. I’m not going on virtual dates, so I’m not dating at all. What’s the point? Furthermore, as of late, I’m more on the Lena Dunham side of the Why the fuck am I waxing or shaving at all? spectrum. Hair is meant for protection and it’s natural. No judgement if you prefer a hairless vag – I like it from time to time too, and that doesn’t make me a bad feminist. The Brazilian (AKA the Hollywood in Europe) was created fashionable by the porn industry, and as we all know, fashion does not exist in COVID-19 – unless you take athleisure as seriously as I do.” - Gill, 23

“Over the past month, I haven’t really done anything at all in terms of waxing and shaving, mostly a bit of trimming – I hate to start shaving and have it grow back thicker (forgoing all of the perks of being a religious waxer since high school). Since me and my boyfriend have been home together all the time and having sex much more frequently, it’s been an interesting way to get to know each other. There’s been a much more relaxed attitude towards body hair, which has been kind of nice. My beauty routine has become much more laissez-faire in general, which has been beneficial in terms of time saved and self-confidence. Do I think this will trickle into waxing less when this is over? Probably not, but I guess we’ll have to wait and see.” - CJ, 29 

“I’ve been doing a combination of waxing and lasering for a while now (I know, you’re not supposed to), and I actually missed a laser appointment the week before I started self-isolating. I’m just seeing what happens, and living in fear of my next wax appointment, but not doing much at the moment.” - Barbara, 31 

“I hate the way my legs feel when I slip my leggings on or when my legs are a week into being unshaved. The discomfort of going against the hair growth does not spark joy. My leg and arm ritual involves loud music, natural Consonant moisturizing bar soap, a cellulose sponge to get my skin ready, and a Gillette 5-blade men’s razor. For my face, I use a single blade razor (that I disinfect first to prevent a breakout) on dry skin. I wash my face right after and let it dry before using a serum and moisturizer. For my pubic area, I never shave or wax because I can't stand ingrowns. If I had darker hair I would laser it all off, but since I can't, I use a battery-powered trimmer. It leaves a little 5 o’clock shadow that I actually think looks really cute and I never have to deal with nasty, raging infections caused by hair being trapped under the skin.” - Emma, 30

“My body hair habits haven't changed drastically while being isolated and working from home, but I'm also pretty low maintenance when it comes to body hair grooming to begin with. I still shave my legs and armpits in the shower, which is admittedly a bit less frequent – my hair gets dirty really fast so I usually showered everyday when I was going to work, but am now experimenting with washing my hair less! My bikini area hasn't gotten too crazy yet thanks to a wax in late February and slow growth from over a decade of waxing, but I may have to resort to shaving depending how long this goes on for. I'm pretty committed to waxing, so hopefully will be able to pick that up again before it gets too au naturale. Either way I’m not too fussed, and my husband/quarantine partner isn't either.” - Blair, 28