Balbon

Last week, my niece asked me and my sister why we have hair on our underarms. She said some grown ups don’t. We had to explain to her that having body hair is normal.

I have to admit though, when I was younger, I had my own share of insecurities because of body hair. I am balbon*, so I used to watch TV shopping channels and dream that someday I will buy those hair removal products.

photo by akarri.a please follow her on instagram.

As time passed, I learned how to love my body hair. I would still shave my underarm hair once in a while, not for aesthetic purposes but for hygienic purposes (I sweat too much).

A “friend” once told me to shave because it’s not very feminine to have hairy arms and legs, I told him off and now we not friends anymore. Some may say, that I am so shallow for ending a friendship like that. We have only known each other for less than six months, so truthfully it was not really a “lost friendship” - also, I don’t think I need that kind of toxic friendship really. Never have I ever shaved my extremities, maybe I will for emergency purposes (operation) but not for aesthetic purposes.

Just to make it clear, I have nothing against people who shave their extremities. That’s what they want and they feel happy with that, what I don’t like is making people like me who don’t shave seem inferior as compared to those who shave.

I have friends who I have known for years and nobody cares what anybody looked like. As long as we were comfortable with our self and our own skin. Nobody ever commented about anybody's preferences or looks. Once in a while someone would ask what product would be nice for skin care, but that’s it. Nobody would force anybody to be whiter, or skinnier or “hairless”.

Hearing my niece comment about body/underarm hair was a bit of an eye-opener for me. Start educating them at a young age that there is no concrete not specific beauty standards because everyone is beautiful in their own skin, in their own way.

I want our cubs to grow up knowing that normal body features, like body hair, is not to be something to be embarrassed about.

I am balbon, it's normal and it’s beautiful.

*balbon is a colloquial term for being hairy.