PUT THE RAZOR down! 

That’s what the Laura Jackson, the woman credited with popularising the Januhairy movement is imploring women to do for the first month of the year. Sure listen, we can’t let people with moustache-growing abilities have all the fun, right?

Januhairy is pretty much exactly what it says on the tin: gals are encouraged to abstain from taking part in any kind of hair removal from the 1st to the 31st, in order to find pride in their body hair and raise money for charity.

Laura, a drama student at the University of Exter, started the movement after growing out her hair for a performance.

 ”After a few weeks of getting used to it, I started to like my natural hair,” she posted to an Instagram account created for the campaign.

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.”

“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,” she wrote.

Body Gossip, the charity at the centre of the movement, empowers people to be the best version of themselves through arts and education. On her crowdfunding site, Jackson has a goal of £1,000 through sponsorships supporting women who grow their body hair. (She’s currently at £719.)

Movements like this make sense, when you consider the fact that people still talk about Julia Roberts’ 1999 Notting Hill red carpet appearance, as if personal choice is a revolutionary concept.

Let’s hope this isn’t a trend that’s left at the door at the end of the month, and that women will still be encouraged to explore their own bodily autonomy. 

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