A woman who "couldn't be bothered" to shave her armpits has embraced her hair and now loves nothing more than showing it off while wearing a bikini - which she claims makes her feel "liberated".
Jo Brown, 28, used to shave whenever she found hair growing under her arms, but during the Covid-19 pandemic, she decided to ditch the razor and found peace with her natural look.
Now, Jo hardly removes any of her body hair and has begun posting content online that shows her flaunting her hairy pits in bikinis - and she doesn't care that some cruel trolls call her "gross" for the images she shares.
Jo, a nanny from south west London, said: "I got a lot of trolling. A lot of very mean comments saying it's gross. I then, as a rebuttal, came back like 'screw you all'. I'm not going to change for them.
"It wasn't even a conscious decision. It was lockdown. It was summer and I couldn't be bothered to shave. I feel very proud of my body, very appreciative, I love the way it is, and I love being me."
The woman began shaving at the age of 11 after seeing her older sisters remove their body hair, but since ditching the razor during lockdown, she's now an advocate for the health benefits that come with choosing not to shave.
She added: "Shaving is actually really painful. It can actually cause some nasty rashes and skin problems. It is inconvenient. Women are removing everything. There's a lot of pressure which started in the 80s porn industry. I definitely felt that pressure. I think most women sadly do.
"Everyone went from having big bushes to waxing and shaving body hair and since then there has been an increase in UTIs, thrush and bacterial infections. Ironically, it's actually much better for your body to not shave. The hair is there for a reason, it wicks the sweat away. It draws the sweat away, so it actually prevents body odour."
Jo now feels liberated by her body hair, and wants to encourage other people to feel the same way - but only if they're comfortable with the idea of ditching the razor.
"It is all about loving yourself and loving your body," she said, "Your body should be praised for allowing you to share good times with good people, and go to awesome places where you can meet amazing new humans to celebrate life with.
"It is confidence. That is all you need. I do care that people stare still a bit, but it happens way less than you think. Confidence plays a big part. I am lucky in that sense.
"You must do what's right for you at the end of the day. It's seen as a non-feminine thing to have body hair and it's just a social expectation that women should remove it all - which I think is ridiculous considering men are allowed to have it anywhere they want.
"Do what feels right for you. Do what makes you feel comfortable and who cares if someone is that bothered by it? It's their problem, not yours. It is usually down to their own insecurities about body image and beauty. It is nothing to do with you at all, it's their own trigger.
"I always have been quite confident, but I have definitely had to work on it and just remind myself of the values I have. Don't let anyone change your beliefs or change you as a person - especially aesthetically."
And Jo also hopes that in the future, there will be more education available to teach young women that it's okay to embrace their body hair if they choose to.
She explained: "There needs to be a lot more education and encouraging women to do what is right for their body and it is with everything. Your body your choice is really important in the present day. There are so many lifestyle pressures."
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