For Rosie Hewett, insecurities about her body hair began when she was just 10 years old and she started shaving and waxing certain areas.
At primary school, she often won competitions against the boys for having the hairiest arms, and as she got older pupils kept pointing out her 'moustache'.
She soon reached a point where she wouldn't leave the house unless she had shaved her legs.
Fast-forward to today and Rosie is now 27 and hasn't picked up a razor in two years, having made the decision to embrace the natural look by "letting it grow" and not shaving her armpits or legs.
This decision has freed Rosie who now "loves" her hairy body and says she finally feels comfortable in her own skin.
The young woman, who works in communications, claims she's saved a whopping 208 hours of time since she ditched her hair removal routine and claims there "is nothing wrong with being hairy".
Rosie, from Reading, Berkshire said: "Body hair was something I was so insecure about. Boys loved pointing out my moustache when I was 12.
"It's such a shame - it's such a broad experience for so many women.
"I just felt really ugly compared to other girls and I read all these teenage magazine articles which sold laser hair removal products - as if being hairy was the worst and most horrifying thing you could be.
"Now I feel like I'm comfortable in my skin, I've come home to myself.
"I've spent so much time money and been in pain for the sake of being hairless when there is nothing wrong with being hairy."
Rosie recalls how her mum didn't want her to be the butt of the jokes during her childhood and so would help her wax her legs and bleach her facial hair - as she knew from experience what the cruel comments were like.
She continued: "My mum was trying to help as she didn't want me to suffer as she did.
"When I had my legs waxed for the first time, I didn't understand what was going on because being waxed hurts.
"When I was a little girl, I was the kid who would win the hairy arm competitions against the boys, and I was happy about it. It's when you hit puberty it becomes an undesirable thing."
Rosie credits being a feminist and social media with helping her to take a step back and analyse the double standards of society.
She says seeing other hairy women on Instagram and in real life has helped her to take the plunge in growing her body hair out.
Another final straw came when she was gifted a laser hair remover for Christmas in 2020.
"It didn't upset me, but it niggled away at me - that they assumed that I wanted this thing to permanently get rid of something that is perfectly natural. It reinforced the idea that body hair is something to be afraid of," she admitted.
"I used it on my legs and now I look like a zebra as I have patches from where it worked.
"There was no plan to become a feral woman - I just thought I'm going to stop shaving and see how it goes. It was exposure therapy - I did the thing that scared me."
She added: "Because of my experiences in school, I expected people to see it and say, 'you are disgusting, go back inside and shave', of course, I didn't get that.
"I've had some comments and looks, I know people find it weird, but I haven't had many negative experiences.
"If someone confronts me about it, most of the time I say I don't want to talk about it as I don't need to explain my body to anyone.
"I like how it's a contradiction because I'm quite feminine.
"People are shocked when they see my hairy legs, but it's showing you can be feminine and enjoy yourself how you want to.
"I'm not perfect I still gave insecurities and sometimes I struggle with my leg hair, but we all have bad days.
"I feel closer to myself, and women should be able to do what they want, if someone wants to shave that is also completely fine."
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