YOU HEARD US RIGHT.
JanuHairy is the new January.
What a way to kick off the New Year by battling a stigma around body confidence. This campaign is to stop women feeling embrasssed of their body hair. Ditching the shave and letting it grow au naturale!
Started by Laura Jackson, the 21 year old says she has had a “great response” and women from all over the world have now signed up to take part and raise money for charity.
With women constantly feeling pressured to be hairless, apologising for having hairy legs, is this the start of a new revolution?
And what does this mean for women with PCOS.
Well Hirsutism* is unwanted / excess body hair often found as condition in women with PCOS. The exact cause is not known and can often run-in families. Some women really struggle with this side effect.
For a definite diagnosis of PCOS you should also be presenting other symptoms such as:-
• Irregular or absent menstrual periods
• Signs of hyper-androgenism—like facial hair, hair loss, and acne—without another medical cause
• Trouble losing weight and/or diabetes
Women with PCOS can often spend hours and pounds each month dealing with unwanted hair. The research shows that in spike in insulin for women with PCOS causes our ovaries to produce too much testosterone.
Excess androgens (testosterone and other “male” hormones) cause ovarian cysts, acne and, you guessed it, male pattern hair growth (and hair loss/thinning for that matter).
Nikita Chadha aged 26, thinks that it is a, “great idea and it’s important to encourage girls to do what they want with their own hair and their own bodies! Growing up, pre PCOS and being more inclined to dark body hair being Asian – I was always embarrassed/felt the need to be well groomed all the time Now as a fully fledged adult with PCOS and excessive hair growth (so stressful if you are put off by hair like I initially was) I don’t feel the pressure as much as I used to; mainly because I choose not to. I used to worry about what guys would think until I learned that REAL men honestly don’t care, and I grow hair too much to honestly worry if I have a moustache or not 24/7.”
Similarly 34 year old, Gurpreet Kaur, thinks that this article is a, “positive piece about body hair. As baptised Sikh woman I do not cut any of my hair in line with my religious belief. I also have PCOS. Often I get comments saying I must feel unlike a women due to the excess hair, but this is only external and does not influence my thoughts around the teachings of our Gurus. It is difficult for young Sikh women with PCOS to deal with the growing media fascination around a lack of body hair, which then becomes normalised putting it up against their religious values and believes. It is especially hard when you are born with a medical condition that causes excessive hair growth, so I welcome this brave woman’s campaign.”
Read the article from the BBC here – https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-46747452
Photo Credit: JanuHairy Campaign
*Hirsutism is unwanted, male-pattern hair growth in women. It results in excessive amounts of dark, course hair on body areas where men typically grow hair — face, chest and back
