Sea punk, ombré and more pastel shades than a Laura Ashley catalogue – catwalks and blogs have been full of offbeat hair colours for the past few years. Once the premise of teenage goths, women of a certain age and the mousy-haired, trends in hair dye have meant that our heads are now a blank canvas for experimenting. But for those of us who really want to take the trend on, or just can’t rock pink hair without violating the office dress code, there’s another option – dying your armpit hair.
Forget vajazzling or pubic topiary, our pits are the latest part of us to get a makeover. This week saw Lady Gaga get a tattoo on her armpit – and if you’ve ever wondered why men wince when they see someone getting kicked in the balls, check out the video she shared with her 4.85m Instagram followers of the tattooist at work. But if you don’t want to go that extreme, just toss your Gillette Venus and channel your inner Germaine Greer (you might want to skip the Celebrity Big Brother appearance).
Read More: Tallulah Willis Is The New Poster Girl For 'Short Hair, We Don't Care'
Armpit hair has always been a controversial issue for women. Writer Emer O’Toole proudly showed off her fuzz on This Morning a few years ago after refusing to conform to what she referred to as ‘artificial gender norms’. And Julia Roberts also made headlines after showing up to a film premiere having clearly not picked up a razor for a few weeks, but even the star who inspired countless women to stand up for themselves in the face of snooty shop assistants couldn’t start a fashion trend there.
Even if you haven’t gone full Brazilian down there, chances are that you’ve internalised the ‘body hair is bad’ message that the media have been shoving down our throats for decades. So while dying your pit hair might seem like a ridiculous trend, it’s also a way to reclaim our bodies and have some fun with what we’ve been taught to be ashamed of.
Read More: Things You Only Know If You're In To Fashion And You Are Also Disabled
Here’s how to do it:
You have to grow it out long enough to make it work, and unless you’re naturally fair-haired, you’re going to need to use bleach to lighten the hair if you want to see a difference. But be careful – if you’ve ever felt your scalp tingling in the hairdressers as you go a few shades lighter, multiply this by a thousand. Leave the bleach on for 10 or 15 minutes maximum.
Cream-based dyes are probably easier, since there probably won’t be enough hair to cover section by section and cream dyes are easier to massage in. Try to avoid dying your entire armpit, though – slather Vaseline around the part you’re not colouring. Then leave it for another 15 minutes, wash out and wear sleeveless tops for the rest of the week to show off just how badass you look. Then stick to deodorants that don’t leave white marks or residue, unless you want to look like you’ve got brightly-coloured baby zebras hidden under each arm.
Be sure match your armpit hair to your underwear, or your nails, or your shoes. Though in truth, in this weather, it’ll probably only be you and your significant other (or one-night stand) who will notice. Lucky for them!
**Liked this? You might also be interested in: **
The Double Ponytail. Blurred Out Nail Polish. And Other Catwalk Beauty Trends To Try Now
How I Learnt To Accept My Pale, Pasty Skin With These Genius Products
Follow Kaite On Twitter::a[@KaiteWelsh]{href='https://twitter.com/kaitewelsh' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'}
Picture: Marina Esmeraldo , Sullymun tumblr, f33d tumblr
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.