Are you ready for Januhairy?

Razors, epilators, wax and other hair removal accessories will be taking a break this January, at least for anyone who decides to take part in the “Januhairy” challenge. As you may have guessed, this involves not shaving or removing any body hair for a month... or possibly ever again!

In the past, the New Year was synonymous with resolutions. But today, this notion of a fresh start is increasingly driven by challenges. This has been seen with the growing success of Dry January, which involves giving up drinking alcohol for the first month of the year, as well as its many derivatives.

One that may have escaped your radar is Januhairy. A contraction of the words “January” and “hairy,” this challenge has all the hallmarks of the now-famous Dry January campaign. The only difference is that it doesn’t involve abstaining from alcohol for the first month of the year, but rather... ditching all forms of hair removal.

Although less wellknown than Dry January, the challenge is not actually new: it was launched five years ago on social networks by a British student named Laura Jackson. The idea is to stop shaving, and to gradually embrace the results with pride until you no longer feel the need to shave!

That might be easier said than done, of course, especially in a society where women’s body hair is still subject to great stigmatisation.

“This isn’t an angry campaign for people who don’t see how normal body hair is, but more an empowering project for everyone to understand more about their views on themselves and others,” the founder of the challenge explains.

On Instagram, the #januhairy hashtag counts over 13 000 posts to date. –