I quit shaving regularly when I was 19 years old (I had been shaving since age 10). Since then, I have had various habits, usually along the lines of not shaving anything. Occasionally I will trim the nether regions, and in the summer I shave my legs more often than in the winter (which is usually never.) My hair is NOT blonde or unnoticeable, and even the lowest part of my belly is hairy.

Most of the people I've had sex with (which is a fair number), don't give a flying rat's ass about whether my legs or pits are hairy. And frankly, if they do care, they probably wouldn't like me anyway. And yes, I'm usually considered sexy as hell.

My current lover, in fact, LOVES that I don't shave, and is disappointed when I do. And he's 24, so apparently younger guys can get on board, too.

Some things I've learned: you actually feel sweat less with hair in your pits. Instead of it just running down your body or arms, it has a chance to evaporate, which is lovely and helps you stay dry. Secondly - armpit hair tends to get softer as it gets longer. My pits are more comfortable with hair than without.

As far as legs - I live in an arid climate, so not shaving in the winter helps my skin a lot. And I choose to shave when I feel like it.

And for the nether regions - this is just a matter of hygiene, really. If you're worried (especially when it comes to being intimate with your man), you can always just wash up with a damp wash cloth before you jump into bed.

I've not used antiperspirant for a decade, and just recently gave up deodorant altogether. And I shaved my pits two days ago as an experiment in my smell. I must say that I notice no difference with or without hair, and I'm wetter without it. (Ew) I'm not following a paleo diet yet, but was a strict vegetarian for six years, with a highly vegetable based diet. I don't know what difference it will make from an odor perspective, since I really don't have anything noticeable now.

Finally, there are obviously varied opinions about what makes a woman sexy, but most of the men I know put more emphasis on whether woman is confident and happy with herself in determining her sexy factor, than simply conforming to some social norm that says women should remove hair that grows there, anyway. If your husband says he doesn't care, trust him. See what you like and figure out what has you feel sexy, healthy and happy.

Good luck!

As a guy the only hair i find to be a turnoff and deal breaker is the upper lip. All kinds of guys are going to say all kinds of things as if they are 'law'. The reality is, that everyone's taste is different. The fact that you are posting this here, means alot of paleo guys into thinking about things differently would probably be more accepting or not really care as much (if they don't they might be hypocrits).

I have had girlfriends with pit hair and without. I really don't care. They usually get self conscious and shave it off at some point after I've grown to like it. If you are self conscious about it.. but want to try arm pit hair but keep it 'manageable'. Get a buzz cutter, pick a number 2,3,or 4 clip, and run it through. You'll have hair but it won't be all squirrely. You could also try it in the winter, it's less stigma/sweaty.. I find it usually fascinating, because to me it says a woman is comfortable enough with her self.

Leg hair, well - I think this depends on the type of hair you have. Some women are really lucky - they have wispy hair.. it's barely if at all noticeable. Others well.. they have shag carpets. I can say that I don't find lower leg hair to be really very attractive, upper leg hair it more manageable, but most of my gf's are/have been blond so if they have hair it's hardly noticeable. I guess I'm not as into leg hair in general, but I knew one gorgeous girl who never shaved.. but she didn't have to (see whispy bits above). As to nether regions, well this is where some of the blondes aren't so blonde. I personally don't really care about this, either. It doesn't hurt to keep things trimmed a bit - b/c no one likes to get a curly stuck between their teeth. I know TMI.

In the end you should try them all and see what you are comfortable with and what works best for you. It sounds like you don't have to really care about what any of us dudes think anyway and have found a comfort zone. I find the whole paleo/primal hacks to be a fun adventure and trying new things to be enlightening.

Good luck!

Honest man answer: unshaved legs - not nice. Pits - not nice either but better than hairy legs. Nether regions - mostly indifferent. I imagine you'll get really different answers from different people on all three, especially in Europe and Asia

It also depends on age. Younger guys have been more influenced by the porn aesthetic of hairlessness and are used to their women getting Brazilians and such. Older men, say 40 and up, grew up in the "full bush" era of the 70s and have a more relaxed attitude about body hair on women. Many find it sexy. Also, hippie guys of all ages tend to prefer more body hair on women.

Another honest man answer: There are two aspects (at least!) to this; the visual aesthetic and the tactile aesthetic.

Visually, hair on women - head, body, pits, legs, etc. - has a lot of cultural load. In Southern California - the only sub-culture I have a lot of experience with - lots of hair on the head and no hair anywhere else is the apparent ideal. Personally, though, hair on women - head, body, pits, legs, etc. - is a neutral issue for me. Either way is fine and this clearly falls into the "woman's body, woman's choice" category. (Though I do have a problem with our culture sexualizing the pre-pubescent body form.)

On the tactile front, hair has so many textures - even on the same body! - that it seems a shame not to enjoy them. The big down-side to shaving, though, is stubble - very unpleasant to interact with! While shaving is a personal choice so is touching (or not) stubbly skin.

Could not care less on arms and legs, Prefer the nethers to be natural and somewhat groomed.

And no, I can't believe I just answered that in a very public forum.

Someone asked earlier about where we draw the line in "going paleo". I would have to say right about here is past my primal comfort zone....

Hey, if you feel better, that's all the answer you need. There are a lot more people who don't shave than people who don't eat grains! ;)

the decision if to shave or not I base on what is comfortable to me, not if it's paleo or not... I have very sensitive skin, and most of the hair removal techniques are very irritating to my skin. The only thing I can use is electric shaver... which takes like half an hour to finish. I mostly trim my pits, sometimes I shave if there is a special occasion, many times I just leave it. I do not have a partner now, so it's only me and myself to consider. I also have very, very fair hair color, which is an important factor as well. as to legs - in the winter I don't shave. In the summer more often, but only if I know I would show (I wear mostly long pants all the time) them to the general public... I prefer the not-so-comfortable look than itchy, painfully red skin... neither looks that sexy anyway ;-)

oh, and I am European... and a lesbian... ;-) not sure which one influences my decisions more! :D

My hair on my legs is just so fine that I could never get it all with a razor anyway! I'm allergic to most waxes and depilatories are baaad for my skin and body!! But again, it's so fine and light (the hair) that people hardly ever notice it. So I shave my legs probably once a month or so. And I've been following that schedule for so long that my hair grows slowly and is still quite fine. My husband doesn't care... so he says. ;)

As for my pits, it's kinda the same deal. I shave it when it gets too long or when I have a 'thing' to go to and I'm going sleeveless. I haven't noticed an increase in smell (except from ketosis).

I think that if you can trust your husband... then you can trust your husband! If he says it's okay then it'd better darn well be okay! I pushed my husband to tell me the truth about what he prefers and I'm honest with him about what I'm willing to do. So we compromise! That's marriage.

I say go for it! Especially if your husband says he doesn't mind (maybe just let him know he can change his mind later ;)

I shaved my armpits for a couple of years as a teenager, and my legs maybe a couple of times. I should say that I know that I am blessed to not have much hair. When I realized that my hair was so fine that it didn't matter much, I decided to stop. I decided that stubble was way worse than hair! People honestly think that I wax my legs, because the hair is so soft and fine (when in labor with my first child, a nurse commented that she had never seen a full-term pregnant woman able to keep her legs as "well shaven" as I had; I was very confused!). I don't know how my legs would be if I shaved from the start, but my theory has been that I would have had more hair; anecdotally people seem to increase in fur once they start shaving it off.

As for nethers, I like 'em cleaned up a bit. I waxed before I went to Hawaii, when I knew I'd be living in a bikini :)

I have been soap and 'poo free since the beginning of the year, and have noticed no change in smell (I wasn't smelly to start with, so, again, I may not be the best gauge).

An aside, on the sexy front; I did some modelling in my younger days, and I didn't shave. No one ever complained. And I was never wanting for dates, either ;)

Hi everyone. I hate shaving. I am very hairy, and have very sensitive skin. Due to this, shaving my underarms in not an option. Last summer, I began to feel self conscious in shorts and decided to shave my legs from the knee down. Razors, waxing and hair removal creams cause extreme discomfort for me. Therefore, I decided on an electric razor. It took, on average, 30 minutes EVERYDAY to just shave from the knees down. And even with patience and a lot of baby powder, I would still get rashes and ingrown hairs on my legs. Furthermore, the smooth, clean shave feeling would at most, last 8 hours--and then, the horrible stubble started to set in.

Personally, I think that not shaving is uber sexy, because I am ALWAYS soft. After camping for 3 days or during a midnight quickie. Stubble is just not sexy--at all. I would much rather be hairy and soft.

just throwing in my .02
21 y/o female, shaved until i was about 19. stopped legs and pits for the most part entirely except if i feel like it for some reason, though i really like to tidy up downstairs. never had a complaint from partners male or female... however, for some reason i get them from my mother who i will never really need to be physically intimate with anyway sooo lets not be ashamed of our own anatomy people but also dont knock others for choosing to shave. love yr body, do what you want with it. its just a preference (if im going to a wedding ill probably shave my legs :P) and not a hygiene issue at all. sometimes my leg hair annoys me cos its very dark and thick but ive become rather fond of my pit fuzzies and i hate any period of stubbly regrowth :O lol this had nothing do with primal eating though for me anyway. ps: i also havent used toxic cosmetics like deodorant and shampoo in years and its really unpleasant when i do. i like some salt crystal rollons though and dr bronner has a good line of soaps/haircare..

Here's my perspective: Every time a woman stops mindlessly shaving her bits, an angel gets its wings! (Notice that I said "mindlessly".) Boo to the patriarchy.

I shave my pits and legs, and I only do the legs because it's just not worth standing out at work. The pits absolutely smell less shaved. But hey, men have hairy pits, and they don't smell bad clean - they just have a scent.

i don't shave either. i stopped a few years ago when i realized that it just wasn't necessary. i mean, guys don't do it, so i don't get why girls have to either. my leg hair is very soft and thin. i usually trim my pubic hair and pit hair because it gets itchy after a few months. also, i notice my armpits get more sweaty with more hair. as long as i trim it every so often, i am fine. everyone i know thinks it's totally gross but i could care less. it's my body and i'll do what i want with it.

As a man, I have the privilege of knowing what men say when no women are around. Furry natural nether regions on women are viewed with great disdain by most white American men. Asians in Asia is a different story.

If you are a woman and you date white American men, lettin it grow is going to put you at a disadvantage with at least two thirds of the guys you are interested in. For better or for worse, Porno is made to appeal to men, so looking at Porno models can give you some idea of what the viewing audience finds attractive. But please, draw the line at breast implants, they are evil.

Usually, I shave legs and pits, trim elsewhere (very sensitive skin and razor bumps =/= sexy!). Since I went no-soap and switched to a crystal deodorant (highly recommended, btw), I've noticed my hair grows in much softer, so I find myself forgetting to shave 'cause I don't notice the stubble as quickly! The husband only minds if I'm stubbly enough to be non-snuggly, so, so far no problems. I should add I'm very blonde, so it's more a texture issue than a visual issue on the legs and pits.

Sorry if I sound like a jerk but as a guy that is really gross. A friends wife who is a vegan stopped shaving her pits and legs and everybody is always saying how they feel bad for him.

Also the idea that's it "European" I think is just US media propoganda especially as it's usually aimed towards the French. I've been to most countries in Western Europe when I was a single man and I never saw one of the locals going "all natural.". This is kind of like how US media always made Russian women during the cold war look short and plain with moles but then when the curtain fell and we actually got to see real Russian women saw that they were some of the most beautiful women out there. It's the media that made you think European women are hairy not reality.

Personally, I like minimal body hair. Just an aesthetic/tactile thing. I like feeling smooth. and yup, I shave everywhere. Well ok... I am not so concerned about upper leg hair, as it's really fine and light.

Incidentally, I also prefer men with minimal body hair :)

Another man: I like shaved legs (purely aesthetic reasons), but I love unshaven forearms (especially if you're a brunette (that goes back to a stupid high school crush :p >sigh<)) -- as for nether regions, I prefer neatly trimmed, but not shaved ...

Trust your husband: if he's happy and you're happy then it's all good ...

I don't shave. My husband likes me just the way I am. His opinion is the only one I really care about.

I've read quite a few complaints about nicks and scrapes...

My tip - use cold cream (moisturizer) or the same conditioner you would normally use for your head for legs and arm pit hair MIXED with a tube of Poly or Neosporin (blend them together if you can)...Works much better than most shaving creams since those are basically just whipped soap, which dries out the skin…

The conditioner if left on for maybe 5-8 minutes softens the skin and the hair and if your skin is sensitive especially around your “who-ville” the Neosporin heals those nicks and cuts right away!

Hope this helps!

It is totally unnecessary for any woman to shave her pits. Hair is natural and most women who allow the hair to grow are confident people .

Ladies let it all grow and be confident to display it.

I don't understand shaving. So mindless and absurd. I trim my nether regions, to keep things tidy and to keep from itching, and occasionally trim my armpits when the mood strikes me. Definitely don't shave my legs at all. Ridiculous. I hate that women feel their natural body hair makes them "dirty" or unattractive. And I agree with the people who mentioned how our culture sexualizes the prepubescent form. Disgusting. And one of the reasons children are so vulnerable to sexual abuse in my opinion.

Man here. No way do I like women who shave their nether regions. Hair is sexy.

The true "Paleo" answer has nothing to do with how you feel about shaving or not, only how your prospective mate feels about it and whether or not he/she will breed with you in order to continue the bloodline.

Edit : Personally, while I agree that everyone should be comfortable with their own bodies and have a positive self image, I honestly think that your physical appearance is for the benefit of those around you. I don't look in the mirror for hours a day, but other people have to look at my ugly mug ad nauseum. So I'll put in a little effort in order to ease their burden. :)

231231321321332132

I had sex with a girl who didn't shave her legs. Didn't know until right before, didn't complain, but never called her again either, lol.