Would you shave everything off?

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As an African girl, I had grown up knowing and desiring what entailed beauty in the African Ghanaian context. Neck rings, gap tooth, hairy legs and curvy calves were some of the features that made any woman be considered as beautiful in Africa Ghana. Thankfully, due to genes I was blessed with very curvy calves and hairy legs. I got a lot of compliments on how beautiful my legs were, and that coupled with the soft hair was enough to get people staring admiringly anytime I wore clothes above my knee.


Now being in America, I realized that most girls had very smooth legs. I used to think they were just not hairy enough until commercials of leg shaving products taught me otherwise. I still didn't give much thoughts to shaving because I loved my hairy legs. One day I received a phone call from my dear friend in Ghana. As we were talking about life in America, she asked me if I had shaved my legs. I replied that I didn't feel any need to, and she in turn narrated her experience with having hairy legs when she went to London for a visit. Now this friend of mine is twice as hairy as I am. She said there was one time she was wearing shorts and people kept staring at her hairy legs and thighs. She said she heard one particular girl pass a comment about her hairiness to her group of friends. My friend felt so uncomfortable that she went to the store to buy shaving materials immediately after.

For some reason, right after her call, I started feeling self conscious about my own hairiness. As I was walking around I started to follow people's eyes to see if they were staring at my legs but I didn't notice anything different.

I was however curious to try shaving, just to experience it. You know back home, there was this myth that if you shaved the hair on your body(apart from the obvious parts), the hair would grow back faster, thicker and darker than before. I also remember I was told by my uncle as a child, that the hair on our legs was God given, and that if you shaved it, God would be angry with you. Well, I decided to throw all caution to the wind, and give shaving a try.

Wow, I had never felt my legs so smooth and soft. I couldn't stop rubbing my hands over my legs, as it felt as soft as a babies skin. I loved it! Why had I been depriving myself of such a wonderful feeling?

Anyway, after some time the initial excitement waned off, and eventually the hair began to grow back. I don't know if it was my imagination, but the new hair didn't feel as soft as the first. I don't know if the shaving of my legs would be a routine, but I just know that I had an open mind towards it. For my first time trying,
 I didn't do it very well, because I used razor blades and I didn't know I had to use some form of lotion to soften my skin, so I ended getting a lot of cuts from the razor.

What are the features that makes one beautiful in your country? To the ladies, have you ever shaved your legs because you moved abroad? How did the first time feel? To the men, what do you prefer on a woman, hairy legs or smooth hairless legs.

Let's Discuss!!