Four Reasons To Embrace Chest Hair
For generations, chest hair was one of the recognizable aspects of manhood. Actors like Sean Connery and Tom Selleck were viewed as icons of manliness, embracing the physical aspects of what made them inherently men. However, sometime during the late 1990's and early 2000's, hair, regardless of where it was found on the body, suddenly became the enemy. Shaving, or in some cases waxing, of the face, stomach, chest, armpits, and pubic area became common practices among men, leaving guys looking like odd-shaped Ken dolls in many cases. Luckily for us though, this dark period has come to a close.
Although we all know that facial hair is now more popular than ever, it now sounds like chest hair is making a comeback in a major way. According to the New York Times, the days of worshipping at the altar of as little visible body hair as possible has come to a close. Men of all shapes, ages, and ethnicities are embracing their hairy chests and opting to focus their grooming efforts on other areas instead. Although we imagine this trend will continue to spread, especially with summer just around the corner, we figured there might be a few of you who still need some convincing to let your chest hair roam free. Let us give you a few reasons why it’s time to unleash your chest hair upon the world.
Go Natural
Much like opting to grow out a beard, letting your chest hair fully grow in is completely natural and encouraged by your body. Look, not all of us grow a ton of chest hair, but even if you only get a patch in the center of your chest or a trail down your stomach, we still think embracing all of it is the right way to go. Our suggestion: with summer coming up, maybe just try leaving your chest and stomach the way they are. If you’re still self-conscious about it after a trip to the beach or the pool then feel free to do away with the hair as you like. However, what you might just notice is how many other guys you see embracing the natural side of things in this case and opting to skip spending time with the razor or the hot wax.
Over-Grooming Is Over
Queer Eye For The Straight Guy, Mark Wahlberg posing for Calvin Klein, the majority of athletes you see shirtless, each of these forces encouraged men to rid themselves of body hair. As the average american guy became more fitness minded, tv and ads encouraged us to show off our bodily definition by shaving all of that unwanted hair. However, as facial hair has made a major comeback, so has the idea that over-grooming is simply a waste of time and a way to hide who you really are. To put it bluntly, use the time you’re getting back from not doing as much body grooming and do something constructive with it. We think you’ll get a lot more use of that time doing with it what you want instead of using it to shave your chest.
Embrace Your Masculinity
If you’ve seen photos of your grandpa, dad, or uncles at the beach or the pool from back in the day, you’ll probably notice quite a lot of chest hair on display. We all know that times are different now, but one thing that they were each doing, and that we here at Urban Beardsman are always encouraging, was embracing their masculinity. In 2016, many of us work in offices and sit at our desks typing away for hours at a time. Then we might go home and watch TV or have dinner with friends or any other variety of activities, however, the majority of us struggle to find opportunities where we truly feel manly. We know that we can’t all spend our days changing tires and chopping firewood, but if you can use your chest hair as a daily reminder of your masculinity than we fully encourage you to embrace it.
Increases Attraction
“Your chest hair is a major turn off,” said no one, ever. Alright that might be an exaggeration, but for those of you out there shaving your chests because you fear that you’ll struggle to attract a mate with it on full display then we strongly suggest asking whichever sex you fancy for their opinion. In a recent study, 76% of women said they like hair on a man’s chest and more than 80% said they were fond of the trail of hair leading from the chest to the stomach. If it’s truly something you think about, ask some girls or guys for their opinion, but in all seriousness, you’re spending a lot more time thinking about your chest hair than anyone who does or doesn’t find you attractive.