The razor industry is taking a turn by not just promoting smooth hair-free skin, but celebrating whatever hairy choice a person chooses to make. Last year, razor brand Billie, gained viral attention after releasing a commercial ad showcasing female body hair. A compilation of diverse women with varying locations of body hair gathered to deliver the companies message: "however, whenever, if ever you want to shave - we'll be here."
Now, Billie is back with another...angle. The company takes the usual razor ad visuals of women hanging outside in bathing suits, but this time - these women are rocking their pubic hair. The latest ad, titled "Red, White, and You Do You," is giving a new perspective to what a beach bod really is.
Billie co-founder Georgina Gooley says "To celebrate our one-year anniversary of Project Body Hair and the beginning of summer, we wanted to challenge the notion of being 'summer ready.' A lot of women feel the pressure to remove their body hair when they're wearing a bathing suit so we felt like it was the perfect time to get out there and say 'no matter what you choose, you're already summer ready.'"
"Historically, women's razor brands have portrayed body hair as 'socially problematic.' In an attempt to sell more razors, they instilled shame around having women's body hair. For the last 100 years, the idea of women's body hair was so taboo that we have been seeing commercials where razors shave completely hairless skin, and the entire shaving category refused to show it," Gooley says to Today.
The brand says that from their understanding, this is the first time that a razor company is publicizing pubic hair.
"By showing body hair and speaking candidly about it, our hope is that women aren't judged for having or removing body hair. It's a personal choice that nobody should have to explain or apologize for," says Ashley Armitage, Project Body Hair video director.
Check out the latest ad below.