UK-based Natural Spa Factory has also debuted its very own “Bush Oil” in a sleek black bottle—a refreshing departure from the emetic pink aisles that have become so synonymous with the patronizing marketing of feminine hygiene products. “We’re big believers of the natural approach, but natural doesn’t have to mean ungroomed. Men have beard oil to condition their facial hair; now it’s time to introduce a product suited for being kind to your womanly attributes,” cofounder Emma Webber told Cosmopolitan.
Betty Beauty is a cosmetics brand specializing in “color for the hair down there.” Founder Nancy Jarecki initially created it for women who desired their pubic hair to match their head hair, but soon realized that women were experimenting with wild colors, not just the classics. She now offers aqua blue, hot pink, lilac, and ruby red, and boasts five-star ratings and hundreds of rave reviews on Amazon.
Despite the frankness around the pubic hair conversation—celebs like Gwyneth Paltrow, Cameron Diaz, and even the Kardashians have chimed in with their preferences—Ashley Armitage still thinks the ability to flaunt one’s body hair is rooted in privilege. “In many cases, when it is actually accepted, it’s on white, thin, ‘attractive’ cis women,” she explains. “It is so much harder for a fat woman, or a trans girl, or a woman of color to grow out their body hair and have it be accepted by society.”
While we move to un-taboo pubes, it’s important to respect personal preference and give women unbiased options, not prescriptive or preachy mandates. “We are equally against pubic hair ‘having a moment’ as we are against a lack of pubic hair ‘having a moment,’” adds Fur’s Laura Schubert. “We want there to be no stigma around any habit—from completely natural, to trimmed, to completely bare—whether people use Fur products or not.”