Learn
Anyone could have arm hair.
As we have seen from both feedback we have received through this project and observation done by its curators, we assert that arm hair exists on women representing the full spectrum of ethnicities.
How likely are you to have noticeable arm hair as a woman?
Have you ever used your ethnicity as justification as to why you have arm hair in conversation with others, as if you were seeking to find an excuse or a reason to explain to someone why it’s there?
Well, the truth of the matter is that a woman of any ethnicity can have arm hair, stomach hair, other body hair even abundantly - and still be a 100% healthy normal woman. Our photography work proves this.
What is also true is that there are some ethnicities that have more hair on their bodies in general than others. The probability of having abundant arm or body hair is higher there too.
how arm hair and femininity are not mutually exclusive.
I don’t belong to what most would consider a particularly hairy ethnicity, in fact I’ve never seen anyone from my culture with as much arm hair as I have, why do I have hairy arms?
Hairy arms on women is for the most part a genetic phenomenon. You won a hairy-arm DNA lottery that sets you apart visually and contributed to what makes you unique. Although our society pressures individuals into conformity, and certainly shames women with body hair, you truly do have the option to rock your uniqueness and be a beacon for others who might be too scared to do the same.
Truth be told you’ve probably passed another hairy armed girl from your culture in the past, perhaps many times, but thanks to peer or family pressure, she may have been hiding it or had removed it so you wouldn’t even know you weren’t alone. The next time you pass her, what she needs is to see you having chosen self-love.
How many women are self-identifying as having arm hair and who have directly been impacted by this project?
We are on a mission to create a map of our impact to count and plot those who’ve worked with the project or have reached out in one way or another to let us know we’ve done them a solid, impacted their life and that this project helped them regain confidence in their body, or to heal from past trauma.
Let us know where you are from and your story so we can see our impact in the world. If you end up participating as a photographed person we’ll add you to our Stepping Forward Feature which represents the confident women who have found Project WWHA and have reached out to us.
See our Stepping Forward feature here.
Arm hair has patterns.
Remember a time you reveled in your own arm hair pattern? If not then you should know how wonderful it is to look at your own body and see nothing but beauty and wonder.
Your body is a miraculous machine and it thrives energetically when you truly love it and accept it for exactly how it is.
What are some of the most common patterns of arm hair on women?
We’ve curated an extensive gallery to illustrate some of the arm hair patterns we’ve observed. Do you have a new pattern not shown here? Let us know.
Arm hair is often quite long.
From what we can tell, mostly genetics are responsible for the length of your arm hair, but nutrition and temperature play a part in how quickly it grows. Add hormones to the mix and we can begin to explain why some women have thicker follicles than others.
All the biology aside, some women end up being the subject of public ridicule the more noticeable their arm hair is, even if its origin is divine and healthy. While these situations are akin to bullying or emotional abuse, many women also heal from these experiences with good counsel from steadfast allies.
Another way to heal is seeing and hearing the stories from other women who’ve been through a similar ordeal, and relating to how they look; ie: feeling represented, also can have a strong impact on someone hurt by body hair trauma.
How long can a woman’s forearm hair grow?
Project WWHA has documented some women who have forearm hair that measures 4” or 100mm in length. We have undocumented reports of some women’s forearm hair reaching 6” or 150mm. The true maximum is still not verified, so we’ll just let you be the judge.
Is it true that having really long arm hair can be a lot of fun?
Yes. With a friend, do the static electricity experiment with a balloon to compare to see who' has the longer arm hair. We guarantee hours of laughter. Our participants, like Mary here, usually have a blast at our photoshoots, which wouldn’t be possible without long arm hair.
If you’re really gifted in the length of your forearm hair, you may be interested in learning how to twirl, style or braid your arm hair. We hear from some women that playing with the long hair on their arms is great fun when there’s no wifi.
As far as the participants in Project WWHA, we’ve pooled together galleries from project participants who we think have the most noticeable, longest arm hair you have ever seen.
Arm hair is the ultimate accessory.
Whether its a contrast against a watch, or something that will be turned a different colour for a party, arm hair goes with any style. No matter the look you’re going for, since it is uniquely you, your arm hair always looks in synch.
What makes arm hair on women elegant?
A watch?
A dance of sunlight?
We feel that it is not the clothes, but the elegance itself in a moment, or a feeling that is elegant. We’ve photographed participants in this project through a variety of genres that depict women with arm hair feeling elegant.