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Zoey Zhang

In many Asian countries, smooth and hairless skin is often considered the mainstream aesthetic, while excessive body hair is associated with shame.
In China, body hair is often seen as a sign of being unkempt, lazy, too sexual and ageing.
South Korean female celebrities are meticulous about “underarm management”. When wearing sleeveless or short-sleeved clothes, they often cover their armpits with a hand if they become visible.
In Japan, even toddlers are targeted as potential consumers of the hair removal industry.
Japanese company Dione, offers laser hair removal for children as young as three. It claims to use low-powered, gentle devices specifically designed for tender young skin.

That is despite experts warning it may cause significant damage to children’s skin and hair follicles.
Asahi, one of the leading daily newspapers in Japan, announced the arrival of the “minors’ hair removal beauty era” in the country as early as May 2010.
The number of primary and secondary school students having the treatment in Japan increased eightfold from 2016 to 2023, according to a survey by the hair removal agency Rize.
Nearly 60 per cent of Japanese parents said their children wanted to have their body hair removed.
Among teenagers, excessive hair can lead to bullying from their peers.
“When I was in secondary school, I was constantly called a hairball, people would lift my clothes to tease me,” one online observer wrote on Yahoo Japan.
“My daughter does not want to go to kindergarten because the boys in her class make fun of her. What can I do?” wrote another.
Japan’s hair removal tradition dates back 1,200 years, according to the Chinese digital news outlet, Huxiu. Women routinely used small knives and sharp shells for facial hair removal.
Around 400 years ago during the Edo period, men would use smooth stones to rub hair from their legs, armpits, and genital areas while bathing.
Today, hair-free bodies in Japan have become the societal norm and even glimpses of hirsuteness can evoke disgust and shame.
Japan’s NHK TV reported that prospective employers felt embarrassed when candidates had not shaved legs before attending an interview.
Rayrole, a hair removal company, claims the process can make men appear cleaner, smarter and more professional in the workplace.

Body hair has also become a rigid indicator of desirability in the Japanese dating game.
A 2020 survey by the Japan hair removal company QEEQ showed that about 90 per cent of young women preferred men with less body hair.
Japan’s hair removal obsession has attracted many scholars who study it from a sociocultural perspective.
Some attribute it to the development of the industry with technology that makes modern hair removal relatively painless.
Others analyse it from the perspective of Japan’s shame culture, that it is a society disproportionately concerned about external evaluation.


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Demand increases 8-fold in 7 years, 60 per cent children want hair removed
3-year-olds have treatment, experts say it damages young skin and follicles


Japan has a long tradition of removing body hair, now it is the societal norm and hirsuteness that can evoke feelings of shame and disgust – even among the young.


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.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;}Demand increases 8-fold in 7 years, 60 per cent children want hair removed 3-year-olds have treatment, experts say it damages young skin and follicles

Demand increases 8-fold in 7 years, 60 per cent children want hair removed

3-year-olds have treatment, experts say it damages young skin and follicles