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Arm hair 2015/5/8 09:04
I'm a female English teacher in Japan with a little arm hair (no more than other Western women). Lately I've been wearing short sleeved shirts and several people have looked at my arms and then commented on my lack of long sleeves. Are they trying to drop a hint that I should shave/wax my arms like Japanese women do? Is it considered rude in Japan for women to wear short sleeves if they have hair on their arms?
by LoneWolf (guest)  

Re: Arm hair 2015/5/8 17:43
Just like (back some years ago) some young American girls would gasp at unshaven legs, "some" young Japanese girls/women would consider it their common sense to remove hair from their arms... just like some cannot leave home without any make-up, etc., but that's their choice, and it is not rude in Japan for women to wear short sleeves with hair on their arms.
by AK rate this post as useful

Re: Arm hair 2015/5/8 17:44
Was it strangers who dropped those comments? If so, then THEY were being rude :)
by AK rate this post as useful

Re: Arm hair 2015/5/8 18:28
Lately? I'm not sure where you live, but it's too early to be wearing only short sleaves all day long every day. Surely the days have been hot here in Greater Tokyo, but I've had an elderly stranger speak to me at the store, worrying if I'm not too cold with my short sleaves.

Next time, try saying, "Hen desuka? (Is it strange?)" with a smile.
by Uco (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Arm hair 2015/5/8 18:33
Oh, I didn't think of that possibility - I have been wearing short- sleeved shirt outside lately as well lol. Maybe that's what they were simply commenting on! :)
by AK rate this post as useful

Re: Arm hair 2015/5/8 18:34
AK When I turned up to work last week in a short sleeved blouse several colleagues looked at my arms in shock, then just said "Ohh.. you're wearing short sleeves today!". Initially I thought maybe I'd broken a dress code but noticed other female teachers wearing short sleeves then it dawned on me it was the hair they were staring at. Then last weekend I was complimenting a stranger's dog on the street and the woman was gawking at my arms and asked "aren't you cold?". It was 28 degrees, lol!

If having hairy arms in Japan is really akin to having hairy legs in the US then I should probably shave them to avoid further embarrassment! But what will happen when I eventually return to my home country and quit shaving/waxing them? Is it true the hair will grow back thicker and darker?
by LoneWolf (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Arm hair 2015/5/9 14:29
I wonder how short your sleeves were.

It could have been the hair on your skin that they were intrigued with. However, I presume that the length of the sleeves of your blouse was " a little bit " shorter than other teachers.

People in Japan seem not to care much about the length of skirts worn by young girls/young women.

On the other hand, skin exposure above-the-waist can be more attracting attention than the legs, and since you are an ALT working in educational environment you are required to look decent.

I believe children in many schools are still in long sleeve shirts before June even if it is hot. If it were me, it would be discouraging to see the teacher's high summer outfit while I was in a long sleeve shirt.

I aplogize if this is not the case.

by k (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Arm hair 2015/5/11 13:38
The hair growing back thicker/darker is a myth. Your hair thickness and colour are genetically programmed and cannot be changed simply by shaving/waxing!

I believe there is a custom to wear thin or sheer long sleeves when the weather is warm - it may simply have been unusual for them to see someone wearing short sleeves in the current weather!
by sq (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Arm hair 2015/5/11 14:29
Thanks for the info everyone. Maybe they were surprised at my clothing, but several teachers at my school are already in short sleeves and no one blinks an eye at them! Regardless, I'm now very aware that I live in a country where no one else has arm hair and I want to get rid of it to avoid feeling like a gorilla, haha! I noticed most guys don't have it either - do they shave too? Are there any home bleaching or whitening kits I can use as an alternative? Cheers!
by LoneWolf (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Arm hair 2015/5/11 20:00
No, they don't shave their arm hair; most Japanese (except for Okinawans) have less body hair.
by kms (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Arm hair 2015/5/12 02:19
No, they don't shave their arm hair; most Japanese (except for Okinawans) have less body hair.

Now, this is totally new to me as a Tokyo-ite woman. Okay, the lady clearly asked her if she isn't cold. Even when the temperture's rising, the wind can still be chilly.

Actually, although things are slightly changing, the Japanese take season seriously. What I mean is that you're basically not "expected" to wear summer clothes in winter and vice versa. So even though it's "unusually" hot, people don't expect short sleaves when it's "still" April. The other thing is that as you get older you feel less heat.
by Uco (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Arm hair 2015/5/12 06:45
I understand what Uco is saying..
In Western Europe, where I was born, one keep winter clothes until the end of April.

I live in Southern Western Canada, where the weather is warmer than in the rest of the country, but it still amazes me to see men in a TS and walking shorts in winter..not just on a sunny day but under the rain too..

I noticed at the gym that many young Canadian Caucasian and Oriental males have practically no body hair. They don't shave as one would see a bit of stubble...
The hairy ones are, most of the time, Europeans and South-Americans..
by Red frog (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Arm hair 2015/5/12 16:10
It may be your hair but I'm not sure why you are so certain that it is.

Even if others have short-sleeves on as well how do you know they are not also receiving occasional comments about being cold? Or your commenters might just be particularly concerned about how you, the person from a far away land, is coping with weather in this new place you've come to, as opposed to the others in the office who have lived in Japan (and generally your particular area of it) all their lives. Or maybe they are just looking to say something to you and so are relying on the age old safe topic of conversation: the weather.

Again, I'm not ruling out your suggestion, but there are a load of other possibilities here.
by Harimogura (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Arm hair 2015/5/12 16:32
I take it that LoneWolf "feels" that other women were looking at her arm hair, and is asking what might be done about it.

LoneWolf, the thing about body hair getting darker/thicker if you shave, is a myth. Sure if you shave it, next time it grows back the hair will have a horizontally-cut flat top (cut by the razor) so it might "appear" thicker (than naturally tapered hair), but it does not get thicker.

And it is not that something is wrong with arm hair - people might just have stared because they are not used to seeing arm hair on women. For myself (Japanese woman), I don't have any visible hair on my arms to begin with, I have never had to shave my arms (though yes on my legs). I would say the Japanese people here don't have strong arm hair.

There are many "hair removal" salons, if you feel like trying out some place, that do waxing. They last longer. But you want to be sure your skin is strong for that. (I used to get my eyebrows shaped by waxing, and I found it uncomfortably skin-irritating after a few tries and went back to good ol' shaving.)
by AK rate this post as useful

Re: Arm hair 2015/5/12 17:34
i have black hair so yeah you can see it on my arms. never has anyone ever commented on it.

what they do comment on is my wearing short sleeves before they think it is weather appropriate. i come from a cold place so i feel like im well into summer atm and would die in long sleeves. so many times strangers have asked me if im cold. this always stops once we hit the thirties.

by guest. (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Arm hair 2015/5/14 14:07
I'll reply to this thread as a male because it is humorous to me.

I have a good friend (let's call him Tenaka-san) and my Japanese is about as good as his English. During February while out drinking I was wearing a tee-shirt (as I do) and he was fascinated by my hairy arms and if I was cold - similar to the questions you got asked. He was nowhere near as hairy.

We then compared leg hair - coming from a moderately hairy family, he was in hysterics - more so when I told him my brother was even more forest like.

What I have read since is that Japanese are just less hairy and they have no issue with asking us personal questions - my wife and I provide our bar friends odd insights like "yes we married for love and sleep together" and other more personal questions.
by JapanCustomTours rate this post as useful

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