The concept of human attractiveness has changed over the centuries. In fact, it has changed gradually over the past 5 million years, ever since we diverged from the apes.
And one of the key factors is body hair. You don’t need to be a fan of the theory of evolution to see that humans differ from all other nearly 5,000 species of mammals in their lack of body hair. And over time, humans have naturally become increasingly hairless (with the exception, of course, of that brief cultural and aesthetic misunderstanding known as the 1980s).
But why?
Mammals need fur to maintain their body temperature and only lose it for specific evolutionary reasons. Whales and walruses have smooth skin so that they can swim faster. Elephants and rhinoceroses have very thick hides and are very bulky, so they do not lose much heat during cold nights. But humans are the only primates to have lost their body hair.
Could this be part of the secret behind man’s success in the animal world?
The answer lies in advances in genetics. In 2016, Dr Mark Pagel of the University of Reading (England) and Dr Walter Bodmer from the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford proposed a different solution to the mystery that has puzzled scientists for decades. They argue that humans lost their body hair in order to rid themselves of external parasites that infest the skin – lice, fleas, ticks – and the diseases they spread.
„Body hair provides an attractive and safe haven for insects such as ticks, lice, biting flies and other ectoparasites,“ says Dr Pagel. „These creatures not only cause skin irritation, but also carry viral, bacterial and protozoan diseases such as malaria or Lyme disease, which can lead to chronic health problems and, in some cases, death.“
People discovered fire, learnt to build shelters and sew clothes, and no longer needed their fur, which had been a breeding ground for all manner of parasites. It was then that nature itself freed them from it, without them having to suffer through the cold night.
But given the pace at which humankind is developing, evolution has always needed the impetus provided by discoveries and technology. Back then it was fire; today we have the laser.
Looking after our bodies is particularly important in modern life, when the very progress that has brought us so far forces us to live in an environment that is many times more polluted than that of our ancestors. And modern medical technologies are a necessity if we are to counter the dangers posed by the modern world. The revolutionary technologies available to us today are simply part of our evolution as a species. And they always serve the same purpose – to give us the best possible chances of survival and development.
It is no wonder, then, that the concept of beauty and attractiveness is also linked to body hair.
„Once the lack of body hair had evolved in this way, it probably became subject to sexual selection – a trait in one sex that is attractive to the other,“ says Dr Pagel. „Smooth, hairless skin may have become a symbol of health, as attractive as a peacock’s tail, and this may explain why women naturally have less body hair than men and why they go to greater lengths to remove hair from their bodies.“
Neurobiologist David Cruz and biologist Brian Diaz argue that the female sex is the first sex on the planet and that the female organism evolves more rapidly. Their research shows that the female principle and oestrogen are inherited, whilst the male principle and androgen are derived. Female hormones form the basis of hermaphroditic species, for example. Perhaps this is why female beauty has been a primary object of admiration throughout the centuries (without, of course, overlooking the magnificent male figures in ancient Greek sculpture). For, as far as body hair is concerned, women have evolved more rapidly than men.
Because the woman and her porcelain skin are evolution; they are our future.
The material (R)EVOLUTION IN HAIR REMOVAL was first published on Body Aesthetics.
