A blogger has shared a photo of her unshaven armpit hair in order to show you don’t have to have a “lean, groomed body” in order to be considered beautiful.
Sara Puhto told her 105,000 followers: “This idea of beauty we have currently is so odd. Who decides what’s beautiful? It’s not some checklist that you go through and suddenly can qualify for.
“Should one have flawless skin, a lean body and groomed body hair to be considered beautiful? No. Because that idea of beauty is non-existent.
“Nobody in reality has that 24/7. Beauty is not some elite group that only some people can join.”
Puhto shared the image to add some realness to Instagram, which is often populated by digitally edited photos.
“I currently don’t shave my leg or armpit hair because it’s cold where I live, my skin is breaking out and I do not, nor ever will, have a lean tummy with zero skin folding or minimal amounts of fat. That’s the reality,” she said.
“Yet some people constantly still judge each other and hate on each other for having these things.
“I see so much hate nowadays on social media and it makes me so upset.”
She appealed to her followers to only show kindness on social media, rather than dent other people’s confidence.
“Please don’t be one of those people that tears others down. What’s the point? What do you gain from it? Does it make you feel better when you comment these things on people’s posts? Do you ever think why?” she said.
“I’m sure everyone has something they’re insecure about. So let’s just make the world a slightly better place and stop sending hate comments because it’s really not necessary to be rude.
“We all have our own problems to deal with and you never know what someone’s going through, please consider that before you say things that could hurt someone.”
She ended the status by also reminding everyone to avoid being hurtful to themselves.
“There’s no point in being rude towards yourself. Learn to love yourself because you are an amazing person and you shouldn’t be so hard on yourself,” she said.
“As long as you’re doing your best, you’re doing an amazing job.”
Her post was soon liked more than 7,000 times, with dozens of people commenting to thank the blogger for spreading positivity.
“I love how real you are @saggysara. You’re such a beautiful person, both inside and out. You’re a total inspiration,” one user said.
Another added: “Love your posts and how you shine beauty on what truly is. Everyone should feel free to be how they want and all the judgement needs to stop.”