No, it’s not weird at all. In a Men’s Health survey of over 4,000 men, 68 percent said they trim their armpit hair. More than half do it purely for how it looks, and another 16 percent do it for sports. Shaving or trimming your underarms as a guy is one of the most common grooming habits that nobody talks about openly.
Most Men Already Do It
The idea that men should leave their body hair completely untouched is relatively recent. Ancient Egyptians shaved their entire bodies, and the Greeks considered the hairless athletic physique the ideal male form as far back as the 5th century BC. In more recent history, the 1990s brought the “metrosexual” era, which made it socially normal for men to groom below the neckline. That shift never really reversed.
Today, roughly 20 percent of men aged 15 to 90 in the United States groom hair below the neck in some way, and for men between 24 and 34, that number climbs to 30 percent. In Germany, half of all men in the same broad age range do some form of body grooming. Armpits tend to be the easiest entry point because the results are subtle and the process is simple.
Why Guys Shave Their Armpits
The reasons fall into a few practical categories. Aesthetics is the biggest one: visible armpit hair in tank tops, during workouts, or at the pool is something many guys prefer to manage. Bodybuilders, swimmers, and wrestlers have shaved their underarms for decades, both to show muscle definition and to look cleaner during competition.
Odor control is another major motivator, and there’s real science behind it. Armpit hair traps moisture, reduces airflow, and creates the warm, still environment where odor-causing bacteria thrive. The bacteria most responsible for that familiar underarm smell belong to a group called Corynebacterium, which breaks down sweat into the compounds you actually smell. One study on hair removal in the underarm area found that about 63 percent of participants reported a noticeable improvement in sweat smell after treatment, because removing hair disrupts the environment those bacteria depend on. Fewer bacteria clinging to hair means less odor between showers.
Some guys also find that deodorant and antiperspirant work better on skin without a layer of hair blocking contact. If you’ve ever noticed your deodorant seems to wear off quickly, that’s worth trying.
Trimming vs. Shaving: What Works Best
You don’t have to go fully bare. Many men prefer trimming with an electric body groomer set to a short guard length. This reduces bulk and odor without the stubble, itching, or irritation that can come from a close shave. It also looks natural, which matters if you’d rather not broadcast the fact that you groom.
If you do want a clean shave, the process is straightforward. Raise your arm overhead so the skin is as flat as possible, apply shaving foam or a soap lather, and shave with a sharp razor. Armpit skin is sensitive and folds easily, so going slowly matters more here than on your face. Shave in multiple directions since underarm hair grows in different patterns, but avoid pressing hard or making too many passes over the same spot.
Replace your razor blade after five to seven uses. Dull blades are the top cause of razor burn and ingrown hairs. After shaving, skip tight shirts for the rest of the day if you can, and hold off on applying deodorant for an hour or so to let any micro-irritation settle down. If you find that razor burn is a recurring problem no matter what you do, switching to a trimmer on a close setting gives you most of the benefits without the skin issues.
Will People Notice or Care?
Honestly, most people won’t notice unless you tell them. The shift toward male grooming has been gradual enough that trimmed or shaved underarms don’t register as unusual anymore. If anything, visible grooming tends to read as someone who takes care of themselves. In locker rooms, at the gym, or at the beach, you’ll see the full spectrum from completely natural to fully shaved, and nobody is paying close attention to anyone else’s armpits.
The one scenario where people might comment is if you go from very hairy to completely bare overnight. If that bothers you, start with a trim. A body groomer on a medium setting takes your underarm hair from full to tidy in about 30 seconds per side, and the result looks like you just naturally don’t have much armpit hair.
Potential Downsides to Know About
Shaving can cause razor burn, ingrown hairs, or minor folliculitis (small red bumps where hair follicles get irritated or mildly infected). The underarm area is especially prone to this because the skin is thin, stays warm, and experiences constant friction from arm movement. Using a fresh blade, shaving foam, and gentle pressure minimizes the risk significantly.
Stubble itch is the other common complaint. When you shave completely smooth, the hair growing back over the next day or two can feel prickly and uncomfortable, especially against clothing. This is less of an issue if you trim rather than shave, or if you shave consistently enough that the hair never reaches that scratchy stubble phase. Some guys shave every two to three days to stay ahead of it.
There’s no health downside to removing underarm hair. It doesn’t make you sweat more, doesn’t cause skin to darken permanently, and doesn’t make hair grow back thicker. That last one is a persistent myth: shaving cuts hair at a blunt angle, so it may feel coarser as it grows in, but the hair itself is unchanged.