Fur Real: Love the Skin You’re In
An Interview with Laura Schubert, Fur Oil Founder
Why do you think it took so long to create a product like fur oil?
Back in 2014 we were discussing exciting trends in beauty towards natural products and defining your own beauty, and away from prescribed standards. As we talked, we realized available body hair products were not in line with this movement —the ingredients were harsh, the packaging was
unsophisticated, and they focused only on removal—hair as a problem. Fur is about a more inclusive definition of beauty,
whether you think the bush is back or skin is in. We spent the next two years developing and testing and officially launched in 2016. Today, we’re still one of the few totally women-run and women-owned businesses in this space.
Do you think the discussion surrounding intimacy and intimate parts of the body should be completely de- stigmatized, or does a little taboo keep it sexy and mysterious?
There are plenty of ways to feel sexy and mysterious without having to rely on taboos, which fuel people’s insecurities far more often than they empower. Of course, people don’t have to discuss things that make them uncomfortable, but Fur is trying to create a safe space for people to feel comfortable discussing body hair past just the idea of hair removal.
Do you think that body image sensitivity is important for couples that have seen each other’s bodies for 10+ years?
For so long, body hair has only been associated with how a parter will react to it. We create products that are not focused on how they’ll make you look, but how they’ll make you feel. Using
Fur Oil is meant to be a moment of self-care, without the burden of worrying about what other people will think.
Do you see yourself as de-stigmatizing a taboo? Why do you think anything associated with pubic hair/area has become so taboo?
We’re destigmatizing body hair by demystifying the process around it. There’s nothing embarrassing about having a grooming regimen, whether that’s waxing, shaving, or yes, leaving your hair be. We don’t want to further the idea that your body hair should follow a particular trend, because that message ultimately alienates people. Body hair and the regimens that surround it is a very personal choice, and everyone’s skin and hair is different. Being inclusive is important to us because it honors that personal decision.
How can your product enhance intimacy and sensuality between couples in committed relationships?
It’s important to note here that any product in the Fur line should never be applied internally—and because the vagina is
the internal organ surrounded by the external organ, the labia, no one should be putting any beauty product inside them to disrupt the vagina’s natural pH balance. However, it was very important for us to test our products with both gynecologists and dermatologists, so that our products are absolutely safe enough for pubic hair and (external) skin.
Fur is a really interesting name for your product, it sounds very animalistic. Was this your intention? Connecting people to their wild, animal roots and making them feel more comfortable with it?
When we decided on the name, we wanted a tongue-in-cheek way to allude to pubic hair, but also to associate it with something as luxurious and natural as fur. Although the market has grown around vaginal health and wellness, there are few products out there that explicitly say “pubic hair”, which is why we felt it was important to state that on our packaging.
Body issues are largely associated with women…do you think men struggle on the same level? How do you market towards men as well?
Our entire product line was specifically designed work on anybody and every body! Everyone grows hair, which means everyone has some type of grooming regimen, whether that’s waxing, lasering, shaving, or leaving it all. We had our products dermatologically and gynecologically tested to be safe enough to use around the pubic area, but they are effective enough to work on any hair and skin type—we like to say it works great anywhere on the body where hair meets skin.