Activist and model Harnaam Kaur was just awarded the Guinness World Record for the youngest woman with a full beard, and her story is as impressive as her facial hair.
The 24-year-old Brit says her beard, which is as long as six inches in some places, is a result of polycystic ovary syndrome, or PCOS, an endocrine system disorder that can cause acne, weight gain and excess hair growth in females. PCOS typically becomes an issue during puberty or early adulthood.
“Puberty was horrible for me,” Kaur tells GWR. “Where my body was changing, I wasn’t adapting to it the way I should have.” She was self-conscious and, at points, suicidal.
Kaur says she tried every method of hair removal possible, ultimately shaving it off. It didn’t work — what had once been scruffiness around her neck grew back as a full beard. “The facial hair wanted to stay, and it came back with a vengeance,” she says.
Once she realized her hair wasn’t going anywhere, she chose to embrace what made her different. “I thought, you’ve lived by removing it. . . why don’t you learn to accept yourself and love yourself for who you are. . . ? And that’s what I did.”
Now, Kaur is using her experience to advocate against bullying — she even became the first woman with a beard to walk the runway at London Fashion Week last March.
“If people loved or accepted others and loved themselves there wouldn’t be any bullying, and if there wasn’t any bullying, people would learn to love themselves,” she says, “so those work hand in hand for me.”
Kaur says she still gets nasty looks and comments, but she’s seen an outpouring of support as well. “I never thought that the public would react to me as a bearded lady the way they would,” she says. “The love has been a main highlight.”