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| Mariam, 49, gave up tweezing her facial hair in 2008, and has decided instead to let her beard grow and see how it would change her as a person |
Source: Daily Mail
A mother who began sprouting thick facial hair after the birth of her
son 28 years ago says she's feeling sexier and more confident than ever
before, having finally stopped trying to get rid of her beard.
The German-born woman, identified only as Mariam, appeared on ITV's This Morning to discuss why she stopped tweezing the hair on her face which she had been plucking every day for almost two decades.
Mariam, 49, also explained to Holly Willoughby and Philip Schofield that
she is happy with the way she looks and would not change her situation,
despite being criticised for her behaviour by her own mother
She also said she is able to look past the comments of internet trolls who target her bearded woman blog to tell her 'people like me should be sent to Russia... or shot'.
Mariam - who has had tests to rule out serious medical problems more
associated with excessive hair growth in women - told Phil and Holly,
along with expert Dr Carol Cooper, that she had never had any facial
hair before the birth of her son, after which it gradually began
growing.
Ten years on, the hair was growing thick enough for a full beard, and
Mariam would laboriously tweeze out each hair every morning.
'I asked my mother what to do and she told me to tweeze them, never to
shave or wax. And then I visited my gynaecologist who said it happened
to lots of other women so I shouldn't worry. But they didn't really give
me a reason. Now I know it must be inherited
'My chin got really red and inflamed from all the plucking, and some of
the hairs were ingrown, so it always looked like I'd fallen on my chin.
But when people asked what had happened and I told them they couldn't
believe it.'
In 2008, when she was living alone and unemployed, Mariam decided to
give her beard a chance to grow. She said: 'I had no job so I had free
time to give it a chance and see what happened, so I started a blog to
inform other women about it, and to see what was happening every day and
how I felt.
Mariam explained to Holly and Phil that prior to her 'experiment'
plucking her beard had become an obsession, and that her son, who has
not been named, used to remember it taking her hours to leave the house.
She added: 'I thought about it all the time. I had to double check
before leaving the house that it was OK, and take a mirror in my pocket.
That was life.
'When I decided to let it grow it didn't feel brave, it was more like a
curiosity. I wanted to see hwat would happen to me. There was a big fear
that everyone would turn away and nobody would talk to me anymore.'
Mariam, 49, appeared alongside Dr Carol Cooper on ITV's This Morning to explain her situation to Holly and Phil
And Mariam did meet some resistance - from her family.
'My mum said "do you have to shock people like this". Then she got used
to it and thought that one day I'd finish it, and was patient, but now
she's getting nervous and wants me to stop and become "normal".'
She received negative reactions from other people, too, especially on
the internet: 'People can be cruel depending on where you go.
'Some people say people like me should be sent to Russia or shot, but
that's just one person on the internet writing horrible stuff. Other
people say it's courageous and inspiring. So there are both sides.'
Mariam now travels with a circus as the bearded lady act, which she says
she enjoys since she has studied acting in the past and also likes
educating people about the issue.
'I want to give people the opportunity to talk to a bearded lady, because usually they are too scared in the street'
She said: 'I want to give people the opportunity to talk to a bearded lady, because usually they are too scared in the street.'
Mariam, who has been single for a decade, also says she is looking for a
relationship now that she is feeling sexy and more confident. She told
Holly that even if she could she would not change her situation.
Holly Willoughby and Philip Schofield asked Mariam how she felt about having a beard
'I know myself more now,' she said. 'There are always people with a
fetish who might only be attracted by the beard, but that is the same
with lots of things, even if I were a blonde woman.
'It is sometimes annoying when I go shopping but otherwise it has given me other opportunities'
'I tried electrolysis three times but it just grew back - and now I'm
happy with it. It is sometimes annoying when I go shopping but otherwise
it has given me other opportunities.
Dr Cooper explained that it is fairly common for women to have facial
hair they do not want, but if it comes on suddenly - especially if
accompanied by other symptoms such as weight gain and irregular periods -
you should see your GP since it could be to do with excessive of
androgen hormones.
What triggers excess facial hair in women?
What causes excess facial hair?
It's estimated that one in ten women suffers from excess facial and body hair. But what causes it?
'Sometimes race or just a family
tendency to be more hairy is to blame, rather than any medical problem,'
explains Dr Rina Davison, an endocrinologist from Whipps Cross
University Hospital, London, with a special interest in excess hair.
'People of South Asian or Mediterranean
descent tend to have more hair than Caucasians or those with black skin,
for example. It's also possible to be quite a “hairy” family regardless
of race.'
But there are other factors that could be to blame.
Women normally produce low levels of
male hormones called androgens, but an excess can trigger unwanted hair
growth known as hirsutism.
A common cause of hirsutism is
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, which has accompanying symptoms of acne,
weight gain and irregular periods.
Other, rarer, causes include a tumour on the ovary or adrenal gland as well as certain medicines including steroids.
Rarely, a woman will have normal androgen levels and the cause of the unwanted hair growth will not be identified.
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