Woman who spent £51k removing body hair now proudly flaunts a beard
A woman is proudly embracing her body hair after spending a whopping £51,000 on removing it.
Bethan Burgoyne, 33, became "very sad" as her body hair kept "growing and growing" and became stronger and thicker between the ages of 18 to 25. She noticed she had "hairy legs" when she was 10 years old and as she got older she developed thick pubic hair, a moustache and chin hair.
She took extreme measures to tackle her hair from a young age including shaving, bleaching, and and waxing every month, which cost her £250 every few weeks, for over 17 years. The podcast host said: "Wherever I go I will get one comment from someone – 'how come you are so hairy? Are you a man or a woman?'."
Bethany struggled to feel confident when she wanted to be intimate with others or even spend a day at the beach in swimwear. But now, Bethany has found the confidence to stop shaving and has embraced her "beautiful" body hair.
A woman who spent £51k removing her body and facial hair has now embraced it – despite being mistaken for a man (Bethany Burgoyne / SWNS)
As she grew up, Bethany struggled with thick dark hair growing on her stomach, chin and nipples and would spend around £250-a-month waxing, epilating and bleaching to remove it for 17 years (Bethany Burgoyne / SWNS)She said: "I felt encouraged to get rid of my hair. I was waxing, epilating, shaving and bleaching. It became very sad for me. I didn't feel confident in my natural body."
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She began saving up for laser hair removal aged 27 – which at the time cost around £1k to £2k a go – before she realised she could put the money towards travelling and help support her podcast. "That was the turning point, I just thought 'f**k it'," she added. She still gets comments and stares of people confused by her gender – but doesn't mind.
Bethany, from Stratford, east London, continued: "If a woman has hair it's deemed unattractive. When can we get to a point to see women as being hairy? I love my beard – it's growing back and it's lovely. I feel the most confident I have ever felt in my life."
Bethany began vlogging and sharing her story and in turn it gave her the confidence to begin to grow out her body hair. She even went on Channel 4 show Naked Attraction to advocate for feminine hairy bodies. Bethany said: "I grew my leg hair, my pubic hair and I rocked it. Leg hair can grow into its own beautiful pattern. It's like your head hair."
Bethany believes her abnormal hair growth is down to polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) – which causes a hormone imbalance - although she hasn't had an official diagnosis.
She explained: "My symptoms line up but my blood test said I didn't have it. There is little research on PCOS. The assumption is it's linked to PCOS but it's different for every individual."
The brave woman now wants to help others embrace their natural bodies and not feel the shame she once did. She added: "I really enjoy seeing people responding to my bod. People say 'I wish I could go out and not shave my legs.' You can! You just have to do it and take it day by day. I'm advocating for hairy women."
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