“Love yourself, YOU are the only YOU that YOU have” @Harnaam Kaur
Harnaam Kaur is the inspirational 25-year-old woman from Slough, England. She broke the internet last summer by appearing in the mindblowing photoshoot “Flower Beard Bridals with Harnaam Kaur”. The photos went viral and Kaur became a new role model for diffident young girls.
She told “Rock’N’Roll brides”: “My beard has 100% become a part of my body. It is the source of my strength and confidence. People just see the beard as hair, but my beard for me is much more than that.”
Today Harman is happy and confident young woman. She says “ I have now fallen in love with the elements on my body that people may call ‘flaws.’ I love my beard, my stretch marks, and my scars. These elements make me who I am, they make me whole, they make me complete.”
However a truly sad life story is hiding behind these words and Harnaam‘s sincere smile.
Harnaam Kaur suffers from a rare hormonal disorder called polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) which caused her to start growing a beard from the age of 11. She had to wax twice and sometimes thrice a week to remove the extra hair from her face. When the pain was unbearable, she simply shaved it. Of course having so much facial hair at such a young age was tough.
At age 16 she hit her biggest low. Due to endless bullying from her schoolmates and people in society, she caged herself in the bedroom. Her room became her only safe haven. For a year Harnaam could hardly venture out of her home into public. She was hugely depressed and even had suicidal thoughts. But one day sitting on her bed she told herself ‘The energy you are putting into ending your life, put all that energy into turning your life around and doing something better.’
That day Kaur stopped being ashamed of herself. She embraced her beard and decided to love herself. One step at a time she moved forward against society’s expectations of what a woman should look like. Today she is happy living as a beautiful bearded woman, she loves her beard and isn’t afraid to show it.
She claims “We are all imperfectly perfect. I wanted to show society that beauty isn’t just about looking a certain way, we are all so different and we should all celebrate our individuality.” It couldn’t have been said any better!
