Chances are you have encountered a woman who sports a mustache. Some women shave it off or use makeup to try to cover up the hair. But other women keep it trimmed and neat and sport their hirsute look. One woman, however, decided to not only sport her mustached, but her full beard — and became a world-class model. Harnaam Kaur, 25, walked the runway during London Fashion Week and wowed the crowd with her full facial hair. Now, she holds the Guinness World Record for “Youngest Woman With a Full Beard.”
Kaur suffers from polycystic ovary syndrome, which affects up to 1 in 10 women. Growing up she was ridiculed by her peers and contemplated suicide because of her hairiness. But she took what many thought as a negative and made it into a positive. Her facial hair growth started when she reached puberty at 10 and had no idea that what was going on with her body. She tried removing hair through waxing, shaving, plucking and bleaching throughout her teens, But when she turned 16, she decided to just let it grow. According to a statement to the media, “I decided enough is enough. I’m sick and tired of feeling suicidal, and self-harming my body to punish myself for the way that I looked.”
Instead of wearing baggy clothes she started wearing form-fitting outfits and puttng on makeup that accented her femininity. Last year, she was featured in a photo layout for Urban Bridesmaid modeling wedding gowns and flowers in her 6-inch long beard.
“I grew up watching America’s next top model, and i admired @tyrabanks whole heartedly. I always wanted to be like the pretty models, so i remember copying the way they posed and walked. I grew up being told i was to [sic] fat, ugly, and disgusting to even model. I was told i’d never walk the runway. I used to look at models and tell myself that i will never ever be able to do what they are doing. I am not pretty enough or beautiful enough and i don’t have the ‘right’ body type. I was laughed at when i said i wanted to model. Jokes [sic] on my bullies. I was lucky enough to walk for @mariannaharutunian as the first bearded lady to walk for a celebrity jewelry designer. I was humbled to be the first model to walk and open the show for #royalfashionday with the portrait of the legendary #davidbowie looking down on me! Every path is my runway! Walk with your head up high and ooze confidence always! Xx (my life’s quote) Dreams do come true! A huge thank you to @usfashionsource and @mariannaharutunian for scouting me and allowing me to walk for the jewelry brand,” she wrote recently on her Instagram account.
Kaur calls herself a “bearded dame” and “plus-size model” and now is an anti-bullying activist as well as a fashion icon.
