39-year-old
bearded Rose Geil, has ditched her razor to let her facial hair grow
free - and says she's never felt sexier. She started shaving her hair at
the age of 13 after noticing her excess body hair. The devastated
teenager, from Oregon, quickly realised she would have to shave every day to
keep the stubble at bay. But after years of shaving, plucking and expensive
laser removal procedures, Rose has now decided to accept her bizarre condition
- and couldn't be happier.

She said: "Growing my beard has made me more confident. I
feel pretty with my beard, and I never felt pretty before. It feels amazing
being me. I was a little bit of an outcast at my school, I didn't fit in, I
didn't wear the right clothes and makeup. "My friends did not know, I hid it very well. It was
exhausting trying to keep it hidden. I didn't realise the emotional impact
until I was older. I just thought it was regular teen angst when I was
young."
While Rose hasn't officially gone to the doctors for a proper
diagnosis - she believes her hairiness is due to a combination of Polycystic
Ovary Syndrome and genetics. Throughout her teenage years up until her
twenties, Rose was so ashamed of her hair she wore long sleeves and high turtlenecks
to hide her chest and arms. Even worse, expensive laser hair removal procedures
didn't do much - they were ineffective and painful.
On Her Dating Life: She said: "Revealing my body hair in any relationship was of
course very scary and difficult and I was lucky enough and had some
understanding partners in my early twenties. It was more of an issue for me
just being self conscious and worrying about revealing myself and facing
rejection."
"I was emotionally drained from trying to hide my beard
every day and feeling like I was failing miserably. Growing my beard was an
incredible experience. It was very difficult, daily emotionally and physically
in the beginning because it was very uncomfortable, itchy and crawly. I had to
fight the urge to shave."
On Love & Support, she said: "All of my friends and family are incredibly supportive -
they really had no idea how much I struggled and how much it was affecting me.
People on the street do look at me and do a double take, but their reactions
are either positive or neutral. "I have had people approach me in public and wanted to meet
me and shake my hand and tell me I'm brave and courageous and even an
inspiration."
But the strongest reaction is online, where Rose's Instagram
account is filled with hundreds of male admirers. Rose said: "Some of them get a little carried away, marriage
proposals, offering plane tickets to come visit, inappropriate pictures you
name it. I have no shame with my body, I appreciate my decorations and it feels
nice to make people feel good.
"I definitely feel womanly, sexy and sensuous. I feel more
feminine and it has very little to do with my appearance it comes from my
attitude and giving myself the freedom to be who I am. I've finally accepted
the real me."
Odiegwu
ReplyDeleteEven without the beards, she looks so much like a man