Woman shares why she loves her beard despite cruel comments on dating apps
A woman who developed thick hair on her chin as a teenager, has spoken out about embracing her beard despite criticism from strangers and her mother.
Klyde Warren, 27, from Nebraska, US, says her facial hair is her favourite feature and refuses to let cruel comments from strangers knock her confidence.
The freelance writer says she is regularly taunted on dating apps for her hair but remains determined to find a partner who loves her facial hair as much as she does.
The reason for Warren's excess facial hair is a mystery and despite it affecting her love life, she says she's learnt to love her natural body so negativity from other people does not affect her.
Read more: Woman with PCOS shows off full beard, inspires others to love their facial hair
"I get a lot of stares and people on Tinder will go out of their way to message me and tell me I'm disgusting and gross," she says.
"It does bother me at the time but I'm quite confident. Nobody likes getting comments like that.
"Some people I date embrace it too much and just see it as my defining feature, but my last boyfriend was really supportive and loved my beard in a healthy way."
Warren first started noticing thick facial hair aged 15 and instead of trying to remove it, decided to let nature take its course by ditching the razor.
Watch: Why having body hair makes this woman feel beautiful
"It started in school and I had a thicker moustache than normal," she explains.
"I just decided to embrace it straight away.
"My mum had something to say about it, she didn't like it at all and told me to get it under control but I didn't care. I refused to shave it."
Warren says her beard is easy to groom and just needs an occasional trim and to be washed once a day.
Despite it being perfectly natural for women to have some hair on their face, excess hair is often seen as a beauty taboo and women may feel pressure to remove it.
"I just work on my confidence, it's ok to be a little different," Warren adds.
"A lot of people are self-conscious but you've got to learn to be comfortable in your own skin which can be really hard.
"The universe wanted it to be this way so I'm going to trust it."
Read more: The Crown's Emma Corrin reveals why she's decided to grow her body hair
Excess hair growth
According to the NHS, hormones called androgens are often behind hirsutism – when women have thick, dark hair on their face, neck, chest, tummy, lower back, buttocks or thighs.
Hirsutism is often caused by an increase in androgens, your body being more sensitive to them, or both.
The most common cause of this is polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a condition that affects how a woman’s ovaries work, but sometimes there's no obvious cause.
Rarely, hirsutism can be caused by: certain medicines, using anabolic steroids or other hormonal conditions like Cushing's syndrome.
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In terms of treatment, the NHS says your GP may suggest:
losing weight if you're overweight – this can help control hormone levels
things you can do at home to remove or lighten the hair – such as shaving, waxing, plucking, hair removal creams or bleaching
a prescription cream to slow hair growth on your face (eflornithine cream)
taking a contraceptive pill – this can help control hormone levels
If these have not helped after six months, your GP may refer you to a specialist. They may recommend other medicines to control your hormone levels.
Additional reporting Caters.
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