'I'm a woman with a beard – the stares are revolting but hubby loves my furry face' – The Mirror
A woman who used to get bullied for her thick beard, side burns and moustache has learned to not only embrace it, but ‘love it’, and now doesn’t shave – and her husband loves it just as much
A woman who has grown tired of unhelpful beauty standards has fully embraced her facial hair – but she still receives odd looks from strangers.
Sawo Mginqi, 26, has felt self-conscious about her fuzzy face for 10 years, but after embracing her facial hair, which travels from her sideburns to her beard and moustache, she has learned to love it – as does her husband. She explained: "He [my husband] actually told me to let my facial hair grow because he said he didn't see anything weird nor funny about it.
"In our early stages of marriage, when we had to go out for lunch or dinner he couldn't surprise me, because he knew if I didn't shave my beard on that day, then we would definitely be having a take away. But he has been an advocate of me loving and accepting myself through and through."
People may stare and leave the recent university graduate nasty comments, but with her husband, who is a fan of her hairy look, Sawo feels totally normal. She said: "I'm so used to people saying so much [negative comments] that when I'm with him, I feel normal. He honestly does not feel any type of way."
But not everyone is as accepting. "People are forever gobsmacked [by my choice to grow my hair out/not shave], some are kind and compliment me on how beautiful and unique I am and some just say revolting comments," said Sawo, adding: "They definitely stare a lot!"
Sawo, who is from Johannesburg, South Africa, first started to notice dark hair on the side of her face when she was just 16 years old. "It was very visible because I'm a tad light in complexion," explained Sawo.
She continued: "When I was 18, that's when the sideburns, moustache and beard started growing. At 21, I had a full-grown beard – not long in length, but it was surely hair all over my face."
Worrying about how she looked, Sawo started sharing twice a week in her 20s. "If I needed to go out a particular day and looking for a super clean chin then I'd apply some shaving cream," she explained. However, her skin is really sensitive, and shaving would cause "a bit of irritation," so she decided to let her facial hair grow.
Sawo explained: "Therefore, now I just trim my sideburns. I don't shave them, I love them." Now she's determined to help other women tackle the stigma around facial hair.
She explained: "I was bullied a bit [when younger]; not by my peers but by adults, which was very perplexing because they were the people who were supposed to protect me. So when I finally accepted myself I promised myself that I'd flaunt and embrace my uniqueness every chance that I get.
"I just love hearing people saying 'we've never seen a person like you before'. It also gives me a chance to educate people. We are all different and should have confidence to those who are like me, reassuring them that they are most definitely beautiful."
Do you have a story to share? You can email ariane.sohrabishiraz@reachplc.com
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