27 Jun After Years Of Secret Shaving, Inspirational Woman Shows Off Her Glorious Beard

No one’s body is perfect, and most of us can attest to having at least one insecurity about our physical appearance. Perhaps you’re a woman and your breasts are too small or too large for your liking, or you’re a man and your hair has started thinning out long before you expected it to. While plastic surgery is an option, the easier and usually more rewarding route is learning to love the skin that you’re in.

As much as we are bombarded with pictures of perfect bodies on social media, it’s also given rise to the positivity movement which is, in short, what it says on the tin. It has encouraged countless people around the world to embrace what makes them different instead of harming their mental (and in many cases physical) health by trying to fit into society’s narrow beauty standards, which change all the time anyway.

One of the many people who has been positively affected by the movement is 26-year-old Nova Galaxia from Virginia. At the age of 12, she realized that there was something different about her body when her facial hear began to darken.

As a young girl in school, this difference was immediately picked up on by one of Nova’s classmates who began to mercilessly bully her for it. She then began to incessantly shave her face, telling no one about her facial hair or the fact that her periods had stopped.

After a few years of constantly shaving her face, Nova finally opened up to an adult about her condition and was diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome at the age of 15.

This is a condition which affects the function of the ovaries and is characterized by irregular periods, enlarged ovaries with fluid-filled sacs, and the excess production of the male sex hormone androgen, which can result in facial hair.

Now, the 26-year-old has opened up about her battle with the condition on the British talk show This Morning in a bid to encourage others to love the skin that they are in.

Nova explained that 27-year-old British model, Harnaam Kaur, inspired her to ditch her razor because she too has a beard. The Virginian native added that the support of her partner also played a huge role in her decision.

Viewers were quick to praise the 26-year-old for her bravery, with Twitter user @ellamnorris writing, “I’d embrace it too if my beard looked that good. Yes girl.”

“Lady on #ThisMorning with the beard. [Like] she said our bodies are our own. Who are we to judge her. She looks amazing,” remarked @jackstorer.”

Sadly, however, not everyone’s reaction to Nova’s beard was so positive and @Dayjur11 criticised the show for allowing her to tell her story, writing, “That was a ‘let’s look at a woman with a beard’ segment from #ThisMorning, dressed up as some faux ‘overcoming adversity’ message.”

“Woman [sic] who want to wear the trousers is fine by me, but wearing a beard?! Hell no!!” added @Big_Bro_News.

Nova’s appearance aside, however, she also helped open up a discussion about the debilitating effects of PCOS.

“PCOS is such an overlooked condition, mine is nowhere near as bad as this lady’s, but you do you,” added fellow sufferer @amxzinghowell.

During the interview, Nova explained what it was like to step outside with a beard for the first time, explaining to the show’s hosts Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield, “I remember the first time I went out when I stopped shaving it was just a grocery trip. I caught myself being obnoxiously self-conscious about it.”

“It took a while for me to get to the point where I wasn’t hiding. It took a couple of weeks. And then it got normal over time.”

To discover what Nova looks like now, check out the video below: [[jwplayerwidget||http://content.jwplatform.com/videos/rpqnrxgX-Q0L14jDU.mp4||rpqnrxgX]]

The 26-year-old revealed that shortly after her periods started when she was 11 years old, they suddenly stopped and never returned. Since then, she has gone on the birth control pill to regulate the hormone imbalance caused by her condition.

In another interview, Nova recalled, “A boy in my class at high school pointed at my face and said I had a better beard than he probably ever would. By this stage, I was shaving every single day before school. It was getting really thick and I would have a panic if I ever forgot my razor at sleepovers.”

“I’d get up early and shave, pretending I was desperate for a shower, but really I couldn’t stand to let myself be seen with a beard,” the 26-year-old continued.

“I confided in my long-term girlfriend at the time, but apart from that, very few people knew. It was my dark secret because of the pressures from society on women to shave all their hair off and conform.”

“I was worried people would think I was a freak if I let my hair grow out.”

Nova’s opinion of herself changed for the better, however, when she met her nonbinary partner Ash in 2012. Nova made her move on the 25-year-old model after being blown away by their appearance in a fashion show.

Six years on, Ash said of video transcriber Nova, “I love her beard. It’s a part of us as a couple now.”

“Yes people do stop and stare at us, watch us walk down the street and ask Nova random questions to determine her gender, but she’s never been happier and that makes me proud,” Ash continued.

“I adore her, beard and all.”

“I saw Ash on the runway and I thought ‘how cute’,” Nova said of meeting the model. “We got talking and I realized this gorgeous model and me had a lot in common.”

“I asked Ash out, we went on a date and were living together three months later.”

Nova opened up about her secret shortly after this and Ash said to her, “I’ll love you no matter what.”

At the time of meeting Ash, Nova was regularly shaving her face, back, chest and legs.

“It was becoming too much. I started speaking more about my condition and telling friends that I shaved my face,” Nova revealed. “That’s when I realized I wasn’t alone and everyone loved me for me, not for the way I looked.”

The biggest turning point in Nova’s life, however, came just last year when she saw British model and activist Harnaam Kaur for the first time. Having embraced the beard she acquired from PCOS, Nova decided to do it too and ditched her razor for good on October 31.

“It was scary at the start, but now I love my beard. I shampoo and condition it every day and always make sure it’s been beautifully brushed to keep it looking its best,” she said.

“People don’t talk about PCOS, even though it’s really common and I want more women to realize they are not alone.”

Although Nova has had her fair share of negative comments about her beard, she has also received a lot of compliments about it too.

“People will come up to me and ask really random questions, just so they can hear me speak and see if my voice helps them to determine my gender,” she said.

Nova revealed that the harshest critics of her appearance were online trolls, saying,  “I’ve received some cruel comments from strangers and trolls online.”

“People have accused me of pretending to be a woman, or they think I’m transgender, but I don’t care. It’s not an insult to be trans, I’m just not – I’m a gay woman.”

“Anyway, with my hipster beard, I feel happier now than I have ever been. I am with someone I love, who supports my decision and loves me for me and my beard,” the 26-year-old continued.

“I have no idea when I am going to stop growing it. It’s a part of me now, and I love it.”

Ash, who also currently works part-time in a sandwich shop, adores her partner’s new look, and said, “I find her beard really tickly when we kiss, but in a good way. I’ve not told my mum about her facial hair yet, but she’ll find out when we see her next.”

“It’s a part of who Nova is now, she is so confident and that’s really attractive, too.”

The happiness Nova has found from growing her beard is a testament to the power of embracing what Mother Nature gave you, regardless of whether or not it fits into society’s narrow beauty standards. It’s also a reminder of the fact that some women can have excess body hair and that’s totally okay.

We would like to take this opportunity to wish Nova all the best. You keep doing you.

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