A woman who spent £51k removing her body and facial hair has now embraced it – despite being mistaken for a man.<br /><br />Bethany Burgoyne, 33, started waxing and shaving when she was just 10 years old – after feeling self-conscious and says she was encouraged to do so.<br /><br />As she grew up, Bethany struggled with thick dark hair growing on her stomach, chin and nipples and would spend around £250-a-month waxing, epilating and bleaching to remove it for 17 years.<br /><br />She began saving up for laser hair removal aged 27 – which at the time cost around £1k to £2k a go – before she realised she could put the money towards travelling.<br /><br />Slowly Bethany found the confidence to stop shaving and now feels “confident” embracing her “beautiful” body hair. <br /><br />She still gets comments and stares of people confused by her gender – but doesn’t mind. <br /><br />Bethany, a journalist and podcast host, from Stratford, east London, said: “If a woman has hair it's deemed unattractive.<br /><br />“Wherever I go I will get one comment from someone – ‘how come you are so hairy? Are you a man or a woman?'.<br /><br />“When can we get to a point to see women as being hairy?<br /><br />“I love my beard – it’s growing back and it’s lovely.<br /><br />“I feel the most confident I have ever felt in my life.”<br /><br />Bethany noticed she had “hairy legs” aged 10 and as she got older she developed thick pubic hair, a moustache and chin hair.<br /><br />She said: “I felt encouraged to get rid of my hair. <br /><br />“At 18 I got hair on my chin.<br /><br />“From 18 to 25 it got a lot darker and stronger.<br /><br />“It was growing more and more. I was waxing, epilating, shaving and bleaching.<br /><br />“It became very sad for me.<br /><br />“I didn’t feel confident in my natural body.”<br /><br />Bethany struggled to feel confident when she wanted to be intimate with others or even spend a day at the beach in swimwear.<br /><br />She also felt discomfort from ingrown hairs.<br /><br />She said: “At 27 I was trying to save up for laser hair removal.<br /><br />“I thought ‘what if I put that money towards travelling and a podcast instead of feeling shame?’.<br /><br />“That was the turning point, I just thought 'f**k it'.”<br /><br />Bethany began vlogging and sharing her story and in turn it gave her the confidence to begin to grow out her body hair.<br /><br />She even went on Channel 4 show Naked Attraction to advocate for feminine hairy bodies.<br /><br />Bethany said: “I grew my leg hair, my pubic hair and I rocked it.<br /><br />“Leg hair can grow into its own beautiful pattern. It’s like your head hair.”<br /><br />Bethany believes her abnormal hair growth is down to polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) – which causes a hormone imbalance - although she hasn’t had an official diagnosis.<br /><br />She said: “My symptoms line up but my blood test said I didn’t have it.<br /><br />“There is little research on PCOS. The assumption is it’s linked to PCOS but it’s different for every individual.”<br /><br />Bethany wants to help others embrace their natural bodies and not feel the shame she once did.<br /><br />She said: “I really enjoy seeing people responding to my body.<br /><br />“People say ‘I wish I could go out and not shave my legs’.<br /><br />“You can! You just have to do it and take it day by day.<br /><br />“I’m advocating for hairy women.”
