Woman who spent £51k removing body hair finally embraces it - "despite being mistaken for a man"

A woman who spent £51k removing her body and facial hair has now embraced it – despite being mistaken for a man.

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.

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.

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.

Slowly Bethany found the confidence to stop shaving and now feels “confident” embracing her “beautiful” body hair.

She still gets comments and stares of people confused by her gender – but doesn’t mind.

Bethany, a journalist and podcast host, from Stratford, east London, said: “If a woman has hair it's deemed unattractive.

“Wherever I go I will get one comment from someone – ‘how come you are so hairy? Are you a man or a woman?'.

“When can we get to a point to see women as being hairy?

“I love my beard – it’s growing back and it’s lovely.

“I feel the most confident I have ever felt in my life.”

Bethany noticed she had “hairy legs” aged 10 and as she got older she developed thick pubic hair, a moustache and chin hair.

She said: “I felt encouraged to get rid of my hair.

“At 18 I got hair on my chin.

“From 18 to 25 it got a lot darker and stronger.

“It was growing more and more. I was waxing, epilating, shaving and bleaching.

“It became very sad for me.

“I didn’t feel confident in my natural body.”

Bethany struggled to feel confident when she wanted to be intimate with others or even spend a day at the beach in swimwear.

She also felt discomfort from ingrown hairs.

She said: “At 27 I was trying to save up for laser hair removal.

“I thought ‘what if I put that money towards travelling and a podcast instead of feeling shame?’.

“That was the turning point, I just thought 'f**k it'.”

Bethany began vlogging and sharing her story and in turn it gave her the confidence to begin to grow out her body hair.

She even went on Channel 4 show Naked Attraction to advocate for feminine hairy bodies.

Bethany said: “I grew my leg hair, my pubic hair and I rocked it.

“Leg hair can grow into its own beautiful pattern. It’s like your head hair.”

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.

She said: “My symptoms line up but my blood test said I didn’t have it.

“There is little research on PCOS. The assumption is it’s linked to PCOS but it’s different for every individual.”

Bethany wants to help others embrace their natural bodies and not feel the shame she once did.

She said: “I really enjoy seeing people responding to my body.

“People say ‘I wish I could go out and not shave my legs’.

“You can! You just have to do it and take it day by day.

“I’m advocating for hairy women.”