00:00When people see my beard, they say a mixture of things.
00:04Some people are impressed by how much actually grows. Others are very disgusted and are very
00:10vocal about being disgusted. My name is Coral Rene. I kind of experienced quite a bit of a
00:16difficult past. Around nine, I ended up growing very heavy sideburns. By age 12, started having
00:24to shave my face fully. I wasn't sure what was going on, but by the age of 16, I was diagnosed
00:31with PCOS, which is polycystic ovarian syndrome. For me personally, it creates higher levels of
00:38testosterone in my body, which is causing my hirsutism, which is what is excessive hair growth.
00:47Finally, when I was about 26 or so, we ended up becoming homeless after COVID. I tried my
00:53best to keep up with the shaving in the car, and it just was not working. So I decided that I
01:00could not do it anymore. I did not want to hide anymore. I was so tired of not existing
01:06or showing up as myself. I started growing out my beard and my facial hair and sharing my journey
01:12online ever since. The facial hair definitely affected my relationships in a number of ways.
01:18The first serious relationship that I was in where we actually lived together,
01:22it meant me waking up every morning before him and shaving my face, putting on makeup. He never
01:28once saw me without makeup. I literally was sleeping in my makeup because I did not want any
01:35trace of stubble to be noticed. I feel like it really didn't allow me to have a true relationship,
01:40just because I knew that there was always this thing that was being hidden. Before I could accept
01:45myself, having facial hair as a woman made me feel like a monster. So that was really hard to
01:51reconcile that my body was so wrong, and yet this was the thing that was like my most valuable asset
01:59to the world. It is definitely an eye catcher. It's hard to leave the house without having reactions,
02:06but it has also allowed me to find a community. It has allowed me to find people who are truly
02:12loving and accepting of others. I don't ever consider shaving anymore. Honestly,
02:18I get scared that if I do shave, my beard won't come back as full as it is. I genuinely love my
02:23face with my beard. I hope that my impact is that some others realize that they don't have to hide
02:31anymore. It is so much more freeing to be able to live as you are comfortable instead of living
02:37for the people around you.
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