My husband left me after I started getting facial hair; now I love him and I refuse to shave.
A woman whose husband left her after she suddenly grew a mustache and beard now feels empowered by her facial hair and refuses to shave it.
Mandeep Kaur, 34, from Punjab, India, and her ex got married in 2012, and she thought she had found her true love.
But a few years after their marriage, when her appearance began to change, he showed his true colors and ran away.
After being unceremoniously dumped, Mandeep spiraled into depression, but sought help and was quick to come to terms with her facial hair.
Since embracing his looks, Mandeep has also taken up farm work alongside his brothers.
Mandeep Kaur, from Punjab, India, revealed how her husband left her after he suddenly grew a mustache and beard (left, before and right, now)
He sought help for the stinging feeling of rejection and turned to spirituality.
Mandeep began attending a gurdwara, a place of worship among Sikhs where those who follow the religion can learn the basics of their faith.
They are generally run and managed by volunteers.
The best-known gurdwaras, which roughly translates to ‘Gateway to the Guru’, are located in Amritsar, the second-largest city in the Punjab state.
Mandeep also says that she has been blessed by the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy scripture of Sikhism, which is also revered as a living concept within the culture.
It is thanks to her faith that she has learned to accept her facial hair even though it drives her ex-husband away.
For years she agonized over beards and mustaches, but now she has come to see them as just another part of her.
Channeling a new found confidence, Mandeep now refuses to shave and wears his fully grown beard with a turban.
Mandeep (in the center of the photo) began attending a gurdwara, a place of worship among Sikhs where those who follow the religion can learn the basics of their faith.
Channeling a new found confidence, Mandeep now refuses to shave and wears his fully grown beard with a turban.
Since embracing his looks with confidence, Mandeep has also taken up farm work. In the photo with his brother Dhanveer Singh
Women who grow dark, thick hair in areas that are not usually known, such as the face, neck, chest, or thighs, are called hirsutism.
The NHS recommends seeing a GP if this is a problem for you, as there could be a treatable medical condition behind it.
Hirsutism is related to androgens, a group of hormones.
The most common cause behind atypical hair growth is polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). This can also cause acne and irregular periods.
Other, rarer causes of hirsutism can be the use of certain medications and anabolic steroids.
Elsewhere, other hormonal conditions like Cushing’s syndrome and acromegaly may be to blame.
The NHS also lists a tumor that affects hormone levels as a possible cause.
Mandeep now proudly displays his facial hair and wears a turban, despite having problems with his appearance in the past.
Mandeep was left depressed after her husband left, but now she accepts her fully bearded appearance.
The farmer has now also gotten used to wearing a turban and feels less distressed by her facial hair.