A woman who started growing facial hair at the age of 13 has revealed why she finally decided to embrace her beard, after spending $10,000 on laser hair removal.
Tori Sunshine, from Boston, Massachusetts, first noticed two long black hairs on her chin when she was just a teenager and they became more and more prominent over time.
In addition to her facial hair, the digital creator, now 34, also battled painful and heavy periods before being diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a condition that affects the functioning of the ovaries.
Since she was just 16, she was forced to shave daily to hide her beard, but has now decided to embrace it because she insisted it does not “define her.”
Tori Sunshine, from Boston, Massachusetts, who started growing facial hair at age 13, has revealed why she finally decided to embrace her beard.
She first noticed two long black hairs on her chin when she was just a teenager, and they became more and more prominent over time.
Tori battled the symptoms of PCOS from a young age before she was diagnosed with the syndrome at age 13.
‘My mother noticed that I had too black hairs on my chin. They were very long,’ she recalled.
“Facial hair always bothered me. I always thought, “Are they noticing it? Can they see it?”
‘I’m a girly girl. I don’t love the aesthetic look of it.’
Tori, who also fought with weight gain and developed an eating disorder, He prescribed birth control to try to alleviate her symptoms.
But he couldn’t find anything suitable to stop his facial hair from growing, explaining: “I had to shave every day.”
So Tori went to see a laser hair specialist at age 20, but her first round wasn’t very successful.
However, after receiving a higher salary, she went back to paying for laser hair removal and even hid her facial hair from her husband, Matt Sobota, 31, a travel nurse.
Tori, who also struggled with weight gain and developed an eating disorder, was placed on birth control to try to alleviate her symptoms.
Tori went to see a laser hair specialist at age 20, but her first round wasn’t very successful.
She said: ‘I could afford laser hair removal again. There was a lot of hair.’
Tori noted that the treatment worked, but she felt “defeated” when it started growing back.
‘There was nothing I could do about it. I told myself I should accept it. It’s part of my life. Deal with him.’
Tori began to feel more comfortable with her facial hair and began sharing her story online.
She said: “I got a lot of comments saying, ‘I got this’ or ‘Wow, I thought I was the only one.’
‘I remembered that my 15-year-old self used to cry at his reflection. If he had seen myself back then, it would have changed my life. He needed to show up for me and all the other girls.
Tori continued: ‘I want to normalize girls growing facial hair.
‘There are so many other things about me that make me worthy and wonderful. This is not something that defines him.”
The digital creator, now 34, began to feel more comfortable with her facial hair and began sharing her story online.
Although Tori still shaves and gets rid of facial hair, she feels less self-conscious about it and will go five to six days without touching it.
Although Tori still shaves and gets rid of facial hair, she feels less self-conscious about it and will go five to six days without touching it.
She said: ‘Now I know there are so many different things about me that are amazing and cool.
“This is just a little thing about me.”
She wants to change the public perception of female facial hair and adds: ‘I just want everyone to know that this is normal. You are not alone.
‘There are so many amazing things about you. Your condition may seem very defining.
“Don’t let this steal your big, beautiful life.”