A lady who began growing facial hair at the age of nine and shaved her face every day for 16 years has now abandoned the razor and accepted her ‘beautiful’ beard.
29-year-old Coral Sanchez discovered her first hair on her chin 20 years ago and began shaving it every morning at the age of 12 to prevent bullying.
The video creator predicted that her stubble would return by early afternoon, stating that she’d ‘cover’ her face in foundation and ‘wouldn’t allow anybody to get near’ so no one could notice her growing beard.
She spent years concealing her facial hair, which was caused by hirsutism, and even succeeded in keeping it a secret from an ex she dated for four years.
Nevertheless, after experiencing homelessness, Coral was unable to continue shaving on a daily basis, prompting her to rethink why she was doing it in the first place.
Coral’s current companion of almost four years encouraged her and reminded her that she was ‘beautiful,’ prompting her to put down the razor in March 2022.
Coral, who lives in Seattle, Washington, said she began shaving her beard because she believed it was what she was destined to do.
That encouraged her to conceal, she said. Other youngsters would make remarks about her bushy sideburns. They were visibly repulsed and appalled by one.
It’s awful to be ashamed as a nine-year-old. She used to shave every morning when she got up, and by 2 p.m., she had stubble on her face. She’d apply heavy coverage makeup and wear her hair down around her face.
It took her a long time to truly accept her hair growth. Today, when she looks in the mirror, she smiles and feels really lovely.
Coral began waxing her face at the age of 12 before switching to shaving, which she did every day until she was 26.
She has polycystic ovarian syndrome, which changes how the ovaries function and produces hirsutism (excessive growth of dark or coarse hair in a male-like pattern).
The older she became, the tougher it was to reapply complete coverage to mask the hair growth because of work circumstances, Coral said. People would look, but not say anything.
She even kept her condition a secret from a prior lover, stating that he never once saw her without make-up on and that she shaved every day before he did.
Her attitude towards her beard altered when she was 26 years old and forced to live in her vehicle for a length of time without access to a shower or restroom to shave every day.
Coral met her partner Illais on a dating app in July 2019 and felt immediately ‘comfortable’ with him; unlike in prior relationships, she felt at ease speaking up to him about her facial development.
He said that it did not disturb him and urged her to stop shaving.
Coral has now grown a four-inch beard and wants to encourage others to accept themselves, but she admits she still gets ‘disgusting’ glances and stares from certain people, but she understands ‘it’s just their perspective’.
She claimed she now understands one can still be attractive and feminine with a beard and wants to encourage people to accept their unique style to feel really beautiful.
