DADADEL
Body hair became a lifelong challenge for 33-year-old Leah Jorgensen, who has polycystic ovary syndrome. Bullied as a child, she endured taunts of being a ‘freak’ or ‘man,’ leading her to cover up with long sleeve shirts and turtlenecks since the age of 14, as revealed in a New York Post article.
She confessed to spending her 20s obsessively shaving various body parts. Leah’s fear of intimacy led to avoiding the dentist for 12 years and not experiencing her first kiss until age 27, as revealed in an Unilad interview.
Leah, in a conversation with the New York Post, stated: “My way of coping with that shame and embarrassment was to hide. My daily goal for a long time was to just get through the day without anyone noticing how hairy I was. Because I have so much of it, it was very difficult to hide it. I developed a terrible case of anxiety and it really took a toll on my mental health. I had a bad experience with my doctor. She had never seen such an extreme case of hirsutism and she was startled and made a facial expression.”
In December 2015, Leah was involved in a car accident, necessitating an ambulance trip to the hospital. Paramedics, undeterred by her hair, swiftly focused on saving her life after cutting her clothes.
Leah said: “I realized no one cared what I looked like, they just saw me as a person. It really helped me to get over it.’ She also went on to say that she found a boyfriend around that time and that’s when she embraced who she is as a person and stopped hiding. She said: ‘I realized that I never really disliked how the hair looked. The problem was not with the hair, it was with people’s perception of it. I thought, ‘Enough is enough.’ I didn’t want to run from it anymore.”
Subsequently, she abandoned the razor and wholeheartedly embraced her body’s natural appearance. Her newfound confidence garnered her a following of over 2,500 on Instagram, and she courageously sported a bikini for the very first time during the previous summer. Furthermore, Leah decided to leave her insurance job behind and pursue higher education in social work. Presently, she holds a position that involves working with autistic children, finding fulfillment in her impactful role.
Leah said: “I used to be scared of people noticing my hair, but now I embrace it and let it grow. I’m unique and that is perfectly fine. I do still shave my face because I like how my face looks without hair, but I used to shave multiple times a day and now I will go a couple of days. It has been incredibly empowering. I hope that sharing my story will give others courage. And to women who have hirsutism: You are not alone.”
Do you accept your body hair? What do you think of Leah’s decision to stop shaving? Let us know in the comments.
