Amritsar: Mandeep Kaur's facial hair once drove her husband away; now she refuses to shave fully grown beard

Women growing thick dark hair on areas they usually aren't known to - such as the face, neck, chest or thighs - is called hirsutism. Here's Mandeep Kaur's story.

A Punjab woman whose husband abruptly left her after she developed a moustache and a beard now views her facial hair as empowering and won't remove it. 

In 2012, 34-year-old Mandeep Kaur and her ex-husband were married; at the time, she believed she had finally found true love. Yet after a few years of marriage, he revealed his true colours and left as she started to change. 

Mandeep fell into a deep melancholy after being abruptly discarded, but she swiftly sought assistance and learned to embrace her facial hair. Mandeep and her brothers have taken up farming since coming to terms with her appearance.

She turned to faith for support as she struggled with the hurting sensation of rejection and frequented a Gurudwara in Amritsar. Mandeep also claims that the sacred text of Sikhism, known as the Guru Granth Sahib, which is treasured as a living concept in the community, has benefited her.

She has come to accept her facial hair, although it has turned her ex-husband away because of her faith. Years of agonising about the beard and whiskers have led her to accept them as just another aspect of herself.

Mandeep now refuses to shave it off and covers it up with a turban and her fully-grown beard. In a recent interview, Mandeep said, "My husband dumped me because of my beard - now it's my best feature."

Mandeep now rides a motorbike, giving her a distinctive new appearance. Because of this, until she starts speaking, some people think she is a man. Mandeep, however, is enamoured with her unique appearance.

Watch: Mandeep shared her story two years ago in a video posted on her channel

Not just Mandeep but other women have come to terms with their facial hair. Harnaam Kaur, a native of Slough, had previously shared her journey towards accepting facial hair, which she first noticed when she was 11 years old.

Harnaam had twice-weekly waxing procedures for four years following her 12-year-old PCOS diagnosis before letting her beard grow out. Since then, Harnaam has gained a following on social media, been featured in magazines like Teen Vogue, Cosmo India, and Vogue Japan, and she even gave a TED Talk.

Hirsutism is the condition in which a woman develops thick, black hair on parts of her body that are typically hair-free, such as the face, neck, chest, or thighs. A class of hormones known as androgens are connected to hirsutism.

A polycystic ovarian syndrome is the most prevalent reason for the formation of abnormal hair (PCOS). Acne and irregular periods can also result from this. The use of specific medications and anabolic steroids may also be a less common cause of hirsutism. Other hormonal disorders like acromegaly and Cushing's syndrome may also be at fault.