Harnaam Kaur: "Bearded ladies used to be mocked - I'm changing that"

Even if you don’t know the name Harnaam Kaur, you’ll definitely recognise her.

Kaur’s list of accolades is long: From being included in the Guinness World Records as the youngest woman with a beard, to becoming the first bearded woman to walk in London Fashion Week, the 28-year-old now spends most of her time giving motivational speeches.

She’s part of Tess Holliday’s body positive campaign ‘Eff Your Beauty Standards’ and is proud to represent an alternative image of beauty. She opens up about how her beard is a source of strength, why she loves make-up and the meaning behind her tattoo…

Deciding to grow out her beard
Kaur has polycystic ovaries, which means her reproductive hormones are imbalanced. The symptoms for this condition vary from person to person, and for Kaur, it most obviously manifested itself in excess body hair. "I’ve worn a beard for 11 years, I’m very proud," she says. "I was 16 years old when I decided I wanted to keep my beard and let her grow."

As a teenage girl, having a beard was incredibly hard for Kaur, who was bullied and felt like an outsider. However, she’s now reached a sense of peace. "It’s my perspective about myself that has changed," she explains. "People’s reactions will always be the same, but how I react has changed. Before, I was very angry and didn’t understand why people couldn’t accept me, why adults were picking on me, why they couldn’t see it’s just hair."

Now Kaur appreciates her beard so much more, and has let go of a lot of the anger that dominated her teenage years. Women with beards might not be a hugely common sight, but Kaur is on a mission to smash the stereotype.

This is where she gets really passionate. "Years ago, where were the bearded ladies?" she asks. "They were in freak shows, they were in circuses, they were mocked, people would go see them at peep shows. I’m about to change all of that and show you we’re very powerful."

Make-up as a source of strength
"I’m addicted to make-up," Kaur confesses, but she’s quick to add: "Not because it’s a mask or anything – trust me I’ve got nothing to hide – but I love the art of make-up."

For Kaur, beauty is a form of self-care, and a way to express her creativity. "I love how at peace I am when I do my own make-up," she explains. "I love creating beautiful shadows, contours and colours on my face."

Even though Kaur loves everything about make-up, you won’t catch her spending her downtime watching any popular vlogs on YouTube. "I feel like a lot of make-up online these days is very similar," she sighs. "I try and do what I can with the skills and tools I have to create whatever look.

"At the end of the day, people’s faces are different, so one look isn’t going to be the same on another person’s face – you should play around with your cheekbones and the structure of your face, and do what comes naturally to you."

Her leg tattoo
People with tattoos tend to roughly split into two groups: Those who choose something meaningful to them, and those who choose something they think looks nice (and maybe also those who had a few too many drinks…) Kaur firmly falls into the former category, and is hugely enthusiastic about a certain inking on her leg: Her own face.

"I thought to myself: ‘Who do you love?’ And I love myself, so why shouldn’t I get my face?" she laughs. "There’s a different story it to it as well – when you look at the portrait it’s a very strong-faced woman, I don’t even think it’s me sometimes.

"She’s very regal and strong, and her eyes are almost like she’s looking into her future. She’s the most confident, high self-esteemed, high-valued, high-worthy person that is me – it’s like my alter-ego."