Bodies change after giving birth. That’s a given. Our asses widen. Our hips become fuller. Even our feet spread. And our hair, it comes out by the handful thanks to the physical stress our body endures. Hair loss is definitely a disturbing side effect of pregnancy. But a German-born woman named Mariam suffers from what most women would regard as a shocking side effect — too much hair… facial hair, that is! She had a baby, and bam, now she has a beard too! Mariam is the real-deal — a real-life bearded lady.

Mariam’s hormones must have gone all cray cray when she had her son at age 21. Her facial hair just kept getting thicker. Tests proved it was nothing serious, but it’s gotta wreak havoc on your psyche when you’re a female and you have beard like a lumberjack.

Surprised by her whiskers, Mariam tweezed for years since her mom advised her not to shave or wax, and electrolysis wasn’t a permanent solution. Can you imagine tweezing a full beard every morning? We thought our morning beauty routine took time.

After 16 years of plucking, Mariam had had enough. When she became unemployed, she decided to let her beard grow. We know some people let themselves go when they aren’t working but wow, this takes it to a whole different freakish level. Being one of just a few bearded ladies, Mariam began to blog. Of course, she gets the occasional Internet hater, but it’s her own mother who gives her the most grief about her facial hair. Her mom doesn’t understand why she likes “shocking people.”

But Mariam, who has sported a goatee for 5 years, fully embraces her facial hair.

Does being a bearded lady put a kink in your love life? Well, Mariam hasn’t been in a relationship for a decade but only half that time included her whiskers. She is now looking for love, and likens dating with a beard to being a blonde. Yeah, you heard that right. Her theory is that some guys have a type, even a fetish. If a man loves blondes, for example, maybe there are a few men who would like being with a confident woman who happens to have whiskers. Feeling “sexier and more confident than ever”, Mariam is banking on it.

In case you are wondering, Mariam is working again, traveling with a circus, working as, you guessed it, the bearded lady.

If your hormones went crazy after pregnancy would you ever grow a goatee? We think not, but what about you?

Source: Daily Mail UK

Photos Courtesy: Daily Mail UK