A non-binary performer feels sexier than ever after she ditched the razor and hugged her beard.
Dakota Cooke, 30, who uses both her and her, first noticed abnormal hair growth on her face at age 13 and has spent years having weekly waxing appointments to shave her face twice a day.
Feeling judged and uncomfortable about her hair growth, the Las Vegas supporting actress sank into a decade-long spiral of fear and uneasiness.
Despite multiple tests, it’s unclear what caused Dakota’s facial hair, but medics believe it could be due to her adrenal glands producing elevated levels of testosterone.
But now she’s using her sideshow role and social media to spread positive feelings about being a woman with facial hair.
Dakota Cooke, 30, from Las Vegas, decided to embrace her facial hair and grow a beard after years of struggling with her hairy chin
The supporting actress said the beard makes her feel sexier and more confident after decades of feeling confident
She said: “When I hit puberty at 13 I guess I was hit with a little something extra.
“It started with peachy fuzz on my face that started to get longer and darker.
“A family friend brought it to my attention at the time, so my stepfather took me to the doctors for tests and then took me to the hairdresser’s where I had my very first wax.
“It was super uncomfortable and at the time I was learning how to shave my legs.
Dakota explained that her peachy fuzz began to develop after she hit puberty and became darker and longer. She used to shave her face, pictured
“I grew up in a time when women with facial hair were so stigmatized that women in salons told me girls shouldn’t grow facial hair.
“I think that stuck with me because for the next ten years I kind of got into this shame spiral of trying to hide my face in photos and attending waxing sessions every week.
“When I had one of my first jobs in retail, it got to a point where I shaved my face twice a day, once in the morning and then on my break because the hair was just so visible, and I did the makeup department where being anything other than a stereotypical woman was unacceptable.
After talking to a friend at a party in 2015, Dakota decided to grow her beard and become a supporting actress
The performer went from a stumble to a full beard after deciding to stop shaving and waxing her hair
Dakota announced that she hugged herself and started filming her life for TikTok. She added that her family is also supportive
“I would cover up the razor scars and rash with makeup and my face would be so irritated and red all the time.
“I probably still have some of those razor scars to this day.”
It wasn’t until 2015 that Dakota finally decided that she should just embrace facial hair after a friend suggested that she just give it a go.
Dakota adds, “I was at a party with my friend Sunshine, 35, and she was telling me all these wonderful stories about what it’s like to work in the circus and I loved the idea of it all.
“I said to her, ‘I wish I could just grow my beard and join you,’ to which she replied, ‘Why don’t you?’
Dakota’s facial hair didn’t start growing until she was 13 years old. Pictured left as a child. In her 20s, she hid it with makeup
The performer admitted that her facial hair scared her for years because of people staring at her, but eventually she decided not to care
“That was really the catalyst that started my journey of loving myself and my beard.
What is hirsutism?
When women have thick, dark hair on their face, neck, chest, abdomen, lower back, buttocks, or thighs, it is called hirsutism.
A doctor will check what is causing the hair growth and you may have a blood test to measure your hormone levels. A change in your hormone levels is a common cause of hirsutism.
Hirsutism is caused by an increase in hormones called androgens, your body becomes more sensitive to them, or both.
The most common cause is polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), but sometimes there is no obvious cause.
In rare cases, it can be caused by certain medications, anabolic steroid use, other hormonal conditions like Cushing’s syndrome and acromegaly, or tumors affecting your hormone levels.
To treat hirsutism, your doctor may suggest removing or lightening your hair at home with shaving, waxing, plucking, hair removal creams, or bleaching.
They may also suggest using a prescription cream to slow facial hair growth (eflornithine cream), taking birth control pills which may help control hormone levels, or losing weight if you are overweight, which too can help control hormone levels.
If these have not helped after 6 months, your doctor may refer you to a specialist. They may recommend other medicines to control your hormone levels.
Source: NHS
“Growing my beard was pretty awkward at first, it took a lot of effort not to just cut it off and shave it off again.
“I remember the first time someone tried to take a picture of me after I grew my first few inches and I got a lot of looks.
“At first I was very scared of staring, but it got to a point where I just decided I didn’t care anymore.”
Despite the difficulties she faced in accepting her facial hair growth, Dakota came out on the other side full of positive energy.
She said, “I now market myself as Dakota, the bearded lady, and it really comes into my role on the sideshow, where I also do things like hammer nails in my nose and walk on glass.
“My family and friends have been super supportive throughout my self-acceptance journey and even bought me a don’t fuck the bearded lady sign which I love.
“My followers on TikTok have been amazing too, and I love answering their questions and getting words of support.
“I even got compliments from one of my all-time heroes, John Waters, after I went to see him at a book signing in full make-up, feminine clothes and a full beard.
“He told me he loved my look and that I needed to do ad campaigns, that my face should be everywhere.
“Although I’m non-binary, I still dress very feminine and like to wear makeup, dresses and skirts.
“Having a beard never affected me as a femme person, it’s just a part of me now and I love that I’ve embraced it.”
Dakota, pictured left as a teenager, admitted growing the beard was “awkward” and that it took a lot of effort not to just cut it off and shave it off again
Dakota has now built a strong following online and was once praised by John Waters
Right: Dakota as a teenager with one of her siblings. The actress learned to be ashamed of her beard
The actress works in a circus where she dresses like the bearded lady from the musical The Greatest Showman, right
Dakota revealed that she feels more attractive now than she did when she shaved her beard regularly