When Dakota Cooke was going through puberty, she became aware that a lot of hair was sprouting on her face. She is now 30 years old.
She was quickly convinced to schedule weekly waxing treatments and shave their face twice a day in order to achieve the desired effect of seeming more feminine.
Because of her concerns regarding her hair increase, Dakota had a decade filled with stress and a significant decline in her sense of self-worth.
Despite the fact that Dakota has had a lot of tests done, her facial hair’s origin is still a mystery, but the doctors think it has something to do with the fact that her adrenal glands produce an abnormally high level of testosterone.
A performer in the circus was quoted as saying, “When I hit puberty at the age of 13, I believe I got hit with a little bit extra.”
My stepfather took me to the doctor to have some tests done, and then he drove me to a hair salon where I had my very first wax. At the time, it was brought to the attention of the family by a friend of the family.
“It was quite unpleasant, and at the time, I was on the verge of mastering how to shave my legs,” she said.
I was raised during a time when women who grew facial hair were looked down upon to such an extent that when I went to the salon, the other customers would tell me that girls aren’t supposed to develop facial hair.
‘I guess that stayed with me, because for the following ten years, I kind of just sank into this shame spiral where I’d attempt to hide my face in images and be attending waxing sessions every week,’ she said. “I guess that remained with me.”
It got to the point, when I worked one of my first jobs in retail, that I was shaving my face twice a day, once in the morning and then on my break because the hairs were just so visible, and I was working in the makeup department where it wasn’t acceptable to be anything other than a stereotypical woman.
‘It got to the point, when I worked one of my first jobs in retail, that I was shaving my face twice a day, once in the morning and then on my break because the
“I’d be hiding the scars and rash from shaving with makeup, and my face would just be so itchy and red all the time,” she said.
I’m sure that some of those cuts and scars from shaving are still visible on my face to this day.
Because Dakota fell in love with the concept of being a bearded lady on the show, she made the decision to forgo using razors and wax on her face and instead let her facial hair grow out naturally.
Everything changed in 2015 when Dakota was at a party with a buddy who recounted working in a circus. At that time, Dakota was considering a career change.
Over time, Dakota became accustomed to her suffering and began to value the fact that she sought it out.
She is now part of a circus show where she goes by the name Dakota the bearded lady and does feats such as walking on glass and driving nails into her nose.
Despite the fact that I do not identify with any gender, I enjoy wearing feminine clothes such as dresses and skirts.