A woman who has embraced her beard has been praised after posting videos on social media in a bid to spread awareness.
Financial analyst Nellie-Jean Robinson has bravely shown off her facial hair on TikTok, inspiring viewers to speak out about their own experiences, and follow her message to accept and love yourself as you are.
The 35-year-old, from Orlando, Florida, suffers from a condition called hirsutism – a hormonal imbalance which causes stiff, dark hair to grow on the face, chest and other parts of the body.
Nellie-Jean also has polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), which can also cause facial hair growth.
Although she once tried to hide it by shaving daily to remove her excess hair, the bank employee has now learned to love herself.
After discovering sugar waxing, which means she only removes the hair once it grows long enough, the financial analyst has let her facial hair grow out, and has been documenting her journey on TikTok.
Her posts have gone viral and viewers love the message she is promoting.
The videos have received over 14 million views and thousands of comments from followers who have praised her for the honest approach.
In one, she shares photos of her face after letting her hair grow out for 26 days ahead of a waxing session.
One person said: “I thought I was the only one! I've been growing facial hair forever and it has caused me depression, thank you for this seriously.”
“Sis you are so brave for this!! I’m doing electrolysis now and it’s been a game changer,” another fan said.
"You are still beautiful, hair or not," wrote one person.
Another person agreed: "You are so beautiful, thank you for sharing your story."
"That beard looks fire, not gonna lie," added someone else.
Nellie-Jean was diagnosed with her condition in her mid-twenties.
"Suffering from hirsutism meant it was hard for me to make friends, so it had a damning effect on my social life,” she said.
"I spent a lot of years hating the way that I looked so I was constantly trying to hide it and felt more comfortable going out late to like a comedy club versus going to the beach.
"It also made it hard to cultivate romantic relationships, making it difficult for me to grow close to men physically, intimately and romantically.”
She previously always wore make up and kept razors in her purse in case she ended up having to stay anywhere overnight.
