The new photo spread for Rock N Roll Bride is aiming to change the way people see beauty.
The model of the photoshoot is a young woman named Harnaam Kaur, who has polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). The condition caused abnormal hair growth, and the Slough, UK resident was bullied when she was younger. It had also made her consider suicide, but the brave young woman has completely turned her life around.
"At the age of 16 I hit my biggest low," Kaur told Rock N Roll Bride. "I had been suicidal all year due to immense bullying from school and people in society. I hid away and did not want to venture out into the public."
A photo posted by the official harnaam kaur page (@harnaamkaur) on Jun 11, 2015 at 3:35am PDT
Her thoughts of suicide actually pushed her to do something with her life.
"I remember sitting on my bed and thinking about taking my own life," Kaur said. "But instead, as I sat there, I started to counsel myself. I told myself 'The energy you are putting into ending your life, put all that energy into turning your life around and doing something better.'"
A photo posted by the official harnaam kaur page (@harnaamkaur) on Jun 22, 2015 at 9:52am PDT
Kaur made a life changing decision.
"I decided to keep my beard and step forward against society's expectations of what a woman should look like," she said. "Today I am not suicidal and I do not self-harm. Today I am happy living as a young beautiful bearded woman."
A photo posted by the official harnaam kaur page (@harnaamkaur) on Jun 25, 2015 at 12:20pm PDT
The photo spread was shot by Louisa Coulthurst of Urban Bridesmaid Photography, and can be found in Rock N Roll Bride's website. Coulthurst admitted that she had Googled Kaur and contacted her about the project.
"I had always been intrigued by the thought of floral beards and a thought came to me of wouldn't it be cool to have a floral beard on a woman," the photographer said. "I emailed Harnaam and she was excited and wanted to get involved."
Since the photo spread, Kaur's Instagram followers have increased to more than 15,600.
