For 14 years, beauty vlogger Nova Galaxia shaved her beard every day.

In November 2017, she decided to stop shaving and embrace her facial hair, the vlogger told INSIDER.

Galaxia has polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a hormonal disorder that can cause irregular periods, facial and body hair, and acne, among other symptoms.

For Galaxia, growing out her beard meant taking a large step forward to being body positive.



For the last 14 years, beauty vlogger Nova Galaxia shaved her beard every day. But on November 1, 2017, Galaxia made a life-changing decision to stop shaving and truly embrace herself, facial hair and all.

"I started growing my beard for a very personal need to let go of some major self hate I'd held on to for nearly fifteen years," Galaxia told INSIDER.

Galaxia said she started growing dark facial hair when she was 12 because she has polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a common hormonal disorder that can cause symptoms like irregular periods, facial and body hair, and acne, among other complications. According to the National Institutes of Health, estimates suggest that between 8 and 20% of reproductive-age women worldwide are affected by PCOS.

"I started shaving it pretty much immediately, as soon as someone pointed it out to me," she said of her beard. "I instantly hated it and wanted it gone and didn't know why it was happening, but I knew it was bad. I shaved it daily for over a decade."

But one day, Galaxia, now 26, saw something that changed the way she viewed herself.

"I decided to stop growing my facial hair after having seen another woman with my condition, an English Sikh model named Harnaam Kaur," Galaxia said. "I cried when I first saw her. She changed my life."

A post shared by Harnaam Kaur (@harnaamkaur) Feb 7, 2018 at 9:10am PST

Galaxia said Kaur's confidence and success inspired her.

"Seeing someone like me, unafraid of what others thought about her, willing to be public about her condition and looking absolutely killer while doing so was just what I needed to get into the right mindset to let myself heal and stop hating my own hair," she explained.

In one of her most-viewed videos on YouTube, Galaxia elaborates on her experience with PCOS and her decision to participate in No-Shave November last year.

In the video, Galaxia discusses the growing pains associated with being a self-proclaimed "bearded babe." Nearly four months later, Galaxia told us the things she found most surprising about having a beard.

"A lot of aspects of being bearded surprised me at first," she said. "The way it feels when wind blows through it. How great it is at functionally keeping my face warm in the cold. How soft it is. How difficult it is to eat sticky foods and ice cream now."

The vlogger keeps her beard healthy and soft with a regimen of shampoo, conditioner, and argan oil. But sometimes she likes to change things up and decorate her beard with things like glitter, makeup, and even ornamental bells, which she donned for a holiday party last December.

For Galaxia, growing her beard out has been an important step in her journey to body positivity and self-love. She explained that she hopes to inspire others like she was inspired by Kaur.

"I started speaking publicly about it because I very clearly remember the feeling I got when I saw someone like me, how relieving and cathartic it was to know that I wasn't alone and I didn't have to keep hating myself if I didn't want to," she said.

"I want to help inspire that same feeling in anyone who might need it," she added. "Anyone who lives with the same insecurities should know they're not alone and they are powerful and beautiful."