Woman may keep her Movember mo

Growing a mo for Movember has bought a lot of happiness to Sarah O'Neill

While a beard and moustache on a woman isn't something you'd normally equate with self confidence, for this individual from Hull, UK, downing her razor and allowing her facial hair to grow throughout Movember has been a bigger boost to her esteem than she ever imagined.

Suffering from polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) since 2006, Sarah O'Neill has long battled facial hair, a common side effect of the disease and normally she shaves or plucks to keep it under control. Other symptoms of PCOS include weight gain and fertility problems.

But, to raise awareness of both PCOS and men's health issues, she defied social convention and allowed her hair to grow for the entire month. The money she has raised will go directly to the men's charity.

She told the Daily Mail, "It was a spur of the moment decision after coming home from work feeling very embarrassed about how my facial hair had come through."

"I wanted people to know that I'm not lazy or unclean, it's just a medical condition."

“I want people to understand I’m not trying to be a man and that my facial hair is something that can’t be helped,” she told The Hull Daily Mail.

Her decision paid off: not only did she have the full support of her colleagues, but it made her more comfortable in my her own skin.

But with November drawing to a close, Sarah's left with a quandary: to shave or not to shave? In a video on her Movember site she said, "A lot of people have asked me if I'm going to keep it and the answer is, I don't know. It's kinda given me a bit of confidence and you guys, everyone who's donated have also helped me build up a lot of confidence so thank you."

"I might keep it because it's part of who I am and it's OK to be me. The only downside is I look like my brother."

Related:

Craziest health trends of 2013
Yoga teacher sacked for being "too cute"
How to own a room (like a boss woman)