Contrary to what some might think, Heidi Klum isn’t immune to the body-related changes that come with age. In a newly released interview with Real Simple, the 51-year-old supermodel and TV host got candid about how aging has affected where—and how—her body hair grows, and her honesty is refreshingly relatable.
“I have a chin hair and I have a boob hair,” she told the outlet. “I would say it’s as long as my pinky finger. It’s like, ‘Where are you coming from all of a sudden? You were not there yesterday.'” She went on to describe just how thick the unexpected strands can be. “If I come with a tweezer, when I pull it out, it’s a whole tree trunk,” she said. “It’s strange what happens with age. All of a sudden, you have hairs growing out of various places.”
Klum isn’t alone. As previously shared with NewBeauty, women in their 40s and 50s often notice new hair growth in unexpected areas, such as the cheeks, lower face, or around the areola. “Estrogen levels decrease during menopause, creating a disruption in the balance between estrogen and testosterone that can cause hair to grow darker or longer,” New York dermatologist Marina Peredo, MD explained.
For Klum, embracing these changes comes down to self-acceptance, a mindset she credits to her mother. “My mom said you have to be happy with the person you see in the mirror; you live your life with you, and if you’re not happy with you, it’s hard to be happy with anything that’s happening outside of you,” she continued. “I think our confidence gets better with age. I just did a campaign with my mom—she’s 81. I look at her, and I’m like, ‘Dang it, I hope I’m going to look like this at 80.'”
