Amish escapee reveals how she was banned from showering, cutting her hair or ... trends now
A woman who grew up inside one of America's most conservative Amish communities has revealed the shocking rules she was forced to live by until she fled at 19 years old.
Lizzie Ens lived on the ultra-strict 80-acre farm of Swartzentruber Amish in Ohio with her parents and 18 siblings.
Ens, now 38, has shared with DailyMail.com details of her early years, before entering what she refers to as the 'modern world' after she breaking free from isolated and challenging traditionalist lifestyle.
Once adjusting to her newfound freedom, Ens went on to build a successful beauty business and help others as a wellness coach.
During her strict upbringing showers were not permitted, shaving was forbidden, haircuts were not allowed and brushing one's teeth was not a daily activity. At 17, she lost all her upper teeth and had to get dentures in her mouth.
'There was no electricity, no indoor plumbing, no running water, and an outhouse that was the restroom where weekly baths were done in a shared stainless steel tub of water,' she revealed.
'We weren't allowed to shave so we had hair under our arms and on our legs. We weren't allowed to use underarm deodorant.'
Lizzie Ens was 19 when fled her ultra-strict Amish lifestyle in 2004. She said photos and videos were forbidden. The picture was taken by an Amish friend, who had left the community. She said no one in her family had ever seen it
Ens, now 38, is a successful health and wellness coach and co-founder of a beauty company that she launched in October
The dress code was strict: a head covering, long-sleeved dresses that was bound by straight pins in place of buttons and zippers, and bras were not to be worn, instead women wore undergarments instead.
Though there are numerous sects of the Amish some not as rigid, she explained, that her sect was the 'strictest.'
'There was no internet. No electronics. No photos. No video. No television. Nothing from the outside world,' she told DailyMail.com.
Ens revealed that she and her twin had once attempted to runaway - but were back two days later as her sister felt too much guilt for leaving her Amish life behind.
But two years later, on June 30, 2004, the day Ens made her daring escape. She climbed to the roof of her three-story house, removed her bonnet unleashing her long hair, and jumped 15 feet to the ground.
'I was jumping to my freedom,' she said. 'I was scared, excited and relieved.
'Scared because I didn't know if I would see my family ever again. Relieved because for the first time in my life I had to the ability to follow my heart and my dreams.'
When she abandoned the only life she had ever known, Ens had only $20 in her pocket and in one moment walked away from her family, including, her twin sister, who she said did not want to leave.
Two days after she ran away, she told DailyMail.com that she got a job as a dishwasher at a local restaurant.
She said the people who hired her had a 'massive impact' on her life transition from the Amish culture to the modern world.
They were not Amish and helped give her the support and resources she needed to obtain a social security card, obtain a driver's license and get a car.
'They taught me how to drive. The first time behind the wheel I was terrified, but within weeks of passing my road test I was driving by myself. It was crazy,' Ens said, who used to drove a horse and buggy.
But as she tried her best to get used to the world she believed she belonged in, Ens says 'there was a massive culture shock,' that took place.
'You have no idea how little you know about the world until you start to realize how little you know,' she said. 'That's when the shock starts to settle in'
Ens spoke at a function last year and sharing her journey with others. At the start of the presentation, she was wearing traditional Amish clothing (pictured) but underneath she had a stylish dress that shows the transition
One of the first things she had to learn was how to get a job and work at a regular job so she could pay bills.
'It was
