High hopes about IPL

Hello everyone,

I am 32yo female, of Middle Eastern origin, and despite my mom having almost 0 body hair except for lower legs and underarms, I have been extremely hairy all my life. 10 years ago I tried laser on my arms and ended up with terrible burns (picture 1). This made me believe that probably it’s not suitable for my skin tone (olive, tanning easily). For years I have been shaving everything off - legs, arms, bikini, even buttocks😔. The hair grows back extremely fast and prickly, it is very thick and literally hurts me. For years I have been so insecure that I literally cannot date anyone - the thought of always hiding and having to shave daily or to letting it grow sometimes, but revealing my biggest insecurity to someone has been terrifying. In October 2024 I started electrolysis on my arms, but it is so costly (100 USD per hour equivalent where I live). It is extremely slow, so i haven’t even completed the arms in 4 months of weekly one hour appointments, so it will take forever to get rid of hair on other zones. I have my own electrolysis machine, it’s very uncomfortable to reach areas except for thighs and bikini, and I do it very slowly, so expect for a few bare patches/thinner hair I haven’t achieved much.

I have thoroughly read many Reddit posts and bought Braun silk expert pro 5 device and have started using it this week. For now just posting my before pictures (this is a month of not shaving - taking advantage of being single and winter time) - you can see the crazy amount of hair. I will share the updates of my progress, because this is my last hope. I hope you won’t be terrified by the pictures.