I've suffered with excess body hair since I was young, and I was bullied because of it through primary/secondary school and now am unable to wear tshirts etc in public because of how paranoid I am about it. I went to the doctors because of it when I was around 11, and they did a blood test but it came back normal so I assume I don't have PCOS.
I have very hairy arms for a girl, not thick hairs like a males but very noticable, dark and long (I bleach regularly but it only lasts a day or two before the roots are noticable). I have never shaved them because I shave my legs and get terrible ingrown hairs, even though I moisturise/exfoliate etc. I've tried waxing but it only lasted 2 days before the hairs began to grow back, so it's really not worth it.
Anyway I checked out reviews and after shopping around I decided to get the £350 Boots Smooth Skin Plus Intense Pulsed Light permanent hair reduction machine. The reviews were on the whole very good, and unlike lots of machines where you have to replace part of the handset after so many flashes, the only thing you need to purchase extra here is the applicator gel which is only £3. It appears to do exactly the same thing as you would get in a laser clinic, but cheaper and means I will be able to target any missed hairs you might get going to a clinic.
The sales assistant in Boots was very helpful, and assured me I could get a no-quibble refund if I find it doesn't work but she assured me it will.
I'm going to use it on my arms first of all, because this is the area that affects me the most confidence wise, but will gradually move on to other areas. For permanent hair reduction I will need to use the machine once a week for between 6-12 weeks (although I will probably need 12 weeks!) and will start using it tonight.
I'm quite sceptical over whether it will work but because I'm confident I can return it, I think it was worth the risk.
I know other girls on here have the same issue with excess body hair, so will monitor the hair reduction over the 12 weeks course to let you know how it goes incase anyone else is thinking of buying one