u/Just_Membership_2467

I've got PCOS and the chin/jawline growth has been the bane of my life for years. Tried tweezing, threading, dermaplaning, but all temporary.... and the irritation never really stops. Looking into home IPL but I want to hear from people who've actually used it for 6+ months on PCOS-related growth before I commit to a device.

Did the results actually hold, or did the hormonal side keep bringing growth back? And did you combine it with spironolactone or any hormonal treatment, or run IPL solo?

Bagpackaging Asia for 6 weeks, hostels and overnight buses. Currently packing a flat cotton mask that takes up basically zero space. Considering having a contour mask but i am not sure.

For people who have travelled with both. What is your preference?

I am about seven weeks into my IPL schedule and have a vacation booked in 3 weeks. Two weeks in Greece, plenty of sun exposure planned.

I know you can't flash on tanned skin so I will have to pause during the trip and probably a week before and after. That's basically four weeks of no sessions during what's still supposed to be the intensive phase.

Has anyone else dealt with this?

Het wordt warmer en ik realiseer me dat ik weer een zomer ga ingaan zonder iets aan ontharing gedaan te hebben behalve scheren. Heel eerlijk, soms twijfel je dan weer voor een IPL apparaat maar nu ben je dan ergens medio juli pas klaar.

Iemand hier die wel laat in het seizoen is begonnen?

Mijn vriend snurkt af en toe (vvooral na een wijntje, hahaa). Ik heb foam plugs geprobeerd maar ik lig op mijn zij, en na een paar uur doen mijn oren echt zeer van de druk. Dus dat is geen verbetering

Ik zoek iets dat niet diep in mijn oor gaat en blijft zitten als ik draai in mijn slaap. En het hoeft niet te veel te kosten. pak hem beet maximaal 40 euro kost

Ik las bijvoorbeeld dat siliconen kneedbare oordoppen op de buitenkant van het oor blijven en niet uitzetten in je gehoorgang. klinkt goed voor zijslapers. Maar ik weet niet of dat in de praktijk goed werkt???

Wat gebruiken jullie?

I have been using cheap foam earplugs for years to drown out my partner's snoring and street noise. They work, but every morning my ear canals are sore and I'm starting to worry about irritation. I sleep on my side and the pressure compounds over the night.

I am looking for alternatives that can help me.

I have heard of moldable silicone plugs that sit on the outside of the ear opening rather than going deep, and the premium filtered types like Loop. Price range goes from €5 to €40+ which is a wide spread to gamble on without knowing.

For side sleepers who actually solved this , so what are you using?

I am 38 ... haha. And over the last two years I have slowly developed coarser hair on my jawline and chin. Bloodwork came back normal, no PCOS, dermatologist called it a normal hormonal shift for my age. Tweezing every 3 days is fine but feels like it's slowly making things worse, and I'm not sure if I'm imagining that or not.

I keep going back and forth on whether IPL would actually help here. I understand the basics, IPL targets melanin in the hair shaft during the active growth phase, so there has to be enough contrast and the hair has to be in the right cycle. My hair is dark and skin is light (Fitzpatrick II-III), so technically a good candidate.

What I'm less sure about is hormonally driven hair tends to keep producing new follicles. Does IPL actually slow that long-term, or does it only kill the hair you already have, leaving you to chase new growth indefinitely?

I have been using my device since November and I am at the point where most of the routine is muscle memory. Looking back, the actual results have been roughly what the marketing claimed. about 80% reduction on legs and underarms, bikini line a bit slower. But the real lessons are things nobody tells you upfront.

For me the big realization was how much patience the first weeks demand. You are flashing yourself weekly and seeing essentially zero change for over a month, while convinced you're either doing it wrong or got a dud. The shift only really happened around week 6.

The other thing: how much of this is about consistency. Skipping a session for two weeks because life got busy set me back more than any mistake I made.

Curious about people deeper in than me. What did year 2 teach you that the first 6 months didn't?