A student born without a left arm has a "new lease of life" thanks to her prosthetic limb - with painted-on veins, freckles and acrylic nails.<br /><br />Zahra Tabibniya, 23, says she felt she needed to hide her disability during her school years.<br /><br />She tried different prosthetics - including a heavy 2kg limb made of silicone - but says her latest silicone arm is her favourite and allows her to tie her laces and do her hair.<br /><br />The £700 silicone prosthetic looks natural with painted-on veins, freckles, moles and acrylic nails attached.<br /><br />Zahra even got her prosthetic skin colour topped up to match her summer tan. <br /><br />Zahra is delighted to be able to carry her own luggage, check her phone and tie her laces thanks to her prosthetic arm - and says it has given her "much more freedom".<br /><br />Zahra, a pharmacy student, originally from Tehran, Iran, but studying at the University of Rome, Italy, said: “I absolutely hated wearing prosthetics, but the one I have now has allowed me to have more freedom.<br /><br />“My old prosthetics used to be so heavy - weighing up to 2kg.<br /><br />"But because my new one is so lightweight - I can wear it for much longer, sometimes up to 22 hours.<br /><br />“People think it’s just a cosmetic thing for me because it looks natural - but it actually has around most of the function an actual arm has.<br /><br />“Prosthetics started off as a disguise for my disability - but it’s just a part of me now.”<br /><br />At eight months old, Zahra’s parents decided to buy her a prosthetic arm - which she wore until she was three.<br /><br />Over the last 23 years, she’s had several different types of prosthetics - her first being a “mechanical arm with a sling", as well as a body-powered arm made from silicone, and PVC limb.<br /><br />But at the age of 21, Zahra was introduced to her current doctor, Dr. Khaghani, at the Behboodteb Clinic, in Tehran, Iran.<br /><br />She says he was the “first doctor in the world” to use the type of silicone prosthetic Zahra has - and she only needs to get it replaced every two years.<br /><br />Zahra said: “I’ve had so many different types of prosthetics, but this one has stuck with me.<br /><br />“So many of the ones I used to have really hindered the way I moved, especially if they were heavier.<br /><br />"I’d have to move my shoulders in a certain way to get them to work.<br /><br />“Even my PVC arm had its problems - it would look the same as my other arm for a while, the issue was after a while it would turn very dark brown, so I had to change it to match my skin tone.”<br /><br />While Zahra isn’t worried about using a prosthetic for her appearance anymore - after originally wanting one to “stop the bullies in school”.<br /><br />The bullying she received growing up also led to her becoming depressed and feeling alienated because of her birth defect.<br /><br />She said: “I definitely don’t use a prosthetic to disguise my disability now - but my mental health was very much affected by bullies.<br /><br />“Kids can be very mean, especially between the ages of six and 10. They don’t understand the concept of what it means to be disabled.
