Has Hormones (HRT) helped your transition greatly or very little?

[ConfusedGirlRuby]

Ok, I know this may be a tad superficial as a thread, but it is something thats been bugging me a lot lately.

I'm currently on the verge of transitioning, and one of the major factors that is holding me back is passability. I know most of you will say that "passing doesnt matter necessarily", but it does matter a lot to me, because I want to be seen as a woman.

Currently, whenever I go out presenting as female, it takes me a while to do my makeup convincingly, but I can get my face to look female. My hair is pretty thick but its short, and it's receded very slightly at the temples so I usually wear a good quality wig. I'm about 5'8 so I don't look too tall.

Usually in public I pass really well, especially at night whens its darker. My main give aways have to be my voice, my shoulders, and my feet.

My feet aren't massive they're about a size 8, but its awkward finding girl shoes in that size. My shoulders aren't overly broad but i'm not exactly a petite... they just look a bit big for a girl.

Ok i'm rambling, basically I look like a girl if I dress enough and use enough makeup but it takes a lot of effort to pass fully.

My question is, did hormones effect any of you hugely in terms of appearance? Or was it more subtle effects?

I'm young, so would that be a good time to start HRT or have I missed the boat by not starting before puberty?

Does HRT alter facial structure at all? I'm guessing shoulders and feet i'm stuck with.

Does HRT effect body hair density at all?

Thanks to any answers!

Love

Ruby

[suzifrommd]

I'm about 2 and a half months in and it hasn't done a thing for me, but it's early.

To me it's not tied to my transition. I'm going to transition whatever my passability. My transition isn't about passing, it's about showing the world who I am. If I pass, great. If not, doesn't make me less a woman.

[couch tater]

It helped mine greatly. It took a few years for a lot to show, but the other aspects that aren't so visible, but felt, were very helpful as well. Less headaches, smoothed out my moods and just generally better feeling.

[A]

Ok, I know this may be a tad superficial as a thread, but it is something thats been bugging me a lot lately.

I'm currently on the verge of transitioning, and one of the major factors that is holding me back is passability. I know most of you will say that "passing doesnt matter necessarily", but it does matter a lot to me, because I want to be seen as a woman.

Currently, whenever I go out presenting as female, it takes me a while to do my makeup convincingly, but I can get my face to look female. My hair is pretty thick but its short, and it's receded very slightly at the temples so I usually wear a good quality wig. I'm about 5'8 so I don't look too tall.

Usually in public I pass really well, especially at night whens its darker. My main give aways have to be my voice, my shoulders, and my feet.
I'm QUITE sure your feet aren't a giveaway. No one but you cares much about your feet. Broad shoulders suck, but they're in no way a real obstacle to passing easily, unless it's an especially pronounced case. Voice, you can work on it. Start as early as possible though, because it takes effort and time. If you're desperate, there,s always surgery (see Yeson clinic in Seoul), but most people don't need it if they put their heart to it.

My feet aren't massive they're about a size 8, but its awkward finding girl shoes in that size. My shoulders aren't overly broad but i'm not exactly a petite... they just look a bit big for a girl.
What? You mean, American size 8? That's totally average for a woman, you know.
Ok i'm rambling, basically I look like a girl if I dress enough and use enough makeup but it takes a lot of effort to pass fully.

My question is, did hormones effect any of you hugely in terms of appearance? Or was it more subtle effects?
Uhm, can't answer yet. I may be one year in, but my dose is way too low, so it's almost as though I'd been only on cyproterone for a year. :/ But honestly, while it varies greatly from person to person, people starting below, say, 25 years old, generally have very satisfying effects.
I'm young, so would that be a good time to start HRT or have I missed the boat by not starting before puberty?
Starting before puberty is over is an ideal, not a necessity. There are extremely stunning transitions from people as old as 30 or even more.
Does HRT alter facial structure at all? I'm guessing shoulders and feet i'm stuck with.
Your face will change in appearance. Of course your bones won't change much if at all, but the way fat deposits in your face will make a surprisingly big difference. In many people, for example, the "split chin" disappears, filled in by fat. And cheeks get rounder and higher. Shoulders will reduce slightly from muscle mass loss, but bones of course, not really. Feet MIGHT change. Don't expect it though. It's an unexplained effect that some people have.
Does HRT effect body hair density at all?
Yes. In the VAST majority of people, given sufficiently efficient androgen suppression (killing the testosterone), there's a very noticeable difference in body hair. But for most people, it's not quite enough on its own, and not everywhere. If you're hairy everywhere right now, unless you get really lucky, chances are you'll have to take care of it yourself. Waxing, shaving, laser, electrolysis, whatever else... your choice.
Thanks to any answers!

Love

Ruby

[Jenna Marie]

I've been extremely fortunate. I'm on a very low dose of estrogen only, but saw very fast and relatively dramatic changes - I ended up moving up the date I went "full time" at work because by four months in it was getting impossible to hide my breasts or facial changes. (I was a C cup already at that point, which was VERY unexpected, and people were speculating about why my face looked so much different.) I haven't been misgendered since about three months on HRT, which I think is partly just that there were enough "female cues" that people overlooked the rest. The changes *were* subtle, but it all added up; these days, I don't wear makeup and rarely bother to dress up, and am still consistently read as female. I'm also the same height as you, which may help, I dunno.

My feet dropped a shoe size and a half, my shoulders are now narrower than my hips, and body hair is finer and lighter except on my legs (which plenty of women battle with anyway).

By now, three years later, the changes have slowed, and I can honestly say I haven't seen much fat redistribution except to the butt and boobs, so that's probably not going to happen.

I started at age 32, btw. I hope this helps.

[peky]

B cup! 39-34-43...so, yeah, face is rounder, skin lighter and drier, legs rounder, pouch under the navel has begun to form, hair has disapeared from arms, legs, chest, and upper pubis (true that never had much), hairs in the face is almost gone, and the one that remains is very fine...No hair loss, and some regrow in the front

18 month in HRT

[cynthialee]

Because HRT is a total mileage may vary thing you will not know, until you know.

HRT did help me alot, but it did not make me instantly passable. Deportment, confidance, vocabulary, and poise are the most important ingrediants.

I have a friend who has more male markers than many men. She is built like a linebacker and has a manly jaw etc...and she hasn't been on HRT for a number of years.
yet...
When she opens her mouth and talks she instantly dispells any thought she may be trans. (which she is) Her entire aura and energy drips female, her movements and eyes say 'I am a woman'. There is no doubt that she is a woman. Her male features, while they individualy scream out her male biology, they blend togather and leave one with a female impression.

So I would work on your social presentation more and worry about HRT less. By all means get on HRT as it will help, but it is not the be all end all of transition.

[JenniL]

honestly, like most have said ymmv. personally I wasn't sure, and I didn't expect splendid results but HRT has helped me some. the biggest department was my emotional well being is stable and im enjoying life.

[NJade]

So YMMV of course.

But I remember telling my GT all those years ago that no one would ever buy me as a woman because I was a terribly hirsute linebacker type person and she said to relax and see what happened and once I started hrt and began erasing the hair (laser, electro and a good epilator are your friends), I began to see the woman there. It took me a year into hrt and everything else before I dared venture out into a restaurant and then I realized that I could be the person I am.

It's a process and it's not magic. It takes work and time and it can hurt a lot. But it was worth it for me. I knew it would be with almost no doubt at first and none within a short time after.

Is it worth it for you? 

N.J.

[FrancisAnn]

Thanks to every girl that replied.

I'm starting back HRT soon & surely this will be the last time I ever "start" again. From HRT years ago I felt changes quickly, nipples were sore, less male sex drive, some funny hot flashes but overall a very nice calming mental effect. It seemed to help change myself both mentally & physically. I was just taking large doses of prescribed E, no T blockers.

As we all know from a teenage girls breast development it just takes time to change a human body, grow breasts, hips, etc....

Thanks again.

[Carrie Liz]

Yes. Pretty much, my entire passability (what little there is,) is owed to HRT. Before starting HRT, my facial structure REALLY looked male. I had a huge-looking chin, a heavy brow, and my face seemed to pinch together when I smiled. I HATED it. Just over two months in, the muscularity of my face has greatly diminished. My skin texture has become much softer, the overall look became smoother and rounder, the muscularity greatly diminished, and for some reason my eyes started looking more open. Plus the loss of body hair, and how my arms and legs and chest actually look smooth now, instead of covered in speckled stubble all the time, has helped as well. Plus for some reason it has REALLY changed the shape of my legs. They look more conical now rather than boxy. And this is after only about 2.5 months of it.

I didn't dress as a girl EVER before HRT, so I don't really have a pre-HRT experience to go off of, but I have a sneaking suspicion that had I tried back then, I wouldn't have had a snowball's chance in hell of passing, while now I think I actually look half decent, although I admittedly do still have a LONG way to go.

Now, a big part of this is because I've been dieting like an absolute fiend, so losing 30 lbs in addition to the estrogenic goodies probably made my changes much more significant, but again, as everyone else has said, your mileage will vary. Having watched many Youtube "before and after" videos, there are SO many people who I would never have thought even had a chance of passing because of their bone structure, who shockingly not only passed after HRT, but looked downright gorgeous! So pretty much, nothing is set in stone. Some do indeed barely change, while others change so much that you can't even recognize them afterward.

[FrancisAnn]

Carrie & others, thank you.

Did anyone have an orcie first to just stop any more T? I'm not sure however I was close to this step a few years ago & did not complete the surgery but now for me it seems the only real first step with HRT.

Any thoughts, advise?

[cynthialee]

I had an orchi. Happy as can be about it too.

[A]

Depends on how well pills are suppressing your testosterone. If you're already at almost nothing like me, an orchi has no advantage other than less pills to take.

[Jenna Marie]

(Like A, I never even considered an orchi, because estrogen alone had my T in the middle of the female range. As I've said elsewhere, I haven't even changed my [low] dose post-op, so it's unlikely that an orchi would have done anything for me except cost money I'd rather have saved for GRS.)

[Rita]

without going into too much detail my co worker looked at me and said "there is no more man in that body anymore" in short my hips, how tight I can keep my body and my chest which was all hormones.

My face is significantly different as well~ Though electrolysis/laser is the biggest driving factor in a feminine face as your skin gets thinner, softer more lady like.

Significant but subtle, but so many subtle changes makes to one huge difference.

[Berti_in_Ba]

After over 1 year now of fairly high doses of "E" as well as Spiro and Progesterone, I am finally starting to see significant changes to my body. I am an older transitioner and as many of you have read, the effects take longer and are not nearly as profound on us as they are on younger people (at least it is true for me).

My significant other just yesterday told me that she considered me to be an 7 out of 10 finally on the scale of looking like a normal woman, without makeup.

Cheers ~ Berti

[Madison_dawn]

its to the point where by then end of the day working in my tbig rig that my stubble is slightly in and my make up is worn off a lot i still get ma'amed so yeah they helped.

[Tessa James]

I am about one month into HRT and consider it essential to transition.  What has surprised me is that the most emotional and most profound personal changes came after I finally accepted myself as transgendered and started full time presentation as more feminine.  This was well before HRT and then that I felt the real flood gates open.  I literally felt very profound brain and body changes.  I was more emotional and certain about my direction.  After the first week on HRT I felt sort of flat and listless with a bit of anticlimax.  I had so looked forward to this and then it was just here.  Now, about a month in, I feel very sensitive changes in my breasts, face, hair and more that are features I so want and yet must adapt to in real time.  Clothes are a temporary fit.  My emotional makeup is now harder to describe.  I recall those persistent "low T" advertisements on US TV and say yes, this is much more than a subtle change. 
I do not miss a libido that stressed my relationships in a manipulative fashion.  I do welcome the changes that give me a calm, more serene and sensitive outlook.  My body IS also changing and I love it!

I strongly recommend HRT as an important tool in bringing me home.

Tessa James

[Madison_dawn]

I am about one month into HRT and consider it essential to transition.  What has surprised me is that the most emotional and most profound personal changes came after I finally accepted myself as transgendered and started full time presentation as more feminine.  This was well before HRT and then that I felt the real flood gates open.  I literally felt very profound brain and body changes.  I was more emotional and certain about my direction.  After the first week on HRT I felt sort of flat and listless with a bit of anticlimax.  I had so looked forward to this and then it was just here.  Now, about a month in, I feel very sensitive changes in my breasts, face, hair and more that are features I so want and yet must adapt to in real time.  Clothes are a temporary fit.  My emotional makeup is now harder to describe.  I recall those persistent "low T" advertisements on US TV and say yes, this is much more than a subtle change. 
I do not miss a libido that stressed my relationships in a manipulative fashion.  I do welcome the changes that give me a calm, more serene and sensitive outlook.  My body IS also changing and I love it!

I strongly recommend HRT as an important tool in bringing me home.

Tessa James

i agree with this, you can do all you want with hrt but if you dont have confidence and acceptance hrt wont matter. its with the bathroom, most women go in their with out thinking am i sussposed to be here but if you feel nervous or edgy or confused your gonna get clocked.