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Facial changes

Started by Elyra, March 26, 2014, 06:56:33 PM

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Elyra

So I'm 7 months in on HRT. Great, right? Well here's the deal...

Pretty much no facial changes. I'm not joking. I've compared two photos side by side, one from beginning stages, and one recent, and absolutely nothing has changed, save for a sliiiightly less angular jaw. I still look 100 % like a male. No one has even commented anything (I'm transitioning slowly, and I am not fulltime). It's pretty depressing.  :-\
My levels are fine, blood test done and all. Am I just really, really unlucky?

Anyone have any stories, experiences, thoughts to help cheer me up?

And yes, I'm quite aware it's not all about the looks. But it's really hard to have the confidence to live like I want to with this face...

EDIT: Oh, and since age might be a factor as well, I'm 26, turning 27.
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piglet smith

It can take a fair bit of time. I think it was between a year to a year and a half before I really saw any changes in my face and most other people really only thought I was looking younger and most attributed that solely to my not smoking at the time.

So yeah, give it time, its a long process and requires patience. 
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Joan

Sorry, I can't really help you as I'm feeling the same thing, depending I think on my general mood and the angle of the sun and which mirror I happen to be in front of.  It seems clear from the comments I'm getting that something is changing, but I don't really see it clearly.

Sorry to jump in, but I'm looking forward to hearing words of encouragement from others, too :)
Only a dark cocoon before I get my gorgeous wings and fly away
Only a phase, these dark cafe days
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stephaniec

I'm 5 months and it's just agonizingly a slow process.
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Elyra

Quote from: Joan on March 26, 2014, 07:01:44 PM
Sorry, I can't really help you as I'm feeling the same thing, depending I think on my general mood and the angle of the sun and which mirror I happen to be in front of.  It seems clear from the comments I'm getting that something is changing, but I don't really see it clearly.

Sorry to jump in, but I'm looking forward to hearing words of encouragement from others, too :)

Hey, it does help to know I'm not the only one. Misery loves company, right? I think I see something feminine there when I just look in the mirror, but cameras just do not capture whatever that is.

Quote from: piglet smith on March 26, 2014, 06:59:42 PM
It can take a fair bit of time. I think it was between a year to a year and a half before I really saw any changes in my face and most other people really only thought I was looking younger and most attributed that solely to my not smoking at the time.

So yeah, give it time, its a long process and requires patience. 

Thanks for sharing. I know it's a long road, but...ugh.... just waiting around is so painful...
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FalseHybridPrincess

Quote from: stephaniec on March 26, 2014, 07:04:01 PM
I'm 5 months and it's just agonizingly a slow process.

Ah perfect time for a thread like this...
Im 3 months in,,,I know im still early,
but you said it so well...

I thought hrt would make me happy , but thats not the case, hrt is merely the tool I use to achieve happiness and the only way I ll ever achieve it is by looking female...I seriously believe that having a female form would make me happy forever...
http://falsehybridprincess.tumblr.com/
Follow me and I ll do your dishes.

Also lets be friends on fb :D
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stephaniec

Quote from: FalsePrincess on March 26, 2014, 07:10:58 PM
Ah perfect time for a thread like this...
Im 3 months in,,,I know im still early,
but you said it so well...

I thought hrt would make me happy , but thats not the case, hrt is merely the tool I use to achieve happiness and the only way I ll ever achieve it is by looking female...I seriously believe that having a female form would make me happy forever...
yea, I know for myself every little hint of femaleness brings a smile to me.
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Jane's Sweet Refrain

I'm not sure whether it makes you feel better or worse to hear that seven months is still really early. Yes. Some women experience dramatic changes in that time. But the rest of us mere mortals have to wait longer before the girl-fairy sprinkled her dust on us. Hang in there. Most all of us remember the plodding pace of hormones. Our memories go with you!
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kelly_aus

It took a good 12 to 18 months before I really noticed any changes..
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Natalia

I know HRT indeed can change your features a lot, but sometimes what most impacts is when you just change something by yourself.

You can't sit and wait HRT to change you into a woman...sometimes you need to do it actively.

My family thinks that my face is thinner, but this may be because I lost a big deal of weight...

I could notice changes in several facial features, but perhaps they were so small that no one at home commented anything.

But when I plucked my eyebrows...everybody noticed!

With longer hair people started to stare at me with strange faces (even with my male pattern baldness on the temples!)

And with proper make-up and a wig, I change from an ugly boy to a somewhat nice woman  :D

So, don't worry if your face hasn't changed yet...it will change, but what most counts is what YOU change, your presentation.

PS: By the way, we have almost the same age, I just turned 27 :)
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Missy~rmdlm

Really, I could put some "before" pictures up. It's really is hard to quantify any real changes on my face. Yet it works, as part of my whole presentation, I pass.

edit added: as far as my face goes, hair removal has been the most profound effect, not HT.
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vlmitchell

First, the changes are subtle. You might not even be able to tell in a picture because of the basic shape of your face. If you're really low weight, you may not see many changes at all due to the fact that the only part of this that will change is the distribution of fat cells over the facial area. As others have noted, this process takes a long, long time. Generally, all the changes aren't 100% set in until about seven years in, due to cell replication and replacement timelines (you replace every cell in your body every seven years).

Second, you are a horrible judge at judging yourself, just as every one of us is. We all have what's know as 'persistent mental image'. This means that, barring you finally getting used to and inured to what you look like now, you'll still see the 'old' you, no matter what.

I agree with Natalia, most of the changes that made the difference in my life were completely and totally based on what I did *outside* of medical transition. I got my hair done, started taking care of myself, exercising, treating myself right. Once I was in a pretty good place with how I was treating myself, I was able to start going out and making friends and all the rest of the things that life has to offer. Life got way more fun after that.

Oh, and about three years in, I looked at a picture of myself pre-transition and was like "WOAH! Who the hell is THAT?!?" so, you'll get there.
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Lara1969

I think without FFS you will only pass well temporarily. After one year or so many are looking feminine but with age the effect often will reverse. HRT will not change your bone structure. So at least with ageing skin becomes thinner and the face looks more masculine again. And for a good part of us HRT will never let them look feminine. I know some friends who are 10 years on HRT but devided now to have a HRT. But if you ate older healing does not become better.

In my opinion it is a myth that HRT will let your face look feminine. It may happen if if you are looking more androgyn before but it will not happen with an masculine face.

Lara
Happy girl from queer capital Berlin
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Elyra

Thanks for all the responses  :)
Well, at the very least I can take comfort in the fact that I'm not the only one feeling frustrated by the slow grind. It's just really hard for me to accept it, I suppose. Oh, and thanks Natalia and Victoria Mitchell for reminding me of the importance of doing active changes... I wholeheartily agree with you both, but I have a hard time actually doing anything nevertheless. Confidence has always been a big issue for me, and I tend to give up and admit defeat quickly. Not a good combo. I really wanted to transition at a slow, slow pace where my mannerisms, speech, activities and attire would gradually change as my body and face did... but I find I am still waiting for the physical changes, and thus still postponing any other change. I seriously need to toughen up, and just accept that 1) I might just need FFS in order to "pass", 2) HRT takes a long time and 3) I shouldn't let either point stop me from doing what I want right now.

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Eva Marie

I am in month 6 of full strength HRT (I was on a low dose of HRT for several years before that). I have been catching more and more people staring at me when I have to be in boy mode, especially if I'm wearing a cap that hides my hair. I can also see the changes in my face but to me they seem very subtle; the most noticeable change has been around my eyes which seem to be bigger somehow. Most everyone tells me that I look younger, or they ask me if i've lost weight. At my age (51) I really didn't expect many changes from HRT but nevertheless they are happening, albeit slowly.

I now mostly see a girl in the mirror these days even when I have to present as male.

There are things that you can and should be doing to help HRT do it's work. You can start a healthier lifestyle - eat right and do walking or light exercise to get yourself in better shape, quit drinking and smoking if you do those things, get plenty of rest and drink lots of water. You can also work on removing facial hair and work on your voice and mannerisms. Shape your eyebrows. Polish your social skills. Learn to accept and love the person that you are.

HRT really helps with a transition but it can only do so much.

Patience, grasshopper, patience.
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sandrauk

Elyra, it's good that you're prepared for a long wait, it's very difficult when you're young because you likely don't have far to go, as in not much change is required, so it's hard to see small changes.

I think that girls should factor for at least an eighteen month timeline based on what I've seen here and my own experience. Not to say you can't jump in feet first before that and be ok, but if you're looking for male fail, unless you're very lucky....
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JulieBlair

Hi everyone,  HRT adds some subcutaneous fat to your face, just as it re-contours your breasts and butt.  For me, as has been mentioned by others, it is only a part of the picture.  When I feel feminine, I pass.  My posture, movement, and whole personna says woman.  When I'm tired, or annoyed, or just feeling unlovely I have no idea what people see. But it isn't too pretty.  I've been transiting for about 20 months, and don't look anything like I used to.  I look and feel younger and fit.  I'm doing a fair bit of running, eating well, and moisturizing compulsively.  Maybe one day I'll try FFS, but that isn't an end all either.  I guess I'm just iterating what has been said by others.  It takes longer than seems possible or reasonable, but when I am a girl on the inside, that is what folks see on the outside.

Hugs,
Julie
I am my own best friend and my own worst enemy.  :D
Full Time 18 June 2014
Esprit can be found at http://espritconf.com/
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brianna1016

I have had some dramatic facial changes on hrt! My lips are fuller, checks are rounder, the pores on my nose are no longer visible, my eyes have changed as well.
HRT affects everyone differently. For example I have had very minimal breast development and its been 13 months.
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BunnyBee

For me changes were subtle, yet substantial.  It is really hard for me to pick out what features specifically changed, but I do look like a different person now.  Also, because of the subtlety and how slowly the changes took place, nobody ever noticed physical changes with me either, well other than to say it looked like I was glowing or whatever.  Which, btw, its a strange thing to say to somebody you believe is a man, but yet I did get that comment. 

However, if you have a very masculine facial bone structure, HRT may not do enough to compensate and FFS may be necessary.  That should be something to prepare yourself for, but it is something you prob won't know till after 3ish years.  I know its hard, but try to be patient for now, maybe work on everything else, and worry about your face in a few years.  Fair chance when that time comes you'll realize there was nothig to be worried about!
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Alaia

Can't speak from personal experience but I've heard it helps to do a yo-yo diet where you lose lot of weight and then put some back on. The idea being that when you are putting it back on the fat is being distributed on your body according to female patterns.



"Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love. It will not lead you astray."

― Rumi
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