Best strategy to make my face change?

[Ruth Ruthless]

I've been on hrt for 4.5 months. I haven't seen any change to my face nor fat distribution pattern. In my case, I am generally skinny but I have a belly which makes me have no curves.

My butt has grown a bit at first but stopped.

And I have had some modest breast growth.

My belly and butt become bigger from one day of eating several heavy meals and deflate on a daily basis. That is, it deflates on days when I eat according to physical hunger and inflates on emotional eating days.

I managed to hold two weeks without emotional eating and then my butt & belly got smaller. Even my waist went down and made a nice curve. Then in two days of emotional eating I was back to a big belly on a skinny body.

So it seems my fat cells deflate quickly and inflate even quicker.

If I try to stick to my physical body's needs and avoid emotional eating to get back those waist curves, do you think I could be denying my body the fat it needs for my face transition or is it just as likely to create the requisite fat cells there?

My priority as far as my dysphoria is to get a feminine face but I hate having no curves and no feminine face. I'd like to have one rather than none.

Another thought I had is that if I get closer to the body shape I want then I'll be less dysphoric and happier which might in turn help my body focus on second puberty and change my face rather than dealing with removing fat and toxins and negative emotions.

Which approach do you think is best for my face transition?

[LittleEmily24]

From what I've heard in speaking to friends of mine who have been transitioning for many years (5-10+) they tell me that hip and breast development are based on genetics. Look at your family and you can get an estimate of how much you might "possibly" get (I say possibly because we all know that genetics skin sometimes and you might end up having grandma "something's" lucky large hips or butt )

I've also been told that having a regular active life or healthy eating habits won't negatively effect your fat distribution. I eat healthy and exercise a lot and my cheeks are still MILDLY more developed than 3 months ago where it all sank to the sides of my jaw. So really it's all mostly genetics and YMMV mile markers. You can't really feminine your face in any way that isn't make-up techniques or FFS.. Like, there aren't any specific facial feminizing techniques that I know of.

In my personal and unprofessional opinion - eating a more fat-rich diet will simply make you more rich in fat lol it won't necessarily increase the development of hips or butt, and if it does, I can't imagine it will be in a healthy way. It's worth remembering that there is good and bad fat get some of the good fat in you.

[KayXo]

If injectable estrogen is available in your part of the world, you could discuss with your doctor and ask to take this if he/she agrees and thinks it could help. Just an opinion as I saw major improvement after switching from oral/sublingual. We're all different but who knows? Could work for you too.

[Kyra553]

Most HRT effects wont really show or become permanent until after eight months of being on estro. And depends on genetics, breast growth and body changes should begin to show at six months and final stages will be around two to three years. Look at your mom or nearest female family members for a good guess. You should be a size or two below theirs. But in some cases HRT will give you more bust then them. 

As for fat, just focus on exercises to thin your mid section. Also try wearing a corset often to help get you into a shape.

[Ms Grace]

Yes, I think you'll need to gee it a bit longer than 4.5 months before you see a more noticeable result. Probably 8-12 months. Remember that it takes cis girls a good 5-6 years to go through puberty, and they weren't suffering from testosterone poisoning beforehand. 

[Ruth Ruthless]

As I said, face is most important for me. I'm ok dealing with having small breasts but I'm not ok with having a face that doesn't pass as female.

I just wanted to know if I work on slimming myself, which is helping my body look more feminine now in the mid section and helping me feel better about myself... is there a chance I could be stifling my facial transition or is my body likely to find fat for my face either way?

[Ms Grace]

Unfortunately it's next to impossible to direct body fat to preferred sites on the body. That said, a good diet will help your body get the nutrition and a healthy shape that will hopefully show up in your face. You still need to give the HRT more time to do its thing though. Gosh, I remember last time I was on HRT my face got really round, took two years though! Personally I hope it doesn't go that far this time. (Like I'll have any say in the matter anyway!!)

[KayXo]

Most HRT effects wont really show or become permanent until after eight months of being on estro.And depends on genetics, breast growth and body changes should begin to show at six months and final stages will be around two to three years.

I think it depends. In my case, alot of the effects came quite quickly like soft skin, improved color vision, increased fat deposition in female areas came within the first 2-4 months. The day after I started, no more morning erections. Libido also quickly went down. Body hair growth slowed down quite quickly but thinner hairs, that took some time, months to years. Face changes, months. Breasts within 1-2 months. All these effects may also come and go depending on several factors. My breasts later regressed as did the soft skin, etc...

So, really, it is an individual thing and there are several factors at play....hard to say.

Also, my breasts are larger now, 10 yrs post-HRT than they ever were. They didn't stop at year 2 or 3. My body is still changing. In a way, changes are constant...things will continually shift and change. Just look at genetic women.

As for fat, just focus on exercises to thin your mid section.

I think eating well is VERY important too.

[KayXo]

I think being too thin may work against us, for passing, at least for most of us. Fat hides male traits, gives face a fuller, more feminine/younger look. It softens us. But not too much. Like was said above, eat right and let the rest take care of itself.

[Kylie]

suffering from testosterone poisoning beforehand. 

Never heard it put any better than this

[Kyra553]

I think it depends. In my case, alot of the effects came quite quickly like soft skin, improved color vision, increased fat deposition in female areas came within the first 2-4 months. The day after I started, no more morning erections. Libido also quickly went down. Body hair growth slowed down quite quickly but thinner hairs, that took some time, months to years. Face changes, months. Breasts within 1-2 months. All these effects may also come and go depending on several factors. My breasts later regressed as did the soft skin, etc...

So, really, it is an individual thing and there are several factors at play....hard to say.

Also, my breasts are larger now, 10 yrs post-HRT than they ever were. They didn't stop at year 2 or 3. My body is still changing. In a way, changes are constant...things will continually shift and change. Just look at genetic women.

I think eating well is VERY important too.

Good info KayXo!!!    By regressed do you mean reserved back to before or just less obvious to notice?

[Junebug]

You can try to ask for estrogen cream for your face from your endo.  The ladies in Thailand have been doing this for a couple of years now, so it's still kind of new.  Although your endo would have to take account of how much you are already getting from HRT and would need to work off the numbers from that.  Saw my cousin's friend during the holiday last year and it worked well for her, totally a completely different person from when I met her a few years ago.

[Lady_Oracle]

I just eat as much as I can. Lots of protein in my diet and so far it's worked for me. Was pretty skinny when I started hrt but have a gained a good amount of weight in the right areas thankfully. My face looks a lot fuller, especially in the cheeks. But as everyone else has said its all about genetics really.

[E-Brennan]

I just wanted to know if I work on slimming myself, which is helping my body look more feminine now in the mid section and helping me feel better about myself... is there a chance I could be stifling my facial transition or is my body likely to find fat for my face either way?

Ruth, looking at your avatar, you're on the thinner side already.  Slimming further won't help your facial feminization if your face is already thin.

It's counterintuitive - kinda, at least.  Looking back over my photos, when I first started to try to look seriously girly about 18 months ago, I was forty pounds heavier.  My face was much rounder, my cheeks a little plumper, and all that fat (not that I was a particularly chubby person) made my face look - in retrospect - far more feminine than it does today.  I thought back then that if I lost weight, I'd look more feminine.  Bodywise, sure, it worked.  Facewise, it didn't.  My face is now far more angular and less feminine than it used to be.  I now realize that part of my transition will be adding twenty pounds back again, even though I don't really want to.

Don't underestimate how plump a female face really is.  A little weight - a healthy amount - can do wonders for a face, just to round out some of the sharper edges and give it a slightly softer look.

But I'm right there with you on the frustrations of finding a good balance between body and face when it comes to weight.   

[Ruth Ruthless]

Well the situation so far is that all the fat goes to my belly and waist even though supposedly the hormones are supposed to make me tend to lose fat in the waist. Overall yes I'm thin but I have fat in the wrong places. If most of it went to the butt and a bit to the face instead of my waist that would be awesome. Could that trend be still taking time to form or is this it?

[kira21 ♡♡♡]

You need to learn make up, hair, accessories and ways of changing how your face is perceived and forget about HRT for now.  Don't put all your eggs in that basket. Focus on getting really good with contouring and things like that. Then sometime later you may notice that HRT is joining in. Some people don't find much of a change at all facially on HRT, so don't count on it, consider it as an extra.

If this girl can make herself so completely different with make up, you can make the few small adjustments you are looking for!

These are all pictures of Anastasia Shpangina











https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdqis8iDLc8&feature=player_embedded

[Ruth Ruthless]

Problem is I hate wearing makeup and from the experience I have it doesn't make one passable. Only look more doll face. And I don't want to look doll face.

[kira21 ♡♡♡]

It doesn't have to make you doll faced. It can make a massive positive difference, honest! Learn some. And also consider how changing your hair can frame your face and other aspects can change the perceived femininity of your face.

[Ruth Ruthless]

From the moment one lays the foundation all the rich subtle color differences in the face are lost. Then one tries with contours to build a new richness to replace it but it will never match the subtle complexity of the natural skin colors and look simple and artificial and doll face in comparison. Maybe I am more harsh in this judgement and less used to accepting the style of make up look but I don't want to change that. I know how I want to look and makeup gets me further away from that look. Not closer.

Plus it totally clogs up the skin and the pores and feels icky and sweaty and stings in the eyes.

I prefer how I look without makeup than with and I don't feel makeup makes me pass better. I've tried.  I hate it.

But hair, yes, I am trying different styles and colors.

[Lady_Oracle]

Well the situation so far is that all the fat goes to my belly and waist even though supposedly the hormones are supposed to make me tend to lose fat in the waist. Overall yes I'm thin but I have fat in the wrong places. If most of it went to the butt and a bit to the face instead of my waist that would be awesome. Could that trend be still taking time to form or is this it?

You're still at the beginning of hrt in due time your body will round out. Putting on weight is the best thing you can do for us skinny gals when you get on hrt. You're going through puberty and need to get all the right nutrients as much as possible.