Susan's Place Transgender Resources

Is it bad if I am presenting as male now but get my brows reshaped as a female now.  Would that be too much.   I already get them wax so they are clean most of the time. 


Vicky
MtF

When ever you are comfortable doing it.  If you are presenting male and are accepted as male, the eyebrows won't make that much of a difference.  However, when trying to pass, if you are marginal, they do make a difference.

Hugs,

Jen

Hey there Vicky

Reshaping your eyebrows is one of the most powerful and cheapest gender markers.  I don't know your situation, but if you are working on transitioning, or if you are in a pre-transition phase and soon to transition, then gradual shaping might be a good way for you and other people to gradually become accustomed to your changes.

On the other hand, if you really feel that totally reshaping them will be good for you, then go for it.  You may just have to deal with some pointed questions from friends, family or work colleagues.  ;)

Quote from: Vicky Mitchell on January 01, 2015, 05:12:43 PM
Is it bad if I am presenting as male now but get my brows reshaped as a female now.  Would that be too much.   I already get them wax so they are clean most of the time. 

Not at all. As unbelievable as it sounds, I am still presenting as male at work and over the course of about two years my brows have gone from hairy caterpillars, to neat metrosexual and finally to their present state of very apparently female. I haven't had anyone question their shape at work at all.

I started HRT over 14 months ago, so if anyone was going to say anything, I think eyebrows would be the last thing they would mention, with boobs being probably being the first (as I have C cups now).

Just pluck them gradually and to whatever width and style you are comfortable with.

A cautionary note: When I did pluck into a more fem shape, I noticed once the hairs were gone there was a nice light patch of skin that hadn't been previously tanned. So you may want to take that into consideration.

I was just about to post an eyebrow question, but this pretty much answered things for me too.  I hope the following sub-questions don't derail the thread...

How does one actually shape eyebrows?  Is it something that can be done gradually?  Is it always waxing, plucking, or can electrolysis be used to make the results permanent (and painful just once)?

And my big question - how does eyebrow shaping affect the need for a brow lift?  With good shaping, is the lift almost unnecessary?

Yeah shape was next.  I have no real ideal on shape that I was going to have go in and ask for it.   If anyone has links or tips or how to shape and that would be great.


Vicky
MtF

Quote from: Brenda E on January 01, 2015, 05:44:42 PM
I was just about to post an eyebrow question, but this pretty much answered things for me too.  I hope the following sub-questions don't derail the thread...

How does one actually shape eyebrows?  Is it something that can be done gradually?  Is it always waxing, plucking, or can electrolysis be used to make the results permanent (and painful just once)?

And my big question - how does eyebrow shaping affect the need for a brow lift?  With good shaping, is the lift almost unnecessary?

There are plenty of resources online regarding how to select an appropriate shape for your face type as well as tips on how to pluck. Any decent search engine can bring up a raft of links.

Depending on how much brow bossing, it is possible good considered plucking could defer the perceived imminent need to require a brow lift. Before I plucked mine, I figured I'd desperately need FFS to sort my brows out, but a combination of plucking and HRT opening out my eyes and redistributing fat on my face has meant that I can wait for a bit longer to see how things pan out. I may still want forehead contouring and with that have a brow lift included, but so far it's not looking too bad.

I haven't done anything about mine but...wow...its going to be hard choosing a line to go by. The other thing is those really long ones I'm going to have to use a set of clippers,because some see 2 cm long!

As my transition date was approaching and as I was going out a lot more en femme I began to gradually reduce & reshape my eyebrows by plucking. I thought I had them pretty thinned out, but as a part of my coming out I had them professionally waxed (ouch!) and they were even way thinner. Also, having that done really helped me to see the girl in the mirror - it is a very powerful feminizing change. If you are still presenting as male too much thinning & shaping will likely get you a lot of questions or weird looks.

When ever you feel comfortable. I'm afraid of waxing so I get my eyebrows threaded. Works great.

I did gradual changes to change the spacing (I had a thick unibrow) then shaped them down. Then one day I just said, "screw it" and thinned them out, shaped them. My wife freaked out. She said it didn't look feminine but everyone else disagreed with her. I just re-did mine. I'm getting new glasses soon too, that should help a ton.

Coworkers and no one else that I haven't asked really haven't said anything. People are noticing the beard electrolysis more than anything else.

This afternoon, I almost handed in my "trans" membership card and decided to stay male.  After reading this thread and some answers people had given me in other threads about confidence, I decided to get my eyebrows done.  A change that I can't hide from public view, and a small but important step in the right direction towards gaining the courage to walk out of the house looking more feminine each and every day (or at least doing things to myself that force me to look more feminine in public whether I like it or not).  Plus when I wear makeup, my eyebrows are a dead giveaway and they needed tidying up.

Found a local threading joint - nice Indian lady inside who proceeded to lure me into a chair and then torture me with what looked like dental floss.  Tears streaming from my eyes, hands and forehead sweating from the repeated cycles of anticipation then agony, anticipation then agony.  I had bushy eyebrows beforehand, so I knew there was some work to be done.  But my god, that was painful - like up there with "first laser session on upper lip" painful; up there with "screw being trans" painful.  Took about twenty minutes from start to finish.  I had asked for something more feminine, and with the amount of huge rips of hair she took off again and again and again, I was expecting to be left with the world's thinnest eyebrows.

But no, I now have two neatly-trimmed and shaped androgynous eyebrows, a great first step towards gradually shaping them in a more and more feminine style.  The tatty outlines are now gone, the bushiness has been trimmed away, and I'm pretty pleased with the results.  And the first session is evidently the most painful, so next time should be far less miserable - although I do intend to ask the lady to make them a touch smaller each time I go.  Redness subsided within thirty minutes.  My eyes even look slightly more open now that the bottom of the eyebrow has been moved upwards by what must be no more than a millimeter or two.  Can't wait to see how this affects me when I put makeup on.

Rather pleased with the result, to be honest.  It's not a huge change, but it's certainly a change.  And nobody has commented on it either - yet...

Total cost: $15 ($10 for the service, and I threw in a $5 tip because she put up with more exclamations of "OH F**K!" than she's probably heard in her entire life.)

My wife introduced me to threading. I haven't gotten mine done that way, as I pluck it myself with a tweezers. But I'm debating just letting it grow out and going to get it threaded. It does work for her though.

There is a learning curve if you do them yourself.  Be prepared for a very bad first result!

Quote from: BunnyBee on January 02, 2015, 03:41:26 PM
There is a learning curve if you do them yourself.  Be prepared for a very bad first result!

That I had! Thankfully I didn't over pluck... but I am going to get them professionally done sooner or later.

puts down the tweezers before i get in trouble.   Now where is yelp so i can find a good place to go.


Vicky
MtF

I would say if you're DIY with the proper tools you'll be fine. You absolutely do need a 5x magnification mirror and a good set of tweezers. The cheap dollar store ones won't do. Revlon and name brands are good. Tweezerman is good too, probably the best there is.

Quote from: Brenda E on January 02, 2015, 03:13:31 PM
This afternoon, I almost handed in my "trans" membership card and decided to stay male.  After reading this thread and some answers people had given me in other threads about confidence, I decided to get my eyebrows done.  A change that I can't hide from public view, and a small but important step in the right direction towards gaining the courage to walk out of the house looking more feminine each and every day (or at least doing things to myself that force me to look more feminine in public whether I like it or not).  Plus when I wear makeup, my eyebrows are a dead giveaway and they needed tidying up.

Found a local threading joint - nice Indian lady inside who proceeded to lure me into a chair and then torture me with what looked like dental floss.  Tears streaming from my eyes, hands and forehead sweating from the repeated cycles of anticipation then agony, anticipation then agony.  I had bushy eyebrows beforehand, so I knew there was some work to be done.  But my god, that was painful - like up there with "first laser session on upper lip" painful; up there with "screw being trans" painful.  Took about twenty minutes from start to finish.  I had asked for something more feminine, and with the amount of huge rips of hair she took off again and again and again, I was expecting to be left with the world's thinnest eyebrows.

But no, I now have two neatly-trimmed and shaped androgynous eyebrows, a great first step towards gradually shaping them in a more and more feminine style.  The tatty outlines are now gone, the bushiness has been trimmed away, and I'm pretty pleased with the results.  And the first session is evidently the most painful, so next time should be far less miserable - although I do intend to ask the lady to make them a touch smaller each time I go.  Redness subsided within thirty minutes.  My eyes even look slightly more open now that the bottom of the eyebrow has been moved upwards by what must be no more than a millimeter or two.  Can't wait to see how this affects me when I put makeup on.

Rather pleased with the result, to be honest.  It's not a huge change, but it's certainly a change.  And nobody has commented on it either - yet...

Total cost: $15 ($10 for the service, and I threw in a $5 tip because she put up with more exclamations of "OH F**K!" than she's probably heard in her entire life.)

Yea!!!!  Congrads!

I use a pro every couple of months and then pull out hairs as they come in until I loose shape, which I do.  I have the 10X mirror but somehow, even starting with something that looks good, I cause problems.  So, it's very few weeks for me.

Hugs,

Jen

If you think you might be overdoing it, you probably are, ..and if you think they look good, that doesn't mean more plucking will make them look more good.  Just two things to keep you safe lol.

And yeah tweezerman is rad.

I present as male every day, and I get my brows done. It does make my face more feminine. But I'm not at the stage where anyone thinks I'm female. Not if they are looking at my face anyway. lol

I figure between growing my hair long, thinning my brows, dressing androgynously, and painting my nails, it's been changing my appearance gradually. So the people around me are getting used to it.

I have no plans on presenting as female until I can pull it off successfully. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Mine are moving north only gradually and are still a bit thick.

Time and all the rest of it etc.

With Leila, and others on this, I have shaping for more years than I can remember, gradually moving to very much a feminine brow, occasionally get second glances, and some comments, but manageable. I have had to mve into this mode so's that I can move between roles easily.

Guess it depends on how much in one hit???

L Katy  :-*

The first time having them done is the worst. I prefer waxing because it is all done in a couple of minutes with just a few applications of wax and that cloth/tape material they put on and then rip off. I accuse my beautician of actually enjoying causing pain and she just gives me a sly smile  :laugh:

I get my acrylic nails filled every 3 weeks and I usually have my brows waxed then too to keep them looking nice.

Being a girl takes a lot of maintenance (and money!).

Quote from: Eva Marie on January 02, 2015, 07:58:18 PMBeing a girl takes a lot of maintenance (and money!).

You're not wrong.  But in a way, it's comforting to know that some level of prettiness can be achieved by simply throwing cash at people.  It's not all genetic.

Quote from: Brenda E on January 02, 2015, 08:30:44 PM
You're not wrong.  But in a way, it's comforting to know that some level of prettiness can be achieved by simply throwing cash at people.  It's not all genetic.

I have always admired women that made the effort to attend to details and look nice. As I have now found out that cost money!! :laugh:

Oh well, I signed up for this journey; I might as well put my best foot forward and try to attend to my own details.

I think that do what you want with your brows when you are comfortable with the change. I a newbie, just over 2 months since I came out to my wife. I had my first body wax middle of November. I had my brows cleaned up at that time. I know that I needed to have someone who knew what they were doing to start seriously shaping my brows. I wouldn't know where to start. I think I will be ready have more done at my next waxing.

One thing working in our favor is that it's fashionable for women to have slightly thicker eyebrows right now.  Defined and well-groomed, but not super thin.  So that actually helps those of us who still have to go back and forth.

When I'm ready to jump in with both feet, I'll widen the space between my eyebrows a tad and thin out the arches just a bit.  But with makeup and hiding behind the frames of my glasses Im pretty close now.  :)

I've been wondering alot about eyebrows I haven't started transition yet but I hear mixed comments saying they change from hormones.  Some people claim they just start falling out and becoming more female can someone verify this

Or could someone give me an example what to expect, mine aren't very female looking...
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi374.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Foo188%2Fbillie97470%2FMobile%2520Uploads%2F2015-01%2F200516E9-EAD5-4134-BB78-3EDED3A04383_zps5drmqcra.jpg&hash=5edc6edf16c6ede276cbff8a67e2bf6a0035cf13)

Billie, I don't know that HRT affects them, but you've got great brows to work with.  When you're ready to femme them up, I'd suggest thinning from the bottom up a bit and increasing towards the arch.  Then widen the space between them a tad.  And you'll be beautiful!  :)

And just so you know, I thought mine were hopeless.  I was expecting to need a brow lift just to get decent height, but I was amazed at how much of a difference a few millimeters could make.