At least until I have laser hair removal. My beard and neck is so thick, and my skin does not take well to shaving at all! I have tried several different combinations of razors, creams, and all the fanciest concealers and foundations that I can find. Nothing makes the beard shadow go away.
I recently started hormones, so now I am going to have to get this beard taken care of so that I can go actually feel comfortable leaving the house as a female! At least it will give me time to work on my voice and I found an awesome Groupon for 2 years of Laser on face/neck/chest for $349!
On a side note, I am nervous to meet the doctor next week and be like "yeah, so I got a little antsy and started hormones without your approval..."
*I know, I know, shame on me for doing it myself, but I couldn't wait any longer to feel like I was actually doing SOMETHING to change!*
Hormones will reduce the beard a little so maybe you ll be able to hide the shadows...
Anyway you ll find the courage with time...I remember I used to read posts from people who dressed and got out and I was like, no way I could this, yet I somehow managed ;)
Quote from: FalsePrincess on February 22, 2014, 09:27:39 PM
Hormones will reduce the beard a little so maybe you ll be able to hide the shadows...
Anyway you ll find the courage with time...I remember I used to read posts from people who dressed and got out and I was like, no way I could this, yet I somehow managed ;)
I just wish I could shave it and cover it with make-up right now, but I shave it and end up with cuts all over my face, then have to wait a little bit for those to heal and then put my make-up on. The make-up doesn't look bad, but the beard shadow is clearly there! I thought about just going out today anyways. I had the weekend to myself and wanted to get dressed up and get my nails and eyebrows done, but couldn't muster up the courage!
I'm just getting more nervous now that I am on hormones... sometimes it feels like I am making a mistake because I mean, hell, I can't even walk outside as a woman, why do I need to become one? :-\
There are just too many fear factors for me and it will likely be a few months before I ever have the guts to cross the doorway: breast forms, wig, voice, beard shadow, manly shoulders/arms still.
I guess I just want it to be some perfect magical experience, but I should really just get out there right now and go to Wal-Mart or something. lol
Dont push yourself , do it when you feel ok...
btw I dont know if it will happen to you,,,but pro hrt when I shaved I too would get red marks etc , especially if the hairs werent long,,,
on hrt facial hair become less rough , so it will be easier to shave ,thus less burns etc...
anyway you have time to practice everything, when it feels right just do it...I too dont do it all the time, just sometimes to test the waters XDD
Quote from: FalsePrincess on February 22, 2014, 09:44:34 PM
Dont push yourself , do it when you feel ok...
btw I dont know if it will happen to you,,,but pro hrt when I shaved I too would get red marks etc , especially if the hairs werent long,,,
on hrt facial hair become less rough , so it will be easier to shave ,thus less burns etc...
anyway you have time to practice everything, when it feels right just do it...I too dont do it all the time, just sometimes to test the waters XDD
Thanks for the nice words! I hope that you are right about facial hair becoming less rough! I was such a hairy man, but epilating my legs/arms/chest has helped an incredible amount! Now if only the hand/feet/back hair would fall out and this stupid beard would become at least manageable! :D
How long have you been on HRT? I'm just bummed because I planned it all out and said "Today is going to be the today!"
Then I looked in the mirror and my beard shadow said "Remember me!?"
HI,
A couple things......
I used to have the same sensitive skin problem that you have. I started shaving using lot's of soap and my face right under the shower with water flowing right over the top. That really helped me..
The other thing, find a good covering makeup and that will help. I was terrified going out when I first started. I went out and was afraid, and wasn't comfortable and really made everyone uncomfortable. Then, one night, watching a play, I relaxed a little and settled back into me. After that, I started smiling more. People started accepting me and I began to feel even better.
You can do it. The first few times can be interesting but it is so worth it.
Hugs,
Jen
When I was going out infrequently and for short periods of time my beard shadow didn't really bother me; i could shave it and head out for a couple of hours and it would mostly stay hidden until I got back home.
When I started going out for longer periods it became intolerable. Now that I plan to go full time in just a few more months it is becoming an urgent priority.
I found a laser deal on groupon and started getting zapped. Session #5 is tomorrow. It's not going away fast enough for me, but at least it is going away. I have a lot of gray hairs mixed in with the dark ones, so once I'm done with laser I get to start with electrolysis to zap the gray ones.
You'll be much happier after a few laser sessions :)
Quote from: JLT1 on February 22, 2014, 10:04:38 PM
HI,
A couple things......
I used to have the same sensitive skin problem that you have. I started shaving using lot's of soap and my face right under the shower with water flowing right over the top. That really helped me..
The other thing, find a good covering makeup and that will help.
Hi Jen!
I have tried shaving fresh out of the shower, shaving in the shower, and placing a hot towel on my face and soaking it for several minutes. Tried my wife's razor, tried my razor, bought a new razor. It's hopeless! I always hated the military because when I shaved I would have cuts and bumps all over my face and still get looked at because my face wasn't cleanly shaven. Hoping hormones and laser can help a bunch in that area.
Quote from: JLT1 on February 22, 2014, 10:04:38 PM
I was terrified going out when I first started. I went out and was afraid, and wasn't comfortable and really made everyone uncomfortable. Then, one night, watching a play, I relaxed a little and settled back into me. After that, I started smiling more. People started accepting me and I began to feel even better.
You can do it. The first few times can be interesting but it is so worth it.
Hugs,
Jen
That is what I am terrified of! I don't think other people will actually see it as too big of a deal, but I will make it awkward. Guess it's going to happen eventually as it's only human to embarass themselves on ocassion.
Not sure exactly what is going on in my mind right now, but I have started writing a diary of sorts. Going through past events in my life that I had repressed for so long. The few people I have told are like "how could you NOT know until you are 29?" but they just don't understand. I sympathize with them, though. If you aren't transgendered then
questioning your own gender doesn't really ever make an entrance into your thought process. So they have given the idea of being transgendered absolutely no thought in their entire lives, but as transgendered people we have obviously given it some thought.
Homosexuality is easy for most people to understand, and most people also have an opinion on it.
Transgendered is something that most people do not understand, and the only thing they know is what they have seen on TV and the Internet.
I should probably just tell my parents I am gay. They can figure out the rest when I am wearing a bikini in the pool next summer.
I don't know.
The point of no return is coming up quick.
Once I start the laser hair removal, there is no turning back.
This scares the ->-bleeped-<- out of me sometimes.
Quote from: FilaFord on February 22, 2014, 09:48:19 PM
Thanks for the nice words! I hope that you are right about facial hair becoming less rough! I was such a hairy man, but epilating my legs/arms/chest has helped an incredible amount! Now if only the hand/feet/back hair would fall out and this stupid beard would become at least manageable! :D
How long have you been on HRT? I'm just bummed because I planned it all out and said "Today is going to be the today!"
Then I looked in the mirror and my beard shadow said "Remember me!?"
Actually I was talking only about facial hair...im 2 months in,,, I ve heard that changes on body hair occur many months later...
Hiya FilaFord
Your posts really make me chuckle, since you are handing your transition with a sense of humour and frustration that I can relate to completely. :)
How are you doing with the beard removal thang? I can handle it on my body perfectly, and it's been really successful there, but owwwwwww, it kills my face, even when I slather myself with Elma beforehand like it was peanut butter lol. Since you sound a lot hairier than I am, how are you manging the, er, "immense lack of comfort" during your facial lasing?
Hugs
Julia
Being someone with stupidly sensitive skin (especially on the face) I've learned (on here mostly) that the best thing to do is buy a nice expensive razor lol. I used like 8 razors before i ended paying the 40$ for a Gilette Fusion Pro Glide razor and extra razors, as well as 3 cans of this shaving gel called Coochy Cream. A good razor goes a LONG way, and try to stay away from pressurized shave gels (from a can) because the chemicals in them are bad for sensitive skin. After trying everything from Barbasol to Aveeno-expensive-as-hell sensitive skin shave gel, nothing works better than Coochy cream.
Don't go cheap on the face-shaving products, even buy the good after shave (if you need to ~ after using my gillete fusion pro glide with the coochy cream, i get little to no irritation and barely ever do I get knicks or cuts) Continue to do the hot towel or hot water thing because it opens up your pores.
If by some miracle, all of this is working for you (assuming you haven't tried it), the best way (for my experience at least) to get the CLOSEST shave is to lather and shave down, and then lather and shave up.
I also bought this machine that someone on here (who's name escapes me currently) recommended, called the Seiko Clean-cut Shaver.... you can literally use it around the time you start getting a shadow and it trims the tiniest hairs on your face. I literally can go 2-3 days without shaving my face again because of the current trifecta of Expensive razor, Quality shaving lotion and the clean-cut trimmer.
It also helps to tighten the area you are shaving (you probably know that already but just incase you don't) stretch out your neck or your chin or whatever. I've come to learn that the chin area and under the chin are the most troublesome spots to shave because the hair there is like freakin' fiber-wire.
But anyway, hope this helped ^_^
As for make-up. My skin is pale and my facial hair is DARK, so shadow for me is almost always visible. I use Mac Full-Coverage foundation. Its MAGICAL. Takes a bit of a while to apply but its so worth it. The cleaner/closer you shave, the better the foundation covers up the shadow.
Also, don't rush it unless you've become use to shaving (properly). Take your time and be patient and know your face's limits. I was in culinary school straight out of highschool before even knowing myself, and i had to shave EVERY DAY, and no matter what I did it was never short enough and never pleasant. I use to DREAD shaving my face with a nightmarish fear, but now I do it no problem :P
If you wanna make it easier, use a regular trimmer on your beard to shave it all off, then use the cleancut shaver to put it as low as you can without using a razor, and then use the razor. Because your hair is shorter and lessened, it will hurt less. But as i said before, a good razor and a clean blade goes soooooo far, i almost cried the first time i shaved and it didnt even feel irritated xD