Hi all,
I'm an MTF transgender woman. I am not on hormones, but I do sometimes go out as a girl and have never been clocked (probably out of politeness because I don't feel that I pass entirely). But I have one problem that has plagued me my entire life that I can't help but feel is a result of my being born male: my feet get smelly very easily :(
I hate it. I shower and wash them every day, and never wear the same shoes twice in a row, but by the middle of the day they're to the point where I don't feel comfortable taking off my shoes in front of other people.
I've always seen this as a uniquely male problem. I'm not aware of any girls who go through this, so I'm worried that this is something that will severely damage my feminine image when I go full time. So just wondering, has anyone else gone through this? Does it out you? More importantly, is there anyone who has started HRT, who previously had this problem but it went away after HRT? If so I would be tremendously happy. It may not be as big a deal as I'm thinking it is, but it's something that I've always been self conscious about. It really undermines my confidence :(
I find that its more to do with shes and sox design.
yes biological males sweat more but....
I find male clothes are more clostraphobic too.
since switched out my wardrobe its been less of a problembe.
ALSO. insecurities lead you too keep your footwear on all day long. you compare your feet having done this, to people taking their shoes off after maybe 2/3 hours tops.
feet stink everybodies. If it helps bye a spray and wear dark sox. If anything people will just think your a "clean freak". :)
How much water do you drink? Often just increasing water intake can help lessen body odours.
Prior to HRT I used to get smelly feet even with sandals. I had to wash my sandals in the summer about once or twice a week. Since HRT I've noticed I don't sweat nearly as much and I don't seem to get any stinky feet now :)
Overall, body odor is totally different especially in the groin area. At the end of the day there is a a distinct feminine smell with my panties.
Hi ,
I guess it is different with every person , yet HRT seems to help too .
I heard about using baking soda on your feet before taking the socks / shoes , or using the socks that were specially designed with some Silver that inhibit the development of bacteria .
I never tried this methods though , so I can't tell for sure .
As a cis- female I can tell you that while less common, it *does* happen. I don't think foot odor would 'out' you, however (am I näive?). I've had smelly feet since I was a little kid (I learned this at age 10 when my oh-so-gracious stepfather loudly complained upon removal of my shoes). I've heard a warm water/white vinegar soak helps, but haven't yet tried it. I'd rather smell like vinegar than old feet anyday :) Good luck. ~V.
Actually, my feet odour went down with HRT. Previously it was disgusting to the point that I needed to wash my hands after any kind of interaction (such as triming nails).
Anyways, I also shower daily and the moisturiser I put on them also has a nice aroma. The only thing that has a not nice smell is my hair after four days when re-flattening it, but I can blame that on the minoxidil.
Didn't have much of an issue with this before HRT, but what little there was has disappeared. Put it down to different foot ware but maybe not...
I wear sandals during the warmer weather so it really isn't much of a problem, but I always keep foot spray/powder during the winter because I mostly wear boots at that time of year
It is important to take care of your feet, I learned the hard way and had a case of 'Boot rot' in younger days and that was miserable to deal with
I had the same problem for as long as I can remember. Then I found a friend who went to a foot doctor and he gave him a cream to put on them. It took a couple weeks and now it isn't a problem unless I wear my socks too long. Or run out of the cream. It lasts a long time as you only use a little bit on the soles of your feet. I think it cuts the sweat somehow as now my socks don't get soaked every 4 or 5 hours. I used to, (well still do) take 3 pair of socks to work. I do it now because they get wet from a hose though, not sweat so much.
A visit to the food doc may help you also.
On the farm a trick I learn from the shearers that worked for them:
You put your shoes a plastic bag and freeze them for 12 hours on a weekend with baking soda in them if you can. This kills the bacteria that cause foot smell in the shoes as it will live in your shoes for weeks without you wearing them (so they suggested). However the freezing process slows them down or kills them. Once the time is up you empty the baking soda and wash them with white vinegar and cold water (1/2 water 1/2 vinegar) let it set in the shoes for a few hours. Then dry them in the sun DO NOT WEAR THEM FOR 24 HOURS
In terms of your own feet there is a process you repeat 4 times for two days. Firstly cut your nails back as far as you can, then soaking your feet in the hottest water you can handle for 5 mins, them scrub them with something mildly abrasive to remove the dead skin. After this coat them in tea tree oil and allow them to air dry. The tea tree oil kills the smell and breaks down the bacteria (natural antistatic). Do this 4 times each day for a few days.
Rest assured that there are cisgirls with smelly feet >_< my best friend from highschool had such stinky feet that she would torture us for laughs lol and she was as female as it gets, not a tomboy or anything. So don't despair too much.
Second; if it's any consolation, I use to have really bad smelly feet too, and only 2 months after hormones, my feet didn't just stop smelling, my ENTIRE BODY stopped smelling bad no matter how sweaty I got lol. Now when I go to the gym (despite not sweating as much as before) I sweat a lot and I still come out smelling like a garden xD (ok I'm exaggerating but you get what I mean)
Thirdly; back then I would put baby powder in my shoes and on my feet and it seemed to work very well, because I learned that the issue with smelly feet is that they sweat under the shoes and the moisture stays in such a closed area and causes a smell, baby powder keeps it dry.
Alternatively, you could have a foot fungus, in which case you could buy some athletes foot spray or something similar and get rid of it.
But yes, since HRT I haven't had even the slightest bit of bad smell in my feet :P not to mention I sweat less, get cold much easier, and my sweat doesn't smell like bad male stink, instead it either doesn't smell at all, or has a more sweet/musky smell instead of an all around "ass" smell.
Also, I have to agree with ButterflyVickster, male clothing is so impossibly heat inducing that I find it hard to believe that women (who get cold easily) are the ones who are sold the thin clothes and men (who get hot easily) are sold the thick fabric clothing... It's never made sense to me.. The other day I had to present male because my landlords don't know and were coming to fix the AC I put on some old male swim trunks and attempted to wear a male shirt.... I was suffocating lmao. I decided "f*** this, I'll just wear one of my regular t shirts and to hell with the consequences", it blew my mind that I ever wore any male clothes in Miami and survived without a heatstroke