Hello all, this is my first post so please forgive me if I have put this in the wrong place. A brief intro to me, I am FTM, on HRT for 6 years now. Top surgery 5 years ago, no bottom surgery planned at this time - maybe later if someone can come up with a better procedure/outcome than is available right now. I've used a packer on and off but this is the first prosthetic device I have used. When I decided to purchase it I agonized over which one to purchase and relied heavily on this community and a few others to help me decide. In doing my research I noticed there are not very many reviews of prosthetic by those of us actually using them, and I was very grateful for the ones I did find. I've had the prosthetic for about 2 weeks now, and though I would share my observations for anyone interested.
Product: Emisil flaccid prosthesis 02 with hand-punched hair
Purchasing experience: excellent. I paid via paypal, was contacted by the customer service folks within 24 hours, and was told the product would arrive in 3 weeks (actually came faster than that). The product I ordered appears to be exactly what arrived.
Pros: comfortable, has a large tab for attachment, stays where I put it when using strong adhesive, has a nice appearance (I think, and so does my fiancee) under clothing. It also looks good from a few feet away as long as the tab is covered (more on this in a minute). Coloring and shape are realistic in appearance and passes a grab test through most clothing. The skin coloring is a fantastic match. The hair color is also pretty close.
Cons: the edges of the tab are very thick so it is pretty challenging to make it blend into my skin and pubic hair. It also seems a little heavy, but I don't have any other prosthetics to compare to, so I can't say for sure on that one. The punched hair gets matted at the edges with the adhesive and there isn't enough to blend the edges of the tab - the tab is very obvious.
Overall impression:
I am pleased so far. It is comfortable to wear, and provides the appearance that the tackle is there under my swim trunks and regular clothing. I would like for the tab to blend better, but for the cost it does what I wanted it to do.
Adhesive:
There isn't a recommendation for specific adhesive from Emisil. I looked around at other websites (Tyron, Reel Magic, etc) and went with some of their recommendations. I have tried out two products - Hollister's spray adhesive, and Reel Magic's extra strength adhesive.
Hollister: It works if you are going to sit at your desk OR wear tight/close-fitting boxer briefs (Under Armour style). I haven't tried whitey-tighties. You have to follow the instructions carefully - namely, apply in a thin layer, allow to air dry for 5 minutes, then apply to your skin. You also then have to immediately (like have your tight underwear at your knees already) put on your underwear for at least 20 minutes to get good adhesion. I can then switch to boxers if I am going to sit around for the day (like driving all day), but if I need to be up moving around (I stand/sit/crouch/move constantly at work) then no way will it stay on without the Under Armour. It is fairly easy to remove the prosthesis with warm water, and to remove the residue with soap and warm water.
Reel Magic extra strength: This stuff works well. Really well. Yesterday I swam 1 mile (jammer style trunks), then ran 3 miles and at the end the whole package was still where it belongs. Yesterday I ran with compression shorts, but last week I tried out a 2 mile run in running shorts with a nylon liner, no compression shorts and everything stayed where it was supposed to. I can also go commando with this stuff, although I'm not bold enough to do it outside my own house. This one does not come with any instructions, but what I have figured out follows: 1) less is more - just put a very thin film on the tab. 2) apply immediately, don't wait for it to set. 3) hold in place for about 30 seconds, then wear a pair of tight underwear for about 30 minutes while the adhesive really sets up. Then I am pretty good to go in whatever configuration I want. Getting prosthetic off can be a little uncomfortable if I just try to peel it off like I do with the Hollister product. Warming it up in the shower and peeling down slowly is fine though. The hardest part is getting the residue off. The first day I used half the remover (I purchased 1oz of each) to get it off me and the prosthetic, and still had a little left. I have resorted to using Goo Gone to remove the residue. I use it on my skin and the prosthetic, and so far the prosthetic looks like it could care less. I don't let it soak, just put some on a towel, rub in circles for about 30 seconds to get the goo off, then clean with rubbing alcohol. I am willing to risk what it might do to the prosthetic - you should think about it before you do this with yours. All I can say is so far, no apparent damage. Try at your own risk :)
Other thoughts:
- Shave wide :) getting the adhesive out of my hair with the Goo Gone is easy, but if any hair gets trapped during the day it is very uncomfortable.
- The first couple of days I had problems with my parts getting stuck together - which will probably lead to an infection if not addressed. The adhesive does seem to end up lower down than I want it no matter what I do. My solution has been to apply a VERY thin coat of petroleum jelly to the areas were I don't want adhesive sticking things together. This has worked well. After the prosthetic has been in place I can either wipe it off or just leave it - doesn't seem to bother me either way.
- I now get to experience the "balls and c**k stuck to leg when it's hot" phenomenon. I suggest talcum powder liberally applied before biking or hiking.
- The longest I have worn it so far at any given stretch is about 36 hours. With the ReelMagic extra strength adhesive it stayed in place just fine. No skin irritation from the adhesive either. No migration while I was sleeping.
- It really isn't long enough for penetration, but with the ReelMagic adhesive it stays in place when we play around and grind. I'm not sure the adhesive would be up to rigorous penetration on its own, but if you were having a quickie through the fly of your pants it would probably do fine.
- Using the bathroom: Took a little practice to relearn how to position the medicine spoon - the balls get in the way some. No interference urinating sitting down and no interference defecating. So far no tragic falling off into the toilet.
- Since the tab is so thick and doesn't blend in well, I don't know if I would spend money on the punched hair again. I'm still thinking on that one.
- Overall I like the product and would order again from this company
Hope this is helpful to someone out there.