I'll be honest: I've always assumed that if I started T I'd turn into a sexy guy with amazing abs and a chiseled face. I'm obviously aware T alone won't accomplish this -- genes and gym play a large role there -- but I'm also very aware that looking like a hot young guy is only going to be something I can access while I'm, well, young. I turned 26 a few days ago, so I feel like time is running out for me; my father tells me he started going bald in his thirties. I'd hate to start T a few years from now only to instantly grow a pot belly and lose all my hair.

This isn't to say I expect to be good-looking forever (or, uh, at all) -- I just want to be able to enjoy having the body of a young man while I'm still young.

Quote from: Felix on January 16, 2013, 05:02:50 PM
I'm okay with whatever T does to me because I feel that whatever problems arise are ones I should've had to begin with.

+9000 

Quote from: AlexD on January 16, 2013, 06:06:58 PMI turned 26 a few days ago, so I feel like time is running out for me (...)

I honestly think that the majority of men look their best from 25 - 50 years of age. So I think you'll turn out great, man. 

Quote from: Wolf Man on January 16, 2013, 07:33:05 PMI honestly think that the majority of men look their best from 25 - 50 years of age. So I think you'll turn out great, man. 

Heh, thanks dude. Who knows, perhaps I would. I've never been very good at looking like an attractive girl -- never wanted to, but I still feel the pressure to do so like crazy and I think it affects my self-image. My sister got a professional make-up artist to do my face when I was a bridesmaid at her wedding, and I thought it was interesting that hardly anyone recognised me (including my mother!) with a girl's face and a dress on. I'm not sure if that means I'll make a convincing guy or if I'm just ugly when I haven't got a pretty face painted on. :p

Thanks for answering my questions guys.

Quote from: Wolf Man on January 16, 2013, 07:33:05 PM
I honestly think that the majority of men look their best from 25 - 50 years of age. So I think you'll turn out great, man. 

I agree, while being in you 20s does have a specific kind of look, I think the older guys look so much better. Guys who are 25 and under can still have a bit of that baby face, and when you're older that goes away. Also, I think guys look good with some grays and even some balding if they don't comb their hair over to try to hide it, it can look sophisticated. If I was shopping for a lawyer or doctor, I'd def go with the gray and balding guy. I also think that a lot of women don't make such a big deal out of it as guys do, it's just expected that guys will go bald at some point.

Quote from: LearnedHand on January 16, 2013, 08:06:26 PMI agree, while being in you 20s does have a specific kind of look, I think the older guys look so much better. Guys who are 25 and under can still have a bit of that baby face, and when you're older that goes away. Also, I think guys look good with some grays and even some balding if they don't comb their hair over to try to hide it, it can look sophisticated. If I was shopping for a lawyer or doctor, I'd def go with the gray and balding guy. I also think that a lot of women don't make such a big deal out of it as guys do, it's just expected that guys will go bald at some point.

Good point. I guess, as a straight guy, I just think under-25s look more attractive because the baby-face makes them look more feminine. I need to remember that not everyone is attracted to women.

Quote from: AlexD on January 16, 2013, 06:06:58 PM
I'll be honest: I've always assumed that if I started T I'd turn into a sexy guy with amazing abs and a chiseled face. I'm obviously aware T alone won't accomplish this -- genes and gym play a large role there -- but I'm also very aware that looking like a hot young guy is only going to be something I can access while I'm, well, young. I turned 26 a few days ago, so I feel like time is running out for me; my father tells me he started going bald in his thirties. I'd hate to start T a few years from now only to instantly grow a pot belly and lose all my hair.

This isn't to say I expect to be good-looking forever (or, uh, at all) -- I just want to be able to enjoy having the body of a young man while I'm still young.

I agree with this except I turned 27 last month

The fear of balding always amused me. You're afraid of T because you're afraid to go bald like half the population is anyway? No matter who you are, age will always get you sooner or later. 

I'd rather grow old as a man than as a man who looks like a woman. Right now, I'm just hoping I can do that.

Quote from: Arawn Gabriel on January 16, 2013, 02:32:18 PM
Alan Rickman, anyone?

Not really my type but older guys can be sexy and got a couple of friends who think so as well.
one of my friends think his sexy, another one been with a guy who is over 40 years older than him, the oldest person for myself have been 12 years older than me so far.
---
sadly I dont think my parrents are that good looking so im probably not going to be sexy being old. as it now I just take the problems as they come.

I dont want to worry about getting bald if its never going to happent, if it happents I can try to get threatment or find a good cap to use.

I dont really like too much hair but now as im getting hair places I dont like I also figure out what to do with it, I can shave, trim, lazer or just let it be?

I actually just had this conversation with a kid from my old uni who is unsure of how they identify. T isn't a magic potion that suddenly makes everything okay. You won't look like Brad Pitt or Johnny Dep  (or whoever else is considered sexy, they are so not my type but apparently people like them) and the world won't suddenly be rainbows and puppy dogs.

If you want muscle, you have to work for it (like everyone else), facial hair won't magically bud overnight into the perfect shape, you may get butt fuzz, or you may get a butt parka. You may have no chest hair or you might look like a small, less frightening bear. Most guys don't get to pick what happens during puberty. I had a pretty good idea because I look enough like my father to see the changes happening are making me look like a smaller, less stern faced version of my dad. I figure as long as I am clean, and look the best I can, I'm rockin the boy boat. And if I go bald, I have already decided that I am going to have a collection of awful, terrible, just... pathetic looking toupes, and I will wear them with pride and watch other people squirm and try to be polite while I have a dead purple possum on my head. Just like my great grandfather did.

The part that gets me is the unrealistic idea that everything gets perfect all of a sudden. It doesn't. It gets.. kinda weird for a while. I'm still getting used to it, and I have had no trouble passing here for the last seven months. If you don't want certain physical things to happen you can shave or work out or take extra meds or even go off T if that is what one chooses to do. There isn't any one right way to live life and I certainly will be the last person to tell someone they aren't X because of Y. It's the idea that T suddenly makes the world sugar cane lane and rain gumdrops that I think is the most dangerous, frankly. T is awesome, if you are in the right place mentally for it, but if you are not ready for transition mentally it won't be all that great.

I'm up for anything that would come with T. Back hair, nose hair, ear hair, butt hair, pot belly and being a smelly old man.
I am however, not up for balding. I had my head shaved in hospital a couple of years ago and my head is actually deformed. It's completely the wrong shape at the back (where balding typically starts) and I look like I was hit my a truck as a baby whereas my hair hides it. I've already talked it over with my Doctor and he reckons the one a day pill would take care of balding for me as long as I understand that facial hair changes would slow down loads if I were to go on it. It is a bummer to already be considering hindering facial hair but I literally cannot express how weird my head is so I'm desperate to not bald. If need be, I will amass an army of wigs, an army.
My half brother has zero facial hair anyway so I least I'd fit in with him 

Quote from: Edge on January 17, 2013, 10:19:00 AM
I'd rather grow old as a man than as a man who looks like a woman. Right now, I'm just hoping I can do that.

This was what made me realize I was trans... that there was no way I could grow old as someone that appeared outwardly female. I just knew then that it was a matter of time before I started physically transitioning.

Yep. Every time I tried picturing me "in ten years", I saw this dude sitting on a staircase.. Subconscious hint, much?

Well, cis men go bald and get bigger as they age,
So I don't see why I shouldn't. It's no big deal to me.
Either I deal with those effects, or I deal with getting old as a woman,
And they have just as many unwanted side-effects of getting older as well.

...Perhaps it's just me,
But I feel as though this topic is more about getting old on T than the unwanted side-effects *shrug*
Everyone gets old, and it's usually not pretty...unless you're George Clooney.

Quote from: lexical on January 17, 2013, 11:45:48 PM
This was what made me realize I was trans... that there was no way I could grow old as someone that appeared outwardly female. I just knew then that it was a matter of time before I started physically transitioning.

Same for me too. I could see no future as a female, being an old lady seemed really wrong - I thought I was just afraid of growing old, when in actual fact I was afraid of growing old as a woman. I just took every day as it came and made no plans that were any more than a few months ahead. Growing old as a man I can totally picture, now that I can see that picture I can easily make 5 year...10 year...15 year plans because I know where I want to be heading. I'm not afraid at all, because at least I will have enjoyed the journey.

I've been told a lot that it's "such a shame" that I'm transitioning because I was such a pretty girl. My reply is always "I'd much rather be a fat, ugly bald man than a gorgeous woman"

Quote from: Jeatyn on January 18, 2013, 02:16:49 PMI've been told a lot that it's "such a shame" that I'm transitioning because I was such a pretty girl. My reply is always "I'd much rather be a fat, ugly bald man than a gorgeous woman"

Hah. I think I'm inclined this way too. I haven't come out to anyone yet, but when I had to dress up ultra femme at my sister's wedding I got *so* many comments about how beautiful I was, and all of them made me feel like utter crap. So whenever I start to doubt whether being a bald, pot-bellied old man would suit me, I just remember how terrible I felt that day.

My personal opinion is that I didn't want bad side effects (not talking just going bald here – although I wouldn't want that either – I'm talking more serious health side effects) and I also didn't want to be dependent on a prescription drug for the rest of my life just to keep me looking a certain way.

Someone else mentioned level of comfort already on here and I'm going to reiterate that. If you're trans, your main goals are usually to feel more comfortable with yourself and your body. HRT is one way to help you become more comfortable with your body, but if you get effects on it that make you uncomfortable, then what? Why should you have to deal with something that makes you uncomfortable when it's an option for you? You're not a biological male so you're not subjected to the same "rules", so to speak. How many biological males out there would take the option to not lose their hair (if that was a major concern) if they could? Probably quite a few I'd imagine.

If you're cool with the, "whatever happens, happens" line of thought and that really makes you comfortable and the way you think about it is that, "this is how it SHOULD HAVE BEEN", well that's cool. I think about it differently. I really don't want to look too much different than I do now ... to look vastly different would make me more uncomfortable. It's a balancing act and I'm going for equilibrium. So yes, maybe I only want certain things, but there's nothing wrong with that. Just like there's nothing wrong with wanting it all or being cool with whatever happens.

I've been on T for almost a year and I've not had one side effect that I didn't like. I'm not afraid of going bald. Let it happen. It's just one of those things.

I was willing to put up with whatever I got from T, but I knew that I would be less happy with some changes than with others. I also suspected that I might take a little while to get used to some of the changes that I found less attractive. I told myself that I could quit at any time (I was still trying to find ways to keep my relationship intact), but I couldn't see myself stopping just because I wasn't fully happy with some of the masculinity markers, such as thinning hair (or actual baldness), back hair, or lots of body hair generally. I also knew that if I did start getting unbearably hairy, I could always shave or wax (although I couldn't see myself doing that). I knew that, as a late transitioner, I was pretty likely to lose a lot of hair. I also knew that if I started to bald, I had options, like Rogaine or finasteride.

So when my hair did start thinning noticeably and I couldn't tell whether I was actually balding, I talked to my doc about finasteride and told him that I wasn't ready to deal with balding right now. Balding sounds trivial next to all of the really big traumatic events in my life at that moment, but I just didn't need anything more on my plate, and the balding was something I might be able to control. I knew that I needed time to get used to the idea, although I wasn't positive that I would.

After a couple of years on finasteride, I have stopped. Now I am willing to see what happens to my hair, and I WANT the body hair to come in faster. I just needed an acclimation period, that's all.

I have run into a couple of younger transitioners who were all bravado before T and early on--"Who cares if my hair starts falling out!" I suppose they figured that they weren't likely to start balding in their twenties or early thirties. Sure enough, they didn't start to bald right away. But they did start balding sometime later. Then it was panic city. I'm not sure what these guys did about it because I lost track of them. But it does seem like a good idea to point out that some guys who transition relatively young might have a sudden change of attitude if they don't start balding until later. They think they're "safe," but it turns out that they aren't. Just be expecting that.

I'm of the opinion that bald looks sophisticated (assuming one does one's best to keep one's body otherwise healthy and looking good). Bald men with very hairy bodies are common in my family tree, but I don't think this would stop me from getting T (I'm pre-everything).

I really wonder what to expect though. My father (Italian) is a really hairy guy. But my full brother is pretty much hair free, and can't even grow a proper beard, so a little piece of me hopes that I'll be a little more like my brother than my father. Not high hopes though. I got to experience the joy of having my mom buy me bleach sometime in high school because she thought my little female mustache was getting unseemly, lol, and was worried what the kids at school might be saying