Quote from: FalsePrincess on March 29, 2014, 06:42:30 PM
Thanks,

what I ve noticed is that when you are early on hrt and present androgynous you can be gendered like both...
for example female at one store male at another...

we shouldnt forget that everyone has a different perception of what is male and  what female , so no matter what we do we might not be able to meet somebodys criteria of what female is but we might as well meet somebodys else ...

Yes there are so many factors. A big one I noticed early on was the lighting. For the first 3-4 months of my transition you could find me literally running away in terror if there was a fluorescent overhead light nearby

Quote from: Jennygirl on March 29, 2014, 06:53:29 PM
Yes there are so many factors. A big one I noticed early on was the lighting. For the first 3-4 months of my transition you could find me literally running away in terror if there was a fluorescent overhead light nearby

Haha I generally avoid bright light like that too  

As if the light will reveal my manliness ,,,go figure XD

I'm not sure but as I pinch myself, it's been nearly 6 months now on HRT.
Changes have been significant as I can really see differences that normal people would not.
Recently noticed just how much leaning down has happened in my legs and arms as well as a reduction in body hair.
Skin and face have softened significantly. Padding is no longer required as girls are growing nicely now.

I try to hide it and it's getting hard to present as male at the moment.
I'm sure if I tried I could pass but not just yet but not far away now.

Thus I could say 6 months, but some how I know it wont take too much more time.
The goal is now so very close and one huge step into the unknown.

Jen

Thing is, HRT isn't going to do all that much to your face except soften the skin and redistribute the fat a bit, after nine months I certainly look younger by almost ten years (I'm 48) but I don't think that is what made me passable. Beard growth will slow and soften a bit but laser/electro is the only way to deal with it permanently. Unfortunately features that are fixed due to bone and cartlidge can only be changed by surgery.

I'm doing laser as well, not just HRT so that should help with the stubble hopefully within a year. I hope my fat redistribution and laser hair removal will be enough to get me gendered female, because I really don't like the idea of surgery. Nor do I have the ability to make that kind of cash.

About 6 months to a year I got out of the awkward duckling stage. I got a big round arse, but the beard seems to just make up everyone's mind. Probably a bit easier for the guys, cause we get the voice change and face fuzz.

Weirder though, I swear my face got more angular. My hairline also receded a bit. I think it moved to my back. <_<

Edit: Whoops. I see this topic is mostly for the ladies. Apologies.

I think that taking care of your skin and hands is more important than HRT when it comes to passing. I have not done any laser or electro, and won't anytime soon unless I win the lottery. I always use very good quality shave products and I have started using better quality facial care products (cleansers, scrubs, and moisturizers). I also have been getting manicures regularly. I have not had anyone misguider me since I started getting manicures. It is subtle, but well cared for and groomed nails go a long way in helping you pass.

Hmmm it's tough to say. I was passing before I even realized I was passing if that makes sense?

About 6 months on hrt. I finally had my voice down but the resonance was still weak. Also I wasn't going out much in public. So I didn't really have any kind of feed back with the whole public presentation thing until I was about a year on hrt. I went to the mall with two of my friends. And they wanted to try on prom dresses. So we picked out our dresses and as we were heading to the changing room. One of the store employees yelled out to me, "SIR YOU AREN'T ALLOWED IN THERE". I turned around walked up to her and looked her in the eyes and she quickly said, "Oh I'm sorry I thought you were male from the way your hair looked from behind"(It was in a pony tail idk lol what she could of saw) So I said no problem and smiled then walked on to the dressing room.  I was in my skinnys and just a t->-bleeped-<- plus a sports bra(no makeup). The prom dress turned out to be a size too small unfortunately. My friends tried so hard to zip me up lol...  So yeah I guess that was my first passing moment. I hadn't even begun laser yet. So I still had shadow, not extreme but very faded. Hrt does that much at least! It was in a department store to, so the lighting was pretty bright.

In these past 5 years of transition I've learned that it's really about how you carry yourself more than anything when it comes to "passing"

I really don't think nails will help me in my case and I'm not into that. I want to be a tom boy girl. I want my face to scream female without makeup and wear clothes that are feminine but not extremely so. Especially since doing so makes me feel like a charicature of a woman.

My shadow is very noticeable 3 months into my HRT. Today I zapped my face for the second time. I guess I'll see in two weeks if it gets significantly better.

About the way I carry myself, people tell me I move in a naturally feminine way and that my gestures are naturally feminine and I knew they were for years even before I knew I was trans... I always knew that I naturally move feminine. I think that in my case it's really my face and my voice, and it's hard for me to feel motivated to work on my voice as long as my face doesn't pass. People spot me miles away despite the clothes, despite the movement, before I open my mouth... they somehow see a man. My guess is it's just the structure of my face.

I especially love girls with full cheeks in flannel shirts, that because of their face you can't mistake they are female even when they wear male clothes. That's where I want to be. I don't like makeup. I don't like showing parts of my body. I just want a feminine face.

Quote from: Jennygirl on March 29, 2014, 06:53:29 PM
Yes there are so many factors. A big one I noticed early on was the lighting. For the first 3-4 months of my transition you could find me literally running away in terror if there was a fluorescent overhead light nearby

Oh goodness Jenny - that made me laugh - it's so true! 

Give me a nice mellow restaurant any day; fluorescent lighting is a nightmare.  I can't wait for my beard to just go away already!   

Here in Madrid I take the metro a lot because it's convenient, and sometimes I feel sooooo self-conscious.  Interesting though, people don't look at me much during the early Saturday evening, but they're a lot more obvious at the end of the night.   Maybe that's because at that point I look a bit less pretty, or because alcohol has removed some of their inhibitions...

Let's see what happens this weekend - I've just bought quite a cute wig while I wait for my hair to grow past the "what-is-that-thing" stage, so maybe my situation might improve a bit

xxx
J

Beard shadow is a huge gender marker, which is why half of my electrologist's clients are cis women who are tired of being mistaken for feminine men.

Here is a secret that you might not learn from your lesbian girlfriend. There is a whole art to subtle makeup that corrects skin tone or contours without appearing to be any makeup at all.

Androgen-style facial hair causes fair skinned people to have a bluish shadow even where the hair is completely clean shaven. The way to correct this is using color theory. Use a mineral makeup concealer that is orange toned. You won't need much, just enough to cancel the blueness. Then your whole face gets a light toned BB cream or tinted moisturizer.

didn't help me a bit,  on a good day I still look like Robert Plant.

Quote from: Julia-Madrid on April 04, 2014, 09:26:38 AM
Oh goodness Jenny - that made me laugh - it's so true! 

Give me a nice mellow restaurant any day; fluorescent lighting is a nightmare.  I can't wait for my beard to just go away already!   

Here in Madrid I take the metro a lot because it's convenient, and sometimes I feel sooooo self-conscious.  Interesting though, people don't look at me much during the early Saturday evening, but they're a lot more obvious at the end of the night.   Maybe that's because at that point I look a bit less pretty, or because alcohol has removed some of their inhibitions...

Let's see what happens this weekend - I've just bought quite a cute wig while I wait for my hair to grow past the "what-is-that-thing" stage, so maybe my situation might improve a bit

xxx
J

Lol... What is this "thing" stage you speak of? I wore my androgyny with pride! And I revelled in the staring contests I would get in with people Might have been a lot different if I didn't live in Los Angeles though!

And yes. To this day I still tell my friends that I refuse to go into a place just because the lighting is so bad. I don't really refuse, though... I just kind of make a big icky face upon stepping into it. Those lights should be banned from the planet forever!

Oddly enough, I don't know the answer to this question.  Do I even pass today?  I stopped caring ages ago and just went full time.

I'm me, I'm big, BFD.   I suppose at some point I passed femme of center, but I can't put my finger on when that was exactly.

Quote from: Jennygirl on April 04, 2014, 03:38:37 PM
Lol... What is this "thing" stage you speak of? I wore my androgyny with pride! And I revelled in the staring contests I would get in with people Might have been a lot different if I didn't live in Los Angeles though!

Hey Jenny - I was being deliberately vague - the thing could be me or it could be my hair  .  Actually I recognise totally and fully that this year I will be very androgynous, and have no problem with it!  People here don't really stare, but gimme some time and I'm sure I will find some glaring exceptions...

Tonight was quite weird though - first time I've gone out in full fiesta nighttime makeup, and I was pleasantly surprised at how anonymous I was, or maybe deep down I wanted to be less anonymous, LOL.   Oh, the contradictions!   ¡¡...Olé...!!

Hugs
J

Quote from: Aquarelle on March 28, 2014, 09:08:31 AM
Maybe it will sound a little bit discouraging, but I am more than 13 months on HRT and I don't think I pass... Still a lot of people call me "sir"... I am not even thinking about fulltime at this stage

That's about the time I will think about going full time, when people start calling me "ma'am". I know people say it is all about self confidence, but nothing will boost it like someone seeing me as female when I'm in boy mode.

I have an androgynous face so I was already part of the way there before I started taking HRT. In the first 3 months or so in girl mode guys would stare at me for some reason but women didn't. Now I'm at 6 months and it's the other way - I see women checking me out and guys seem to ignore me. I had been on low dose HRT for some number of years before the full strength stuff but I don't think it made that much difference physically.

Today I can go either way. If i put on boy clothes and do a boy style haircut then voila! I am an average middle aged guy. If I doll myself up and put on a wig and heels Eva appears.

So far I have been lucky and have not been misgendered in either presentation.

So for me I'd say somewhere between 3-6 months.

I'm right there where Aquarelle is at, and I'm at 16 months solid, started hrt 11/27/2012. People have told me I'm 41, when I'm really 46, so its a plus. I'm going for the "boy fail" mode, so I'll see at 24, 36, 48, 60, and 72 months. Once past 72 months, then its maybe ffs and a ba, among other things.

Quote from: Ruth Ruthless on March 30, 2014, 04:31:48 PM
I really don't think nails will help me in my case and I'm not into that. I want to be a tom boy girl. I want my face to scream female without makeup and wear clothes that are feminine but not extremely so. Especially since doing so makes me feel like a charicature of a woman.

My shadow is very noticeable 3 months into my HRT. Today I zapped my face for the second time. I guess I'll see in two weeks if it gets significantly better.

About the way I carry myself, people tell me I move in a naturally feminine way and that my gestures are naturally feminine and I knew they were for years even before I knew I was trans... I always knew that I naturally move feminine. I think that in my case it's really my face and my voice, and it's hard for me to feel motivated to work on my voice as long as my face doesn't pass. People spot me miles away despite the clothes, despite the movement, before I open my mouth... they somehow see a man. My guess is it's just the structure of my face.

I especially love girls with full cheeks in flannel shirts, that because of their face you can't mistake they are female even when they wear male clothes. That's where I want to be. I don't like makeup. I don't like showing parts of my body. I just want a feminine face.

Likewise, I feel the sameway. I want people to see a woman without having to dress ultra girly, since that isn't really me. Just because I'm a woman doesn't mean I have to dress in lace and flower patterns. I'd be comfortable in tight jeans and a hoody, with my hair back or under a beanie, unfortunately though it may make passing more difficult down the line. I'm guessing that's where FFS comes in >_<

So basically the bottom line is I need to wait two years for hormones and laser to do their thing and by then it is reasonable to assume my face won't change more without surgery?