I am not sure if I am alone in this. But I would guess not.

As a guy I looked young. At 23 I could pass for 15.

I transitioned at 23. HRT for 5 years monitored, on and off self medicated since, about to be monitored again. I am now 34 and I look 40+. When I first transitioned I noted the same. I looked like a 30 year old woman at 25.

Weight gain, eye bags, and bodily changes wrought by hormones and I am sure a good deal of stress have prematurely aged me a good deal. Sure FFS, lipo and a good diet will all help but I feel as if I I am fighting the aging battle earlier than most women.

Anyone else notice they were a very young looking guy and ended up a more well aged woman? And how to combat it?

Kami.

Almost a year in and I am pretty sure I look younger.

Gave up smoking three months ago as well though so I think that helped.

I'm sorry that HRT has aged you.

It's had the opposing effect for me. I'm 40 and I've been accused of being in the mid to late twenties by some and definitely in my early thirties by others. Only by showing them my driver's licence would convince them otherwise, but I have no desire to show anyone the photo of the ugly thirty something year old man in the DL accidental or intentional.

I stopped smoking years before I transitioned.

But for me, the curse I think, was mild self apathy.

For a long time I "consigned" myself to non-op. I simply believed I would never be able to afford it. So I let myself gain weight. Became a heavier girl. This added face weight, time added gravity. Add two natural enemies (I have natural puffy eyes, and a natural neck fat that was there even when I was skinny) and you have a recipe for work needing done.

I honestly think that FFS and losing about 50 lbs will knock ten years off of me. But for now, I just look older.

The most painful reminder is the number of times I am asked if I am my partner's mother.

I am eager as can be for my FFS this spring. I feel like it will also help peel some of this apathy-age off my face.

Kami.

Losing weight helped me. I've lost about 22lb since starting HRT and there is still a bit of fat and loose skin around my chin and lower face area from when my face was way way rounder, but it is greatly improved.

I also never looked after my skin, so I had brown spots and freckles due me having fair skin as well as some fine lines and wrinkles. HRT helped with ridding me of the fine lines, but I've been using tretinoin cream for 3 months and the wrinkles and age spots are fading. My skin is also baby smooth from the increased rate of skin regeneration due to the tretinoin cream.

There are several things that can lead to a visible aging process during HRT, especially if unmonitored.

1. Liver and Kidney Damage (not necessarily through the HRT alone)
2. not enough water intake
3. the skin gets dryer under the influence of estrogens (needs more care, if dry)
4. fat depots shift strain the tissues and stretch the skin
5. the skin gets thinner and becomes more vulnerable due to worse wound healing
6. Sun influence on already strained and potentially unprotected skin
7. a great amount of Stress (existing stress might increase due to mood swings)
8. a deficit of necessary vitamins and minerals
9. worse blood circulation (and thus under nourishment of some cell areas - massages and sport can help a lot)

A lot of the things above can be prevented or reduced in its effect if one drinks enough (which actually means most of the time: more than before HRT).
Also the skin can need extra care (depending on your skin type) and the stressed skin areas (boobs, hips, thighs, potentially cheeks) should get a separate treatment - moisturizing oil for example - to prevent scars and fissures.

To avoid further skin aging you can check if anything of the above is true and if you can do something about it.

It is mostly not skin aging. Rather it is overall appearance based. I take good care of my skin and supplement my diet well. My main enemy was simply the dreaded self apathy. I felt surgery was out of reach so why bother with the rest of me. A very dangerous and self destructive issue I am glad to no longer face.

Kami

I'm 57 and am now told I look like a late 30s to early 40s woman. I'll take it!

And yes, water intake is huge! I drink several very large tumblers of ice water (often with a slice of lemon or orange tossed in) every day. It also helps me feel full and less hungry as well.

Also, moisturizers, because female skin is drier, and generally good skin care are necessary as well.

I just turned 50 yet all my friends and most peep's I meet all think I'm in my mid 30's. Hrt has actually made me look much younger despite the fact I was still smoking when I started. Tho I have scars on my face and in other places from a bad accident in 91 I can't do much about, I've always taken care of my skin and eat as good as possible plus supplement my diet with both a woman's one a day, and hair, skin, and nails vitamin a long with fish oil supplements and iron supplements.

One thing that many overlook is the importance of staying hydrated. Also as others have mentioned, your skin in thinner and softer now so sun protection even in wintertime is very important. I pay close attention to my nails for clues as to how healthy my skin and hair are. When I start seeing nails breaking off prematurely I know I'm deficient somewhere and do my best to correct the problem. This is an especially good practice while dieting because your depriving your body of nutrients and it's very easy to become vitamin deficient.

Ally

Ample water intake and sleep.

49 and people guess 35. I can live with that. I am sorry you are having the reverse effect. I don't recall ever seeing that before. Are your labs OK?

It may not be premature aging as such - but the fact that more "masculine" features can often be aging on a woman. So for example, one might look quite young as a male, but when transitioning, may have slightly more masculinised features than the average female, making them look older. I tend to find that younger transitioners tend to look a few years older because of this - some 21 year old tgirls I know look about 27 or 28, but I have found that most older transitioners often look around their age or younger.

Most wrinkles, spots, moles, and loss of elasticity are caused by sun exposure over time. Estradiol can increase sensitivity to sunlight. For that reason, proper sun care should be at the center of any preventive routine. Always cover the whole body with clothing or a broad-spectrum sunscreen when outside in the sun, and try to stay indoors at times of peak sun intensity. Remember that the UV index applies only to UVB "Burning" rays. Aging is caused primarily by UVA rays, which can be present at dangerous levels even when the UV index is low and you cannot burn. Tanned skin represents damage by UVA rays and should be prevented; sun damage is the opposite of beauty. Also, do not assume you are safe because you are indoors. Fluorescent lighting emits some ultraviolet rays. That exposure can be significant over time if you spend long hours in a room with such lighting, or if the bulbs are uncovered or abundant. Since aging is irreversible and occurs slowly over time, it is never too soon to take preventive measures. By the time you notice the damage, it is too late to have beautiful skin without time-consuming, expensive, and imperfect remedies.

Dry skin also ages faster. Estradiol can increase dryness, too. In addition to sunlight, dry skin can be caused by cold air and chlorine. Covering the skin and moisturizing when it is below freezing outside can help. If the tap water in your area is chlorinated, you should consider the installation of a system to remove it. Removing the chlorine would help not only the skin but also the hair. Chlorine gave me such dry skin and brittle hair that I spent my own money on its removal - and that was before starting estradiol.

Now, I do not want to leave you with the impression that estradiol is bad for skin. Skin does require more care as a woman, but the reward is a level of softness and smoothness that would never be possible any other way. Unfortunately, increased skin care may be difficult for people not accustomed to needing it. I tend to be so overwhelmed by the product choices available that I do not know where to begin.

I also highly recommend that you follow the advice below if you want to prevent aging; you may want to print this:

Quote from: Railgun on November 16, 2014, 12:40:16 PM
There are several things that can lead to a visible aging process during HRT, especially if unmonitored.

1. Liver and Kidney Damage (not necessarily through the HRT alone)
2. not enough water intake
3. the skin gets dryer under the influence of estrogens (needs more care, if dry)
4. fat depots shift strain the tissues and stretch the skin
5. the skin gets thinner and becomes more vulnerable due to worse wound healing
6. Sun influence on already strained and potentially unprotected skin
7. a great amount of Stress (existing stress might increase due to mood swings)
8. a deficit of necessary vitamins and minerals
9. worse blood circulation (and thus under nourishment of some cell areas - massages and sport can help a lot)

A lot of the things above can be prevented or reduced in its effect if one drinks enough (which actually means most of the time: more than before HRT).
Also the skin can need extra care (depending on your skin type) and the stressed skin areas (boobs, hips, thighs, potentially cheeks) should get a separate treatment - moisturizing oil for example - to prevent scars and fissures.

To avoid further skin aging you can check if anything of the above is true and if you can do something about it.

I've been on HRT for many years and can attest that it helps slow the appearance of aging. I stopped estrogen for a while and that is when the appearance of aging really kicked in. I was relieved that skin and hair reverted following resumption of the estrogen.

My recommendation is keep taking the estrogen. It's practically health food.

I don't think I look older but I'm not even 18 yet (but I will be soon), I just think that I can look younger without make up and without a wig lol but maybe I just put too much make up XD (even though I don't really care about looking like a freshman D:) I'm sorry about your situation, what do you think is making you look older? Maybe change your style, or something! Good luck =)

People use to say I looked much younger then I was when I was a guy but now I think HRT has helped me mature a little more, tho I do battle dry skin, that makes my pores really show in the morning, but as the day goes by n I re hydrate (drinking, washing etc.) It disappears, so I can definitely vouch for how important being hydrated is n a good moisturizer go's a long way to locking in moisture.

Anti androgens like cyproterone and spironolactone can also dry out the skin reducing skin oils being that they are also used to treat female acne, so you could try rose hip oil or other skin therapy oils from you local chemist.

Well, as expected your post triggers people blabbing about looking (much) younger because...hrt 'works miracles', think of the magically shrinking feet (but no shrinking hands), dropping a few inches in height (but no shorter arms, of course) plus the magic potion for looking up to decades younger.

I think I get what you mean; the eyebags and the extra skin under your chin can make one look older.

PS can do something about this.

But on the other hand: the much spoken about FFS can make even young(er) MTF look years, sometimes even decades older.

Think of the harsh looking cheekimplants, a too short, too narrow nose (some people's noses grow much thinner with age), the augmented lips that make a face look harsh, a too tight facelift, making a face appear gaunt aging) and last but most certainly not least: the thin, pencilled in or even tattood eyebrows making a face look harsh, cheap, aging, dumb and if arches are too high: longer.

The best is to lose some weight, but not too much. It's a given fact that some bigger, slightly overweight MTF look more fem because of the round curves, facial round curves too.

What's more...a couple of days ago I ran into a MTF who's in her early/mid 40's and post op for decades and the very first thing I noticed was her face....which has  masculinised!
I don't know how or what, but I think that's an aging thing.

Born women's faces become more masculine too over the years/decades, but that's a post menopause process that takes at least 15 years.

I think a lot of it depends on how well you take care of yourself and how well you eat, take care of your skin as well as your genetics. If your aging prematurely you should voice your concerns to your Doctors. You may have a previous undiagnosed underlying condition causing it.

Best wishes!

Ally

Quote from: Assoluta on November 17, 2014, 07:43:55 AM
It may not be premature aging as such - but the fact that more "masculine" features can often be aging on a woman. So for example, one might look quite young as a male, but when transitioning, may have slightly more masculinised features than the average female, making them look older. I tend to find that younger transitioners tend to look a few years older because of this - some 21 year old tgirls I know look about 27 or 28, but I have found that most older transitioners often look around their age or younger.

THIS. This is why I think people tell me I look 20+ usually. I've always been told I look over 20 but now a days people do think I'm younger. Now they usually say 18-20. Haven't gotten over 20 in a while but yeah. I think HRT makes people usually look younger more than anything though.

Anyways, I also take decent care of myself. I exfoliate twice a week, only drink water, wash my face atleast once a day (twice if I'm gonna wear makeup), always moisturize before applying makeup, use coconut oil as an under eye cream at night, etc. I also use a clarisonic, not sure if that means anything, but people say it made their skin look younger. so yeah

Quote from: TSJasmine on November 25, 2014, 05:37:26 PM
use coconut oil as an under eye cream at night, etc.

Does that help to reduce bags/ dark circles under the eye? Coz if it does I might start doing that...