I want it but I'm terrified of what the outcome could look like, but I'm also terribly unhappy atm. 8 months on hormones btw

What specifically about your face makes you unhappy?

If you're terrified of a bad outcome (it can happen, every FFS surgeon has at least a few unhappy patients), and you're also only 8 months on HRT, maybe you should wait and let HRT do more before undergoing surgery.

Hi CatBlack,

You are very pretty. Beautiful eyes. Yet, you are thinking about facial work. Peer pressure? You want more? Who doesn't? We've been robbed of some much.

In my own case, in for a penny, in for a pound, meaning you don't want a bunch of half-way surgeries and revisions over time. Talk about the death of a thousand cuts. And the advances in facial surgery are surely breathtaking.

Older transitioners sense the need more than younger ones do, and that applies even when someone has transitioned young.

Just one woman's experience (mine): when I decided to get facial work even though everyone, down to my therapist, insisted, "You're wasting your money. You don't need it," I went all out and got the works on my untouched skull. Best transition-related money I ever spent. If I had to do it over, I'd had the facial first and the bottom second and maybe some voice (like at the Yeson clinic) while my vocal cords were still young and pliable.

That was what my therapist, and most people have told me, that I don't need it. I don't want to wait, but I could always give it a little more time to decide. I really hate what I see staring back at me, so I think I ought to. I just wasn't sure if it was just GD sort of clouding my judgment. I guess it's a bit like asking people if you ought to take hormones, something only you can really decide.

We are always the last ones to see the femininity in our face. I was doing a reasonable job of passing in public at first but it took a year and a half of RLE before one day I looked in the mirror and saw my mother. You have a feminine face and it will only get better with time. It will be your decision but my advice is to give it time.

Quote from: CatBlack on September 26, 2016, 02:41:03 PM
That was what my therapist, and most people have told me, that I don't need it. I don't want to wait, but I could always give it a little more time to decide. I really hate what I see staring back at me, so I think I ought to. I just wasn't sure if it was just GD sort of clouding my judgment. I guess it's a bit like asking people if you ought to take hormones, something only you can really decide.

People are well-meaning. So am I. A friend of mine had the FFS and while traveling in a suit and tie and in every way presenting as a man, was ma'am'd everywhere. This was something extraordinary. So this makes life a whole level easier. Next! The younger you are, the easier it is to bounce back. Less need to have a full face lift at the time, or shortly thereafter. Growing old gracefully, and beautiful is great. Young and beautiful? Better. Prime years that if you have them, seize them.

And yes! Seeing "him." I hated getting my hair done at the salon where I had to face my skull, hair all slicked back. Coming out of the shower. Waves of dysphoria, even years later.

Finally, as one woman said, "women smile at you." "Haaa...women smile at me all the time in a friendly way!" "Not like I mean," she said. And you know? She was right.

There's a microsecond when people gendered me, and then moved on into the rest of the interaction. Anything i could do to keep that being a hiccup, even shortening it by a micro-beat, lead to smoother interaction.

This, of course, is my own deal and what I want out of transition--blending in like any other woman, no questions asked. Mileage may vary.

That sounds like my story exactly right now. I couldn't have said it any better myself. I'm only 25 but I already feel like I've lost so much. People say I pass well,  but my face looks masculine depending on the lighting, and when I'm getting my hair done I usually have to keep from breaking down and crying for that reason. Not only that but my hair has been falling out making it increasingly difficult to pass. I've looked at wigs, but I can't seem to find one that I actually like, being that I'm into alt styles. I hate the way my hair is now, the way it is in that picture except that it's thinning out in the front and my bangs are so thin that if I wear them across they are practically see through and it doesn't fool anyone, but wearing them to the side reveals hair loss on my forehead.

I'm going to wait a little while and then try and see what I can do to make FFS happen. I'm in agony as it is.

All this stuff is expensive. No one has $100K just laying around, do they? It adds up fast.

Hair falling out? Spironolactone and prometrium help according to my MD.

Extensions are better than wigs. Hair can often come back in if you catch it early.