Do any of them actually work and, if so, is there one that is generally thought of to be the best? I'm thinking of the type of things you get from your local herbal shop like black cohosh etc.

Herbal HRT is useless AFAIK. You'd have to consume ridicilous dosages which would probably be harmful.

 I tried herbals for a while.  They did work a little bit, very little.  But I was consuming so much that I was getting migraine headaches every day.  So I gave that up.

Some can actually work in humans. Licorice root extract (Non DGL), spearmint tea, white peony root work well together. The only thing with licorice, although effective in lowering total testosterone according to a study in males (halves it), you need to watch blood pressure. I've never had an issue though! Blood pressure was 90/60 on or off it.

You don't need to consume dangerous amounts for it to have a lowering effect.

I've gotten lovely results from herbals. They're a great alternative for people who want to feminize their bodies a bit, but won't be going down the medical transition path. I want to echo what Free2beMe said, there's no need to consume dangerous amounts to get results. People who do that are the same ones who would self-med themselves into a coma on pharmaceutical HRT. The "If one pill is good, two are better" mindset is hard to defeat.

Hugs, Devlyn

I would agree with Devlyn Marie and Free2beMe.  I was trying herbals for a long stretch (about a year) recently stopped (long story) but have resumed.  I don't take crazy amounts - always read the label and don't exceed what they recommend. 

When I was doing that consistently for a long stretch I did notice changes but mostly subtle and over a long period of time.  Nipples and breasts grew a bit and became much more sensitive.  Fat seemed to accumulate more on my hips, butt, lower abdomen.  Body and facial hair grew just a bit slower.  Skin seemed softer.

Again none of these was really drastic - nothing like what you see on those youtube "transition timeline" videos.  Still, I noticed and I liked the changes. 

As they say though - individual results may vary.  Good luck

Really?  Licorice Root and White Peoney Root?  This sounds like a good next step for me, at least until I get HRT.  I'd like to see how I feel about the effects after a couple weeks: that sounds like a good middle ground for now...

Please remember that natural does not equal safe.  If it can have real effects, it can have real side effects.  I know one woman who got a DVT from natural HRT.

Yes, that is something to watch out for.  Herbs are never going to be anywhere near as safe and effective as actual estrogen and a testosterone blocker. (Or, you know, snip snip...)  I probably wouldn't bother with them except I don't think I'll be able to get on HRT any time soon, and I'd like to try doing something to screw with my hormone levels, short of anything completely irreversible...

From my experience don't expect anything major and a couple of weeks is not likely to see or feel much of anything.  I have never been on HRT but from reading other posts from folks who were going on HRT takes a lot more then a few weeks for you to experience anything significant.

Read the labels don't exceed what it says, if you start taking tons of the stuff you have no idea what will happen, and most likely nothing good.