Because it turns out I don’t actually want facial hair and I can’t undo that easily / cheaply so now I’m stuck with weird little patches on the side of my chin that I’m constantly scratching open when I forget to keep them plucked. Now, I’m still considering doing the rest of the hormone course, I just also keep in mind that I might have to plan for electrolysis concurrently. It turns out making permanent changes to your body is actually something to ponder for a second.
I do worry about that side of things - I’m nothing like the person I was when younger. I know we make life altering choices all the time but it’s actually really scary considering the consequences. And that’s exactly what my immature brain was NOT doing ( to be fair, I’m not confident it had the capacity for that perspective, just by being young).
I feel like we ought to clarify in a broad sense (moreso than the gender politics arena, but generally, like in social studies classes or similar) that we’ll be somewhat trapped by our choices 20 years down the line - but the kids don’t need that existential dread either.
Life is messy, you won’t survive it but look for the fun and enrichment along the way.
The way I view it, is that if you start HRT, you generally have about 3 months to ponder on whether it was the right decision, to revert it fully without more invasive measures.
Your brain experiences the effects earliest, and so in a few weeks to a month and a half (at least, it felt like that for me), you’ll know.
Whether you start/stop or not with HRT (or whatever path), whether cis or not, either way you’re valid. Just be supportive of others who want to explore their gender journey and don’t break an egg yourself :3
Saying “don’t tell people questioning their gender whether they’re trans or not, they should decide for themselves whether or not they’re trans” every time is a lot more effort than simply saying “obey the egg rule/prime directive/whatever.” Though I personally prefer “don’t break any eggs.”
If I remember correctly facial hair growth is most strongly driven by DHT, which is also responsible for male pattern baldness. You could take finasteride to block the conversion of testosterone into DHT to prevent both maybe. I think it would also reduce clitoral growth since that’s also driven by DHT, which may or may not be something you want so trade offs. Just some food for thought.
the clitoral growth would be the main target unfortunately; I suspect being smaller than average even for a cis female is a contributing factor to an(/hypo)orgasmia. The psych meds also aren’t helping but–
Very different processes that have similar end results. Laser is quite literal, shooting a laser at your hair to heat it up and kill the hair follicles, while electrolysis involves using a metal probe to poke into the base of the hair follicles and deliver an electric charge to kill the follicle. It’s also the only method considered permanent, because when done right it kills 100% of the hair that it’s used on, while laser will need repeat treatments on the same hairs and is less effective the lighter your hair color is.
It’s probably a 50/50 shot on the pain scale, as some people have it worse than others when it comes to laser, and I think the worst part of laser is the sunburn effect the day after. And you can always use a numbing cream beforehand if you’re concerned about how painful it might be. I think the biggest difference between the two is how long it takes. Laser covers large areas at a time while electrolysis takes something like 15 seconds per hair, but you know immediately whether or not you killed a hair because you will be able to pull it out with basically no effort and it works with any hair color while laser is dependent on the melanin in your hair to heat it up, making it dramatically less effective on blonde hair vs brown or black hair.
I pondered for 2 years, got barely any closer to an answer, and decided to start HRT and pretty much immediately had my answer. Granted, feminizing hormones have a bit of a longer timeline until noticable permanent effects, making “just try it” a lot more feasible.
Because it turns out I don’t actually want facial hair and I can’t undo that easily / cheaply so now I’m stuck with weird little patches on the side of my chin that I’m constantly scratching open when I forget to keep them plucked. Now, I’m still considering doing the rest of the hormone course, I just also keep in mind that I might have to plan for electrolysis concurrently. It turns out making permanent changes to your body is actually something to ponder for a second.
I do worry about that side of things - I’m nothing like the person I was when younger. I know we make life altering choices all the time but it’s actually really scary considering the consequences. And that’s exactly what my immature brain was NOT doing ( to be fair, I’m not confident it had the capacity for that perspective, just by being young).
I feel like we ought to clarify in a broad sense (moreso than the gender politics arena, but generally, like in social studies classes or similar) that we’ll be somewhat trapped by our choices 20 years down the line - but the kids don’t need that existential dread either.
Life is messy, you won’t survive it but look for the fun and enrichment along the way.
The way I view it, is that if you start HRT, you generally have about 3 months to ponder on whether it was the right decision, to revert it fully without more invasive measures.
Your brain experiences the effects earliest, and so in a few weeks to a month and a half (at least, it felt like that for me), you’ll know.
Whether you start/stop or not with HRT (or whatever path), whether cis or not, either way you’re valid. Just be supportive of others who want to explore their gender journey and don’t break an egg yourself :3
Thanks, that was interesting.
While I agree with it, can I just say calling it the egg prime directive might be the single stupidest name possible.
Cause holy fuck it sounds dumb.
What ever happened to just calling stuff what it is. I’m so exhausted by the endless nonsensical word replacement that everything has turned into.
Valid rant, that’s fair.
I like the whimsical(?) nature of it, physically
Saying “don’t tell people questioning their gender whether they’re trans or not, they should decide for themselves whether or not they’re trans” every time is a lot more effort than simply saying “obey the egg rule/prime directive/whatever.” Though I personally prefer “don’t break any eggs.”
If I remember correctly facial hair growth is most strongly driven by DHT, which is also responsible for male pattern baldness. You could take finasteride to block the conversion of testosterone into DHT to prevent both maybe. I think it would also reduce clitoral growth since that’s also driven by DHT, which may or may not be something you want so trade offs. Just some food for thought.
the clitoral growth would be the main target unfortunately; I suspect being smaller than average even for a cis female is a contributing factor to an(/hypo)orgasmia. The psych meds also aren’t helping but–
Laser maybe? For the facial hair?
makes it worse for facial hair. Electrolysis is the only way.
I’m confused. Isn’t electrolysis also a sort of laser? Or do they look different?
Very different processes that have similar end results. Laser is quite literal, shooting a laser at your hair to heat it up and kill the hair follicles, while electrolysis involves using a metal probe to poke into the base of the hair follicles and deliver an electric charge to kill the follicle. It’s also the only method considered permanent, because when done right it kills 100% of the hair that it’s used on, while laser will need repeat treatments on the same hairs and is less effective the lighter your hair color is.
Ah, then I had laser - worked well for me. Hair didn’t regrow. I can imagine electrolysis being quite a tad bit more painful, though.
It’s probably a 50/50 shot on the pain scale, as some people have it worse than others when it comes to laser, and I think the worst part of laser is the sunburn effect the day after. And you can always use a numbing cream beforehand if you’re concerned about how painful it might be. I think the biggest difference between the two is how long it takes. Laser covers large areas at a time while electrolysis takes something like 15 seconds per hair, but you know immediately whether or not you killed a hair because you will be able to pull it out with basically no effort and it works with any hair color while laser is dependent on the melanin in your hair to heat it up, making it dramatically less effective on blonde hair vs brown or black hair.
Would shaving everyday help or would it irritate further? Either way welcome to the club
I pondered for 2 years, got barely any closer to an answer, and decided to start HRT and pretty much immediately had my answer. Granted, feminizing hormones have a bit of a longer timeline until noticable permanent effects, making “just try it” a lot more feasible.
This is just a silly Futurama bit about Lrrr being confused by humans. I wasn’t suggesting anyone rush themselves.
Think before you post
No.