Venture to the Vape Shop

[Aly Cat]

So my new roommates and I decided to go to the vape shop (sort of like a smoke shop) to pick out some new flavors for our vapes (e-cigs). I decided to go full femme because hey, middle of the day, middle of the week...how crowded could it be? We get there and the place as PACKED! At least 20+ people all standing around the shop smoking and hanging out. Ugh! Most of the time, I go out en femme at night and to places I feel safe. I got a few quick glances, and the usual...people trying to figure me out. I had a custom order for my flavor so it took a while for them to make it. While we were waiting, I was talking to my roommates and there was a couple who was sitting in the chairs sort of listening in. The girl asked what kind of flavor we had gotten and I told her that I had ordered Raspberry White Mocha. She got all excited. She was like...omg they make that here??? She didnt even give a hint that she noticed or cared that I was in a wig, full makeup, and womens clothing. She was super nice! She was maybe in her early 20s. It certainly was a confidence builder for sure. All in all, it was a very pleasant trip, though when I saw how busy it was, I thought my heart was going to beat out of my chest. I was so nervous and scared! By the end of the trip though, I had totally forgotten that I was en femme and just enjoyed myself. It is certainly getting easier to go out dressed. I better get used to it though because I start HRT day after tomorrow!!!

[PaulaQ]

A lot of folks don't go out en femme until they've been on HRT for a while, and also have maybe had some FFS work done. It used to be that you had to live full time as a woman for a year before they'd give you HRT, but that changed quite some time ago, thank God.

Congrats on starting HRT next week - you should feel a whole lot better.

[Aly Cat]

And thank God for that! Im so glad I dont have to live a full year before starting HRT. I cant wait for these manish features to change! Im so tired of it!

[Isabella77]

It must feel great to just feel natural while you're out. I mean it sounds like you were sweating a little at first but to actually feel comfortable out like that. Don't know if that will ever happen to me.

[Aly Cat]

It certainly helps that I was out with friends. I dont think I could do it by myself quite yet. Though I do go out en femme all the time, its different with the wig on and with padded bras and all of that. There is no hiding what you are doing at that point. I will feel so much better when my natural hair is long. I really dont like wigs. It is growing, just far too slowly for my taste.

[PaulaQ]

I cant wait for these manish features to change! Im so tired of it!

Well, bear in mind that it's not uncommon for 6-12 months to elapse before you start seeing lots of difference with HRT, and the bulk of your changes will happen over 2 years, although it will continue to work over time for the rest of the time you are on HRT.

It's not uncommon to need various surgeries to improve on the results - you have to be pretty genetically gifted for HRT to make you completely passable. And most of us have to do something about our facial hair, as well.

You should feel better emotionally pretty fast though - I know the past year has been a real struggle for you, so there's at least that.

[Beverley Sims]

Eva,
If people want answers to a question, they have already accepted you for who/what you are.
They just want an answer and the best way is to smile, be pleasant and give them the answer they want.

[Aly Cat]

Well, bear in mind that it's not uncommon for 6-12 months to elapse before you start seeing lots of difference with HRT, and the bulk of your changes will happen over 2 years, although it will continue to work over time for the rest of the time you are on HRT.

It's not uncommon to need various surgeries to improve on the results - you have to be pretty genetically gifted for HRT to make you completely passable. And most of us have to do something about our facial hair, as well.

You should feel better emotionally pretty fast though - I know the past year has been a real struggle for you, so there's at least that.

Ive actually started working on the facial hair part of things. I started laser hair removal on my face, neck and chest/stomach. I already had my first session. I have 5 more sessions to go of course but at least I have forward movement in that area. In terms of the surgeries, hopefully I wont need too too much of that. I want to keep that to a minimum if at all possible. My friends keep telling me that my features are already fairly feminine and they dont think I will have a problem passing. Im hoping theyre right.