Could somebody help me understand?

[SamaraBanshee]

Hey guys, so I've had a little look but couldn't seem to find anything? Not used to forums so I may have just completely missed it and if so... IM SORRY!

Anyways, so I have a very close friend who has just started male to female transitioning just aged 18! So, will this mean she will generally look more female once her change is complete than say, someone who began their transition aged 40? I hope this isn't a hurtful question to anyone, I'm just trying to understand it abit more as I find it very interesting..
How come the transition affects people differently, I also know another male to female transition but their transition, in my opinion, wasn't as .. now I'm not sure what word to use without offending anyone! .. successful? as another friend of mine?
Help me understand how it affects individuals differently please!!

[Frances]

HRT seems to be less and less effective with age. Also bones are plastic until the age of 25 or so. Someone starting HRT at 18 has a fighting chance at having hips. That said, I know young transitioners who do not look super female. It really depends. A huge aspect of it is the neotony of the features. People were preserved their infant features look more female whatever the age of transition. Lastly, genes are genes. If no one in your family has large breasts, it's unlikely you will, even if you transition at 18. At best, an early transitioner should look like his female relatives. I transitioned over forty, but I have neotonous features. Nobody misreads my gender.

[Angela Campbell]

Hormones effect everyone differently because we are all different to begin with. Trillions of possible combinations. Yes a younger person will usually have better results but plenty of late transitioners are lucky and get good results. Taking hormones is not the only thing though that will feminize the body anyway. It helps a lot but there is a lot more that can be done. Surgeries, cosmetics, excersize, the right clothes, way of movement and deportment, hair - both enhancing and removing, and really sometimes just the luck of genetics.

Most important....determination. Anything is possible.

[SamaraBanshee]

Oh?! Well when you put it that way ... it seems kind of obvious? haha
thank you :)

[LeaP]

The answer at the population level (yes, on average, someone transitioning early in life will likely have better results) is meaningless at the individual level. If an MtF looks like a Neanderthal at 18, she will look pretty thuggish as a woman. That other young people, on average, have good results is pretty meaningless.

Statistics themselves don't mean anything at the individual level. You can infer results from a population-derived probability, but you have no way of knowing where you will fall in the distribution. And all of this, by the way, is pretty speculative anyway. Peer-reviewed, double-blind studies of transsexuals are few and far between.

[Dawn cd]

Just a word about "successful" transitions. I am not a transwomen myself, but I suspect that real transition is far more than physical transformation. It also involves heart and manner and outlook. It's as much about soul as it is about body.

[UNDERDRESSER]

I can only respond from the point of view of meeting someone who transitioned late in life. I'd guess well over 40. She looked pretty male when I first met her, to the point that I didn't know who I was dealing with. Since then, she has improved her presentation remarkably, mostly make-up and behaviour, but I think there have been physical improvements. From my point of view, I think that if she could afford it, there would be some facial feminization surgery.