A non crossdresser can do this and get away with it. (unless the girlfriend has a particular beard fetish or something lol)
Once we know you're a crossdresser you can't fool us with such excuses and in fact it becomes all the more painful and insulting as we know you're feminising yourself. Remember, I'm only speaking for those women, like Elisa's gf, who don't like CDing. Anything that even hints at feminisation, even small things like body hair, are enormous to the unhappy partner.
Hence the reason I asked why crossdressers always seem to end up with non-accepting women like Elisa's gf (and me!) Surely there's a better fit than men who want to feminise themselves dating women who love masculinity. How does this keep happening?!? Do opposites really attract? Because it's the same painful story told here, over and over, yet it could be avoided if crossdressers only dated accepting women. And yes, even if that means narrowing the dating pool to only three prospects. Living an authentic life is surely more important than such enormous compromise. Believe me, the non accepting partner feels as much like a fraud as the repressed crossdresser and both can feel like the relationship is built on a lie. I still look at friends who think my H and I are this super great couple and think: 'if only they knew'.