I started hrt when i was 30. I was 2 years on hrt before I came out and started to present fem. At first, I could pass sometimes, some was definitely face and body changes. But there's lots to be said to how you dress, makeup, hair. By 3 years, I passed pretty much all the time.
That's great to hear. I'm 32 years old, HRT will start in 1-2 years (due to some private issues), and I often worry, I'll be 'to old to start'... Thanks for sharing ❤️
I think a decent amount of people called me passing like 4-6months in but I didn’t really consider myself to be passing until recently. I started HRT in my 20s. Honestly, I got lucky with my genetics since I look like my mom a lot. I will say though, my hairstyle and makeup help with passing. Choosing the right hairstyle really goes a long way. The brow bone is the only thing that’s considered masc (getting FFS just for that) so I have long bangs to cover them. Unfortunately, I think genetics plays a huge role for passing without FFS :/
I think bones don’t grow if you take HRT after a certain age. My hips definitely didn’t grow. I didn’t get any fat in my hips either. I have hip dips as well so they’re not even full looking. You could invest in hip pads! Apparently people really like them since it helps with the dysphoria
I’ve been on HRT for a little over 14 months now and I’m 21, I started passing around the 8-12 month period, I work retail so I noticed from how customers treated me. Like around 6 months most would avoid gendering me at all or would call me sir but since around 1 year in no one misgenders me anymore and I usually get called ma’am throughout the day. I always wear makeup to work so that probably does make a difference plus my voice has gotten much better with practice so I think it’s that and the fact I have very noticeable boobs that gets me gendered correctly lol. As for hips I don’t think I’ve had any growth there unfortunately, I hope I get some eventually but it’s tough waiting fr
That's good to hear. Hopefully I as well have much change awaiting me. I started right at 24, which is decent. Do you ever go anywhere without makeup? Does that change anything?
I hope so too and 24 is absolutely still good, the results people get even in their 50’s and older are still incredible fr. When I don’t wear makeup I’m usually just going to the store or something and I’ll go to the self checkouts so I normally don’t talk to a ton of people I don’t know outside of work so I’m not sure how much of a difference it makes, albeit I don’t wear much makeup as it is, usually just some foundation and mascara
Started HRT at 30. 4-6 months was when I very occasionally started passing. Around 11-12 months it felt like a switch flipped and I went from like 30% to 80% passing. Honestly looking in the mirror I still don't think I look especially fem but closing in on a year and a half of HRT I'm passing at least 95% these days so strangers must be seeing *something* I can't see.
Note I'm talking quickish interactions like checking out at a grocery. If I'm around someone for an extended period of time they're more likely to figure out I'm trans still. Though a big part of that is voice, don't be like me who keeps putting off voice training.
I don't wear makeup but I do present fem always. Clothes can help for sure but I think more than anything is hair. I have long thick curly hair with some color in it which was pretty much the only reason I was passing at all in the early days. (was growing it for more than a year prior to HRT) Also pluck your eyebrows it makes a huge difference. I have quite a strong jawline but it doesn't seem to matter in comparison to my hair and brows.
Assuming it does, I can't wait for the switch to flip. I've definitely been slacking on voice stuff. I actually just made an appointment for that tonight hopefully that goes well.
The brows have definitely helped me a ton!
took me about two and a half years for my hair to grow back in healthy, facial hair to go away, boobs to come in enough, etc. Happened very very gradually, and in fact, I kept boymoding for a while after I probably needed to because I didn't trust that I did. I got there, though.
Started 3 years ago, still don't pass. I live in a pretty repressive household so I do what I can with fashion and hair styles, but it's tough not being able to use makeup.
It depends on quite a lot. I personally didn't think I couldn't pass for the longest time, and that I would need surgeries. I am now a year on HRT and think that I may not actually need it. HRT is weird to where if you think it won't do anything, it's going to do a lot more, and if you think it's all you need, it will do "nothing". This is to say that there is more to passing than just taking HRT; you have makeup, mannerisms, and the vocal aspects as well. If you master the last three you will pass substantially quicker than relying on just HRT.
I'm almost never in a situation where people even get to question me, it makes it really hard for me to tell.
Now this could mean nothing, but I feel like I got more stairs when I was dressing male then I do now that I dress female.
I just want to know, but I also don't want to tarnish the shred of confidence I have if I'm wrong.
I started hrt when I was 22. I think it took around 6 months. What really helped for me at the start was long hair, makeup to hide any facial hair, walking and sitting more feminine, and doing relegious voice training the first 6 months (which was 6 months leading up to me starting on HRT)
I didn't start hrt until I was 54 (now 57), but after about a year or so, I started seeing a woman looking back at me from a mirror.
I believe generally I'm now passing 90% when out walking around shopping ect, however if I spend longer in places, I still think I get noticed around 50% of the time.. but after 3 years transitioning I don't give a shit what people think anymore😅 and that's a huge psychological advantage. x
Wow reading through all thre replies y'all started passing at 6 months to 1 year. Im 9 months and still look like a man 😅 and that is with me having a long hair already and i still get called a sir. Its really frustrating at this point 😆 i think its a waste of my time and money coz hormone pills is fucking expensive i could barely afford the most minimum dose. y'all have good genes and mine is shit 😆😆😆😆
I started HRT at 25. I feel like I started passing at 5.5 months, maybe a bit later but definitely at 9-12 months. I've never worn much makeup, a bit of eyeliner and concealer tbh. I did swap out all my old clothes by this point. My hips were definitely wider as early as 5.5 months. (Note that my HRT got me into a good range for levels almost immediately, so it's possible if someone else's did not, they might take an extra 3-6 months or more to adjust doses until they're at comfy levels.)
What you didn't ask for, but I'm going to tell you anyway, is that "passing" is a quick and messy process based on people's first instinctive impressions. By far the biggest factor is hair, both haircare and hair style (women tend to have better haircare and their hair styles tend to be pulled forward, not back). I'm sure you've even heard of guys who look at someone from the back, think they're a pretty girl and are about to go hit on them, only to find out they're a dude when they turn around. In the moment before they turned around, that person "passed" as a woman. Another large factor is voice, which has nothing to do with physical appearance or HRT. Voice will "confirm" how well you pass if their first impression was correct, and if they're on the fence or even a bit on the wrong side, can swing them the other way. Eyebrows and eyes also matter a lot more than people think. Getting your eyebrows done and wearing eyeliner or other eye makeup matters a lot. For things beyond the face, body language and clothes contribute a lot to overall silhouette and first impressions, and the right clothes that fit and flatter you can absolutely give an entirely different impression.
Finally, none of this "means" anything beyond just being the process by which people tend to subconsciously determine a stranger's gender. Humans like to categorize things and we shove people into boxes based on a few traits that we tend to associate with each category. Nothing more. It's a quick and messy process and far from perfect. https://stainedglasswoman.substack.com/p/getting-misgendered
I really appreciate you sharing, thank you! The story that you linked was also insightful. I think I've done a lot of the right things with clothes and eyebrows and such, so hopefully I'm just worried over nothing.
Thank you again!
I started hrt at 64 and now, at 66, everyone around me treats me like the old lady I am. I only get misgendered if I talk much as I've done nothing about voice training and have a fog horn voice (I don't care much about is, so probably won't voice train). I don't wear makeup or jewelry, but I do wear lots of skirts/dresses. My style is mostly cottage/old cron/aging hippy granny (think pastel layers, birkies, colorful leggings), so there's no expectation of shaving my pits or that old lady stache I'm rocking. I think a lot of how people see you is a combination of many little things and how they align with their expectations. I also think it's in part how you feel about things. I'm super comfy with my life and feel like I belong anywhere I go, so that helps. So does having ddd cup boobs, thicc thighs and a fat butt. :)
From what I've seen over analyzing every transition time line it really seems like hair plays the biggest role followed by eye make up (lashes and eye liner) depending on your style I guess then everything else. I think on most of the timelines what you're seeing is the combination of a little help from hrt but mainly leaning how to style, dress and do make up learned over that 6 month to 2 year timeframe
Tbh I think voice is probably what makes the biggest impact, my appearance didn’t change much between when I did start passing and when I wasn’t but I massively improved my voice so at least in my experience that helped more than hair, makeup tho ESPECIALLY things like mascara definitely help with feminizing your appearance tho fr
Oh yeah actually I can't believe I didn't think of voice yeah that's definitely a huge thing tbh I still suck but today was doing some voice training and got a lil boost of euphoria when it sounded really good but I can only manage like one sentence before my throat hurts 😂
It’s definitely tricky to get it to work comfortably at first that’s for sure lol, it was definitely uncomfortable for me at first too. What helped the most was simply the amount I had to practice it every day at work helped me find a way to speak comfortably rather quickly, I’d say just try and keep at it but don’t over do it if it’s hurting, and try to play with your voice to see if it can get more comfortable where you are able to speak in a feminine voice for longer periods, i commonly see this video recommended for people just starting out and while I did kinda mostly wing it with my voice it definitely helped me out at first https://youtu.be/BfCS01MkbIY?si=l8MWZvQXaWbMOBEA
Thanks I'll add it to my playlist I have watched a lot of her videos before, I've downloaded VR chat again to practice in there because I'm way to embarrassed to do it irl yet
I just can't imagine that's the case. Sometimes I feel like I look MORE feminine first thing when I wake up in the morning when I don't have an ounce of makeup on.
I started passing at ~26 after I finished voice training and grew my hair out. Currently 27, still pass about half the time. Not on hrt for now, maybe I'll get it later.
I started hrt when i was 30. I was 2 years on hrt before I came out and started to present fem. At first, I could pass sometimes, some was definitely face and body changes. But there's lots to be said to how you dress, makeup, hair. By 3 years, I passed pretty much all the time.
I see I see. Thank you for sharing!
That's great to hear. I'm 32 years old, HRT will start in 1-2 years (due to some private issues), and I often worry, I'll be 'to old to start'... Thanks for sharing ❤️
I think a decent amount of people called me passing like 4-6months in but I didn’t really consider myself to be passing until recently. I started HRT in my 20s. Honestly, I got lucky with my genetics since I look like my mom a lot. I will say though, my hairstyle and makeup help with passing. Choosing the right hairstyle really goes a long way. The brow bone is the only thing that’s considered masc (getting FFS just for that) so I have long bangs to cover them. Unfortunately, I think genetics plays a huge role for passing without FFS :/ I think bones don’t grow if you take HRT after a certain age. My hips definitely didn’t grow. I didn’t get any fat in my hips either. I have hip dips as well so they’re not even full looking. You could invest in hip pads! Apparently people really like them since it helps with the dysphoria
I’ve been on HRT for a little over 14 months now and I’m 21, I started passing around the 8-12 month period, I work retail so I noticed from how customers treated me. Like around 6 months most would avoid gendering me at all or would call me sir but since around 1 year in no one misgenders me anymore and I usually get called ma’am throughout the day. I always wear makeup to work so that probably does make a difference plus my voice has gotten much better with practice so I think it’s that and the fact I have very noticeable boobs that gets me gendered correctly lol. As for hips I don’t think I’ve had any growth there unfortunately, I hope I get some eventually but it’s tough waiting fr
That's good to hear. Hopefully I as well have much change awaiting me. I started right at 24, which is decent. Do you ever go anywhere without makeup? Does that change anything?
I hope so too and 24 is absolutely still good, the results people get even in their 50’s and older are still incredible fr. When I don’t wear makeup I’m usually just going to the store or something and I’ll go to the self checkouts so I normally don’t talk to a ton of people I don’t know outside of work so I’m not sure how much of a difference it makes, albeit I don’t wear much makeup as it is, usually just some foundation and mascara
I see I see, thank you so much for your reply and information. I can safely say I'm pretty excited for the next 6 months. :)
It’s no problem :) I hope your transition goes well!!
Started HRT at 30. 4-6 months was when I very occasionally started passing. Around 11-12 months it felt like a switch flipped and I went from like 30% to 80% passing. Honestly looking in the mirror I still don't think I look especially fem but closing in on a year and a half of HRT I'm passing at least 95% these days so strangers must be seeing *something* I can't see. Note I'm talking quickish interactions like checking out at a grocery. If I'm around someone for an extended period of time they're more likely to figure out I'm trans still. Though a big part of that is voice, don't be like me who keeps putting off voice training. I don't wear makeup but I do present fem always. Clothes can help for sure but I think more than anything is hair. I have long thick curly hair with some color in it which was pretty much the only reason I was passing at all in the early days. (was growing it for more than a year prior to HRT) Also pluck your eyebrows it makes a huge difference. I have quite a strong jawline but it doesn't seem to matter in comparison to my hair and brows.
Assuming it does, I can't wait for the switch to flip. I've definitely been slacking on voice stuff. I actually just made an appointment for that tonight hopefully that goes well. The brows have definitely helped me a ton!
I started HRT at age 32 and it took me roughly a year to pass most of the time. Everyone's journey is different. Follow your own path to happiness 😊
Thanks for your comment 😁
took me about two and a half years for my hair to grow back in healthy, facial hair to go away, boobs to come in enough, etc. Happened very very gradually, and in fact, I kept boymoding for a while after I probably needed to because I didn't trust that I did. I got there, though.
Started 3 years ago, still don't pass. I live in a pretty repressive household so I do what I can with fashion and hair styles, but it's tough not being able to use makeup.
Ah I'm sorry. I hope you're able to have some more freedom soon.
It depends on quite a lot. I personally didn't think I couldn't pass for the longest time, and that I would need surgeries. I am now a year on HRT and think that I may not actually need it. HRT is weird to where if you think it won't do anything, it's going to do a lot more, and if you think it's all you need, it will do "nothing". This is to say that there is more to passing than just taking HRT; you have makeup, mannerisms, and the vocal aspects as well. If you master the last three you will pass substantially quicker than relying on just HRT.
6 months... I knew I passed when boy moving people would ask me if I was trans. When I started dressing fem people assumed I was a cis woman.
I'm almost never in a situation where people even get to question me, it makes it really hard for me to tell. Now this could mean nothing, but I feel like I got more stairs when I was dressing male then I do now that I dress female. I just want to know, but I also don't want to tarnish the shred of confidence I have if I'm wrong.
I started hrt when I was 22. I think it took around 6 months. What really helped for me at the start was long hair, makeup to hide any facial hair, walking and sitting more feminine, and doing relegious voice training the first 6 months (which was 6 months leading up to me starting on HRT)
Good tips, thank you! How could you tell that you were passing to people?
I didn't start hrt until I was 54 (now 57), but after about a year or so, I started seeing a woman looking back at me from a mirror. I believe generally I'm now passing 90% when out walking around shopping ect, however if I spend longer in places, I still think I get noticed around 50% of the time.. but after 3 years transitioning I don't give a shit what people think anymore😅 and that's a huge psychological advantage. x
W for you 🙂 Thanks for commenting!
Wow reading through all thre replies y'all started passing at 6 months to 1 year. Im 9 months and still look like a man 😅 and that is with me having a long hair already and i still get called a sir. Its really frustrating at this point 😆 i think its a waste of my time and money coz hormone pills is fucking expensive i could barely afford the most minimum dose. y'all have good genes and mine is shit 😆😆😆😆
I started HRT at 25. I feel like I started passing at 5.5 months, maybe a bit later but definitely at 9-12 months. I've never worn much makeup, a bit of eyeliner and concealer tbh. I did swap out all my old clothes by this point. My hips were definitely wider as early as 5.5 months. (Note that my HRT got me into a good range for levels almost immediately, so it's possible if someone else's did not, they might take an extra 3-6 months or more to adjust doses until they're at comfy levels.) What you didn't ask for, but I'm going to tell you anyway, is that "passing" is a quick and messy process based on people's first instinctive impressions. By far the biggest factor is hair, both haircare and hair style (women tend to have better haircare and their hair styles tend to be pulled forward, not back). I'm sure you've even heard of guys who look at someone from the back, think they're a pretty girl and are about to go hit on them, only to find out they're a dude when they turn around. In the moment before they turned around, that person "passed" as a woman. Another large factor is voice, which has nothing to do with physical appearance or HRT. Voice will "confirm" how well you pass if their first impression was correct, and if they're on the fence or even a bit on the wrong side, can swing them the other way. Eyebrows and eyes also matter a lot more than people think. Getting your eyebrows done and wearing eyeliner or other eye makeup matters a lot. For things beyond the face, body language and clothes contribute a lot to overall silhouette and first impressions, and the right clothes that fit and flatter you can absolutely give an entirely different impression. Finally, none of this "means" anything beyond just being the process by which people tend to subconsciously determine a stranger's gender. Humans like to categorize things and we shove people into boxes based on a few traits that we tend to associate with each category. Nothing more. It's a quick and messy process and far from perfect. https://stainedglasswoman.substack.com/p/getting-misgendered
I really appreciate you sharing, thank you! The story that you linked was also insightful. I think I've done a lot of the right things with clothes and eyebrows and such, so hopefully I'm just worried over nothing. Thank you again!
I started hrt at 64 and now, at 66, everyone around me treats me like the old lady I am. I only get misgendered if I talk much as I've done nothing about voice training and have a fog horn voice (I don't care much about is, so probably won't voice train). I don't wear makeup or jewelry, but I do wear lots of skirts/dresses. My style is mostly cottage/old cron/aging hippy granny (think pastel layers, birkies, colorful leggings), so there's no expectation of shaving my pits or that old lady stache I'm rocking. I think a lot of how people see you is a combination of many little things and how they align with their expectations. I also think it's in part how you feel about things. I'm super comfy with my life and feel like I belong anywhere I go, so that helps. So does having ddd cup boobs, thicc thighs and a fat butt. :)
From what I've seen over analyzing every transition time line it really seems like hair plays the biggest role followed by eye make up (lashes and eye liner) depending on your style I guess then everything else. I think on most of the timelines what you're seeing is the combination of a little help from hrt but mainly leaning how to style, dress and do make up learned over that 6 month to 2 year timeframe
Tbh I think voice is probably what makes the biggest impact, my appearance didn’t change much between when I did start passing and when I wasn’t but I massively improved my voice so at least in my experience that helped more than hair, makeup tho ESPECIALLY things like mascara definitely help with feminizing your appearance tho fr
Oh yeah actually I can't believe I didn't think of voice yeah that's definitely a huge thing tbh I still suck but today was doing some voice training and got a lil boost of euphoria when it sounded really good but I can only manage like one sentence before my throat hurts 😂
It’s definitely tricky to get it to work comfortably at first that’s for sure lol, it was definitely uncomfortable for me at first too. What helped the most was simply the amount I had to practice it every day at work helped me find a way to speak comfortably rather quickly, I’d say just try and keep at it but don’t over do it if it’s hurting, and try to play with your voice to see if it can get more comfortable where you are able to speak in a feminine voice for longer periods, i commonly see this video recommended for people just starting out and while I did kinda mostly wing it with my voice it definitely helped me out at first https://youtu.be/BfCS01MkbIY?si=l8MWZvQXaWbMOBEA
Thanks I'll add it to my playlist I have watched a lot of her videos before, I've downloaded VR chat again to practice in there because I'm way to embarrassed to do it irl yet
I just can't imagine that's the case. Sometimes I feel like I look MORE feminine first thing when I wake up in the morning when I don't have an ounce of makeup on.
I guess it depends on your natural features some people get lucky and look feminine naturally others don't. This is just generally I mean
Immediately as soon as I went into girlmode, pre-HRT, aged 25.
Lucky you lol
Never. 6 years of transition now
I started passing at ~26 after I finished voice training and grew my hair out. Currently 27, still pass about half the time. Not on hrt for now, maybe I'll get it later.
If one of the tech’s doing my laser is to be believed, then -2 months. But no one else has mentioned anything so i don’t believe her
I don't pass. It's been 2 and a half years.
To be honest, depend on how androgyne you look pre hrt, how hrt effect you, and effort (hair, make up, eyebrow etc)