When people start asking

[Guest Astrosmurf]

Hey all,

what do you say when people start asking you questions about hair removal. For example, my friends and people who knew me are probably going to wonder about my facial hair because I used to have a goatee. I look noticeably more androgenous without it but I like that though. My beard is fairly thin anyway on the sides but it's dark and i usually grow stubble. Won't it be obvious that I'm getting rid of my facial hair altogether, i.e. look smoother, shinnier? What do you do if someone comments but you want to keep your transition under wraps for the time being?

The other thing is body hair. I never wear shorts except to the swimming pool but I guess people are going to notice if my legs are hairless. Maybe I don't care actually but was just wondering, what do you say when people ask? I also can't wait to get rid of the hair on my forearms, but maybe I'll just have to wait because it seems like that would be a real conversation starter. Maybe I'll still do it anyway and wear long sleeves all the time.

[Guest]

Congratulations on taking up professional bicycle racing and channel swimming, you will be so smooth, slick and aerodynamic like all the other champions. Giggle.

Go to the high end part of the city and look who is coming and going from the spas. Just about as many men as women at the waxing shop. Not that all that many people would notice anyway, they are too absorbed in their own day. I don't think you have anything to worry about, but that is just my $.02 Hug. JodyAnn

[Guest Kayla86]

This is actually a topic I can legitimately comment on.

I had a moustache and goatee for at least the last 11 years. Never shaved it... ever. So it was a MAJOR shock to everyone I worked with when I shaved it off on Sunday.

Working in a food plant that's working on GFSI certification it was easy for me to say "I didn't want to wear a moustache cover due to the new rules coming out". While I know this is partially true because pulling a beardnet above your lip and covering your moustache just sucks .... a lot... it is a cop out response that was usually taken with ok I believe that's a legitimate answer.

Unfortunately not everyone bought it but hey that's a really good answer for me to give for now.

Still all of my vendors, coworkers, and friends around here are like Oh my goodness DID YOU DO!? because they haven't seen me like this and yes it has gotten incredibly annoying... So sorry to say but the people who know you will probably be like Oh my goodness!

Onto your second question, hairy legs... I think I started shaving mine about... 6 weeks ago? I forget... but since winter is coming in my part of the world shorts aren't something you worry too much about in public! Even moreso I never wore shorts out in public really ever. But next year when summer comes around and I've been on HRT for hopefully 6 months at the time, I'll probably wear them out as me and not think anything of it. But that's for next summer when I'm about 50 pounds lighter (GO WEIGHTLOSS PLAN!!).

So if you plan on going to a swimming pool and feel uncomfortable shaving them, don't do it. No one is forcing you to move at any pace throughout this process. Just because one person is transitioning at a certain speed doesn't mean you have to as well. Never move onto the next step until YOU are ready, and YOU will know when YOU are ready and no one can tell YOU when that time is.

If something seems scary and is going to make you nervous or stressed out, just don't do it. Its a long journey and you don't have to do everything today.

I hope this helps .

<3 Kayla

[Guest DianeATL]

I can comment on this as a smooth girl who was formerly very hairy. In fact body hair was one of the big obstacles to me even being able to dress the first time and all I can say is I wish I had gone smooth sooner.

I have my whole body waxed and have gone from being Sasquatch to slick and I worried that everyone would notice. Nobody did. I got rid of my long term mustache years ago because i couldn't get a good seal when snorkling. I started looking at other men's legs and guess what, about half have little or no hair. Not even my tennis team, a bunch of guys who would rib you about buying a new pair of tennis shorts, not a one has made a single comment.

Jody is right, many atheletes shave. A friend's son did some body building and we were hanging out one day and he commented that he had not shaved his legs in a while. My waxing guy also does a competitive swimmer and body builder.

Also have you seen the commercial for the trimming razor? It has a serious of women telling what hair they like on their men and the last one says she likes them totally smooth. Trimming, shaving, waxing body hair on men has gone mainstream. You really don't have to explain it other than this is the way you like it.

Hugs,

Diane

[Guest nomnomnom]

Well, when I was still in boy mode I would say that I'm getting a skin treatment done for acne (ironically, the initial laser treatments caused hives to break out on my face because it had irritated/removed that much hair). People actually thought I was growing a mo because the skin was black underneath, giving the impression of hair.

You could also just say you're getting rid of your beard because you can't be bothered shaving it any more. There are men that get it done.

[Guest LizMarie]

No one has noticed my loss of arm or leg hair. I haven't grown a beard in years and years so when I get going on facial hair removal again, I doubt anyone will notice that specifically.

However... removing facial hair is going to change skin structure, thickness, etc. You are going to begin to look different and maybe even "younger" to people. They may not be able to put their finger on it right away either just that there is a difference. This will be more noticeable with folks who don't see you every day. Those who do may not even notice the change until something triggers the recognition.

[Guest Astrosmurf]

Thanks all. I had thought about the athlete thing, there are a lot of triathletes and iron men down this way. Obviously there must be a lot of guys who go smooth anyway just because they can. I'd love to be completely smooth so it mightn't be that far off. So many say that no one even notices about body hair, which also helps my confidence. I guess I never look at the hairiness factor of guys' legs and arms but I'll try doing that for a while and see what the score is. I think I only ever notice if someone is exceptionally hairy.

I shaved my goatee already and no one said anything about that. In time I'll have to face the issue of what to say when the over-all changes are just too obvious to conceal anymore, but that's a long way off yet. It's strange, in one sense the woman in me wants so much for the changes to be as noticeable as they possibly can be, and on the other hand I'm trying to hide my metamorphosis from the world.

[Guest Melissa~]

I started hair removal a good year before my workplace transition. It was noticed of course, but was not really commented on(the first clearing with electrolysis left the upper lip scabbed and inflamed for over a week.)

I have shaved my arms and legs irregularly for a decade, no one really noticed those areas being refined.

Anymore I'm shaving arms just once a month, and legs about once a week, and facial shave is an everyday chore still. 11 laser sessions wiped out the dark facial hair, but I have a bounty of light facial hair to clean off with electrolysis