Ftm Newbies, Looking Good, Clean, And Confident

[Guest MrAwesome]

Though I am not very big on cleanliness, I CAN be clean when I feel like it. and that's what qualifies me to make this post. xP I can't give you any information on fancy dress clothes, but every day, or more special occasion stuff I can do.

Deodorant, Shampoo, and Body Wash

Most Womens stuff is in flowers, or some other girly smell like that, mens stuff has a soap, or just some kind of undescribeable smell to it. In a good way! Note, I did buy a kind of mens deodorant a while ago with a flowery smell to it almost...

Depending on how much you can afford/are willing to spend on this stuff, there's different options. I personally buy a type of Old Spice body wash, it works very well, for me, and smells good along with helping with my back acne a little. It's a decent sized bottle and is around $3-$4, I use an Axe stick, and axe spray on. This of course is just my personal choice. To find the kind you like best, 1st think about how much you're willing to spend. The bigger brand products can cost up to 3-5$ a thing. I got 2 speed stick at walmart (to try them out) for a $1 a piece. However, it's only good if you like the smell. Some Men's deodorant also doesn't have antiperspirant and you have to pay attention to this, if you are concerned about perspiring!

The axe deodorant has a ton of different scents that you wouldn't be too bad off grabbing something that sounds good, sampling it just to make sure, and just buying it. It's strong, and will serve you well. If you're worried about the attraction factor of women, women like the smell of food, the chocolate would be worth checking out possibly. They have shampoo, hair gel (which I would recommend), body wash, stick, and spray.

Old Spice is also one of the bigger brands, I personally don't have experience with a lot of their products, but I definitely recommend trying the body wash. I think my dad uses their stick, and he seems to like it.

The cheaper ones work too, but they might have more of a soapy smell to them. A cheap bottle of Mens Shampoo/conditioner at the dollar store, a bar of soap, etc. It all works. However some may prefer the smell of the other products as I mentioned above, if anyone wants to add their own thoughts on deodorant, go for it. I don't branch out much.

Every Day

Well, for every day stuff, Simply change your clothes every day, take a shower, and as opposed to ironing - it's a little something called wrinkle releaser, my mom uses it, and I have never had a wrinkly shirt. If you're not going to a bigger event, just want to "Look nicer" or as I call it, being told by your mom not to look like a pig... Normally, A plain color shirt, and a pair of Cargo pants. possibly with the shirt tucked in is the way to go. Or, you can wear a golf shirt with the shirt tucked in.

Showing Confidence in 5 easy steps

1 - Stand with your back straight, shoulders back.

2 - Look forward, or looks slightly at the ground AND forward, if your like me and will fall without looking at your feet.

3 - When you see another person walking by, give a slight head nod to acknowledge them, possibly say "Sup" or "wassup" or "sup man", but don't strike up a convo, and if someone does it to you 1st reply with "sup" or a nod.

4 - When you meet someone new, do a nice, firm, handshake. You'll know it's tight enough when large men comment on how strong it is! XD lol

5 - Remember to congratulate yourself for all your accomplishments, and build up your ego. Not tooo toooooo much but enough that you'll feel more confident. Also, try new things, learn new things, this way you have more to congratulate yourself for, and you can feel like you've accomplished something. YAY EGOS!

Lewis

[Guest Little Sara]

I change my clothes every two consecutive days, unless its a pretty dress. This is my mom who told me, if its not dirty don't wash it, and she's more hygienically enclined than me.

Unless you sweat heavily or anything like that in your clothes, they are good for 2 days. Socks might last only one day though, depending on your feet. Underwear is to your taste (not the edible kind ).

I also don't shower or bath everyday, and no one has complained - including the people living here with me, who would be likely comfortable enough to say so (known me all their lives), and with me enough to know so. I think it's both a waste of time and water to wash ourselves so much (save washing our hands when working, dealing with patients, preparing food etc, this should always be done).

I wash my hair every 2 weeks. And no hair doesn't smell, it's dead already and it doesn't give a rotting odor. Thankfully I also don't sweat much (or at all), so my scalp is rarely damp or anything. This 2 weeks+ thing can only be done with very long hair though (like 2-3 feet long). Otherwise the oil accumulates too much. On very long strands it takes a while, and the natural oil adapts to your washing cycle, so your hair never looks greasy. You also save a LOT on shampoo and conditioner. I probably use less than the average person, 3-4 times less, and my hair looks great.

All this and I'm not a slouch, I'm very feminine. But I'm anti-stupid-convention-put-there-to-make-people-spend-more-and-then-conform-with-the-threat-of-rejection-for-not-conforming. I'm sure people washing once a month didn't smell like roses, but once a day is another extreme.

[Guest Pól_Eire]

Dude, do you have a blog? You should start one, and put all this stuff on it. It'd be a good resource. As what seems to be becoming usual, you and I have pretty different M.O.'s. This is well written stuff though, and you should collect it all in one place.

-Pól

[Guest Leigh]

i agree with Pol...

also, about deodorant. i'm a bit of a health nut, so i just wanted to warn that antiperspirants can clog your sweat glands, and deodorants with aluminum in them may cause cancer, so, just look at what you're getting...

peace

[Guest leo]

agrees with how little sara looks after herself

i wash as often as you do

[Guest Little Sara]

agrees with how little sara looks after herself

i wash as often as you do

Well I said I'm not a slouch, but I can sometimes be, when depressed, feeling gloomy (a long term thing, it doesn't last 2-3 hours) etc.

I usually try to wash every 3 days or about twice a week. If I smell more I wash more often (very hot days).

I try not to wash less often, but depression will decrease your drive/motivation to take care of yourself. This is how I found out about the 2-3 weeks thing for really long hair. Extremely depressed, washed like once every 7-14 days back then, and I noticed my hair looked amazing. If I feel fine (not depressed) I'll maintain a sensible 3-4 days per wash. I wash my face morning and night with a daily wash cream (which is to counter the irritation I get from shaving, it made my skin feel horribly dry where I shaved).

I do my laundry every 2 weeks or so (need enough clothes to not waste the time/water). But as I said I don't wear anything more than 2 days.

I wash my hair separately from the rest of my body. When I take a bath I take some care not to wet my hair too much (hard to not wet it at all, it touches the water when I sit lol). I wash my hair in the sink in the kitchen, even without the hose thingy (we don't have one).

[Guest Elizabeth K]

Sorry girls and guys - I live in the deep south - we have to bathe daily because of the heat and humidity. The hair can suffer, but fortunately I have very pure water here where i live - and I use a conditioner. We also use creams every night - facial especially.

Estrogen is supposedly an agent that increases your sense of smell - I find that true.

So I now have had to throw out all my male stuff and use really nice floral and spicey scents. Aveda is especially nice - also anything with teatree oil! Yes women like the smells of the kitchen (especially spices and flavorings) but we also like the floral scents. But on a man? Drakor! Old Spice is for my grandfather!

Just me.

Lizzy

[Guest B.heard]

Well I live in mild England but I like to shower once or twice a day its not about needing to or being smelly I just enjoy them (specially now with a flat chest) I just like to wake up and have a nice cool shower to get my blood pumping and get alert though I am lazy I like to use those all in one sports hair and body shower gels all at once and just wash from head to toe xD

and of an evening sometimes its nice to wash the days dust off and have a hot relaxing shower before I climb in some shorts and sleep.

For me bathing isnt just about being clean its about taking care of you male or female you need to care about your self and know your self I might not be good looking or rich but I can care for me with a good shower and shave clean tidy hair fresh pressed clothes even if its just a t shirt Im not sure ill have the whole huge ego thing my a little self respect is good enough for me

As for smells I tend to like musky ones and nice aftershave's I use channel one at the minute it smells goooood.

[Guest Little Sara]

For smells, well, no after-shave, no deodorant, no anti-perspirant, no perfume. Maybe you can smell my shampoo a few hours after, but that's about it.

I rely on my good ol' pheromones. We all have a smell based on hormones and diet. I say why cloud it unless the odor is unpleasant?

[Guest Elizabeth K]

Good point! Stay away from red meat! It will ruin your natural good smell. Excess sugars seem to mess things up too I think. Or is it just me?

[Guest Evan_J]

Drakor! Old Spice is for my grandfather!

Just me.

Lizzy

-hadda laugh when I saw that Lizzy cuz I started out with Drakkaar when I was a "youngun" and now I like the Old Spice Deodorant LOL.

An important note about anti-perspirants for transmen For those not in the know, pay a little attention to whether its just a "deodorant" or "antiperspirant" for a whole other reason. There have been some claims that genetic females using males antiperspirants (higher nickel content) have experienced breast growth. It seems its not just "marketed for men" antiperspirants but any "extra strength" antiperspirant may be eligable depending on the amount of (hope I get it right) aluminum nickel. This is the chemical that inhibits the sweating. And it also is more likely to have the "growing" affect if you shave there. I'm guessing if you've had a D.I. so your tissue was removed, have hairy pits, and body chemistry (thanks to T) that gives you the copious sweat its created for you might be okay.

Anyway, I think my "best smell" is soap most recently (lever 2000- apparently it's an "anitacne" fighter too) lol. But if ;you just need one for mackin and chasin try Issy Myake (wink) we had a long "glorious" run lol.

[Guest StrandedOutThere]

-hadda laugh when I saw that Lizzy cuz I started out with Drakkaar when I was a "youngun" and now I like the Old Spice Deodorant LOL.

An important note about anti-perspirants for transmen For those not in the know, pay a little attention to whether its just a "deodorant" or "antiperspirant" for a whole other reason. There have been some claims that genetic females using males antiperspirants (higher nickel content) have experienced breast growth. It seems its not just "marketed for men" antiperspirants but any "extra strength" antiperspirant may be eligable depending on the amount of (hope I get it right) aluminum nickel. This is the chemical that inhibits the sweating. And it also is more likely to have the "growing" affect if you shave there. I'm guessing if you've had a D.I. so your tissue was removed, have hairy pits, and body chemistry (thanks to T) that gives you the copious sweat its created for you might be okay.

Anyway, I think my "best smell" is soap most recently (lever 2000- apparently it's an "anitacne" fighter too) lol. But if ;you just need one for mackin and chasin try Issy Myake (wink) we had a long "glorious" run lol.

I certainly don't want to risk breast growth! DI takes out a lot of the tissue, but it doesn't get everything. That's why, once they cut it out, they send the tissue to pathology to get checked for cancer. DI doesn't try to remove everything. It's just trying to make a masculine chest. If you look at mastectomy pics online, the "after" looks almost concave.

OMG, do I ever have hairy pits. I think I have the longest pit hairs ever grown.

Evan, I'm going to check out that Lever 2000. Right now I am rocking the Irish Spring. I use Ralph Lauren soap for dates and special occasions because the junk was expensive. Oh...and there is this Dial for Men bodywash that smells right nice.

[Guest bronx]

I keep it simple I shower once a day, wash my hair twice a week. I use a body wash from suave, and coconut shampoo and conditioner. I use degree for my pits ( they can get outta control) and I use Aveeno lotion for my skin. I also use a march 3 razor and Aveeno shaving cream. I like Axe when I'm just hanging out and I use a cologne by kenneth cole when I go out.