hiya, ive always been a girl im heart and mind but ive not yet dressed as one or made any transitions. At 23, i feel ready to start experimenting with the female look i long for, but theres one thing realy worrying me. For the last 2 years ive beeen balding dramaticly( i tyake after my dad hes completely bald and started balding at the same age). I worry about will i be able to pass as female?, and what options are there for me ?. This issue has caused me alot of heart ahe and depression, any help or sugestions and advie would be apreiated, thanks xxx Leighxxx

hi, thanks for ur advice. Is a hair transplant unlikely to give me a realistic head of hair? with wearing i wig i sometimes worry about it coming of , and if i did make the transition how i would we feel with my balding, I worry it may efect my confidence . I dont like it wilst im in my male body! I have been reading into hair transplants, have any other girls on here ever had one ?, thanks lee xxx

hi, thanks for ur advice. Ive read that in many cases drugs u can take to stop hair loss dont work, so dont know what to do. I worry about a wig no matter how could still looks like a wig, xx

Thanks for the advie its something im going to have to look into, Itd be such a huge relief to stop any more of my hair falling out, i just dont know eather im ready to admit to profesionals and my family that i want to be a women( im in a complicated situation!). I probly wouldnt be able to afford to pay for mediation at this time in my life, and prescription would be my only option, wih im presuming to get the prescription id have to ome clean about my gender issues. I hope it doesnt get to the point where i have to wear a wig in time , thanks again xx

hi this is good one

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vidhi

Here is another thought along the lines of using a weave. Their are other options, but just as expensive, and use real hair, that is formed to fit your scalp. I have one that is bonded to my hair, then every month I have to have it removed, colored, and re-bonded to the hair after it is cut. When your own hair grows out, that is when a problem develops. You can also remove it yourself, and re-bond. Their are some very good bonding products available now. No one will know it is a hair piece,, you even swim in it. Places like Hair club for men.......now don;t get anxious about the name, women go there also. The one I used was called Expressions, and I saw many women go there. I now use a hair stylist that works at one of these types of places and she fixes my hair, in her home. I wished I could of saved my own hair, but alas, those chances are gone now. BTW, the hair you see in my pic's , are more of the show wigs that I have styled by one of the best wig stylist in Michigan. Good luck..............Tammy

Hi Leigh,

TBH hun, don't let this be an issue for you and certainly don't fret about it! For me, I must admit that 'passing' is not a main goal by any stretch of the imagination. Feeling feminine is far more important. And just being and becoming 'me'.

To my mind, there are three obvious options. Firstly, hair transplant or similar. Quite an expensive option 'though. Secondly good quality wigs or hair weave / extentions. But the keyword here is 'quality' and that is not cheap either. The third is as cheap and cheerful as you want it to be. Hats. Fun, fashionable and capable of hiding a multitude of sins!

I'm sure others will have more options for you.

Much love

Rae

You could try Finasteride from Inhouse Pharmacy, it looks expensive but to reduce further hair loss you only need a very small dose; you can cut 5mg tablets into 20 pieces (or more if you can be bothered) and still get an effective dose (I cut mine into 4, but I’m on prescription so they cost next to nothing). It won’t make hair grow back though.
Minoxidil (Rogaine/Regaine) might help with re-growth (works on the top of the head, not so much at the sides I think). You can buy it at the chemist but it’s expensive.
At your age, the sooner you start preventative measures the better. And if you ever want to transition, the sooner you start hormones the better. When I was your age I just never thought it was possible for me to transition. 20 years later I realised there really was no reason why it should not be possible, and in fact it wasn’t difficult at all (apart from my dad not being happy about it, but that’s his problem). Unfortunately all those years of testosterone poisoning didn’t do me any good at all, and I can never quite repair that damage.
Transplants would be pointless while your hair is falling out, and once it’s all (or most of it) gone, options are limited.
I’m not trying to push you into transition, just making the point that doing so in one’s 20’s is a LOT better in the long run than waiting until 40 or whatever. Hormones would help prevent hair loss, but they can’t reverse it. If you've "always been a girl in heart and mind", you should give transition serious thought. There came a point in my life when I just had to stop pretending to be a guy, but wished I'd done it earlier having always known that was what I wanted.
If you don’t want to transition then Finasteride (not a hormone by the way) will probably help, and in such teensy doses it’s very safe.
xx

There is no point in getting a transplant until you have addressed the problem of your hair falling out. That needs to be done without hesitation before all of your hair falls out and you have none left to transplant. Do a transplant while your hair is still falling out and the transplanted hair will likely fall out too. First things first Leigh, stop your hair falling out and then think about transplants.
A transplant usually involves moving hair from the back of your head to the bald parts; you don’t gain hair, you are simply moving it around.
There are other options like wigs or a “weave”, people usually notice wigs, no matter how good they are. You’ll get read with a wig or a balding head. You have an immediate problem and it needs to be addressed quickly.
I’ve seen several girls straight after they’ve had a transplant, it’s not pretty, it takes years to look normal, and the more hair you have to start with the better in which case it can end up looking fine.
But transplants don’t stop hair falling out.
xx

Well, which drugs were you reading about?
Finasteride is proven to help reduce or cease hair loss. It’s actually a side-effect of the drug which was originally produced and of course is still used to treat prostate problems.
Non prescription drugs you may have read about which are marketed purely to prevent (or reverse) hair loss are probably just quackery, and what you have read about them may well be true.
Gender clinics, including Charing Cross which I went to – the largest gender clinic in the world, prescribe Finasteride to avoid hair loss. Charing Cross don’t prescribe drugs that don’t work.
And yes, as I said, a wig will get you noticed. If you ever go full time it’s something you really want to avoid.
xx

You might be interested to know by the way, that my dad and brother are virtually bald. The hair you see in my picture is my own. It was starting to recede before I took Finasteride, I haven’t lost any since.
xx

I have to agree with Lucy, I mentioned transplants in passing and without her depth of knowledge!

As for wigs (or weaves) I stand my ground. Of course, the cheap ‘uns are going to look like wigs. But the top end of the market which uses, say, thermofibre look and behave naturally. Almost as versatile as human hair – which includes styling and treating the same as your normal hair. My young niece has been wearing a thermofibre weave for the last month or so and you can’t tell it apart from natural hair. No-one has noticed it is'nt real.

I will be honest, when I mention ‘wigs’ I’m not talking about the ones you buy ready formed from whatever outlet. I’m talking about custom made and hand-made wigs. They are really a very different animal. Not cheap, but certainly worth a thought. Oh, and no, they don’t fall off. They’re custom made to your head and fit like a second skin!

Much love

Rae