Every cell in the human body, every cell that makes up the human body, has a specific function. In order to perform its particular function, each cell must be fed nutrients and water. The nutrients and water enable the cell to perform whatever function that particular cell was designed/created to perform. Once that function is completed, the cell then expels the used up nutrients.

Each cell has a mechanism, a “door”, which will open in order to allow the cell to receive these nutrients and water.

This “door” mechanism on each cell, is controlled by a “lock”, which is called a Receptor Site.

Hormones can be visualized as a key, which must fit into that “lock”, that receptor site, in order to open that door. Some of the door locks, some of the receptor sites, are “master keyed”; they just need some hormone, any hormone, to cause them to open. Other “door locks” — other receptor sites — are specifically keyed to only allow certain specific hormones to open them.

For example, insulin is a hormone which opens the “door locks”, opens a cell via the receptor site, to allow that cell to receive glucose, which is food — nourishment — for the cell. Once the cell is fed, it can perform its intended function. Afterwards, the used up glucose is expelled, and then the hormone is detached from the receptor site, the door is closed and locked once again, and the used up hormone and used up glucose are flushed from the body.

There are three primary “sex” hormones in the body: Women have high levels of estrogen and progesterone, and a small amount of testosterone. Men have high to very high levels of testosterone, and small amounts of estrogen and progesterone.

The human body needs and requires that the levels of these three particular hormones to be within a certain ratio of each other, in order for the body to function properly, and in order to even think properly.

In born-women, PMS and menopause issues and symptoms are caused by the levels of these primary hormones, becoming too far apart in ratio. Which is exactly why born-women, who struggle with PMS and/or menopause, are often/usually given supplemental estrogen, or supplemental progesterone — called Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT). This is done to return hormone levels to within proper ratios, so that she can return to functioning “normally”, and so that she can return to thinking properly.

The key purpose of hormone balancing, is to help the individual, male or female, to stop their physical and mental suffering.

Excessive testosterone levels can even cause born-males to want to be female at times, or fantasize about being feminine some day, then flip-flop to feeling like a born-male “normal” on other days. It’s a swinging pendulum that scrambles the functioning of your brain cells and can make you question your sanity. Just taking more testosterone will not fix this imbalance.

Excessive testosterone levels in your body can cause you to want to become a woman, simply because AS a woman, your body believes it will have the increased estrogen and lower testosterone levels it knows it needs in order to function properly.

So what if you could bring down your testosterone levels, and elevate your estrogen levels, WITHOUT having to actually become a woman and WITHOUT all the potential losses and problems which actually becoming a woman, could cause for you? THAT is part of the specific science behind Evanesce-ES, and the AndroEase plus CalmCompanion products.

We additionally offer Feminol for those people who — after hormone balancing has been achieved — STILL desire to transition into full time permanent women.

Our other products are created to help you to have a more healthy body, overall and to help you to recover from the ravages of the immense stress you have been under while trying to deal with this conundrum.

The products work best when they are used on a consistent, every day basis; whether the individual feels like taking them on a particular day or not. These products need to be used at a reasonable and appropriate dosages, to consistently help you control the hormone imbalance.

The daily usage amount necessary for hormone balancing, is much less than the daily usage amount necessary to feminize the male body.

Hormones in general are the triggers — the catalysts — which cause the cells the body needs to function.

Estrogen molecules – hormones – are carried throughout the body by the blood stream, looking for cells with estrogen receptors – essentially door locks on each cell – as well as for cellular receptors which are “master keyed”, i.e., receptors — cellular locks — which are designed to accept any hormone molecule.
An estrogen molecule can then attach to a cellular receptor, like a key going into a lock.

Once the “key” – the estrogen molecule – is attached into the cell’s “lock”,
the cell is “opened” so that it can perform whatever function that particular cell is supposed to perform.
When that cell has completed its function/cycle, the “key” is ejected,
and that particular used up estrogen molecule is washed out of the body
via the blood, liver and kidney systems.

For feminization – for breast cells to grow and to multiply, etc.,
- what is important is how many estrogen molecules are available at any given time, and how many estrogen receptors are available at any given time for those molecules.
Cells in the breast area are specifically keyed to accept only estrogen molecules.
Most male bodied people do not have enough estrogen to cause their breast cells to ever function, so their breasts do not grow.

This is why starting on female hormones at a low intake level/dosage, rarely accomplishes anything.
Low dosage regimens will just not create enough estrogen, and will leave far too much testosterone.
The body simply cannot change in any significant way on a low initial dosage of any female hormone regimen/program.

In order to feminize, it is critical to first substantially reduce testosterone production, in order to force the cells to prefer estrogen.
And then, it is important to replace that amount of testosterone with estrogen,
so that the body is not starved for overall hormone levels.

The quickest changes come when testosterone levels are significantly reduced – which is accomplished by the use by testosterone blockers
- and when large supplemental amounts of estrogen are present,
forcing the body’s cells to change – to allow their intake “key” to accept estrogen.

The more estrogen molecules, and the more estrogen receptors which become available after testosterone is no longer overwhelmingly present, the quicker changes will happen.

With drug hormones, the body is forced to carry huge amounts of estrogen molecules which may likely never find estrogen receptors… and the good unused estrogen molecules must then be flushed out of the body.
This is in addition to the liver having to extract the estrogen from the drug/pills in the first place.

Forcing the liver to double-process huge amounts of estrogen over an extended period of time can damage the liver and the kidneys irreparably.
This is why usage of drug hormones is supposed to be monitored by a doctor
- and why drugs are prescription items
- to prevent an individual from overdosing and damaging vital organs.

Herbs – berries and leaves – are food items.

From certain types of herbs, called phyto-estrogens, estrogens will be created to the extent that the individual body can utilize them.

Phyto-estrogens are not to be confused with psuedo-estrogens (now more commonly called Xeno-Estrogens), which are estrogen-like mimics that invade our bodies from various chemicals in our environment.

With herbal source estrogens, the body will only create whatever levels of estrogen it can use at any given time, so that it is not possible to overdose in a harmful way.

But an individual has to ingest enough herbs to create enough estrogen to make a difference, on a consistent every-day basis.

Traditional store-bought phyto-estrogenic herbs are not powerful
– not potent — enough to do the job of feminizing unless taken every day in massive quantities. And there is a long and often repeated history of people using store-bought estrogenic herbs without attaining any significant results.
This is because those individuals did not also take anything to suppress testosterone.

It is also important to understand that there are no standards for measuring or comparing herbal things between brands.

Based on the use of Standardized herbal extracts, especially, one company’s 25mg herbal product will therefore actually have FAR more of the active ingredients – the “good stuff” – than another company’s 500mg herbal product.
It is simply not possible to compare herbal things from brand to brand in any meaningful way.

Why do these Herbal-Source Hormones work?

Improvements in herbal processing technology have enabled formulators to extract the active ingredients from various herbs – the “good stuff” – so that the benefits of the various herbs can be obtained without having to consume massive quantities of each herb.

German research twenty years ago, showed that the active ingredients of various phyto-estrogenic herbs,
when mixed in proper ratios, became synergystic; i.e., the total mixture worked better than any of the herbs could have worked on their own.

Evanesce and Feminol are formulations based upon all of this research.

The Standardized extracts of the best available herbs, mixed in appropriate ratios, brings results which are far superior to anything available from store herbs.

These unique formulations are a clear step above traditional herbal usage.
These very unique formulations cannot be duplicated using store herbs
- their herbal ratios are based on using Standardized extracts of the various herbs.

AndroEase, along with CalmCompanion, has the strongest testosterone blockers
that a person can legally get without a prescription, and in addition to those,
Evanesce and Evanesce _ES also have significant testosterone blockers PLUS estrogen resources.

Feminol has some additional testosterone blocker, and a lot more of the estrogen resources.

Evanesce and Feminol are designed to be synergystic with each other,
and they work best when taken together.

In addition, many wives and other born-women, have found Evanesce to be extremely beneficial to managing their PMS and/or menopause symptoms.

This is traditional male thinking medicine, where “X” quantity of a given substance, taken for “Y” amount of time, will produce “Z” results.

Linear thinking, male thinking.  Rocket science.

Feminization is not rocket science.  Really, not rocket science, at all!

Feminization is the art of female thinking, of female paradigms. Female science is knowing that not every human body works the same way, and that not every human body responds the same way to inputs.

Specifically, in the arena of feminization of the male body, there are many variables which will affect outcomes.

The primary variable is testosterone levels, and the resilience of testosterone production, i.e., the resilience of the testes to want to restart or resume testosterone production.

It does not matter whether someone chooses to take drug-based estrogens, or the Evanesce, Feminol, etc, formulations.

The initial job is testosterone reduction, both current levels and ongoing production.

The individual body has to reduce its testosterone load, in order to have a place for estrogen to circulate and to do “work”.

Some male-bodied people have very low testosterone levels, and testes which will give up very quickly. These people will see very quick initial changes, feminization.

Some male-bodied people have VERY high testosterone levels, and very aggressive testes, which will require very aggressive measure to reduce, before feminization can begin. These people will take longer before seeing initial results.

Another element which governs how quickly and how much feminization happens, is the individual’s overall health, and the individual’s overall nutrition patterns.

As an example, coffee/caffeine, alcohol, sugar, nicotine…. each and all are very destructive of estrogen. Stress is also very destructive of estrogen.

No one has to forego these things totally in order to feminize, but limiting each is very important.

And finally, an understanding that much of breast material is fatty tissue. It is fatty tissue which holds the various ducts, glands, etc., which constitute female breasts.

Does a person have to be “fat” in order to feminize?  No, of course not.

But a person with very little or no body fat, will have a very difficult, very slow period of breast growth.

Note that the majority of female athletes, and especially female weight lifters, Olympic figure skaters, etc., have small breasts, because of this total lack of body fat.

It is also important to know that a born girl, going through puberty toward becoming a woman, will take 4-5 years to fully develop her breasts. And she does not have to overcome testosterone, first.

There is no reason to believe that a male-bodied person will fully develop breasts any faster than that, even when using near-lethal dosages of drug hormones.

All of these variables are the reason we offer such a wide range of feminizing formulations.

Evanesce Classic, and Evanesce-Extra Strength, are estrogenic products, which also contain testosterone blockers/reducers.

Feminol, adds much more potent estrogen resources, in a synergystic formulation; i.e., it is made to work along with Evanesce, to give Evanesce a very significant boost in potency.

AndroEase is THE most potent testosterone blocker a person can legally buy, and it does not bring the health problems that drug products will bring to this task.

CalmCompanion helps the AndroEase to work even better, for the job of blocking testosterone production.

To your question of what to expect in the first six weeks using Evanesce only?

Only your own body, only your own unique personal genetics, can answer that question.

Over the past two decades, many people have fully transitioned using only Evanesce.

And many many more, required a more potent solution, and at least in the beginning, have used all of the formulations in order to jump start the transformation processes.

This is the program we recommend, for starting: (based on twenty years of feedback from other people just like you, all around the planet):

Six Evanesce Classic or Evanesce Extra Strength daily

Four Feminol daily

Two to six  AndroEase daily

Two CalmCompanion daily.

These are to be taken every single day, consistently, without skipping any days.

After six to eight weeks on this regimen, it should become easy to ascertain what the next steps are. Daily usage after that, will be determined by results at that point in the processes.

First results will be very difficult to achieve if a person takes these formulations only on the random days that they are feeling especially “girlie”.

This is all true, even for those people who choose to use lethal dosages of drug hormones; if supplemental estrogen is only taken sporadically, their may be little or no physical changes at all.

It is common to develop feelings of wanting to become female after long periods of not really having gender related thoughts, especially if you are in a stressful environment. Stress will knock your hormones WAY out of balance.

If you’re enduring any long term stressors right now, you would benefit by taking a very good, plant based, Vitamin “B” Complex, and taking it at a slightly higher then recommended daily dosage. This alone will help to reduce some of the stress damage your body is experiencing.

Thinking about whether you should see a therapist prior to purchasing/ingesting something that could alter your body’s chemistry?  If your body was hungry, would you benefit more from eating appropriate food, or from talking to someone about your hunger?

I am not suggesting that you not to see your therapist for other issues, though. We do this business, we make these products available to help people who are serious about wanting to overcome specific physical and emotional issues in their lives.

People who would prefer to just talk to someone about being “hungry”, are not going to use the products properly, anyway.

… while scientists are looking for a genetic basis for human behavior …

… that 40 years ago, scientific research ALSO showed significant — overwhelming – proof for the effects of unbalanced primary hormones while the fetus was being carried in the womb…

The research showed that offsetting the hormone levels of a pregnant mother with additional testosterone, caused all offspring, regardless of the sex of the offspring, to act “male”

The research also showed that offsetting the hormone levels of a pregnant mother with additional estrogen, would cause all offspring regardless of the sex of the offspring, to act “female”.

Although the experiments were done only on lab animals, over the past thirty years we have found that there is a significant correlation in human beings.

Women who had mis-carried several times, were given additional hormones, usually progesterone, during their next pregnancy, to prevent miscarriage.

Many of the males who were born from these drugged pregnancies, are gay and/or transgendered.

Also, there are a significant number of TG/TS people, M2F as well as F2M, who’s mothers were taking DES, while they were pregnant.

Can there be a chromosomal reason for being TG/TS, or GLBTIQ?

Yes …

But relying *only* on this theory creates a situation where doctors would be, could be, convinced to genetically modify fetuses. in order to get socially acceptable behavior.

I personally think this is horrifying.

Across the TG/TS internet, are horrifying stories of people losing their family, losing their friends, because of their transition.

It does not have to be this way. There are ways to minimize losses, and even to avoid losses.

A *GOOD* friend is one who knows everything about you, and loves you anyway.

My friend Ric was like that – Ric knew everything about me, about my being TG/TS, way back during high school, and we stayed friends throughout life.

Ric and his wife, (the three of us were friends in high school) worried only about the effects on their daughters of my transition, when that transition ultimately began. Both of their daughters finally told their parents to quite acting as if my life were a secret; those two girls had figured it all out, very early on…

The other side of this coin is that, had you actually been born female, most of those people would never have gotten to know you in exactly the same way as they do now, and most of them would not love you in the same way, now, as they do.

You are who you are now, because of the life experiences you have had.

You are loved as you are now, because of who are are now. Who you are now, is all because of the thoughts, the feelings, the experiences you have had so far, hidden or not, and which you bring to your family, your career, and your social life today.

Those experiences would have been vastly different, and your involvement in your social life today would be vastly different, had you been born female. You would not have had that wife, those children, those friends, anyway.

The problem then, is in trying to fit your male life experiences into a female persona.

The problem you face, then, is in trying to create a female persona, in a way that no one will be able to tell you ever had a male life experience…. without losing any of the benefits you now have because of those male life experiences.

THAT is a serious, and insurmountable, transition conundrum.

The solution is to stop trying to reach totally across the gender binary, and to just embrace YOU as who you really are – which is as a female who has gained a lifetime of male experiences.

It is only in recent times, that the word “fetish” has come to mean something sexual.

Traditionally, the word “Fetish” was taken to mean some thing, some item, that makes a person’s life better, for themselves.

For example: wearing or carrying of a certain item, like a feather…

In the old Walt Disney animated film “Dumbo”,
Dumbo the elephant was able to fly, he believed, because of the feather he always carried…
At one point, in a panic, during a flight, Dumbo lost the feather, and then discovered he could fly without it….

Many indigenous peoples carry/carried items, like a feather or feathers, or a sting of bones, etc., to give themselves courage… or to some Eskimos, a fetish might be a small bear on a necklace, as an example, not as a stereotype..

For many years, I personally always wore a certain specific crystal on a necklace, whenever I went to do public speaking.
I felt it gave me the courage to get up in front of an audience, and to say the right things….

Within my public speaking life, then, the crystal necklace was a fetish for me –
– something which gave me courage and resolve in a time of my life which was filled with turmoil and suicidal thoughts.

Do not think of Fetish as something sexual; but rather as something you can hold onto, rely on,
which gives you the inner strength, the courage, to live the life you deserve to live.

There is no correct answer here — each person is on their own journey, for their own reasons.

Is your quest to become female, driven by your desire to attract guys into your life?
Sexual guys, or relationship guys, or …. guys?
Only you can answer that question, and the answer will take a lot of time and exploration to find, for yourself.

There is no “one right way” to be transgendered.
NEVER let anyone put that kind of guilt trip onto you;
there are a LOT of people on the internet who believe that they and they alone know the one true way.

That is the argument of a person who is still afraid of the truth in their own life.

But in virtually every case, TG/TS people are having these huge problems, specifically because they were wrongly encouraged to “jump the fence”, instead of taking the time to do a proper transition.

And yes, I know they rebel at the idea of following a course of action through transition; it feels like just another gatekeeper in their lives…

But read through the Forum Message Board on this web site, and you will find many stories of people who are NOT having all those problems, because they chose to follow a plan designed to minimize losses and problems.

If all the people around you were telling you that they had been driving on Highway 6 and that road damage had torn their car apart, why would you want to also drive on Highway 6?

The choice for you is whether you want to “jump the fence” into the female role now, and then spend several years – or a lifetime – fighting with a world around you which probably unaccepting;

OR

whether you want to spend a couple of years allowing the world, and allowing the social and work and family structures around you, to transition their experience OF you, along with your own transition; and to then move ahead with your life, with the people around you being supportive.

You have spent a significant portion of  your life coming to the decision that this radical change is very important to your own personal overall health and happiness.

You really cannot expect other people around you – family, neighbors, social connections, career connections, etc., – to come that same conclusion, essentially overnight, or in a week or just a month.  Other people NEED time to come to that conclusion, that this radical change is necessary, important, just as you needed.

There is no amount of talking, nothing you can say to change their mind in a short period of time. Those other people will need to see you, through their own eyes, ears, and experiences of you, in order to come to the same decision you came to, that this is important, and good.

This thing is called “transition”, for a very good reason.

It is not called “Show up on Tuesday in a dress and heels and hope for the best”.

[Response]

Many times in life, it is the simple act of writing about self, as you have done here, that will bring profound positive changes to yourself!

I highly recommend that people in transition keep a journal of their writings and thoughts.

Do write as often as possible, like a diary.

Even do something as simple as taking a piece of paper and a pen  (remember those old fashioned things?) and write, I Am A Transsexual.

Not to type that somewhere, but to physically write it onto  a piece of paper.

Do this at some point during a day when you are not sexually aroused, and not feeling girly, and NOT in the middle of a dress-up session.

Keep the piece of paper somewhere hidden.

Come back and re-read it an hour or two later.

Very cathartic, very healing, to do that.

Regardless of what you may read on other TG/TS web sites and regardless of how much the people of TG/TS communities have banded together to convince each other and their doctors that spironolactone is a testosterone blocker, Spironolactone is NOT a testosterone blocker. Spironolactone is not an Anti-Androgen, as many on other web sites insist on calling it.

Let’s be VERY real here:  if Spironolactone was a reliable testosterone blocker, then all of the hundreds of thousands of men who are prescribed it as part of a management regimen for congestive heart failure, would have a significant reduction in libido, i.e., in sex drive, and would grow breasts. Most males do not value either of these effects, and the doctors would know to never prescribe Spironolactone to males.

There is a LOT of junk science on the internet regarding transgender issues,
including “research” done by amateurs who spend their days “dressed up” and afraid to leave their homes.

And FAR too much of this junk science is copy-pasted from one TG site to another,
and since a lot of places then say the same thing, it is all treated as if it were factual.

The TRUTH is that spironolactone is a potassium-sparing diuretic. It was created to help medical management of Congestive Heart Failure. Its designed function is to strip water from the human body, while leaving potassium in place.

It is a diuretic. Thats why it exists. Taking higher doses of Spironolactone than how it was intended to be used, increases the chances of other the undesirable side effects – some of these side effects can be very dangerous.

Many TG/TS people using Spironolactone, report that it makes them “feel bad, overall”, symptoms including specific references to ongoing muscle cramps, especially in their legs. Muscle cramps are an early symptom of dehydration of the body; i.e., a lack of enough water for the human body to function properly. A diuretic medication will cause dehydration when  used improperly.

Please go to http://www.drugs.com/spironolactone.html
… and be certain to read past — to skip over — the “Goggle Ad” sections, and read all the way to the bottom of that page.

People taking Spironolactone need to also be drinking at least three liters of water daily or more, in order to avoid the high risk of dehydration and its symptoms, such as muscle cramping.

If people using Spironolactone are not careful and/or are not being monitored by a medical doctor they risk potassium overdose/overload which can be fatal.

And yet, this community eats Spironolactone like Halloween candy,
because someone assumed its rare side effect, less than 10%, of blocking testosterone, would be a good thing, and thousands of people copy/pasted the recommendation to each other and to their doctors, who really do not care if Spironolactone is primarily a testosterone blocker or not.

“Once again, Spironolactone is a potassium-sparing diuretic, meant to help with the management of congestive heart failure and other physical problems.

Spironolactone has never been research-tested — researched — in any way to be a testosterone blocker.

Yes — transgender medication regimens tend to be a do-it-to-yourself project.

So this community is on overload of people taking a drug, Spironolactone,
which will cause dehydration resulting in
muscle cramps,
heart palpitations,
nausea and vomiting,
and other symptoms,

… and it is a drug which also will cause potassium overload when used improperly.

A potassium overdose will cause
heart palpitations,
stomach cramps,
Diarrhea,
muscle spasms,
slow, weak pulse,
irritability,
anxiety,
tiredness,
heart failure.

There are significant other-drug interaction concerns with spironolactone as well — they are listed on the link above.

If a person is taking other prescribed drugs, for medical reasons, and is also taking Spironolactone on the side for their do-it-to-themselves TG/TS transition project, there is a high risk of drug interaction problems, which can become fatal.

Not convinced yet?
Need more evidence?
Go to http://www.rxlist.com/aldactone-drug.htm#

The official literature for Spironolactone says that in very rare cases, less than 10%, Spironolactone may cause a reduction in testosterone and result in gynecomastia.

But Spironolactone has a 100% effect of dehydration, and 100% effect of allowing potassium levels to increase.

Using Spironolactone is also a HUGE problem for people who use other doctor-prescribed drugs, especially potassium supplements. There are a significant number of people in the trans communities, who are taking potassium supplements based on doctors prescriptions, who are then also taking spironoactone without their doctor’s knowledge. This is a recipe for potassium overload, which can be fatal.

This warning just cannot be repeated often enough.

Let’s be VERY real here:  if Spironolactone was a reliable testosterone blocker, then all of the men who are prescribed it as part of a management regimen for congestive heart failure, would have a significant reduction in libido, i.e., in sex drive, and would grow breasts. Most males do not value either of these effects, and the doctors would know to never prescribe Spironolactone to males.

Counting on Spironolactone to perform these functions in a M2F TG/TS, seems ludicrous, and is wasteful and physically dangerous.

Hundreds of thousands of born males take Saw Palmetto every single day, for prostate health.

If Saw Palmetto had ANY ability to cause breast growth, those men would know..
The word would be ‘out there’ among men to avoid Saw Palmetto, because of that generally unwanted side effect.

“Saw palmetto might decrease the effects of estrogen in the body.
Taking saw palmetto along with birth control pills might decrease the effectiveness of birth control pills. [...]
Saw palmetto seems to decrease estrogen levels in the body.
Taking saw palmetto along with estrogen pills might decrease the effectiveness of estrogen pills.”
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/971.html

Saw Palmetto is sometimes a hidden ingredient in products,
under its scientific name   Serenoa repens.
Sometimes only the ‘Serenoa repens’ name is used to make the ingredients list seem more exotic.

Saw Palmetto is indeed valuable for prostate health.

Several major studies in recent years, have shown that a quality Sam Palmetto product can reduce prostate problems even better than the leading drugs prescribed for that purpose.

Nothing could be further from the truth,
and those pushing Saw Palmetto for breast growth or feminization,
are in many cases putting many TG/TS people at grave health risk.

The truth is that a lot of scientific research over the past few years, has shown Saw Palmetto to be VERY good for improving prostate health; and this research has especially proven that a good Saw Palmetto Complex product will often work better than — out perform — any drugs created for prostate health issues.
And with greater health safety than the drugs provide.
http://health.blogs.foxnews.com/2009/12/02/saw-palmetto-a-prostate’s-best-friend/
http://menshealth.suite101.com/article.cfm/saw_palmetto_for_prostate_health
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12674456

Here’s the problem for the girls in our community, though:

There are many born-women’s, cis-women’s, web sites which indicate that Saw Palmetto helps born/cis-women’s bodies to grow larger breasts.
This may or may not be true, but this is not true in most cases for born women.
And it is not true at all ever, for born-male bodies.

There is a wildly marketed feminization scheme which emails heavily throughout the TG/TS community.

The woman promoting this site has many of her followers taking such HUGE dosages of Saw Palmetto on a daily basis, that many of our TG/TS sisters are now reporting serious problems with digestive and intestinal problems because of serious overdosing on this herb.

In the name of health safety, let’s be VERY clear:

(1) Saw Palmetto is NOT estrogen, and will not become estrogen of ANY type in the human body.
Actually, Saw Palmetto, in a born-male body, can create additional testosterone levels…

(2) Saw Palmetto can work very well for resolving prostate problems, better than any currently available drug, according to several medical studies.

(3) IF Saw Palmetto actually did work to grow breasts, the hundreds of thousands of males who use Saw Palmetto frequently to resolve prostate issues, would most all have also grown breasts as a side effect, wanted or not.

(4) Overdosing on Saw Palmetto, will cause digestive and intestinal problems

(5) Saw Palmetto is one of the primary reasons that a myth exists about “herbs not working for breast growth or other feminization”.

Please pass the word to our TG/TS sisters:
Stop the Saw Palmetto for breast growth, nonsense.
It does not work for feminization, and it is NOT healthy to use in high dosages.

That said, a very good quality Saw Palmetto Complex can be very valuable for managing prostate issues, and in some cases even hair growth.

I have had a ton of breast growth which is awesome but is it normal to have growth all the way from the center of my chest to under my arms?

There is no “normal” for breast growth for women.

Some women have breasts which grow with nipples pointing parallel and straight out from the chest.
Other women have breasts which grow with nipples pointing somewhat away from each other,
and breast growth can be a bit into the armpits.

This is all determined ONLY by each woman’s own unique personal genetics, her personal genetic road map from birth.
There is no way to compensate for genetics.

Go look at Reniassance Era paintings and statues of women – you will see a vast variety of breast shapes, sizes, and display.

Food for thought — breasts pointing slightly away from each other, generally make much better cleavage…!

3rd what am I supposed to expect see as far as changes in general.

Again, it is the same for every born-woman,  that all of these changes depend on each individual’s own unique personal genetics.

will my legs and arms thin out maybe even my hands.

Your hands will not change.
Your facial hair growth will not change because of hormonal changes
Arm and leg shape is governed by your fatty deposits, and muscles.
But the bone size is uniquely yours — it will not change.

Will my facial features as far as lips or neck change.

Your facial features will change as fatty deposits shift;
your lips will change, your neck shape will change some,
but if you have a visible “Adam’s Apple” neck, that will not change except via surgery.

Just curious to see what all I should keep my eye on.

Nothing, on a daily basis.
There are no changes which will be seen as different, on a daily basis.
The human body just cannot change anything, that quickly.

There has been a lot of interest and misinformation being spread across the internet about herbs how work with your liver. A frequent poster on the MyEvanesce Forum has done some research on the herbs included in the Phoenix Project formulations and has shared this information for your reference. Here’s what she found:

“I did look up how each of the ingredients have been used with the liver and I was able to find many of the ingredients are used to help the liver. Here is what I found:

RED PEONY

Red Peony root is one of the ingredients in our Evanesce-ES formulation.

Quote:
“Animal studies have found that red peony root, alone or in combination with other Chinese herbs, could help prevent liver damage due to various chemical toxins.”

• http://www.peacehealth.org/kbase/cam/hn-3658006.htm
• http://www.vitaminoptions.com/remedies/red_peony_root

DANDELION

Dandelion is one of the ingredients in our Evanesce-ES formulation.

Quote:
“In traditional medicine, dandelion roots and leaves were used to treat liver problems..”

• http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/dandelion-000236.htm

DONG-QUAI

Dong Quai is one of the ingredients in our Evanesce-ES and in our Feminol formulation.  We use a very potent, standardized extract, version of this herb. Beware of store Dong Quai products which are listed as “500mg” capsules or anything similar. There is no way to compare any store-bought capsule quantity of this herb, to the standardized extracts in our formulations.

Quote:
“Dong Quai is also known as Chinese Angelica and is primarily known for it’s uses in treating women’s problems including lack of sexual desire, the symptoms of menopause, cramps and PMS. It aids in increasing the effects of hormones in both men and women and is widely used as an aphrodisiac. Dong Quai is particularly useful in helping to end hot flashes and menstrual cramps. It is also used as a liver tonic and in treating sciatica and shingles. It is one of the most widely consumed herbs in China, used as frequently as ginseng and licorice.”

• http://www.herbwisdom.com/herb-dong-quai.html

MOTHERWORT

Motherwort is one of the ingredients in our Evanesce-ES formulation.

Quote:
“Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has been using Motherwort as a specific for the liver and to treat hepatic infections, which may also result in brighter eyes and improved vision.”

• http://www.dickcontino.com/motherwor…ncylopedia.htm

NETTLE

Nettle is one of the ingredients in our Evanesce-ES formulation.

Quote:
“It protects the liver and helps it to recover in case of hepatic disease.”

• http://www.botanical-online.com/medicinalsurticadioicaangles.htm

GINGER

Ginger is one of the ingredients in our Evanesce-ES formulation.

From the Rodale book, Herbs for Health and Healing:

Quote:
“Dr. Vogel and other well-known plant researchers, including Hildebert Wagner, Ph.D., have found that the antioxidants in milk thistle called flavonoids are some of the most potent liver-protecting substances known. (Antioxidants prevent cell destruction and damage caused by the harmful compounds known as free radicals.) Studies conducted by these experts show that flavonoids work even better than the well-known antioxidant vitamin E. So do ginger and garlic, according to the results of numerous studies conducted all over the world. Similar flavonoids that improve liver function are also found in rosemary and grape leaves, which are used in Greek cooking. All of these herbs protect the liver from damage and increase the production of beneficial liver enzymes so that the liver can do its job better.”

• http://www.mothernature.com/Library/Bookshelf/Books/15/45.cfm

SOY ISOFLAVONES

Soy isoflavones are one of the ingredients in our Evanesce-ES formulation

Quote:
“Therapeutic effects of soy isoflavones on ?-amylase activity, insulin deficiency, liver-kidney function and metabolic disorders in diabetic rats.”

Quote:
“Moreover, soy isoflavones induced a decrease in LDL-cholesterol and triglycerides and an increase in HDL-cholesterol in plasma and liver.”

• http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21108110

Quote:
“Isoflavones are one of a group of biologically active compounds termed flavonoids (like pycnogenol from pine bark & proanthocyanidins from grapes). Flavonoids are recognized as having anti-inflammatory, antiallergic, antiviral, anticarcinogenic, antineoplastic, antimicrobial, antihelminthic, liver protective, kidney protective, antithrombotic and antihormonal effects. They are potent antioxidants, free radical scavengers and metal chelators. They facilitate vitamin C stabilization and enhance vitamin C absorption.”

• http://www.naturalways.com/soyToday.htm“

I hope you find this information helpful in discovering how certain herbs can be beneficial to the health of your liver.

There is no reason, no need, EVER to supplement progesterone into a male bodied person; i.e., a body which has testes. And, supplementing progesterone can be dangerous to a male-bodied person.

Supplemental progesterone in a male bodied person, especially Provera, (aka medroxy-progesterone) will almost always cause extreme emotional problems, including depression and extreme thoughts of suicide.

Yes — there are studies which seem to show that supplemental progesterone will help a born-woman to have larger breasts in some cases. While a woman is pregnant, her progesterone levels stay high throughout the pregnancy, which is how the fetus is held in the uterus during pregnancy and in many cases, her breasts will become larger.

The male body does not have this capability.

Progesterone in a male bodied person, is the precursor to testosterone — i.e., it is the foundational hormone from which more testosterone is created. This is the opposite of what needs to happen in order to feminize a male body.

Testosterone levels, and testosterone production, need to be reduced in order to feminize the male body. Normal progesterone levels in a trans — M2F — male body will take care of themselves. There is no benefit in any scenario, for any reason, for supplementing with progesterone.

The bio-molecular conversions begin with cholesterol which comes from the normal foods we eat: this is part of the whole digestive system processes; from foods which — in part — convert into cholesterol.

Cholesterol will eventually convert into testosterone.
The bio-molecular conversion flow is:

Cholesterol –> Pregnenolone –> DHEA –> Androstenedione –> Testosterone

AND

Cholesterol –> Pregnenolone –> Progesterone –> Androstenedione –> Testosterone

There are also many claims on the internet of people using progesterone creams, rubbed in their breasts, and creating breast growth but there are no reported cases where progesterone creams are the only supplemental hormonal substances being used. Progesterone creams which are available over-the-counter, without prescription, do not have enough hormone in any given fingertip full of cream, to overcome testosterone and cause breast growth. Prescription strength progesterone creams still do not have enough hormones to overpower testosterone, and their progesterone hormones will be converted into testosterone anyway.

Too much progesterone is not a good thing. I advise you to avoid taking it to become more feminized. The risks far outweigh the even remote possibility of it working to help you become more femine.

“My question to you is, what is the magic number of testosterone level we should reach to see the changes we desire.
[...] math, and us engineers, think that way. I know it does not work that way, but I can hope.”

You are trying to use a male-world, engineering-culture solution, to a female-world problem.

I am going to give you a different paradigm to consider, to better understand how to see this whole process:

The paradigm shift you need to embrace here,
is the difference between Father Time — linear, rigid and predictable, i.e., Basic Math
and
Mother Nature — fluid and cyclical; always different. i.e., Calculus

Think of — envision — a glass of water.
Cool, clear, water — filled to the very top of the glass, so that the glass is even slightly overfilled;
where the surface tension of the water allows the actual surface of the water to be slightly over the top of the glass…

Now — I want to add a dye to the water to change the water from clear, into a green color.

From a water dropper, I very gently add a drop of dye, which, because of the surface tension of the existing water,
disperses and runs across the the top of existing water, and runs down the side of the glass.
There is no change to the existing clearness of the fluid in the glass.

In order for any additional dye to have any impact on color of the water,
you have to reduce the amount of water in the glass.

To what level must I reduce the water in the glass, before i can begin to add dye?

That is really the question you are asking,
and that is why there is no appropriate, specific, scientific, valid answer….

The answer is that the level of clear water must be reduced “enough” to prevent the green dye from spilling away.

You can begin adding dye to the water,
in amounts effective enough to begin to change the color of the water,
as soon as the existing/beginning level of the water is reduced “enough” to not reject the dye.

At that point, as you begin to add more and more dye, the glass will once again fill to the top, and once again overflow…
but now by doing so, the clear water will be displaced more and more,
and the dye will continue to further change/deepen the color of the water remaining in the glass.
The changes have begun.

Over time, as more green dye is added, the clear water will be come more and more green;
there is no “line in the sand” to achieve in order for green to “suddenly happen”.

In the paradigm above, the clear water represents testosterone, the green dye represents estrogen.
I suspect you “got” that part already.

And this paradigm also explains why the concept of “starting slowly” with hormones, does not “work”.
When the glass — your body — is filled with testosterone,
a “little bit” of estrogen just “slides off of the top”

The beauty of using our formulations is that once the color of the water begins to really physically change,
the individual can control the rate of change –
i.e., how quickly, and how much, the changes proceed, as well as the amount of total change.

Using drug hormones is like dumping a glass of green water into the glass of clear.
Green AND clear are going to go over the side, quickly;
leaving a mess of excess,
a huge quantity of messy “water” which the liver and kidneys must process,
which these organs were not “designed” to process, and which can damage those organs.

Note also, that if the glass wants to become totally clear again, there is no way to achieve that.
The further the water inthe glass changes changes toward green,
the less potential there is for “totally clear” to ever be approached again.

Note also, that the now green liquid will fade with time — not to clear, of course, just fade.
Some small amount of green dye will need to be added on an ongoing daily basis,
in order to maintain the desired shade
– the rich vivid color — of green which had been obtained.
A “maintenance dosage”, as it were.

This maintenance dosage concept is most easily seen in born-women who have had a hysterectomy;
after that surgery, their bodies no longer create their own “green dye” because of the removal of those parts/organs.

So after that surgery, born-women must use a daily supplemental, small dosage,
of “green dye” to keep their system working properly.
ormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) for born women, is that maintenance program.

If the glass of clear water is never touched at all, it will still — over time — evaporate.
Testosterone and testosterone effects reduce as a male ages.

If a person sticks their finger(s) into the glass of water, and displaces some of it,
i.e., spills some water over the side of the glass.
Of course the total remaining in the glass is less.
This is what pure testosterone blockers achieve.

If the total “level of clear water” is reduced too far, the body and mind will begin to malfunction.

So, unless displaced water is going to be replaced by green dye,

Supplemental clear water is very difficult to obtain and to add back into the glass.

The one specific unknown/unknowable variable in this paradigm,
is the initial size of anyone particular glass of water.

Everyone begins with a different size glass of water, in width and/or in depth.

So there is no way to specifically, scientifically,
state how much green dye must be added to begin the displacement process,
nor even to state how many fingers must be inserted, nor how far, into the glass of clear water in order to force “x” amount of displacement.

Final thoughts within this paradigm:
(1) Some small number of people have a glass which is very eager to refill itself with clear water, for some amount of time into the process.
For some people, the clear water refill process in the glass is VERY resilient,
and those clear water refills flush away — dilute — the green dye at a rapid rate.

This becomes personally frustrating to them,
and this can cause them to deny the reality of the rest of the paradigm
“This does not work”.

(2) Some people think that
they can add only tiny bits of blue and yellow water,
and even orange and/or black water, or just add pale green water to the clear water,
over a short period of time.
These people then complain about their inability to achieve a rich vivid color green in the glass.
This is what people who buy random herbs from some store, do;
people who then proclaim that “herbs don’t work to feminize the body”.

There are people on the internet who claim that we are selling colored water.
Nothing could be further from the truth.

We are selling specifically formulated, very vivid rich green dyes:
formulations which have been validated by science and research over the past 20 years.
These formulations, using standardized extracts and concentrated extracts
of the active ingredients of the very most potent herbs
are not like anything else available anywhere on the planet.

We are also selling specific displacement “tools”;
i.e., formulation-based pure testosterone blockers.

I hope this all helps!

Let’s analyze that myth, before we understand this program and these products.

Everytime someone posts anywhere that “herbs don’t work to grow breasts,”
they NEED to be challenged with the question “WHICH herbs do not work?”
WHICH herbs have they tried, at what dosage, and for how long?

The answer will inevitably be that they used, or “know someone” who used
dong quai, and/or black cohosh, even in “500mg capsules,”(uhhh — wow??) for maybe 6  to 8 weeks, or less.
As if these two herbs somehow *are* estrogen; which they are not.

And lately, because of certain advertising into the transgender communities,
those people are likely also to be taking Saw Palmetto;
at daily dosages SO insanely high that they are having serious stomach and digestive problems.

Saw Palmetto may or may not be useful toward helping a born-woman to grow her breasts larger,
BUT
in a male body person — i.e., a person with testicles — Saw Palmetto will NEVER cause breast growth.
NEVER.

If Saw Palmetto were able to cause breast growth for a male bodied person,
every male who uses Saw Palmetto for prostate health,
would be also growing breasts, wanted or not.
“The word” would be out there on this unwanted side effect of healing the prostate.

So essentially, virtually everyone passing along the myth that herbs “do not work for feminization,”
have come to that conclusion by using the wrong herbs, at the wrong dosage, and for to little of an amount of time..

For many centuries, “everyone” knew that mankind could never fly in the sky.
Until someone — the Wright Brothers — showed that if you do it Correctly, it can happen.

Edison’s electric light bulb, Tesla’s three phase AC, Tesla’s radio and radio control inventions –
all showed that these things were indeed possible, despite the people claiming these things impossible, IF THEY WERE DONE PROPERLY.

The only way to feminize with herbs, before Evanesce and Feminol,
was to consume bottles-full, and hands-full, of specific and correct herbs, every day.

With Evanesce and Feminol, we use Standardized Extracts, and also concentrated extracts of herbs, to overcome the necessity of eating bottles-full of herbs daily.

Dong Quai is estrogen. Black Cohosh is estrogen

FACT:
Neither of these herbs “are” estrogen.
Dong Quai and Black Cohosh, along with several other specific herbs, contain bio-molecules which the human body can convert into estrogen.
But of and by themselves, no herbs “are” estrogen.
How much estrogen could be gotten from ingesting these herbs, is a function of the potency and purity of the specific herbs being ingested.
But a person would have to eat hands-full, and bottle-full of these kinds of herbs every day, for many months, in order to even begin to see feminizing results from either of these, or from any other herb.

MYTH:
“Herbal Hormones” Do Not “Work” for Feminizing

FACT:
By analogy: For hundreds of years, many men tried to build an airplane, to fly like the birds. None of them were successful.
So it was easy for many people to say,
“Flying like a bird is impossible, it will never work.”
Just because hundreds of people did it wrong, does not mean it won’t work.
When you do it properly, it will work.

There are no such thing as “herbal hormones”.
There are herbs which the human body will convert into hormones.
But if a person does not eat enough of them, nothing will happen. A person would have to eat hands full, and bottles full, of store-bought herbs every day, to get enough herbs to enable a male body to begin to femininze.
The bigger problem with people who proclaim this Myth, is that historically the people using store herbs, have virtually never used anything to block testosterone first.
So they, too quickly, decide that “herbs don’t work” for feminizing
Because they did it wrong and got no results, means nothing.

Drug hormones do not work quickly for many people, either.
Especially if nothing is also taken to block testosterone.
The “dirty secret” for drug hormone users, is that changes may not start or become visiable for MANY months. Many of them will give up, also; but none of them ever seem to say “Drugs don’t work”.

Evanesce is formulated from Standardized extracts of the active ingredients — active bio-molecules of each herb; i.e., only the good useful stuff.
Evanesce also has the most potent testosterone blockers a person can legally obtain;
All mixed in ratios which German scientists found would make each herbal extract work better than any could on their own.
Evanesce is FAR different than just crushed herbs in a capsule.
There is nothing else like this formulation.

MYTH:
Phyto-estrogens are “weak hormone like substances” which will obstruct Feminization; phytoestrogens will block cellular estrogen receptors, so that real estrogens can not ever work

FACT:
Articles on the internet about phyto-estrogens being “weak hormone like substances” are just flatly false –
a false concept repeated over and over is still a false concept.
Information about herbal hormones “obstructing” feminization is also just flat false.

There are indeed weak estrogen-like molecule mimics, which do harm estrogen receptors — – these come from various chemical pollutants in our environment; and are properly called psuedo-estrogens;
these are more currently, correctly, called Xeno-estrogens.
These do NOT come from herbs.

Saying that herbal — natural — estrogens are “weak estrogen”, is based on a GROSS mis-interruption of writings,
mis-interruptions which have been copied from web site to web site until too many people take these comments as actual fact.

The reality is, there is no such thing as a “weak” estrogen.
There are only “weaker”, or “stronger” delivery systems for estrogen.
It is not that the estrogen is different, but that “stronger” and “weaker” are referring to the total amount of hormones available on a pill-by-pill basis.

The original comment in this vein, way back in time, was that there are more estrogen molecules in a drug estrogen pill, which means that a drug hormone pill could be considered to be “stronger”, and by comparison, that there is not nearly as much estrogen in an herbal capsule, so that capsule for capsule herb hormones could be considered “weaker”.

Our herbs are processed in a way that captures the active ingredients of each herb — – “standardized extracts” is the terminology — …which hugely overcomes this “herbal weakness” issue.

This is why Evanesce and Feminol are — by weight — clearly much “stronger” than just herbs in a bottle from a store.

This is also why a person cannot compare Evanesce or Feminol on a by-weight basis with store herbs. there is no way to compare 50mg of standardized extract, with — say — 500mg of raw herbs, which have unknown quantities of active ingredients.

Standardized extracts are clearly a much stronger delivery form for estrogen — there is FAR more estrogen, pill for pill.

And with standardized herbal extracts, your body will convert to estrogen, and use, only what it CAN use on a day-to-day basis. With drug hormones, besides knowing that your drug hormone of choice may not have estrogen molecules which are exactly the same as a human estrogen molecules; … you must also consider the fact that if there is more estrogen than your body can use each day over time, your liver and kidneys have to work overtime to get rid of the excess. The liver is not “designed” to out-process this much chemical/drug. The liver can be damaged, irreparably over time doing this work.

On the other hand, Herbal ingredients will be treated as if they are food, which indeed they are.
With herbals, the liver does not have to separate estrogen from a pill, and the liver also does not have to flush excess estrogen, later.

MYTH:
Phyto-estrogens can cause Breast Cancer

FACT:
There has NEVER been a single case of HRT-induced breast cancer in the M2F TG/TS community. NEVER.
There are articles on various interent web sites which use this kind of story to try to scare people away from using herbs.
The one case of breast cancer in a post-op TS which I am aware of over the past 25+ years, was in a person with a family history of males who developed breast cancer.
She does not in any way blame HRT for her cancer.
For her, by her own words to me personally, the cancer was genetic.
It would have developed regardless of what she took, or did.
There are born women who develop breast cancer after taking drug estrogens;
it is fascinating — and just plain wrong — for writers to insinuate that estrogenic herbs will cause breast cancer.

MYTH:
Masturbation will slow the feminizing process

FACT:
There is NO link between masturbation and the production and/or utilization of hormones within the human body.
Masturbation neither increases nor decreases testosterone production.

MYTH:
Spironolactone is a testosterone blocker, an anti-androgen.

FACT:
Spironolactone is a Diuretic; i.e., = a drug developed to strip water from the human body.
Spironolactone does have an interesting side effect in a small percentage of males, of reducing testosterone levels.
The trade off is that spironolactone, can easily create major physical problems of potassium overload and dehydration.
When using spironolactone, an individual needs to consume 3-4 liters of water each day, above and beyond coffee (which is also a water-striping diuretic), soda pop, tea, etc.

If it were true that Spironolactone was “good”, valuable, for testosterone blocking, the hundreds of thousands of men who use Spironolactone for its intended purpose, as a diuretic for people who have congestive heart failure, those hundreds of thousands of men would also experience  increased impotence – difficulty achieving erection – from having their testosterone blocked, and those men would also experience breast growth, which the vast majority of born-males do not want.  ”The word” would be out, among all doctors, to not use this drug on male-bodied people because of these traditionally unwanted side effects.

MYTH:
Commercially available breast growth creams, pills, etc., are effective for feminization of males

FACT:
None of these products have any ingredients to block or to reduce testosterone production in a male body.
Most of these products DO have ingredients which, in a male body, will convert into additional testosterone.

MYTH:
Hormone Creams can be used to feminize a male body; to grow breasts.

FACT:
There are two types of hormone creams: Estrogen creams, and Progesterone Creams
There are two strengths of hormone creams: over-the-counter, and Prescription.
There cannot be enough estrogen in any given finger-tip full of these over-the-counter creams
to substantially affect a male body in any way.
Testosterone must be reduced in order to feminize; estrogen creams cannot do that job.
Progesterone in the male body is the precursor of testosterone; progesterone becomes testosterone.
People who claim feminization results from these creams,
are getting feminizing results in spite of the creams, not because of the creams.

Its very hard for everyone to loose weight, and there are many reasons.

I was morbidly obese when I decided to give Evanesce and Feminol a try.  Actually, I waited until I was closer to 200 pounds than 300 pounds before starting.  Now I am safely well under 200 pounds, though still not where I want to be (130 pounds – I’m 5′-4″).  What I think has happened for me is that as the fat was burning off from diet and exercise, it was leaving this female figure behind.  Not that the fat was “moving around” – it seems more like my body was transforming from a fat male body to a fit female body…  Did that make any sense?

Anyways, if weight is a problem for you, than that is a sign that you have a normal to slow metabolism.  Folks who have a normal to slow metabolism should take their dose divided between meals.  Such as half with breakfast and the other have with dinner.  Since AndroEase and Calm Companion should be taken with your evening meal anyway, that makes it pretty easy.  Just take your Evanesce and all or half your Feminol with your breakfast.

Weight loss will be an issue I will have to deal with for the rest of my life.  I realize this.  Even after I reach my goal, I will have to continue doing the things that got me there in order to stay there.

There are only five rules you need follow in order to take weight off and keep it off.

• • Rule #1) Get enough exercise – a brisk one hour walk every day as many days per week you can (at least five) will do that.
  • Rule #2) Eat healthy – counting calories is important, but don’t forget to make the calories count.
  • Rule #3) Drink enough water – at least two liters of pure, filtered unflavored water every day.
  • Rule #4) Get enough sleep – between seven and nine hours every night.
  • Rule #5) Stick to it!

It helps to know what weight your healthy BMI [Body Mass Index] is – and strive to get down to that.  At 5′-6″, your healthy weight is 136 pounds.  This is not impossible, I lost over 125 pounds.  It took me three years to do it, but I did it – and so can you.  Just follow those five rules.

Starting tomorrow, go for a 30 minute walk every day (rain or shine) for the next two weeks…  Now I’m not talking about a leisurely pace mind you, you need to build up a sweat.  Do your best not to miss a day.  But if you do miss a day, make up for the time you missed.  You can make up for the time by adding 10 minutes per day to the following days until the time is made up.  Keep track of this on your calendar.

After two weeks, make it a 45 minute walk every day.

Also starting tomorrow, give up all soda for at least 30 days.  Drink all the water you can stand – as long as it is at least 2 liters per day.  If you don’t have a filter pitcher, get one.  But don’t use that as an excuse not to drink water, you can still drink tap water until you get a filter pitcher.

Also starting tomorrow, keep track of what you eat every day.  And I do mean everything.  You will be using that list to figure out what you have been doing wrong and where you can make adjustments to improve your diet.  Before each meal, drink a half liter of water.

Prepare for a big surprise after 30 days.

There have been several good reliable studies done that show bicycling and/or brisk walking are better at flattening the tummy than crunches.  Though crunches are better for giving you “six-pack” abs, I am not interested in having those.  None of the women I know – and think look great – have six pack abs.  I can tell everyone from my own personal experience in my own weight loss efforts that the doctors advice is correct – it works.  Eat less, eat healthy and exercise more – no machines are required.

There is no magic pill or potion (or machine) that will take care of fat in a specific area of the body.  The human body doesn’t work that way.  There is no magic pill or potion that actually works to loose weight for that matter – not without eating less and exercising more…  And guess what?  If you eat less and exercise more you will loose weight anyways, with or without those magic pills or potions.

Anyways, the secret to weight loss is the amount of calories burned has to exceed the amount of calories consumed.  Its that simple.  The best advice you can get is don’t give up.  Set your goal weight (a reasonable and healthy weight for your height) and keep trying till you reach it.  Choose a goal weight that is right in the middle between your minimum healthy weight and your maximum healthy weight.  If you don’t know what that really should be talk to your doctor.  Then, break it down into smaller goals and write that smaller goal down on your fridge, vanity mirror or where ever you can see it every day.  Once you reach your smaller goal, change it to the next smaller goal and keep going till you reach your main goal.

Hope this iformation helps.

Dainna

Don’t give up because it is essential to have a good fitting bra in order for the girls to not flop around and get all saggy. If the sizing were simple, straight forward and logical, the sections of stores which sell bras, would only have to sell about dozen different ones. As it is, there is such a VAST variety of sizing criteria, that better clothing stores employ special clerks to help each woman to find the right “fit” for her specific unique body.

There is no specific criteria which can define the size of a “C” cup on *any* bra. There is not much of a criteria for band size numbers, either, for that matter. Going from a 38 to 40, same manufacturer, same “line” (same model/style name of bra) only generally means the chest “diameter” has increased two inches — that the measurement of the bra band is [kind of, sort of, maybe,]  two inches longer. From brand to brand, from style to style within the same brand, the band measurement can vary even when a bra has the same band numbers.

Having breast growth, should not really change the band size; it is breasts which are growing, not chest size. While you are growing, the best bra is a training bra, which for an adult is a sport’s bra. ”Fit” means the combination of a band number, and a cup-size designator.

Cup sizes are a proportion of the band size. Cups on a 40B bra, will be significantly larger than the cups on a 32B bra; same manufacturer, same model/style name. Going from 38C to 40C the breasts have to be bigger even though the cup size designator remains the same: the cup will be physically larger.

Going the other direction with finding a good “fit”: If you go up in band size (e.g. from 38 to 40) the required cup size for you should go down (e.g. from C to B).

As a generality, the more expensive a bra is, the more accurate its band measurement will be…

Ignore the web sites which try to engineer a size chart. Even Penney’s, etc. web site, cannot generate the best bra size for each person. Those charts are for basic guidance only. They establish a place to start.

Which also means that it is VERY important to ignore the TG/TS web sites where people compete with each other about breast growth, or do male-style bragging about breast growth, based on bra sizes. It is all essentially meaningless.

If you find a good cup size, but the band is too small to fit around your chest, it is possible to buy band extenders; they are are like using an extension cord to further the reach to the bra band.

I have been an activist, mentor and counselor within the transgender community since the early 1980s. In that time, I have had personal contact with nearly 7,000 people within the community, and electronic/internet contact with over 7,000 more since the interent became a viable way to meet and to share with other people.  Throughout this experience, I have come to understand that there is no one model of a transgendered person;  there are as many reasons as there are people involved.  But some clear patterns have evolved.

And the clearest pattern is that for most M2F TGs – especially those who are still in the closet – there is a significant sexual aspect to being transgendered. And that aspect is significantly slanted toward male ideas and ideals of female sexuality.

The problem with debating autogynephilia is that to deny it exists is to deny basic fundamental human sexuality. However, by refusing to separate male sexuality from M2F transgenderism/transsexuality, there is no chance of crossing the chasm to become woman. And autogynephilia justifies building a stonger link between male sexuality and M2F transgenderism, by giving that connection the power of a label, a name.

Autogynephilia may be a precursor to gender–role transtion, it may someday lead to sex reassignment surgery.  But as long as the TG activities are tied to sex or sexuality, it remains a fetish.

In my counseling of Transgender people, it is clear that the majority (but not all) will go through a phase where masturbation is ultimately crucial to their transgender experience.  And a clear pattern exists that when the masturbation event is concluded, the transgender event ends as well;  the individual cannot seem to get the clothing, makeup and other props off of their body quickly enough.

I have often challenged transgendered people to leave the clothing and other props on after masturbation, to immediately put themselves back together, as it were, in the female mode.  This is the only way I have ever found to help transgendered people begin to separate clothing from sexuality, so that they can begin to separate the concept of woman from sexuality.  It is a traditional male trait to link women and sexuality, and this trait has caused several millennia of problems for women, who are thereby not seen as human beings.

Advertising has for years tended to portray women as body parts and as sexual things, rather than as humans. The experiences of a huge majority of the transgender population extends this portrayal;  when individuals who profess to be a “woman trapped in a man’s body” can only be women created within a sexual paradigm, it is no wonder that wives, girlfriends and women co-workers protest and work to push the TG away. And it is no wonder that male co-workers who might be homophobic anyway, would also work to keep the TG away from them.

No matter how carefully Anne Lawrence “cuts her cloth” about this, autogynephilia qualifies as a sexual fetish.  There are many people who are clearly tied into their own unique sexual fetishes, and who believe that they will wither and become depressed or even die  if they are not allowed to routinely practice their sexual fetish. But the workplace is not a place to practice any sexual fetish.

Autogynephilia may be a precursor to gender–role transtion, it may someday lead to sex reassignment surgery.  But as long as the TG activities are primarily tied to sex or sexuality, those behaviors remain a sexual fetish.

It is not reasonable to expect or mandate that an employer allow a person to bring any other sexual fetish into the workplace;  no diapers, no chains, no leather–drag, no pornography.  If a workplace specificaly wants to allow and/or encourage these sexual fetishes, that is fine;  but to mandate a workplace to allow it based on city, state or Federal law is ludicrous.

As an advisor and mediator to many corporations and government entities where a TG is transitioning, I have watched in wonder at the number  of M2F TG/TS people who feel compelled to come to work  dressed like a little girl or teenage slut, and then demand the professional rights women co-workers have.  With this display of sexuality, it is not surprising that women object to TGs using women’s spaces.

The problem then is this:

If this is primarily a sexually driven phenomenon, then we make a grave mistake in working for civil rights laws to protect it.

Over the past decade, many cities have made laws that protects people regardless of gender expression.  It is clearly time to re-think this, so as to cut our losses in the future.  Gender Expression that is clearly a male image of women’s sexuality;  gender expression that clearly says “this is my male idea of what the perfect sexual woman should be”, has no place being protected behavior in the workplace. I still feel strongly that no one should be fired simply for being transgender or transsexual;  but there has to be a limit to what behaviors and appearances we can ask/mandate employers to protect.  And that limit is on the conservative side of the sexual.

It is fascianting to me that individuals in the transgender community, even at the point of undertaking permanent physical changes, only see the importance of the sexual body parts being changed.  For example, there is huge importance attached to the development of breasts, hips, softer skin, nails, makeup, hair care, voice…. All of the things men look for in finding sexual attractiveness in a woman; but there is virtually no importance given to things like permanent removal of facial hair – the male beard.

Why is it that M2F transgender people cannot realize that virtually no one but themselves will ever see their naked breasts or genitalia?  That virtually no one will ever know whether their breasts, for example, are implant, prothesis, or “home grown”?  But that their face, which virtually everyone they ever walk past will see– whether they acknowledge the other person or not?

It can only be that male sexuality does not “see” women’s faces except as layers of makeup and color, which M2F TG/TSs think they can duplicate. And also the fact that for several decades, advertising for women has tended to show women as merely a collection of body parts.  Male bathroom wall graffiti also tends to show women only as breasts and a collection of orifices, usually without a face, arms, or legs… It fascinates that many TG/TS people only consider feminization to be applicable to those areas of the human body.

I have wondered in amazment for nearly three decades, at the girls in recovery at SRS hospitals, who still are shaving a male beard, sometimes multiple times a day.  But having the sexual parts of their body changed was so important to them, that they are willing to vehemently deny the necessity of beard removal.  It is a dream world, full of sex and sexuality which consumes them;  and it is male images and fantasies of that female sexuality that are prized.

It also fascinates me that people who work so hard to achieve the perfect combination of feminine beauty and sexuality, scream in objection that it is stereotyping when any discussion of female attitudes or relationships is mentioned.

No one should ever be fired for what they do on their time away from work, which does not harm others.  I firmly believe that no one should lose their job or their housing, nor access to public accomodations, just because they are or are percieved to be gender different.  But it is time to stop the nonsense of creating laws requiring employers to coddle the autogynephiliac fetishist and their inane portrayal of woman.

When an employer says that a transgender employee is disrupting their workplace, other employees and customers, clearly that individual is not being a woman; virtually all born-women will go out of their way to not disrupt the other people around themselves. The Male-to-Female TG/TS individual is most likely being only a caricature of woman, a caricature created to please their own personal sexual fetish.

It is SO easy to see the proof of this, in the photographs which most TG/TS web sites and books publish — photographs of  suggestive female-style poses and erotic-style clothing.

I have seen it in the workplace far too many times – the M2F TG wearing skirts too short, breasts too large and too high on the chest, (especially for a woman of their age), makeup and hair too big and bold for their age or size.  Sexuality stuff.

If an individual cannot control their sexuality and/or sexual expression in the workplace, they do not have the right to be in the workplace.  This is what employers are trying to say when they bring to the table, issues of sexual harrasment and hostile workplace environment when discussing transgenders.  Do born-women dress to express their sexuality in the workplace? Yes, some do. But not born-women who are in management, nor manufacturing, nor accounting, nor engineering, nor in most corporate positions other than clerical. And not if they are past the age of ideal sexuality, or if they are out-sized, as most transgender people are…  In the workplace, when a M2F transgender person dresses and acts separate from sexuality, there are seldom any problems around on-the-job transition.

Is it possible to overdose on B-vitamins?

There are only two you can overdose on:
Niacin — if a person overdoses on Niacin, the result is called a Niacin Flush.
This is a 45-minute event, roughly, which ramps up and ramps down over that time.
The symptom is that the body feels like ears, nose, and fingers have been sunburned. This is not dangerous, it does not cause any lasting problems, but it can be uncomfortable. If you do not experience it, you are not overdosing.

The other is B6 — very short term usage at less than 400-500mg, is a good upper limit.

Bear in mind, that stress is especially hard on B6 and B12. What this means is that although there are established upper limits on daily intake, these limits assume that the body is not losing any during the day, and since stress burns B6 and B12 quickly, the upper “limits” are still very safe limits.

Analogy: your fireplace may only hold six pounds of wood, but it can burn through 20 pounds of wood per day, on cold days.

Your body can “burn through” more “B” vitamins per day, than the RDA — “Recommended Daily Allowance” — intake value for “B” vitamins, especially when your body is struggling with above-average stress

Some folicles will give up in one zap. Most will take more than one zap; but each time they do come back, they will be weaker — finer and softer and thinner — then they were before. And not all the hairs grow at one time; some will be dormant at the time of a session of electrology. Some will return in 10 days, some in 20 days, some in 30, 40, 50, 60 …..

When trying to find an electrologist you need to test drive several and have each of them take hairs form different parts of your total beard because the pain levels will be different in different areas of your beard. Most electrologists will do a 10 to 15 minute test session. Ask the electrologists if they will offer a discount for a prepaid block of time.  Usually if they do offer a block of prepaid time it is in 10 hour increments.

The safest way is to limit electrolysis time to 3-4 hours a week, and by using a removal system of thinning, thinning, thinning the beard ….  until the beard is all gone.  Thinning allows the hair folicles to heal independently of each other.  In order to get the most effective electrolysis, you need 2-3 days of beard growth. The technician doing the work needs that amount of growth in order to see which direction the hair folicles go into the skin;  hairs are virtually never straight in, but always at some angle. A good electrologist will limit this work on the average male face, to 3-4 hours a week in order to give the sub layers of skin time to heal properly. The typical male beard takes about 100 hours of work, to get to a point where shaving is no longer necessary.

The number of hair follicles that get removed during one appointment varies depending on the skill of your technician, and on your tolerance for pain. The safest way is to limit electrolysis time to 3-4 hours a week, and by using a removal system of thinning, thinning, thinning the beard ….  until the beard is all gone.  Thinning allows the hair folicles to heal independently of each other.  Strip mining requires all the folicles to heal adjacent to each other to heal at the same time, which invites scaring at the folicle level.  This layer of skin will be the top layer of skin in 4-7 years, and any scaring which appears then, will be permanent.

Strip mining requires all the follicles to heal adjacent to each other to heal at the same time, which invites scaring at the folicle level.  This layer of skin will be the top layer of skin in 4-7 years, and any scaring which appears then, will be permanent. Think about this, a benefit to thining thinning thinning the beard out, rather than strip-mining the beard, is that if you have to stop going to electrolysis for any period of time, there will not be “holes” — clear splotches — within your remaining beard shadow;  which would draw attention to the changes you are making.

Several thousand TG’s experiences over the past 20 years show clearly that there is considerable risk in trying to do electrology as a marathon;  to do marathon sessions is to invite major skin problems 3-7 years later;  the layer of skin where the follicles are now will be the top layer in a few years.  You need to get the beard thinned, thinned, to allow proper healing….  It is more frustrating this way, but far more beneficial.  My facial skin, for example, is SO good now that I rarely have to wear foundation…..!

Does electrolysis hurt? I’m not going to tell you the electrolysis process doesn’t hurt but it is different for each person. For me, I could fall asleep when she was working on my cheeks and neck; but around my lips, and between my mouth and nose, well — I learned self hypnosis to try to block the pain.

Do not try to wax your beard off. Do not use any chemical hair removal products such as Nair(TM) on your facial skin because your facial skin is far and away the most fragile skin on your body. Using these products may leave you with chemical burns on your face which everyone will most likely notice.

Waxing & sugaring are only temporary. And it is not advised to have any waxing done on a male face. Being a licensed esthetician myself (skin care), males have thicker, courser facial hair than a woman would have. Waxing the face, especially the upper lip, chin and cheeks can result in taking off skin & bruising. Body hair, such as chest, arms, legs and stomach are fine for a male bodied person to have waxed, but not the face. I strongly recommend against it.

Waxing may be cost effective now, but only lasts several weeks. Electolysis is permanent. So going back for years of waxing will ultimately end up costing you more in maintainance in the long run, while several sessions of electrolysis over several months will only cost you what you put into it.

It is nearly impossible to be full time en femme, without great problems, unless you have completed professional facial electrolysis first.

Properly done permanent facial electrolysis will make a M2F TG/TS person look at least 10-15 years younger, and much more feminine, especially when combined with a good hormone program like Evanesce and Feminol.

“Properly done permanent facial electrolysis” is NOT something that is done at home, not something done with a home “kit” or tweezers, and generally not done with laser — laser for an entire male beard is VERY brutal on facial skin, in the long term.

I am personally very adamantly opposed to laser for removing the male beard. I know there are people who will disagree with me on this. Even the best laser treatments will only remove the dark hairs, and the potential for long term scarring is significant — scarring which would not show up for 5-7 years, but which is irreversible if it does show up later on.

Laser can only remove the darker hairs which are actively growing at the time of the session. It cannot get the dormant hairs.

Laser electrolysis will require that multiple follicles — all *very* close to each other — to heal at the same time, in the deep layers of the skin. These close-together follicles, all trying to heal at one time, creates a strong potential for scarring. Traditional electrolysis, when performed with a thin out, thin out, thin out process, avoids this problem.

You NEED to avoid using ANY/ALL chemicals intended to inhibit growth of BODY hair, on facial skin. These chemicals will permanently damage facial skin. Facial skin is THE most fragile skin on the human body..

Once facial hairs are triggered into life,  the only way to stop them from continued growth, is traditional professional electrolysis. You want to find someone who will do traditional professional one-hair-at-a-time electrolysis. Find someone who will thin out the hairs, rather than clearing whole areas at one swipe.

No matter how much you personally want the heavy areas of your beard to be gone — cleared — as soon as possible, allow the electrologist to thin the hairs in that area out, over a period of time, to avoid the potential for scarring which could appear in the future if the area was “clear cut”, or “strip mined”.

The average male beard, being worked by a professional electrologist who knows — who is experienced in — how to remove a male beard, takes about 100 hours of work  — 100 hours of sessions — to reach the point where shaving is no longer necessary. A good skilled electrologist will not attempt to do more than 3-4 hours per week; the potential for damage to the under layers of skin is too great if you try to do more than this.

No longer neding to shave is NOT the end point of facial electrolysis, but it is a VERY significant milestone. My own electrolysis was done in two years. In the case of my own extremely difficult and heavy beard (Italian “blue beard”, like Nixon had, with a lot of red hairs mixed in (thanks mom!) it took almost 120 hours to reach the point of no longer shaving. Between my face and my chest, I probably have 250 hours under the needle. I stopped counting years ago, but it is in that neighborhood.

Do NOT calculate how much it will cost, nor how long it will take.

Just buy as much as you can buy each week, each month, and then buy more, and it will get done eventually. If you stop to think about the total cost, you will never start. This is the same as buying food — no one calculates the cost of food per year; they just buy what they need and what they can afford

Most good electrologists will limit facial work to four hours per week, in order to allow proper healing between sessions. Many electrologists have a pre-paid plan, 10 sessions prepaid for a discount price, for example — ask.

I personally believe that no one should start fulltime cross-living until facial electrolysis is essentially complete. And that does NOT mean plucking one’s own beard out.

Living working socializing as a woman full time, will be virtually impossible until after your facial electrolysis is essentially complete. If you were to change your mind about transition later on, there is no down side to having your beard permanently gone.

If you think you cannot do this step, then give up on transition.

You cannot live as a woman, with male facial hair, with a male beard.

There are NO makeup tricks which will cover a male beard — five o’clock shadow — throughout an entire work day, especially in the summer.

You CAN do this step — there are no shortcuts, no options.

For more details on this process, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hair_follicle

Natural products in various forms have been used around the planet for several millenia for the treatment of pathological conditions or for health benefits, all over the world.

In Europe and America, plant-derived compounds — extracts — are the basis of at least 25% of the existing drugs.

The most well known example of the extraordinary potency in extracts of plants, i.e., herbs, is aspirin.

The effects of aspirin-like substances have been known since the ancient Romans recorded the use of white willow bark as a fever fighter. In 400 B.C. Hippocrates recommended a tea made from the yellow leaves of the white willow tree.

Through the centiuries, as the characterization of each and all disease became more precise, one common reoccuring re-discovery was that chewing the bark of the willow tree (salix alba) alleviated many of the symptoms of various sicknesses (chills and fever).

The early 19th century saw an intense interest in the chemicals that existed in a variety of plants and herbs — natural products chemistry.

As an example, scientists discovered what was in the bark of the willow tree that relieved pain and reduced fever. The substance was named salicylic acid. But when people suffering from pain took just the extract called salicylic acid, it caused sever stomach and mouth irritation.

In 1832, a thirty-seven-year-old French chemist named Charles Gerhardt synthesized a new substance — acetylsalicylic acid – from a combination of salicylic acid and acetic anhydride. The procedure was difficult and took a lot of time. Gerhardt decided the new compound wasn’t practial, so he set it aside.

Another German chemist, Kolbe, discovered an effective large scale way to synthesize salicylic acid. Synthetic salicylic acid became a standard treatment for arthritis and gout from 1860 through 1893. While it was an effective medication, the substance was still irritating to the mouth, throat and stomach

In 1897, a German chemist named Felix Hoffmann, (who was an employee of Bayer A.G. in Germany), was searching for something to relieve his father’s arthritis. He studied Gerhardt’s experiments and “rediscovered” the methods of creating acetylsalicylic acid – or aspirin, as we now know it.’

Unable to get the drug patented, Bayer registered a trade name for the new medicine, Aspirin. After Germany lost World War I, Bayer was forced to give up the trademarks for Aspirin and for Heroin as part of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919.

This all is important, because it shows the scientific basis of our products.

Our products are created — formulated – starting with standardized and concentrated extracts of plants which are known for their estrogenic qualities.

We then add other plant materials, and other extracts of plants and berries, based on German research in the 1980s which showed that certain plant material helps other plant material to be FAR more effectve than either could be on its own; i.e., synergystic.

The result is a formulation which is FAR more potent than anything which might be achieved using store herbs; in the same way that aspirin is FAR more potent, and FAR more effective than just using white willow bark for pain relief.

This is molecular potency, not just plant material.

Forget everything you may have ever heard or read about using herbs for feminizing the male body.

This is not just random herbs in a capsule –

This is Evanesce, Evanesce-Extra Strength, and Feminol.

One of these substances is more accurately called xeno-estrogen, or psuedo-estrogen. Xeno-estrogens are chemical compounds, usually caused by toxic environmental pollution. Xeno-estrogens have been linked to various birth defects and other physical ailments, because of their ability to mimic many of the functions of the human estrogen hormone, and thereby interfere with cellular functioning.

Xeno-Estrogens, aka psuedo-estrogens, are the molecules that do the ”weak-bonding, estrogen receptor interference” thing.

For many hundreds and even thousands of years, humans have known of the healing properties of various plants, flowers, and fruits, for various ailments.

Over the past century, science and technology have enabled herbal processing companies to extract the specific bio-molecules of these plants, flowers, and fruits which are beneficial to human health and well-being.

Phyto-estrogens are the bio-molecules which are the active ingredients of  estrogenic plant, flower, or fruit in the herbal world.

The human body makes its primary hormones from the foods we eat,  starting from cholesterol. Cholesterol is a precursor for pregnenolone, which becomes DHEA, which further morphs into the hundreds of various hormones the human body requires in order to function properly.

For example, pregnenolone can then further convert to estrogen, and/or testosterone, depending on whether a person’s body is primarily female or male, and on signals (other hormones) from the pituitary and other sex glands;

All of the food we eat is supposed to be used by the human body to maintain life and bodily function. For example, our bodies extract beta carotene from the yellow and orange vegatables we eat; the beta carotene then works to support our immune system and maintain our eyesight…. Lettuce/salad, fruits, etc., also contribute to bodily function.

For thousands of years, healers knew that various plants could be used to heal – or at least control — various disorders.
This knowledge was the beginning of modern medicine, as mankind worked to improve nature. Aspirin is one of the best examples of this; another example is coumidin, an oral anticoagulant used to control blood clotting, also called warfarin.
The original discovery in 1939 that spoiled sweet clover possessed anticoagulant properties is a classic story in pharmacology.
Warfarin is also the active ingredient in the poison which various rodenticides and insecticides use. So as you can see, things herbal can be beneficial, and some can be poisonous, depending on what they are and how they are used.

There is a classification of herbs that have been used for centuries to help women manage their hormone balance; these are the phyto-estrogenic herbs.

As with any plants and/or berries, from lettuce and cherries, on, there are limits to what your body can extract and utilize
from the grown and harvested plant material.

In addition, there are issues of potency and purity (which anyone from the marijuana generations should understand);
There are no regulations or standards in the herbal industry which govern potency or purity,
or even for measuring herbs. There are no regulations governing the use of powdered stem, twigs, and/or bark in herbal formulations. Therefore, It is quite possible that one manufacturer’s “500mg” herbal product has far less of the “good stuff” than another manufacturer’s “25mg product”. So you can easily see that comparing numbers across labels from various manufacturers is an exercise in futility; comparisons based on millligrams have no meaning,.

Over the past several decades, male wisdom and knowledge said that ”to get any significant benefit from herbs,
an individual would have to consume massive quantities of them”.

But today, techniques for extracting the “good stuff” – the active ingredients/bio-molecules — from various herbs,
and concentrating that material into a formulation, have overcome this limitation.

This is the philopsophy behind the Evanesce and Feminol formulations. These products are state-of-the-art formulations,
and have easily overcome the traditional limitations on using herbs for increasing and/or controling hormones.

Phyto-estrogens do NOT, in general, contain actual human hormones or chemicals. Neither do drug hormones such as Premarin. There are some exceptions, some plants which do contain bio-molecules virtually identical to human estrogen.  And when this plant material is combined with other phyto-estrogens, the resulting formulation has incredible potency; i.e., an incredible ability to modify the human hormone systems.

The bio-molecules from the herbs used in the formulation of Evanesce and Feminol are ones that the human body can use to create estrogen. From that point on, estrogen is estrogen is estrogen.

Drug hormones, such as Premarin manufactured from horse urine (PREgnant MARe uRINe), must go through the liver to get their estrogenic substances to release. And, the excess estrogen released (estrogen beyond what the body can use at the time)
must be processed through the liver again, and the kidneys, in order to be eliminated from the body. These organs were not “designed” to process that much estrogen, which is why frequent kidney and liver function testing is required for those on prescription hormones. Injectable prescription hormones must also be processed out, if their levels are in excess of what the body can use.

Using herbal ingredients to create additional estrogen, on the other hand, allows the body create what it can use utilizing normal bodily biological conversions.

Are herbs faster or slower, or less effective? Tradition says yes; experience says no, depending on the potency, purity, and quantity of herbs taken, as well as the individual’s personal unique genetics, general health and nutrition factors.

Nutrition factors, for example, include nicotine, which interferes with the formation and utilization of estrogen.

Nicotine plus estrogen combine to create a strong potential for blood clots — this is NOT a safe combination, no matter what the source of estrogen is. Most doctors will not prescribe estrogen to a person who smokes. And in this example, once again we see how an herb (tobacco) affects the body’s endrocrin system…….

Herbs and berries containing phytoestrogens also have other compounds, such as flavonoids, which control the effects of other hormones; phytoestrogens can even ease menstrual cramps. ”Unlike drugs, the herbs naturally nourish and tone the female system, making them useful in a broad range of female conditions”, according to Dr. Michael Murray, ”…with no reported side effects.”

Evanesce is one of the very first commercially available phyto-chemical products, naturally formulated from plants and berries to emphasize phyto-estrogens.

erbs are a common item in our diet. We know that the Oregano and Basil in our Spagetti sauce are herbs; we know that various herbs and spices have been highly valued for centuries as a means to make our foods taste better, and we also know that many herbs have centuries-old traditions as healing agents. Many common medications in our society have various herbs as their base ingrediants. Spinach is an herb, which is known to increase energy in most people, by adding iron and other important energy-building nutrients to our bodies. The old wives tale about carrots being good for eye-sight is true; the beta carotene in carrots and other yellow vegatables/herbs is very beneficial to eye-sight! We use herb-based teas to pick us up, or to settle us down; most of us consume huge amounts of an herbal beverage called coffee, or get our caffienne stimulation from herbs used in many soda pop mixtures.

And there is a whole class of herbs known to be high in estrogenic compounds, called phyto-estrogens. or phytoestrols.

But I have heard that phyto-estrogens are dangerous…

It is important to understand that there are two very different substances today which have received the label “phyto-estrogen”.
One of these substances is more accurately called psuedo-estrogen, or more commonly in the 21st century these are called “xeno-estrogens”;
These estrogen mimics are found in chemical and environmental pollution, and have been linked to various birth defects because of their semi-ability to mimic the estrogen hormone, and to thereby interfere with cellular functioning.
Psuedo-estrogens — xeno-estrogens — are the molecules that do the “weak-bonding, estrogen receptor interference” thing.
Phyto-estrogens — phytoestrols — on the other hand, are a wonderous medical discovery for us…

What is Evanesce?

Evanesce is formulated from extracts of phytoestrols — the most potent parts of the most potent phyto-estrogenic plants and berries — which are concentrated and mixed in ratios which research has determined to bring the greatest synergystic boost to each of the substances used.
Through the centuries it has been found that some herbs synergistically increase the effectiveness of other herbs; the formulation in Evanesce is designed to enhance the effectiveness of each of the most potent phytoestrols.

Evanesce has been used by people in the transgender community worldwide since 1991.

How do these herbs work?

According to Susun Weed in her book Menopausal Years, “Using plants rich in phytoestrols is remarkably different from taking hormones, even natural ones … Phytoestrols provide hormonal building blocks, rather than hormones themselves, thus allowing [your body] to create the precise amounts (and combinations) of hormones needed on your unique … journey. When using phytoestrol-rich herbs, you don’t have to eliminate excess hormones or know exactly what dose to take. With a smorgasbord of choices, the body … can create the hormones [it] needs from the building blocks supplied by the plant.
“This process removes the ‘stress of eliminating excess estrogen’ from the kidneys and liver”, says Weed.

Can’t I just buy these herbs off the shelf, from local health food stores, etc.?

On an individual basis, sure!
HOWEVER, as anyone from the “marijuana generations” knows, there is a significant variation in the potency and purity of all herbs grown for ingestion.
State-of-the-art herbal processing facilities now have the ability to separate the “good stuff” in herbs and berries from the basic plant material, which allows large amounts of the “good stuff” to beconcentrated into small capsules.
These processes also keep the potency and purity consistant from batch to batch throughout the year.
What this means to you is that with a well-manufactured formulation such as these, you do not have to consume mega-doses of herbs trying to get their benefits.

How do Evanesce and Feminol compare with other similar herbal products?

There are no standards for measuring or comparing herbal things. There are no restrictions on a company using powdered twigs, bark, stems, etc., in their herbal products. One company’s 500mg herbal product may actually have far less of the “good stuff” than another company’s 25mg herbal product. Therefore, comparing milligrams of herbs on bottle labels is a meaningless exercise; you need the “good stuff”, not the plant material, to get the desired results.

How do these compare to Premarin and other prescription drugs?

They do not compare.

Premarin is a drug manufactured from PREgnant MARe uRINe, designed to force a specified amount of estrogen into the human body, whether that body can handle that much estrogen or not.
Other prescription estrogen drugs also do the same job; the various forms are designed to try to avoid problems with metabolism, etc.

Once in the blood-stream, estrogen is estrogen is estrogen, regardless of its initial form (herb or drug) into your body.

How quickly will my body be feminized with Evanesce?

It is very important for you to understand that it takes several years for a girl to develop a woman’s body. In a male body, estrogens from any source must overcome testosterone before feminization really begins; you cannot expect to see substantial feminization – substantial breast development – within only a few weeks, regardless of the source of estrogen. Breast development from any estrogen treatment program–drug or herbal–is ultimately a function of your own personal genetic potential, diet, and lifestyle. Some people will see development almost from the first day, others may not see development for a few months; but this is true regardless of the source of estrogen, prescription drug or herbs.

Explain “personal genetic potential, diet, and lifestyle”.

Many women are small-breasted; they did not have the genetic potential to develop large breasts. If your mother, your sisters, and/or your daughters are large breasted, then you probably have the genetic potential for reasonable breast development. Over time, your breasts will develop under the influence of elevated estrogen from any source; but not everyone will achieve “C” cup or larger breasts no matter what source of estrogen they rely on. A generalized rule of thumb is that a M2F TG will develop one size smaller breasts than the women of their immediate/genetic family.

Caffienne, nicotine, alcohol, refined sugars, and in some people even salt will each and all combine to block the formation and utilization of estrogen. This is why many women crave chocolate during their “high estrogen” time of each month; their bodies know that chocolate will help hold the estrogen levels down. (Most doctors will not prescribe Premarin or any other estrogen drugs to people who smoke, partially for this reason.)

And extreme stress holds down estrogen levels; although research is showing that supplemental estrogen can help to reduce the body’s bad reactions to stress….

What about personal — health — safety?

According to many herbal books, the specific herbs used in Evanesce have no history of creating health problems in the human body. It is important to note, however, that some humans have allergies to specific foods; while we have no feedback indicating problems, you should be aware, and check with your doctor if you experience any problems with any supplemental hormone programs.

Will Evanesce affect my sexual functioning as a male?

Yes. Two of the ingrediants in the Evanesce formulation are powerful extracts of a berry which blocks production of testosterone. This allows the other herbs to go to work quicker, but it will also reduce your ability to function as a male sexually. Erection and orgasm will take longer to achieve, and this effect is cumulative; the longer you are on elevated estrogens from any source, herbal or drugs, the more difficult it will be to function as a male, sexually.

It is crucial for you to know that over a period of time on elevated estrogens from any source, herbal or drugs, there is a strong probability that you will become permanently sterile.
Why is Saw Palmetto not a part of this formulation? I’ve seen many positive reports on it?

Saw Palmetto is very beneficial (in the short term) to a woman’s body; however, in the male body it converts to testosterone. This is a good herb to avoid if you are seeking feminization!
Saw Palmetto, BTW, is very good against prostrate problems…. even if it does go against feminization

What is the recommended dosage for Evanesce? And, how many capsules per bottle?

Evanesce is packaged in 90 capsule bottles; Feminol is packaged in 60 capsule bottles. The manufacturer recommends Evanesce usage at 1-6 capsules daily, Feminol at 1-2 capsules daily.
Most people in the TG community have settled on 3-4 Evanesce and 1-2 Feminol capsules daily as a good balance between cost and results. Some people start at six (or more!) Evanesce per day for a few weeks, and then drop back; We feel that more than eight daily Evanesce, and more than four daily Feminol, are wasted in the majority of people. Each human body will respond differently, and you will need to find what works best for your own unique body.

Can I take these with Premarin, etc.?

Sure! One of the prime ingrediants in Evanesce is a testosterone blocker; people who take Evanesce for several months and then go onto a prescription hormone program (Premarin, etc.) find that the Premarin seems to go to work much faster.

Then this does not have as much estrogen as Premarin?

No; which is why it does not require a therapist’s recommendation, or a doctor’s prescription. On the other hand, it will not overpower the body, will not potentially overpower and hurt the kidneys and liver as Premarin can.

How does Evanesce compare with Feminol?

Evanesce has much higher amounts of testosterone blockers than Feminol has. This is a very important result, especially during the first year or two of conversion/transition. Feminol has much less testosterone blocker extracts, and is higher in estrogen resources because of the glandulars in its formulation.

Then which is more beneficial–Evanesce or Feminol?

These two products are very synergystic — that is, they each magnify the effects of the other. It is a sort of 2 + 2 = 5 kind of thing. Many people are now taking the two products, together.

Are there any other known beneficial side effects?

There are no promises, of course — and certainly there are no claims. Many people report that Evanesce calms the obsessive-compulsive/ depressive emotions quickly–in many cases overnight!

How soon will I see changes/feminization?

Feminization is a unique process in each individual, whether from herbs or drugs; there is no way to “time line” the changes. Your personal genetics, your initial testosterone levels and your body’s ability to recover from testosterone suppression, your nutrition factors, your general health, other medications/drugs, each and all will affect how quickly your body changes.
See “Personal Genetic Potential, Diet, and Lifestyle”, above….

At what point do the changes become irreversible?

This question is best answered by the old story of two steps ahead, one step back; As your feminization progresses, the more you are feminized, the less you will be able to revert to male.

Are there any negative effects of Evanesce and Feminol on a Drug Test that I need to be aware of?

There are no drugs in Evanesce or Feminol, so there are no drug residuals for a drug test to identify. Women get drug tests, too, so elevated estrogen is not a problem on drug testing. Many thousands of people using Evanesce and Feminol since 1991, have passed multiple drug tests without problem.

How are these products shipped? I am very concerned about confidentiality…

Orders of three or more bottles are shipped in very plain white or tan boxes, with very plain white mailing labels. There are no logos, no pictures; nothing extra. Orders of 1-2 bottles are shipped in a plain tan bubble-pack envelope.

I have worked extensively within the TG community locally, nationally, and internationally, for more than 16 years (since 1983). I have served the TG community as a participant, leader, counselor/coach, and Director of a TG support center; I fully understand the need for extreme confidentiality that most people in our TG community have.

What is the average shipping time until I receive my order? What shipper do you use?

We use the US Postal Service, because many people have post office box shipping addresses for personal confidentiality; and because neither FedEx nor UPS, nor any other private carrier can deliver to a post office box. Orders of 1-3 bottles are shipped First Class, with average delivery times of 3-4 days. Orders of 4 or more bottles are shipped Priority First Class, with average shipping times of 2-3 days.

Tell me about ordering on the Internet – what about my credit card security?

In a restaurant, most people think nothing of giving their card to a kid who disappears around a corner with it; this is potentially far more “insecure” than any electronic transfer over the Internet.

• this is the beauty of these formulations…they work, and they work at a pace you can “control”.  OMG, I am not ready to come out to the entire planet yet, but I have slowly morphed in 21 months from this muscular, male body to a tomboyishly softer version that draws looks when I am wandering in drab and a whole different set of looks when I’m out and about femme everyday!  (smile)  I do have curves, I still have my wife, and most importantly, I have an inner peace of mind that you cannot get from anything else!  Am I “going all the way”??  Don’t know, and I do not fret about it…but as far as the “rest of me”, yes, there is no stopping me.  I pass reasonably well until I have to deal with children!  But that’s for another topic of discussion altogether! (grin)  The herbals have helped me develop confidence in myself to be me without wondering what others might think or worrying that I might be outed.  If I’m in a mall and say pass by 1000 people, maybe 1 or 2 might look twice as if wondering, but I hold my head up, make eye contact, smile easily and move on…another day in paradise! (smile) And thanks for the compliment Julie…it is always nice to receive them…and a special thanks to Dianna for her persistence in fighting the fight!  Gawd knows where we all would be now if it were not from the efforts of people like herself and many others that have really taken the blunt of society’s criticisms along the way!  And a thanks as well to the many long time posters in here that continue to offer guidance and support to the rest of us!  You have no idea of the impact you’re making on our lives and we all ought to be eternally grateful! So in a nutshell, despite the heavy negativity surrounding the herbals from so-called “internet experts” of the world, this 61 yr. old girl has proven that despite my age, size (I used to be 6′ 215lbs, but am now 180), and a macho upbringing including playing a contact sport for a living in the 70s, I have been able to overcome all that thru the guidance and products from this site!  - TraciLee

• Just wanted to let you know other products do not come close to providing the same effects. I have experienced very calming effects and have not had any migraines which used to be quite frequent. My skin is much softer and the subtle changes to the body are just what I needed. I must say that my body has undergone changes to a point where I need to be careful what I wear. Keep up the good work and I will continue to let other members of the community know about these great products. – Randi
• My development continues and is sometimes amazing even to me. I’ve heard others say they’ve gotten little or nothing. Maybe they didn’t stay the course long enough or don’t have a body chemistry conducive to development. Maybe they have bad diets, drink too much, smoke, or do drugs — things that might block the benefits of these natural wonders. All I know is they’ve been a godsend for me and I am so appreciative to you, Dianna! Don’t even remember at this point how long I’ve been on them….perhaps you can tell me when my first order was way back when to give me an idea? Not important, just curious.
• Last night and lately have been especially gratifying. My shape is so nice and it’s such a joy to see my profile knowing that what I see isn’t any longer some sort of pad or prothesis…..it’s ALL me. I’m filling a B-cup completely on my left and nearly so on my right (the one that has always lagged just a bit to my chagrin!). It’s just a marvel and I love it! Even bought a new bra last night in celebration….nothing fancy or too sexy, definitely not a hot date item but just something to mark the continuing transition with joy. – Candice
• I would like to once again thank you for providing this product. I am very satisfied with the products Evanesce and Feminol. Taken in moderation of 2 each day is very comfortable. I have noticed the texture of my skin, to the touch is very soft and the effects and changes are wonderfull. My body is (simply stated) re-designing itself or shall I say re-shaping. My breasts are slowly enlarging and my hips and thighs are greatly increasing at a acceptable rate that is wounderous and a joy to watch. My mid section is still the same but I need to exercise and Evanesce and Feminol will not take care of that. Thank you very much, I will be maintaining my supply for years to come. Nicole Louise -
• I have been taking your products for 4 weeks and I have never felt so in tone with life. I have always felt like I was in the wrong body.I have been bald since I was 25 thirty years ago and now I am growing hair it is so noticeable that my wife said she wished I had taken this years ago. And she likes my new attitude. Thank you for your fine service – WW
• Just wanted to touch base. Things are going extremely well… I never imagined I’d get the changes which have occurred. And I am very glad inside. Kind of a quiet confidence you might say. I’m now into a full B, and I still feel my breasts changing… I don’t quite know where it will stop… but will follow the road wherever it leads. It is a very kind, warm, quieting type of change. I look in the mirror and really can’t believe it is me. It is to the point where my wife and I know that I NEED to start wearing a bra, just to keep from hurting when going up and down stairs, horseplay with the kids, physically working hard on yard or house projects, or very aerobic walks… Now it’s not a question of fantasy or indulgence, because I’ve been content for a long time since this regimen of Evanesce became a part of me… Now it’s simply one of those necessary items to use as part of my life in my day-to-day activities. And that thought is very pleasing… I think you know what I mean… -MN
• Hi!! Just wanted to let you know I apprecriate how you rectified the problem with my first order. My company’s shipping department makes mistakes also, but it’s how you resolve it that counts, and you were great!! I have just placed my order for my second two month supply of Evanesce and Feminol. I am pleased with the results that are starting to show in my breast development, and have experienced NO unpleasant side effects as I did when I was on prescription hormones. I am recomending them to all my TG girlfriends. Also, thank you for taking the time to e-mail me and answer all the questions I asked you about your products versus your competitors. That showed me you sincerely care about your customer’s and are not just out to “make a buck” off people who are desperate to make a physical change like some other companies. Please feel free to use this and reprint it as an unsolicited endorsement for you and your fine products!! Sincerely, Michelle Christine Michaels
• I am truly sold on these. It seemed like this is what it took to make a great jumpstart with my body. I have had wonderfull results. The best of it all was the sence of peacefullness. I have been out for acouple of weeks now and am noticeing my old self comming back, Quick tempered, stressed, and almoast in a confused state. I am truly looking forward to recieving my second order. Thankyou again for you wonderfull attention. You make the coldness of the internet seem a little more friendly and warm. – Courtney
• I like it very much. I am sleeping better. At first I didn’t believe all the hype about Evanesce and hormones. But now I do. The estrogen from Evanesce has unlocked me and I am very happy. I am finally understanding why my women friends seem to experience more from life than I did, than men do. Now I know. Their mind and bodies are built for it. What a pity men don’t know. -CA
• …night sweats and the blood-pressure, diabetes — are things of the past. They were all caused by three different Doctors, two of which were prescribing medication without knowing my DNA condition [XXY], or the medications I was given by other Doctors. These drugs were conflicting and with each side effect, more drugs were given by each Doctor. I was taking 35 different drugs! I personally just stopped taking all of them not caring much what happened. I was surprised at how much better I felt! Those “Androderm” patches for low testosterone were the worst. I was never meant to have “normal levels of testosterone”! My blood pressure went out of sight, night sweats, shakes, manic depressions. The side effects of that lasted long after I stopped them and started these products. I feel so much better, it’s unreal. Everything is back to normal, no high blood pressure, I’m no longer a diabetic, not driven to eat excessively, and lost over a hundred pounds, feeling great! Most content and cheerful now. Berdache Jordan
• I just had to let you know that I have been using Evanesce and Feminol for about 5 months now, and had the most wonderful discovery while taking a shower one recent morning. Prior to this I had noticed some shifting and reshaping of my breast tissue to form what I could imagine to be small breasts and I loved that. However, I took the time to really examine myself in the shower and I am now a believer! Not only has my pre-existing tissue been reshaped but there is a noticable budding of my breasts, new tissue increasing the size of my breasts as well as reshaping them. This discovery has truly re-energized me and given me the inspiration to continue on in my journey to discover the real woman I have always been. Thank you for the wonderful products and the excellent customer service. –Belinda
• Evanesce has been different. I started slow, stuck with it, followed a regimen, and found the effects to be wonderful. Your hand-holding and hugs helped a lot too! The changes occur slowly, the body and mind begin to accomodate them, and I am feeling better than I have ever felt in my life. It’s a feeling I haven’t had in a long time. My senses — smell, taste, hearing and seeing are much more acute! I haven’t experienced a migraine since being on Evanesce! -CA
• My god, what a difference they make! I soon felt a calm I’ve never felt before, and it hasn’t left in four days, I began to realize that this need of mine is more than something I’d thought up, but an actual nutritional, biochemical deficiency that’s plagued me all my life, as though I’ve suffered a sort of menopause all this time. After two days, a friend asked me if I’d shaved or trimmed my beard differently. I haven’t. My skin, especially in my hands and arms, seems slightly smoother and softer, and not quite as veiny and tendony. I guess above all, my attitude has improved. I think I can enjoy things more and be a more enjoyable person to be around. It’s astonishing how the plant world can provide something so intrinsically “human” as our hormones. -OH
• This is my second order, and I must confess, I didn’t think it would work at first….. Boy ! (or should I say “girl”) Does it ever work.. At first, in about three weeks, I noticed a very slight change in my hips.. very slight, but noticable… Then my breasts began to get softer and slightly larger.. My nipples became larger and more sensitive, and I grew from …very flat chested …to a full A cup … and I think they are still growing! Hardly believable but true… Thanx again! – MN
• I would like to say thank you for your fast service and tell you about my first week. Started on Evanesce two capsules twice a day that very afternoon the package arrived and after one week everything is going great. I haven’t felt this whole and alive since puberty and the changes my body has done in one week are unbelievable. Now, my body is starting to look like the woman I knew was inside me. Once again THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! -WI
• I started the hormones in October I believe … doing them 6 [Evanesce] and 4 [Feminol] my nipples got a lot larger! I always believed I was producing estrogen because I always had tiny breasts as a man. Here it is Jan 5th and I have size B breasts now! The hormones I believe compounded the estrogen I was naturally producing. -Stephanie
• I know you have alot of people writing to you with testimonials about this product but I think you better add my letter as one of them. I have only used your product a few days & yet I see a huge change in my overall appearance. It makes me sooo happy to find some thing safe but realy effective. My chest area has started to swell & fill my bra. My skin has become much smoother. I have also noticed that all the birth marks I have are starting to fade. If this is what your product has to offer me then you have a customer for life. I may never want to use the alternative option of breast growth again. -KS
• My mood is wonderfully improved: I’m less prone to anger over unimportant things, seem more able to handle stress with out becoming flustered (my two – year – old daughter must appreciate this), and have better short term memory. I tend less to put things off. Many bad habits have just fallen by the wayside: no more smoking, less booze; as little sugar and salt as I can get away with. No more interest; they just bum me out. I’ve developed a real taste for milk, fruit, grains. Unexpectedly, a years – long battle with nasal congestion has virtually disappeared! No kidding: I don’t even touch the antihistamine I once ate like candy. Whether it’s the hormones or just the nutritional benefits of these powerful herbs, I don’t know; but they feel so right! Oh, yes; lots of new sensations in my nipples, and my skin is overall smoother, softer, and more sensitive. Just a slight touch or a cool breeze will set these little nipples on end, and send me shivvering. That’s so cute: hot buttons I never knew I had! -PA
• Evanesce is wonderful! I noticed a big improvement in my skin texture almost overnight, and growing tenderness in my nipples came almost as quickly…; my skin is much better. -VA
• Obviously, one month is not enough time to arrive at conclusions regarding the benefits…; Since I began taking Evanesce [eight months ago], the psychological changes are significantly more evident than the physical ones…; Folks are telling me that I seem to look younger. The obvious changes to my breasts are only known to me. I’m happy that I’m developing normally -TN
• I learned about Evanesce from some of my TG friends who reported positive results. RR, CA
• I have contacted a number of persons in the community who have taken it and they recommend highly. MD, NY
• I do like the product … it is helping me in slow, easy, subtle ways … Thank You. EH, NY
• Evanesce is wonderful. I noticed an improvement in my skin almost overnight, tenderness in my nipples was almost as fast. Even if nothing else happens, my skin is much better. KF, VA
• It is a wonderful product for *girls like me* and I thank you for being there. JP, IN
• Evanesce will further help to develop the she/male self of me that I enjoy and wnat others to see and enjoy JA, WA
• My newly developing breasts and plumper derrier will be most greatful if you can process this order at your earliest convenience. PR, RI

Women taking Evanesce report significant reductions in premenstrual depression, menstrual cramps, and other cyclical events related to their body’s unique functioning; Evanesce was originally developed as a PMS Formula capsule for women.

One thing we do know for sure at this time is that M2F TG/TS people who are taking anti-androgens and estrogen along with a treatment regimen for MPB, have significantly better chances of recovering from MPB than males who are not taking anti-androgens and estrogen. This is well documented almost all over the place. I am seeing this play out in my own experience with treating my condition. My temples are filling in, though significantly slower than the rest of the areas that are filling in (vertex and mid-anterior). It takes time. A long time. A very long time. Those commercials/adds for products claiming to regrow hair in a matter of weeks and months are lying. It is not biologically possible to recover from MPB in a matter of weeks and months. Even hair transplants take a year and a half before the full benefit of the operation is known. That’s a long time to wait before seeing the results of a very expensive operation (Between $8K and $10K).

One way to help determine what stage you are is to print out some copies of that chart and ask several friends to circle the picture that they feel looks most like your hair pattern.

If you really are stage I or II or somewhere in between, I really don’t think you need to use Minoxidil. But as long as you have testicles you should use Nizoral A/D and/or T/Gel shampoo. Neither of those shampoos are “growth stimulators”, but each can help arrest hair loss.

As much as I do advocate Rogaine (Minoxidil) for M2F TG/TS folks who are stage IIIv through stage V, those with stage II and no vertex hair loss should probably wait to see what the feminization regimen will do before starting on Rogaine. Because you may not need it, or it may not do you any good anyway.

The chances/likelihood of recovering from frontal hair loss is very slim (less than 10%), but still a possibility none the less. Though both my temples are filling in very slowly, my left temple is filling in at a faster pace than my right temple. Pushing our testosterone down gives us an advantage in that area that most males suffering from hair loss do not have. If those areas are totally bald – as in completely void of velus hair – the follicles are either dead or dormant. If they are dead they will never regrow hair again. Only a hair transplant will be able to fill them in. If they are dormant, the only things that have a chance of waking them up to regrow hair again are growth stimulators such as Minoxidil and/or Low Level Laser therapy. One “rule of thumb” you can consider is that areas that have been totally void of velus hair for ten years or more are likely full of dead follicles. If it has been less than ten years, the follicles in those areas may only be dormant.

So with that said, examine those areas very carefully. If you can see velus hair (peach fuzz) in those areas, just give it time and see if they start to fill in. We are talking about time that is measured in months. So wait till you have been on your full feminization regimen (Evanesce, Feminol, AndroEase and Calm Companion) and those medicated shampoos for at least a year. Then re-evaluate your scalp.

Only time will tell (if your temple hair will come back completely), and it does take a very long time, at least a year before you know if you are making progress in that department.

If you are sure you have vellous hair in those areas, I would strongly suggest getting a HairMax Laser Comb.

Low Level Laser therapy — specifically the HairMax Laser Comb — for hair loss treatment does wonderful things.  It stimulates dormant hair follicles to start growing hair again.  It improves the health of your scalp.  And it makes the individual hairs grow thinker and stronger.  It does not make dead follicles come back to life…  Nothing that’s currently available on the market can do that, but there is a procedure awaiting FDA approval that can – – – supposedly.

I simply cannot recommend the Laser Comb highly enough. I know doctors are very divided on it – but I also know it has worked for me. Those doctors who insist it can’t work and call the doctors who recommend it quacks are just being jerks for the sake of being jerks. They are not looking at the results. They are simply criticizing the technology. Why? I do not know.

If you are stage IIa, stage III, stage IIIv, stage IV or stage V with skin types I through VI, and can afford a Laser Comb, get one and use it as directed. I know it is expensive, but I personally feel it is worth every penny of its very high price. Do not get one of those inexpensive generic Laser Combs. None of those have passed FDA approval. Only the HairMax Laser Comb has done that, and that is one of the reasons why it is so expensive.

Other supplements that may be helpful are Evening Primrose Oil and Essential Fatty Acids (Fish/Flax/Borage oil). The Phoenix Project sells both and Natures Bounty also offers both.

Remember, this takes a long time. Any regimen you choose to take to deal with it needs to be a commitment of at least a year. If it works for you, you will need to stick with it until your testicles are removed or for the rest of your life.

If you have had ANY thinning in the vertex at all, whether it became completely bald or not, you are stage IIIv. I am not saying that to alarm you, I am saying that because every M2F TG/TS person needs to understand these stages and what to do about hair loss (both prevention and how to reverse it).

Also, vertex hair loss is directly linked to another “male-only” problem, the prostate. Any born male who has suffered vertex hair loss, even if its only “thinning”, should think very seriously about taking a quality Saw Palmetto complex every day. Especially born males over the age of 35. Natures Bounty makes a very good one. And there is an equally good Saw Palmetto Complex available here on this web site. Natures Bounty also makes a multi-vitamin product called Hair, Skin & Nails that may be helpful to a M2F TG/TS person, especially if she has suffered any hair loss or “thinning”… I keep putting thinning in parentheses because thinning IS hair loss.

I use the Nizoral A/D shampoo on Tuesday night and Friday night.  An additional benefit to using Nizoral A/D shampoo is it makes the individual hairs thicker, stronger and very pretty.  It usually takes about six to eight weeks to see that, unless your hair is very long.  The longer your hair is, the more time it will take to notice any difference or benefit in your hair quality from using these medicated shampoos.

Minoxidil is a topical hair regrowth treatment for male patterned baldness.  It is one of only two drugs that have been proven to regrow hair.  If you have suffered hair loss or thinning up top, you may want to think about adding Minoxidil to your feminization treatments.

Minoxidil, Retinol and Ketoconazole are the only “medications” I am using as part of my feminization treatment – because I have a bald spot and thinning that needs to be treated…  I don’t want to be a bald lady…

I use the Monixidil as directed on the package.  I use Retinol cream on my bald spot and temples at bed time – then put Minoxidil on those same areas of my scalp.  Retinol by itself is not a hair loss treatment – but Retinol has been shown to help Minoxidil work better. The main downside to using Minixidil is once you start using it you have to keep using it for the rest of your life. Though many people can step down the dose to only once a day after a few years. The second downside to using Minoxidil is that it is not very convenient. Why use it if there is a possibility that you may not need it?

Another product that has been shown to help Minoxidil work better is Nizoral shampoo (Ketoconazole).  In fact, I have read studies showing that the prescription version of  Nizoral (2% Ketoconazole) twice per week works as well for women with hair loss as 2% women’s Minoxidil twice per day.  That impressed me so I use the OTC version of Nizoral (1% Ketoconazole) twice per week.

In any and all cases of hair loss for M2F TG/TS people, the very last option anyone should consider is a prosthetic “hair system”. The second to the very last option is hair transplants. The third from the very last option is to use Rogaine. And always, always, always do what you can to regrow what you can if you can BEFORE having hair transplants. Only those who have stage VI hair loss or worse should be considering a prosthetic hair system.

I hope this information is helpful to you.