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I shave my face. I figured out that by putting a steaming hot towel on my face for a couple of minutes, washing it, rinsing it in warm water, then shaving it keeps away the razor burn...

Why do I shave? I don't know. I'm somehow convinced it makes me manly. I have led myself to think that it actually promotes hair growth (I think I may be growing sideburns), so I've decided to shave my upper arms, stomach, and upper legs... and even my back... xp I have a fairly fuzzy back.

Do you boys shave? Do you think it helps promote hair growth, despite bajillions of mean experts telling us it can't?

Aaaaand what do I do about my short hair on the back of my legs? Is there a way to promote hair growth, or make it look darker? How do I obtain such an object?!


One slightly unrelated note- out of curiosity, is there a legal way to obtain testosterone-boosting medication without a prescription? Liiike, without a diagnosis for GID or whatever it's called? If you take such a thing, you'd need to see a doctor periodically, right?

And if the "therapy, diagnosis, write a letter, give you T" is the only way, how old must you be to start T? I recall asking this long, long ago, and being given a link to some guidelines and not finding the answer.


Thank you kindly!

I shaved my face for the first time the other day. :]
I kind of had to because of my haircut; it shows how hairy my sideburn region is, and since around certain people, I still have to be a girl, it makes me feel especially awkward.

you don't have to be 18 to start t, but you do have to have your parent/s and a psychologist (or a psychiatrist) sign off saying that you have a gid and it's okay for you to start hormones. there are a lot of steps in the process to make sure that it's not a false diagnosis.
I'm not sure if there are any things that you could take to up your natural t level.

Shaving doesn't help hair growth. However, since the tips of the hair are cut and aren't tapered it appears as if the hair is thicker. There are some chemicals that do promote hair growth. Those you'd probably need an Rx for.

Nah, I don't shave my face, excepting the occasional swipe of a razor to get rid of the bits of my eyebrows that grow over my nose. I'm sure there is a hell of a psychological effect, but I can't be arsed to spend money on razors and foam just for that.
As for body hair in general, it's a mix of genetic factors and hormone levels. Lots of bioguys are naturally quite hairless, so it's not the hugest factor in passing, and the stuff will thicken up on T anyway.

Regarding T, if there's a way of getting off-prescription in the US, I don't know the first thing about it. Even if you do get it yourself, you'd still need to see a doctor and an endocrinologist regularly to check that you've got the right levels and that it's not having any adverse effects.
I imagine you'd have to be 18 or older to get prescribed it, for the most part, though there's probably a few examples of teenagers on treatment, who happen to be very extreme and obvious cases with extremely supportive parents.

Yea, but it will mot likely dye your skin as well.

I have plenty of times when I completely forget the fact of my physical body. It's great when that happens, 'cause it's nice to be chilled and not constantly anxious.

As for your other question, Conway: Yeah, sure they can. I've got a friend who apparently identified as male for five years, and she's really rather feminine now. There really are people who go through phases, though there's no doubt it's irritating as heck to be told that.
It's also harder to live a normal female life after you've started transition, which is why they hold back treatment until you're an adult, and why they make it so damn difficult. I'm sure transphobia and general idiocy probably do play a part in why treatment is hard to get, but one of the biggest reasons is because it is not something to be rushed into. The success stories far outweigh the tales of horror, but people do end up transitioning and regretting it, because they were doing it for the wrong reasons after all.
Which is why it's necessary to get analysed and diagnosed by someone who knows their stuff, and also why, before you seek treatment, that you spend plenty of time questioning yourself.

I know there's a lot of controversy over the issue, even among the "experts," however this is probably the correct answer.

With that said, I shaved pre-testosterone, and I was happy believing it promoted hair growth despite everyone informing me otherwise. In my case I think it might actually have done so though. Either that or coincidently at that same time during puberty I became a much hairier girl.

At 14 I would shave my whole body because I was made to feel really ugly about it. I mean pretty much my entire body, excluding the top of my head,places that didn't grow hair, my back and places I couldn't reach/see. I shaved my face, my chest and stomache, arm and hands, legs and feet, and even my ears! I was made to feel very insecure about myself. I got over that eventually.

Yes, I was slightly hairier than the average girl to begin with. By that I mean I had an abundance of thin but dark hairs on my arms. I decided it was just easier to wear lots of layers of clothes and only long sleeves no matter what time of year and leave it at that.

When I became more in tune with my male self I decided I'd like to start shaving again. I justified it because other boys my age weren't still growing "peach fuzz" on there chin and cheeks. I had a small treasure trail of gold hair leading up to my belly button extending up my chest in very fine, short, blonde, hairs. I decided to shave those too. I like to think that this did promote hair growth because I noticed an increase in tiny but still apparent sideburns and my tummy trail became darker, denser, and longer, if only by a bit.