[bee]

I have had about 225 hours of electrolysis on my face. I had scaring and pitting caused from the electrolysis that made my face look like the craters of the moon. Also a crease line would form in the crevasses. As you say everyone is different and the skill (or lack thereof) of the operator does play a part, as well as the type of electrolysis being performed.

After the front of my face was fairly clear I had facial dermabrasion. This is basically taking a mechanical rotating tool and abrading off some layers of skin. This helps new skin growth that is smoother than the previous skin.

This procedure worked well for me and was a 3 hour experience walk in-walk out with local anesthetic. Bandages were required for a week after and care taken of the new pinkish skin with exposure to UV etc. The pink disappeared over about 3 months).

This procedure should not to be confused with the micro-dermabrasion procedure offered at some beauty salons, which is more of a ‘polishing’ effect. If anything its major dermabrasion. I had the procedure in Bangkok, Thailand and the cost was USD$1,000 (Dec 2009).

[bee]

An online chat friend had this in WA. For her she told me with medicare her out of pocket expenses were $45 (this was prob in 2007/2008). Each state regulates their health services differently at the moment so best to check your state. If you are intending to have SRS at a later stage it would be a good idea to contact the surgeon you are intending to have SRS with and ask them for a letter to your Orchiectomy surgeon, advising them what needs to be retained. (Basically normally the scrotal skin-but this depends on the SRS technique used by the surgeon of course.).
My friend did this and she later had SRS with no issues at all.

[bee]

I have visited this venue and even though it is apparently managed by trans people it is a gay male club. So do keep that in mind if you are thinking of attending. It seems to be stuck in the 70’s (not in a good way) and is basically an old corner pub with poker machines and a small 2m² ‘stage’ for karaoke etc. The female toilets have dark green glossy painted cement rendered walls, a small mirror and a single dim flickering fluorescent light.

I personally think the place is a dump -That said – people tell me they don’t go there for the venue but rather for the interesting people that frequent there.

[bee]

Janep> If you want hair that you can style – real hair wigs are the way.
Acrylic are ‘pre-styled’ to a certain extent so they will return to that style after washing etc. Real hair wigs do not have to be expensive and you can find some at http://wigs.md or you can have your own hand made wig tailored to your head measurements at http://host-a.net/bambi/BangkokWigs-01.pdf

However real hair wigs do take as much work as real hair but of course can be colored and shaped as you like.

[bee]

Just to add to this topic:

As you know nearly everyone is taking different drugs and in different doses for the HRT. These are the ones best suited to the individual concerned. So it is had to compare case by case. The Health professional I went to policy was “To get maximum effect with the minimum drugs”.

In my case I have had no weight gain due to HRT drugs as far as I can see. The minimal breast growth is only a few hundred grams at best. I started HRT in April 2007.

But as I say in this area of HRT everyone seems to be different.

~byes~
bambi

[bee]

Kiera:

I guess you have to think of it as a 2 way street. What are you
looking for from the Trans social groups? What are you offering?
Perhaps you could make a statement here in your blog – about
yourself. I mean I am sure you can understand it could be difficult
for some to see you in women’s clothes with your long beard. Perhaps
some quietly question your motives or something and/or are perhaps just a
little wary…

Just something to consider perhaps.

(This is not a personal attack – But rather just offering some possible reasons for possible views relating to some of the posted comments of Kiera regarding some Trans Social Associations in Brisbane)

[bee]

Do some searching online. The unit is USD$499 on Amazon and here are some reviews:

http://www.hairtell.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/52478/1.html

~byes~
bambi

[bee]

Anthea: I was a member of that yahoo group for a few years – really there are so few posts (maybe 1 or 2 a week) that I dont think you are missing out on any info you cant find elsewhere.

Moderator

Quote:

Girls can you please stick to talking about Breasts!!
CRONE is the subject of another forum – just do a search

[bee]

Just to keep things in perspective about the situation regarding Trans people in Japan I offer this article:

2009-Dec 03
“AFP-TOKYO — Japanese TV personality Ai Haruna said she wants her country to be more tolerant toward people of diverse sexual orientations, a month after she was crowned the world’s most beautiful transsexual.”

The full article is here
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jnK7ExzIExqQFKd4SnY8X1fvb90g

~bambi~

[bee]

I researched this with a Plastic Surgeon in 2008. In Brisbane the costs were about AUD$9,000. This was in a public hospital (one overnight). The same surgery in a private hospital would have been AUD$1,200 extra due to the increased cost of the venue.

The Public Hospital required a 6 month wait for an opening in Brisbane. Private could have been done at any time.

I opted to have my AM (BA) actually in Bangkok Thailand. When the surgery is combined with some others, the cost difference can be substantial. For me the cost of the implants (through arm pit, cohesive round implants, and surgery (3 day, 2 night Private Hospital) and 14 day nurse aftercare at Hotel) was USD$3,000 – traveling and Accommodation/meals cost not included) (Dec 2008)

I hope this information helps.
~byes~
bambi

[bee]

Southern Health in Victoria is as far as I know, the only clinic offering SRS surgery in Australia at the moment. (Nov 2009)

You may find these links useful
http://www.theage.com.au/national/sexchange-clinic-got-it-wrong-20090530-br3u.html

http://www.tgfolk.net/sites/satsg/monash.html

For SRS and FFS I did my own research and you can read my blog for details.

For FFS at this time none is covered as far as I know by Medicare. Private health insurance may be a different matter.

For SRS other than the above, your closest choice is Thailand.

The costs for SRS in Australia, if you meet their criteria (Have Medicare cover) are about AUD$8000 out of pocket expenses plus Private health insurance for at least 2 years ($2,000+?). So as you can see there is not much price difference in choosing Australia or Thailand. price wise.

You need to research and make sure you are happy with the way the procedure is performed as well. As there are different techniques used by different surgeons. You also need to think about the after care and compare these as well.

~byes~
bambi

[bee]

Re:20 to 1

I don’t know who makes up these lists or what the criteria is for selection is for “20 to 1” (Nine’s website gives no clue).

Anyway here is a list of Trans themed Movies. Most are not on the 20 to 1 list.
http://www.freebase.com/view/base/gender/views/trans_movies
also
http://74.125.155.132/search?q=cache:_6crnp7iuw8J:www.superliminal.com/melinda/tgmovies.htm+transgender+movies&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&client=firefox-a

~bambi~

[bee]

Oh I see, this is a secret way of bashing Queenslanders… You southerners will end up with non-bent ‘nana’s if you are not careful, and beer that actually says BEER on it, so watch out! *smiles*
~bambi~

[bee]

You need some tools I suggest for your make up station.

You can’t do a good makeup if you can’t see yourself. I went out and bought 2 sets of 5 bulb “Hollywood lights”. The type you see often in movie sets where the actors get made up. With small 25w bulbs these give a flat, no shadow bright light. Actually I put my lights on stands so they could be portable and moved around.

In addition for close up work I purchased a magnifying mirror. Yes you can see all the details and that can be scary – but if you can’t see the details, how can you do things to reduce the appearance of them?

Here is a photo of my set up
http://bambi.freeo.net/images/2006-08-17-03l.jpg

http://bambi.freeo.net/images/2008-05-12l.jpg

~bambi~

[bee]

I found some books educational “Making Faces” by pro makeup artist Kevyn Aucion, has many makeup styles and examples. It explains how each make up was done in easy steps with diagrams. It shows before and after photos.

He even features a trans make-up. It has been a No.1 New York Times Best Seller.160 pages A4 Size.
# Paperback: 160 pages
# Publisher: Little, Brown and Company (September 2, 1999)
# Language: English
# ISBN-10: 0316286850
# ISBN-13: 978-0316286855
# Product Dimensions: 11.9 x 9 x 0.6 inches
# Shipping Weight: 2 pounds

You can find it here currently for USD$14.95
http://www.amazon.com/Making-Faces-Kevyn-Aucoin/dp/0316286850/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1250815852&sr=8-1

~bambi~