Fry Day

This is why you feel discouraged when you try on clothes

By Ginger Burr at Total Image Consultants



Here's the free webinar link mentioned at the end of the video: https://totalimageconsultants.com/web

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Laser Hair Removal: Everything You Need to Know

By Jenna Rennert for Vogue.com

“While laser hair removal has been around since the ’90s, it’s more popular than ever. And for good reason: it’s an effective and safe way to get rid of facial and body hair that requires virtually no upkeep. And while we might be seeing the return of the full bush, the laser hair removal market continues to climb.”

Read the rest of this excellent article here.

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When I was a kid, I thought Friday was so-called because that was the day of the week that Catholic kids like me had fried fish for supper.

Wearing JustFab

Male and female patrons at Eldorado in Berlin, circa 1930

Piercing and Shaving

Susie Hune recently wrote to me about piercing her ears and removing her hair. Her thoughts on these topics were interesting and I want to share them with you.

A summer or so ago, my daughter and granddaughter finally convinced my wife that I should get my ears pierced (took about three years). Conservatively, I’ve noticed that about 90% of the guys with any kind of earring are wearing them on both ears. (I think they can’t remember for sure which side they’re supposed to go in!)

So we all trooped over to the mall and Piercing Pagoda and got ‘em done. I got the little gold balls that were unobtrusive and wore them to Mass the next day. I had one comment by a friend of mine in the choir, followed by another member. Both were very positive! No comments from any of my other choir members… or even sneaky glances! It was a non-event and very anti-climactic. Not sure how I feel about that.

Now I have access to my wife’s earrings and have had fun going out to Kay Jewelers to pick out new ones (as Susie, of course).

So, no time like the present, Stana. In fact, give yourself a present!

This leads to another subject: outward appearances and what the public will accept.

I’m almost 70 and one of my greatest regrets is that I didn’t have something done with my body hair when I was younger. I body shave everyday and it’s time-consuming to say the least. Half-hour showers are the norm and I wish removal of gray hair with laser was possible.

If I have one suggestion for anyone in our shoes (heels), it’s find ANY excuse to get all the non-female hair removed from your body as young as you can!!! Laser or electrolysis… just get it removed! There will come a time in your life where you’ll regret not doing so. If you consider that I spend about 30 minutes per day for face and body… multiplied by 365 days per year… that’s a lot of shaving cream, razor blades, and water. The plus side is the feeling you have when you are hair-free below the neck. Oooh, that’s nice, particularly in a nightie!

And again, I go everywhere in the summer in women’s shorts with bare legs and no one gives me a glance (except for the few that know all about me and from them I hear “nice legs!”)
.
In summary, get your ears pierced, Stana, and encourage your readers to get all their masculine hair removed using any and all excuses available.

Wearing La Femme.

Xavier Dolan

Hair and HRT

When I volunteered, "Ask me anything," Stef, Karen and Emily asked different questions, but my answers are all related.

Stef asked, "I know you have no plans to transition; does that also mean you've ruled out ever trying HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy)?"

Karen asked, "A number of times in the past you've mentioned your routine for shaving your face. I've always wondered why you don't look into something like electrolysis for your beard."

If I femulated full-time, I would definitely seek some form of permanent hair removal and I would seriously consider HRT. Since I do not femulate full-time, I consider both to be a luxury that I cannot honestly afford.

HRT is an interesting prospect. I have never had my hormone levels tested, but a therapist suspects my hormone levels may already be on the feminine side. (I will not bore you with all the evidence why this may be so; you can read about some of the evidence here if you are interested.)

If I already tip the scales on the estrogen side, would I need even more estrogen that HRT would provide? I have no idea.

I am hairy.

Besides facial hair, I have a generous amount of body hair, although after years of depilitating, the hair regrowth on my legs is noticeably thinner; the rest of my body, not so much. So, permanent hair removal would be at the top of my to-do list if I femulated full-time.

Which brings me to Emily's question:

Do you ever tire of femulating?

No, I never tire of femulating. However, sometimes I do not look forward to femulating because of the amount of body hair removal that is required.

I try to maintain a hairless body (at least the parts that are most likely to show when I femulate) and I do so by shaving those parts after I shave my face in the morning. For example, one morning I may touch up my arms, another morning my boobs, next morning my right leg, following morning my left leg, etc., etc.

But sometimes, I am not as conscientious as I should be about the maintenance and I face a major hair removal session before I can become the Amazon.

It is time-consuming, messy, and certainly no fun; I never look forward to those sessions.

 

Actor Brian Charles Rooney (left) femulating as Candy Darling in Pop!
a 2010 musical performed at the Yale Repertory Theatre, New Haven.

 

Wearing Adrianna Papell.

Your Wish Is My Command

I received a great response to my call for topics that you readers would like me to write about or expand upon. Thank-you!

There are so many things to cover that I will be busy for days addressing your questions and suggestions. So without further adieu, let me begin.

Got My Back

Jan Brown wrote, "...a while ago, you alluded to a tool (razor) to shave your back without help. Could you please explain more with pictures."

The tool is the Mangroomer and instead of reinventing the wheel, I direct you to the Mangroomer webpage that does a very good job of describing the device with numerous photos and a video.

By the way, the current Mangroomer is not your father's Mangroomer. It is an improved model that has features that the older model I own lacks like a longer reach and a rechargeable battery. 

Got My Voice

Belinda wrote, "I would be interested whether you have done anything about your voice, and if so what. I know that my voice generally gives me away, but generally women are more social especially with other women. I feel inhibited though, but I don’t feel natural trying to speak girlishly. I would be interested in your experiences."

Many years ago, I bought Melanie Anne Phillips VHS video course "Melanie Speaks," which was intended to teach you how to speak like a woman. I watched the video and was duly impressed, but finding free time to practice with the video at home was a problem. So I copied the audio portion of the course to a cassette tape and practiced during my 35-minute commute to and from work every weekday.

In no time, I got the hang of the course and the voice that came out of my mouth was scary... in a good way! I sounded like a natural born woman!

The only problem was that I felt "silly" using my new voice when I was en femme. Isn't that ridiculous? Here I am, a 6-foot-2 femulator dressed to the nines, but speaking like a woman made me feel silly!

To avoid feeling silly, I convinced myself that I could get away using my natural male voice when I was en femme. Since my male voice is not decidedly masculine and I am soft-spoken, I usually got away with it. So I took the easy way out even though I knew I could do better.

All that was before I realized I was really a trans-woman and not a "plain vanilla crossdresser" as I used to refer to myself. As a trans-woman, I felt that it was time to get more serious about my voice and I now use the female voice I found using the "Melanie Speaks" course.

I am getting better all the time, but occasionally I forget myself and lapse into my old ways. So I must continually make a conscious effort to speak all the time the way Melanie taught me.

Boobs

All I want for Christmas is my two front teat!

Not really. My girls are fine except for one thing: the hair on my boobs grows back faster than any of my other body hair.

Whereas my leg hair grows back very slowly and my arm hair grows back quicker than my leg hair, nothing compares with my boob hair. Whether I use a razor or chemical to remove my boob hair, next morning, new hair appears.

I guess all I can do is keep on pluckin'.

Dear Stana: How Do You Remove Body Hair?

Dear Stana,

Sorry to bother you, but I forgot the name of the body hair remover that you liked so much. I would appreciate  it very much if you could tell me again. Also, where can you buy it?

Thanks so much and thanks for all you do – we all love your blog – you are a blessing to our community.

Gina

 

Hi Gina,

Thank you for the kind words.

I use Nair or Veet. They both work about the same, but I prefer the product in a container with a pump dispenser rather than a squeeze container.

Using the pump dispenser, I have better control of the amount of product I am dispensing, whereas using the squeeze container, I never know how much product each squeeze will dispense.

Also, when I apply the product to my body, my hands become slippery from handling the product. At that point, it is a lot easier to pump additional product out of a container than it is to squeeze it out of the container.

Nair and Veet are usually sold wherever they sell hair and beauty products, for example, Walmart, Target, CVS, Rite Aid, and Walgreen all sell Nair and/or Veet. I often find Nair/Veet at half price or less at Big Lots and Ocean State Job Lots.

Whatever you use, don't use the product on sensitive areas of your body. For me, I avoid my underarms, nipples, and neck (your sensitive areas may be different than mine). The product burns those sensitive areas leaving red welts that are painful to the touch.

Also, don't use Nair or Veet immediately after shaving with a razor on any part of your body, not just the sensitive parts. My skin burned the few times I did that.

Being a woman is hard work!

Stana

 

Need advice concerning femulation or other crossdressing-related matters, then e-mail me and I will happily give you my opinion on the matter. My e-mail address is stana-stana at sbcglobal.net.

Trying Something New

I just came into a free stash of wax strips by the brand name of "Parissa."

I have never used wax strips and was looking for a little advice from anyone who has used them.

"Parissa's gentle, natural products result in salon-smooth skin that lasts for weeks. Skin stays smoother longer since regrowth is sparser and finer. Parissa products also exfoliate the skin and removes impurities for healthy, radiant skin. Results: smooth soft skin for up to 6 weeks; clean, supple results; safer than lotions & lasers; finer, sparser regrowth."

The part about "6 weeks" really got my attention.

Epilady Anyone?

This morning, as I used a chemical depilator to remove hair from my legs, arms, and breasts for the umpteenth time, I wondered about alternatives like Epilady.

Here are the top three reasons Epilady cites for using their product:

• Results last for up to 4 weeks. Epilating takes about 15-20 minutes per leg, but is only done once a month.

• Hair grows back more slowly, and diminishes over time.

• New hairs grow back softer and lighter – “like a new blade of grass.”

So, what is your experience good or bad with electronic depilators like Epilady?

Please comment below or e-mail me if you prefer. I look forward to reading your views on this subject.

removing hair and finding her

Tonight, I will be going out en femme to attend a Halloween party. It has been just over a month since my previous outing en femme, so I had to do some maintenance this morning in preparation for this evening.

The hair that I removed last month had grown back. Although, it was very sparse, I still had to remove it in order to look and feel fully feminine, so this morning, I put hair removal cream on my legs, arms, and chest.

After the cream had chemically reacted with the hair, I got in the shower and used a wet face cloth to remove the cream (now mixed with hair) and revealed the smooth, hairless legs of a woman.

Depiltating my legs is a part of my femulation routine that really does it for me every time!

get back hair

This morning, I shaved those body parts that should hairless when I am dressed en femme. This was my annual full-body depilation that I perform every September in anticipation of my first time out en femme. (I am going to my first wedding en femme this evening.)

This year, the task was quicker than in the past because it was the first time I used my Mangroomer back hair shaver to remove my back, chest, shoulder, and upper arm hair. The main attraction of the Mangroomer is that it has a extendable and adjustable handle that allows you to reach all areas of your back. I am 5'14" tall and had no problem shaving the far reaches of my back.

The Mangroomer costs $39.99 and is well-worth the price.

cool

During the past few days, the weather here has turned the corner from summer to fall, which means that I shed as much body hair as possible and begins dressing like a girl at every opportunity.

The first opportunity arrives this Saturday when I attend a wedding en femme, which will be a new experience for me. Too bad I am spoken for because I would have loved to try and catch the bride's bouquet; my height and long arms might have been an advantage there!

In preparation for my first time out since my June Manhattan adventure, I have begun the process of hair removal. I do it in steps over a few days to make it less daunting. Once I remove my summer layer of fur, I maintain it over the cooler months so that it is less of a chore each time I go out.

I bought three new dresses with the intention of wearing one to the wedding. I almost bought new shoes, too, but I already own so many pairs that match my outfit that I decided to skip another new pair.

Also, I bought new hair, which will make its debut at the wedding and I bought some new makeup to replenish my warpaint collection.

So, I am good to go and look forward to Saturday.

more on less hair

Just a couple of additional thoughts regarding yesterday's discussion of hair removal products...

The containers of Veet that I bought yesterday were a bit more expensive than the containers of Nair I normally buy. However, Veet comes in a 13.5 oz/400 ml container vs. the Nair 5.4 oz/160 ml container, so that's two and one-half more times Veet than Nair for only a little bit more out of pocket. Also, I found a $2 discount coupon on the Veet Web site if I decide to buy Veet again.

Another advantage of Veet is that it comes in a pump container (like those hand lotion pump containers), which should make less of a mess than using the Nair squeeze container.

Veet also includes a plastic spatula to scrape off the hair. Dunno how useful that will be, but I will try it out.

A Tip

Finally, here is a tip when using Nair, Veet, or some other depilator.

Have a bottle of witch hazel and a face cloth handy in case you get the depilator on a sensitive body part. The witch hazel will cool the chemical burn and in my experience, prevent a rash and/or red skin that often follows some misplaced depilation.

Another Tip

Witch hazel is a great astringent. I use it on my face after shaving and before applying makeup. (I also love the scent of witch hazel.)

Nair vs. Veet

During my lunch hour, I went to my nearby discount department store to buy some things I needed at home. Near the top of my shopping list was Nair.

I have been using Nair like forever to remove hair and have learned what parts of my body to avoid because certain body parts do not like Nair at all. Those areas are my underarm area, areas near the base of my neck, and my nipple area. I am a happy Nair camper as long as I avoid those sensitive areas.

So, I visit the Nair area of my nearby discount department store and the Nair shelf is empty. I am shocked; there's nary a bottle of Nair to be found. (Maybe there is a crossdresser's convention in town and they bought up all the Nair! But, not likely because I would have heard about it.)

I noticed that there were a few bottles of a Veet on the shelf below the empty Nair shelf. I picked up a bottle and after reading the label, I concluded that it is similar to Nair, so I put two bottles in my shopping cart and kept on shopping.

During a break in the action at work this afternoon, I decided to see what the Internet had to say about Veet. I read the reviews and I became very worried about my purchase. Three out of four reviews were negative with reviewers complaining about all sorts of skin problems related to their use of Veet.

I was ready to get back in my car and go get a refund, but before I took that step, I checked to see how Nair faired in the Internet reviews.

Turns out that the Nair reviews were as bad as the Veet reviews. It seems that more people are more sensitive to Nair than I am, so I assume the same goes for Veet and I am safe, but I am holding onto my receipt just in case.