Imgur user Selgal from Ohio shared diary of transition over 17 months
Took hormone replacement therapy which softened skin and jawline
At 11 months she finally started to see some changes in her appearance
Started wearing feminine clothes at 15 months and make-up at 16 months
A teenage student has shared an intimate photo diary of her transition from man to woman after 17 months of hormone replacement therapy.
Imgur user Selgal from Ohio explained that she’s finally happy after almost two years of taking hormones and now has a boyfriend she loves ‘more than life’.
‘It’s never too late to change who you are,’ she said. ‘Happiness is real, you just have to be willing to risk anything to find it.’
Her photo diary has been viewed more than 200,000 times on the image sharing site.
Imgur user Staygal has shared a photo diary, documenting her transition from shy teenage boy to confident woman over the course of 17 months
Staygal at the age of 16, two years before she began transitioning with the help of HRT
Selgal started her transition at the age of 18, but started growing her hair out in her senior year of high school while still ‘pretending to be a boy’.
She started taking female hormones just after starting college and recalls how she kept checking the mirror in the hope of seeing some changes.
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But she soon realised that it would be a long time before she saw any significant differences and resolved to be patient.
While undergoing her transition, Selgal had speech therapy to soften her voice but didn’t start wearing women’s clothes and make-up in public until 16 months in.
Staygal started growing her hair out in her last year of high school, but was still living life as a boy
Month one of HRT: Selgal was despertae to see some changes but realised there would be a long road ahead
Three months into treatment: Selgal was feeling depressed but said she was starting to feel more like herself
Three months in, Selgal was ‘still depressed’, but was finally starting to feel like her true self.
It’s wasn’t until a year into her treatment that Selgal started to see results.
Thanks to oestrogen treatment, her breasts started to grow and her skin and jawline became softer.
Selgal joked that at nine months into her treatment she was trying to be ‘cute’ when she really wasn’t
She is hoping to have surgery to complete her transition in the future, but will have to save as it costs $25,000 (£20,000).
According to Selgal, her boyfriend – who has only ever dated women – is happy with whatever she decides.
And fellow Imgur users heaped her with praise for being so open about her transition, in the hope it will inspire others.
Eleven months in: Selgal’s hair had grown much longer but she still hadn’t seen as much change as she wanted
At 11 months, Segal took this selfie which she said was the first picture of herself she actually liked
One year into her transition, Selgal entered her second year of university. Her face was beginning to take on a softer more feminine look thanks to oestrogen
At 12 months, Selgal still wasn’t feeling entirely confident and covered herself up in baggy clothes
At one year in, Selgal felt as if she was starting to see some results from her treatment
At 13 months, Seglal joked that she still looked like a ‘grumpy dude’ as she entered her second year of HRT
Within 13 months, Selgal’s more feminine look was becoming much more distinct thanks to oestrogen changing the placement of fat to soften the jawline and skin
After 14 months of treatment: With her long hair and clear skin, Selgal’s pretty features were starting to emerge and even her jaw line was beginning to soften
Selgal joked that she was starting to ‘get cute’ after 14 months of treatment. HRT made her skin softer and helped her to grow breasts
By 15 months, it was hard to believe how much Selgal had changed from her original appearance
Around the 15 month mark, Selgal started to dress in more feminine clothing
15 months of treatment: Selgal finallly really liked the way she looked in this classroom selfie
After 16 months of treatment, there was barely a hint of Selgal’s former masculine features left
Selgal started to wear dresses and make-up in public for the first time after 16 months of treatment
WHAT IS HORMONE REPLACEMENT THERAPY?
Also sometimes called cross-sex hormone therapy HRT involves taking sex hormones and other hormone medications to bring secondary sexual characteristics (which develop at puberty but aren’t involved in reproduction) in line with gender identity.
HRT for male-to-female transition involves taking oestrogens and antiandrogens.
In trans women oestrogen may distribute fat to the hips, slightly reduce the size of the penis and testicles, reduce muscle bulk and power, modestly increase breast size and limit the growth of facial hair.
An individual will need to continue hormone therapy for life to maintain its effects.
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