1. BINDING
2. PACKING
3. URINARY DEVICES
4. SEX TOYS
5. MANNERISMS
6. HAIR
7. MAKE-UP
8. ACNE CONTROL
9. SHAVING
10. CLOTHING

1. BINDING

Binding the chest is one of the ways in which you can give your body a more male appearance prior to having chest surgery. You have a number of binding options available to you . What will work best for you depends on your size and build. Remember - binding needs to be snug to
work properly.

****Note: Some of the products that are designed for non-trans men may not come in sizes small enough to accommodate smaller trans-men. Keep this in mind when choosing a binder*******

Ace bandages: bind tight, but really compress the chest area and can make breathing and moving difficult. Plus the bandages moving difficult. Plus the bandages have a tendency to roll up on themselves, leaving tell-tale bulges.

Abdominal Support Undershirt: The Sears Home Health Care Catalogue's Men's Abdo Trim costs $16.99. Call (800) 326-1750 for a catalogue.

Latex Tank-Top: $70-95 Works great but: not for use if you have a latex allergy.
Can be major sweat producers.

Mr. S Leathers
310 7th St.
San Francisco, CA 94103 800-746-7677

Male Gynecomastia Vests: Medical supply stores.

Rib Belt: For broken ribs. $15-25. Most pharmacy's. Can be too tight and restrict breathing.

Spandex Undershirt: The Devrey Collection's costs around $13 and can be obtained from:

The Devrey Collection
38 St. Johns Place
Box 0800
Freeport, NY 11520-0800
(516) 623-6214.

Surgical Compression Vest: $33. Comfortable and effective.

Morris Designs
1637 Godfrey Lane
Virginia Beach, VA 23454
(804) 481-9313.

Tape: Not recommended.

Tight Sports Bra: available at any athletic wear store. These are very comfortable and work well if you're a "B" or smaller.

Fr.O.G. Bra
Title Nine Sports
Emeryville CA.

Champion also makes a good one.

Undershirt-style $25 nylon and spandex: Ben Pike, bpike@sprynet.com
(Does not come in XS. Ken notes that this binder is comfortable and works very well. Also lasts a long time and doesn't seem to stretch out as quickly as some other products do)

Undershirt-style Cotton-and-lycra binder: $85, custom made by an FTM and his partner

Transitions
P.O. Box 3547
Conroe, TX 77035-3547

Weight loss belts: Neoprene material. Sporting good stores. $20-30. A plain white crew neck undershirt over your binder will also help hide your chest. Looser shirts over that will also help, as will vests.

2. PACKING

Getting the all-important bulge in your pants.

Randy Ingersoll
315 Running Brook
Mesquite, TX 75149

$85 custom-made Transitional Prosthesis - Made of a material, filled with a gel and covered in latex, the TP can be worn with any kind of underwear including boxers; stays in place, is
waterproof, very comfortable, looks good through clothing, and feels right if you get grabbed. Penis is re-fillable. Testicles are not.

Transitions
P.O. Box 3547
Conroe, TX 77035-3547

A fabric covered pants-stuffer.

You can buy something called a Glue Slug at the store Natural Wonders in the Cambridgeside Galleria Mall in Cambridge, MA for around $6. It's supposed to be a fun toy for teaching kids about physics, but it also makes a good pants-stuffer just place it in an unlubricated condom so it won't gather lint and then in an old sock so it won't pull at your hair. The Glue Slug is item #Z015, and the company's address is:

Applied Elastomerica, Inc.
Box 701
Pacifica, CA 94044

3. URINARY DEVICES

FRESHETTE
It is marketed for women who like to camp or hike. It is easy to use but large enough that it is harder to pack away between trips to the bathroom. You can find it at most camping/outdoor stores like REI. REI is located on 11th Avenue E., between Pine and Pike here in Seattle.

They do have a mail-order catalog.
Can also be ordered through CAMPMOR catalog.

DISK

Take a large coffee can lid, trim the edges off. You can wear the disk next to the skin if you like. Roll the disk into a funnel shape for use. Be sure to get it far enough back, behind the urethral opening, and hold the tip downward. Don't press it against yourself as this can cause spraying. You may want to practice naked in the shower first until you get the hang of it.

SHAMPOO BOTTLE

Works like a Freshette but lots cheaper! Take a Head & Shoulders type bottle, cut the
bottom off at a 45 degree angle and voila!

4. SEX TOYS


You have a lot to choose from. Dildos, pumps, butt plugs, etc.... But mainly we'll talk about
strap-on dildos. For penetrative intercourse, nothing beats a dildo in a harness. Many transmen report the sensation of a "phantom" dick when using a strap-on and that sex is very satisfying for them. There are many different dildo types and sizes out there. Don't be afraid to experiment with what works best for you and your sex partner(s). Some dildo's are representational of penis's, others are not. Sizes vary from small to huge - this is a definite advantage that you have over non-trans men - and your partner(s) can choose whatever size(s) will make him/her/them happy. Colors
vary from quite realistic to lavender to green.

Dildo's are made either out of latex or out of silicon. Prices range from $15-80. The silicon
dildo's tend to hold body heat better, hold up longer and have a more realistic feel during sex.

There are different types of harnesses - you may need to experiment to find what works for you.

If you've never used one before some tips might help. Position the base of the dildo over your
dick - unless that is uncomfortable - in which case just above the dick will work. (You may find
that the just above position will allow you to get a better angle for intercourse)
Use a condom on it for easy clean-up. Use lube - lots of it. Your partner(s) will thank you.
Experiment with positions. Clean-up with warm, soapy water. A 10% bleach solution will also
kill any cooties on your tool. Clean your harness too! First, a 10% bleach solution, then warm,
soapy water, let it air dry. Then use a leather conditioner on it to keep it from getting too hard
and uncomfortable.

Mr. S Leathers
310 7th St.
San Francisco CA 94103
415-863-7764

Good Vibrations
goodvibe@well.com
938 Howard St. #101
San Francisco CA 94103

LeatherMasters
San Jose CA
(Make an excellent leather harness with adjustable leg straps. Works well with
dildo's with balls)

Locally - visit Toys in Babeland - large selection to choose from and they do have a mail order
catalog as well.

5. MANNERISMS

Handshakes: make them firm, lock your thumb into the other persons hand. Look them
in the eye. Don't pump excessively. No dead fish handshakes.

Lighting matches on a matchbook: most men draw the match toward them.
Looking at your nails: curl your hand and lift your hand palm up.

Sitting: men take up space. Cross your legs either with one ankle on the knee of the other or at the knees. The latter is more appropriate in suits and formal attire.

Conversation: men interrupt more, jump in more readily.

Walking: develop a more male walk. Watch other men and imitate them.

Standing: most men tend to evenly distribute their weight when they stand and tendto
stand as if they are in front of a urinal when in fact they are standing at a counter or at
the ATM machine.

Voice: Women tend to use an upward inflection at the end of their sentences, and
with more up and down inflection in general, while men tend to speak in a monotone - or
at least hetero men!

Bathrooms: FTM's are actually fair ly fortunate in this area because men are far less observant and social than women - they usually just go in, do their business, and leave. Just march calmly in, use the stall, and march calmly out - if you rush around nervously you'll be
far more likely to attract attention. Remember, lots of genetic men sit or use stalls simply
because they are pee-shy.

6. HAIR

a) On your head:

If you've been using the same hairdresser for years, and she or he has experienced you as female
for some time, now may be the time to switch. His/Her bias' may show up in your haircut. Ask your barber to give you a masculine cut. You might want to start with a short, conservative haircut when beginning transition but look at other men that work wear you work with and see what a) you like and b) is popular - e.g., if you are in a conservative profession like law, a shorter, conservative haircut is better; if you work in a tattoo shop, there will likely be more latitude. Longer hair can be feminizing for some men whereas really short hair like a flattop or shaved head can make you look like a butch lesbian. Bangs are feminizing - don't have them. Shave off the monkey-collar look in back. A neat, trim, well maintained head of hair will help your overall look. Ask your barber about hair products that will help you.

If you've started on hormones and you notice your hair thinning, talk to your Doctor about Rogaine or other treatments that might be helpful. DO NOT let your hair grow into those awful comb-overs or other poor disguises for thinning hair. Ask your barber to come up with a cut that'll work for you.

B) On your face

I) First off, pre-T: If you have those fine hairs on your face - SHAVE THEM OFF. Men do
NOT have that soft linuga hair - women do.

ii) Just because you can grow facial hair, doesn't mean that you should. Or maybe at least not
everywhere. Be realistic about what looks good on you. A patchy, thin beard will tend to make
you look younger- which is great if you're 18 but not so hot if you're over 30. If you do grow
facial hair, try to keep it shaped and trimmed to some extent. Get a beard trimmer to help.

Remember, not all men (trans or non-trans) can grow abundant facial hair - genetics will play
a part in how hairy you will become.

iii) Sideburns: You know thos e little points of hair which grow just in front of the ears of
women with short hair? Men don't have them, so cut them off. But once the sideburns start to
grow from T, grow them!!! Sideburns can help define your face, give it balance, highlight your cheekbones, lengthen your face, and complete a neat facial frame:

Conservative: Short. Squared off. Cut right at the top of the ear to extending just to the
cheekbones. These work well to square off long, narrow faces.

Midlength: Extend further down. Cut them off at an angle to accentuate the cheekbones. Great for guys with fuller faces - it'll slenderize you. Also helps toughen a weak jaw-line. Keep them shaped and trimmed.

Long: Cool if they flare out at the bottom. Don't do it if your burns are too narrow. Thin out chubby faces and detract from thinning hair.

7. MAKE-UP

Fake Facial Hair: Can be costly to get convincing fake facial hair from a theatre or costume supplier. Not really recommended though: hard to explain where that full mustache suddenly sprouted from and even more difficult to remember who's seen you wearing it and who hasn't.

Fake stubble: Achievable with tea leaves or an eyeliner pencil. Not recommended: Hard to make it realistic looking close-up and besides, that Don Johnson Miami Vice look is out.

Dyes: Once you do get some stubble growing though, if your facial hair is coming in a light color, you can use products like: Just For Men Beard and Mustache dye to help color your beard and give you more pronouced facial hair. Young non-trans men use this too to help fill-in areas where the hair hasn't grown in yet.

Fingernails: Cut them short and an even length all the way across. If they are long in the center they will tend to look feminine. A good manicurist can get you on the right road if you're not sure what to do. Just tell them you want a men's manicure.

8. ACNE

Zits are one of the by-products of your second adolescence with Testosterone. You may have to
experiment to find the best route of treatment and even then, you may not beat the little buggers
fully.

Wash your face, chest and back often: Use either a really mild, non-perfumed soap or you might
want to use something specifically for acne. Use a loofa or scrub-brush for the body and a facial
brush or buff-puff for the face.

Sulpha based acne soaps
Anti-bacterial soaps like Dial
Anti-acne soaps/cleansers like Neutrogena Anti-Acne wash
Tea Tree Oil Soap and Shampoo
Stridex cleaning pads
Astringent cleansers like Witch Hazel, Seabreeze, etc.
Benzoil Peroxide products like Oxy 10.

Do a weekly deep cleaning masque.

Baking soda based toothpastes can dry up a zit overnight.

Visine can take the red out of an inflamed zit and make it less obvious.

Finish with some type of noncomodogenic moisturizer. Neutrogena makes one called "Healthy
Skin" which also has salicylic acid in it to help clear pores and zits away.

Prescription treatments:

Anti-biotics
Akne-mycin 2%
Desquam-X Gel
Retin A Cream .05%

Change your clothes, towel, pillow cases and sheets often.

9. SHAVING

A) Prepping

Expose your face to hot water for about 4 minutes. You can use a clay mask to lift the whiskers
away from your face to help prevent ingrown hairs if that is a problem for you. A facial scrub
will exfoliate dead skin that your razor might otherwise get caught on.

B) Where to shave.


If you can do it in the shower - that is generally easiest and best for your face. Get a fog-free mirror you can hang in the shower. Or over the sink after your shower.

C) Shave cream

Is designed to lather and keep your face moist. This reduces the strength of you facial hair. Most $2 cans of shave cream are just air and soap. Pop some extra $$$ for something soothing like Pro Sport Shave Comfort Gel - it'll help the blade glide across your skin.

D) How to Shave

Use a pivoting head razor.
Shave with the beard not against it.
Keep the razor clean throughout the process - i.e., rinse it off often.

E) Nicks

If you get a nick, wash it out thoroughly. A styptic pencil will help hide the cut but can be
irritating. Use a soothing moisturizer or gel like Clinique's Post Shave Healer.

F) After-shave.

Moisturize with a non-oil non-alcohol moisturizer.

10. CLOTHING

If you live in a cosmopolitan area where there are a lot of butch lesbians then it's going to be
much more difficult for you to pass. Find ways to help distinguish yourself from them.

Clothing is in part, finding a personal style. But remember, most men tend to have pretty boring wardrobes. Especially when starting transition, conservative looks can help you pass more effectively.

Don't spend a lot on your wardrobe at the beginning of transition (you might want to check out
thrift or second hand stores). Your body will change once on testosterone and you may find your
sizes changing pretty drastically for the first year or two. Stick with basics. If you're unsure of
what is flattering on you, bring a friend with good taste or ask the sales staff. Don't spend a lot on your wardrobe at the beginning of transition (you might want to check out thrift or second hand stores). Your body will change once on testosterone and you may find your sizes changing pretty drastically for the first year or two. Stick with basics. If you're unsure of what is flattering on you, bring a friend with good taste or ask the sales staff.

Basic rules of men's clothing:

Trousers:

generally the waist on men's pants will be lower on your body than women's pants. Wearing
pants with the waistband below your belly-button will tend to help hide wider hips and butts. It
will tend to lengthen your torso. Buy pants that fit. If they are too tight, they will only accentuate more feminine hips and buttocks. Too baggy and they will make your hips and thighs look that much bigger.

Plain front trousers work best on thinner guys with straighter hips. Pleated trousers can help hide a stomach, hips and other sins of the flesh. Pleats come a number of different ways: reverse, box, forward. Try on different types and find what looks best on you. Be sure that the pants are large enough that the pleats lie flat.

To cuff or not to cuff:
Cuffing is a more formal look but may not be best if you are very short as they do tend to
shorten the look of the leg. Cuffs help dress trousers hang and drape better.

Hem length: On dress trousers there should be a noticeable break (i.e. bagging of the fabric over the foot) in the leg at the foot - you can experiment to see what you like best. Dark trousers will make your legs look longer and thinner, especially when combined with a light colored shirt and colorful tie.

Shirts:

Learn your size. Men's dress shirts are generally sized by neck size x sleeve length
(e.g., 15 x 32). Try to get the sleeves the correct length - too long and you'll look sloppy. Some
mail order catalogs offer a broad selection of sizes (see list at the end).

Dress shirts for business are generally white, white or white. Blue is also acceptable.
Long sleeve only for business settings. The most dressy are french cuffed shirts for which you
will need cuff links.



Shirt collars vary and the style you choose can greatly affect your look:
Round, wide faces benefit from straight or long point collars. Avoid spreads and round
collars.
Long, oval faces can use a medium-spread collar.
Long neck. Tab collars or pin collars look great.
Short neck. Pick a collar that rides lower and shows more of the neck.
Thin or slight build: Avoid collars that are too big for your neck. Bigger collars may make
your shoulders look narrower.

When first transitioning, pick shirts that are cut full and might be a bit large to help disguise
chest size. This also makes your torso look bigger and draws attention away from your hips and
legs.

Jackets/Suits

Suits can be a great equalizer - men of different sizes and shapes can all look great in a suit.
They broaden shoulder, minimize hips and cover up chests. Keep in mind though, that details
can make all the difference in the world.

Jacket size is determined by Chest measurement and height. Men under 5'8" are considered
short, 5'8" to 6'2" regular and over 6'2" tall. No matter what your size, more than likely your
jacket will still need some altering. This service is generally free in better men's departments.

Suit size. Is determined in a couple of ways. One is jacket size and the otheris cut. A standard
sized suit has a 6" drop - i.e., the waist measurement of the trousers is 6" smaller than the jacket measurement - e.g., a 44 suit will have a 38" waist trouser. An athletic cut suit has an 8" drop and a portly suit (for short, big guys) has a 4" drop. Suit trousers always come long and unfinished so that the tailor can fit them to you. If you live in a larger town don't feel weird about shopping for suits - most good stores won't ask any questions at all if you are just starting transition.

Accessories:

Socks: Men tend to wear white socks only with athletic shoes, so stick to dark socks with other shoes. Better stores (like Nordstrom) will sell dress socks in different sizes. M will fit you if your shoe size is between a men's 6-9. Large is 10-13.

For smaller sweat socks, Woolworth's, The Gap, Fred Meyer, Target, etc.. will have
what you need in the boys section - sizes 9-11.

For watches you can buy a standard size men's watch or a 3/4 watch depending on your bone
structure and size.

Belts should be brown or black and always worn with pants. Suspenders are more formal. They
are the best thing to wear with dress trousers - they help your trousers hang properly. They may
not be a viable option if you are large breasted.

Ties are the one place that men get to be creative in their clothing, so have fun! Unless you have
a real conservative job in which case stick to the standards like rep stripes or pin dots. Pocket squares are always a nice touch with a good suit. Cuff links are another place that your personality and creativity can shine through and there are lots to choose from. Most men do not wear jewelry other than perhaps a pinky ring or wedding ring.

Shoes: These can be a real problem if you have small feet - the boys' section of a department store can be a good place to look. Nordstroms carries men's shoes down to size6 in most styles.

Two company's that you can order nice dress shoes in even very small sizes from is:

Bostonian
(800) 345-2786

Allen Edmonds

1. Casual wear.

Jeans. Khakis. Corduroys. Try on different brands of pants to find ones which don't bind and
call attention to wider hips and thighs. Relaxed fit pants/jeans like Levi's 550's and Gap Easy Fit
are good choices.
Pair with casual button down shirts. You can hide hips by wearing a slightly oversized
button-down shirt, open, with the shirttails hanging out over a t-shirt.
Vests are good too - especially to hide breasts. If you are more slightly built though they can
tend to narrow the shoulders.
In the summer, you can avoid the androgyny of T-shirts and cut-offs by pairing short-sleeved
button-down shirts with khaki shorts.

2. Casual dressy

A navy blazer will carry you through many, many things in your life.
There are lots of options out there - get ideas from magazines like GQ or from stores - JC Penney
has a good guide out for how to put together casual dressy outfits.

3. Business dress

Go for the conservative look. Dark suits. White shirts. Conservative ties. Black or cordovan
shoes. Dark socks.

Single breasted 2-button jackets are great if you have wider hips that you want to hide and will make you appear taller. 3-button styles work best on taller, thinner guys. Double-breasted work on a variety of guys but will pull across the chest if you have large breasts and won't look good on you if you have wide hips.

4. Formal

You'll need shirt studs and cuff links for formal wear.

Tuxedos: Worn only after 6 p.m.. Black. Choose a style that works for you - double-breasted or single, shawl collar or peaked lapels. Wing or straight collar, formal, pleated shirt. If you use a wing collar, the wings go behind the tie. Cummerbund pleats go up. Formal patent leather shoes will complete the look.

White or cream jackets between Memorial Day and Labor Day, or in tropical regions.

Tails: Very formal occasions only. Properly worn with white tie and white pique vest.


Morning Gear: Worn before 6 p.m.. Grey cut-away coat, grey vest, white shirt, grey/black striped tie, trousers either black or black/grey pinstriped, black shoes sometimes with spats.

If you're looking for clothes in smaller sizes, try:

Short Sizes, Inc.
5385 Warrensville Ctr Rd.
Cleveland, OH 44137
Ph: (216) 475-2515
Fax: (216) 475-7440


Other good mail order companies:

Joseph A. Banks
J. Crew
Land's End
Paul Frederick