What is HRT? In a non-trans context, hormone replacement therapy is commonly given to older cis women to alleviate the symptoms of menopause. Even cis people take hormones sometimes, in fact, it's pretty common. But in trans-context, HRT is prescribed to transgender women or non-binary AMAB people who feel that HRT would help them. Foe these folks, often referred to as transfeminine people, their endocrine system, the place that makes their hormones, is putting out too much testerone and not enough estrogen. There is a whole complicated process that shemale people have to go through to get prescribed HRT depending on where you live that I personally think is convoluted, unnecessary, and gate-keepy.
1. Your mileage may vary
This is super important to remember every time you watch someone'e 6-month hormone update, or about how this other girl got c-cup boobs. Everybody is different, just because hormones affected someone else in a certain way, that doesn't necessarily mean they will affect you in the same way.
2. These changes aren't going to happen overnight
They are going to happen over months and years. There will be changes, but you will have to be pacient.
3. Hormones will probably help with your dysphoria, but they probably won't completely get rid of it
Again, your mileage may vary, but hormones are often only one step to alleviating dysphoria. They can be a significant and necessary step, but you may be setting yourself up for disappointment if you expected HRT to fix everything.
The most major change that you're probably going to notice the earliest is actually your brain. Hormones will likely change the way you feel, how you handle emotions, and even your general mood. The psychological changes themselves can be huge, and just the act of starting HRT and being on a path to transition can often be an immense relief for transfeminine folks. It's not going to fundamentally change who you are, but it can make you feel more balanced. A lot of trans women worry about body hair. The unfortunate answer is that while HRT may eventually cause some of your body hair to get a bit thinner, and softer, it's not going to completely eliminate your body hair. Cis women have body hair too, and once there's hair growing in a place, it can be pretty difficult to permanently remove it. For facial hair, hormones probably won't affect that at all. For facial hair or body hair that you want to get rid of, you have to look into options like laser or electrolysis. One change you can definitely expect to see, though it may take a while, is the rounding out and softening of your feature. This will happen slowly, and it will be pretty bustle, so it's going to be hard for you to notice since you see your face and body every day, but it's definitely happening. This is because higher levels of estrogen tend to make you have a thicker layer of fat underneath your skin that softens your features and make everything a little less angular. Speaking of skin, yours is probably going to get a good bit softer and a bit thinner. Hormones may even change how you experience tough, making you a little more sensitive to everything you physically fell. These changes will be very subtle, you are not going to have like a spidey sense or anything, but they will be there.
