Its been great for the most part or of little note, which is why I haven't posted much about it!!

The swelling has gone down completely from all of it, and I have to really dig in and look for the cut ends. The area is still a bit tender to pressure, and I wonder how much of that is natural and how much is its still healing, but its probably the healing bit lol. At the very least I'm not, feeling that sorta pins and needles nerve-ending feeling anymore.

The incision/scar is closed up but still sensitive, if I pull around it I can definitely feel it tug, though I figure there's zero risk of it opening up. I think that's overall it, the whole area is just occasionally sensitive or uncomfortable but in a low key way and nothing I wasn't used to with balls (and better cause it stops at that and I can ignore it a lot easier). I've been wearing high waisted shorts and really cognizant on how, they fit better but still dig into what's left there so its not perfect comfort, but I can put up with it wayyy more.

I guess I also don't know if I might be experiencing phantom pains as part of this, I might be? would be annoying but, I was used to a lot of ball discomfort, hmm

Honestly I'm not sure that I have much of one, at the very least I'm not consistent with it, its never lost on me that I'm very lucky genetically in that I basically never struggled with acne or the like, before or after HRT. My skin's generally dry so I don't have to worry about getting oily.

I used to be a lot more consistent on like, washing my face every night with cold cream back at my old apartment but now its basically just in the shower with soap and whenever I wear makeup (which I usually don't outside of eyeliner). I do wanna get back to a routine I just, seem to be able to do without much effort.

So really, the one thing I do remain consistent on is moisturizer/sun screen and exfoliating in the shower (I like those korean exfoliating cloths). I have a moisturizer I use before I go to bed (nivea night cream), and I usually start the day with Biore's UV Aqua Rich which is moisturizer+sun screen, and I reapply it if I'm going to head out. After I started laser hair removal I really drilled it into myself to use sun screen, and I think its helped a lot to keep my skin healthy (on top of never going outside lol)

But if it isn't obvious yet I do know a thing or two about skincare and have looked into it, I'd recommend figuring out your skin type and looking up advice on /r/skincareaddiction and the like and just being, cognizant of space you're getting advice from and don't treat it as gospel.

But here's some advice I can give:
- A minimal routine is better than no routine, even if all you have is some moisturizer you've figured out works for you and you apply it after a shower its still better than nothing
- Don't wash your face too much/excessively/harshly. Its a bit counter-intuitive, and I can't speak to the science of skin barriers or whatever, but you do wanna let your skin just be if you can. Wash if you need to wash off makeup, and keep it generally gentle, cold water and bar soap is fine. Whatever you do, follow up with moisturizer, washing will always dry it out.
- Speaking of, very hot water is bad for your skin, I'm sorry, I won't tell you to take cold showers (I don't) but I would recommend going as warm/lukewarm as you can comfortably manage, and maybe lower it when you do your face.
- Its gonna be a lot of trial and error to find the right products, it is what it is. Best you can do is just start by buying something, using it for a while and seeing if it works, then try something else and compare. You might find you're very picky in some things, and for others anything will do. See if you can't wink wink at family/friends to gift you skincare for bday gifts or what not lol, good way to play the gacha with someone else's money. (or see if someone has leftovers that didn't work for them, get trading)
- For that matter, it can help a lot to familiarize yourself a bit with what everything does/is supposed to do and what ingredients do what. There is SO much marketing bullshit, pseudo-science and snake oil wrapped up in this stuff, and every company is trying to sell you on more than you actually need. There is like, 3-5 different things a "skin toner" can be/do, lmao. You don't have to become a chemist or DIY your shit like some do, but knowing the facts can stop you from getting into a 5 step routine that amounts to various bottles of random extracts or even foodstuffs that don't do much of anything. Again, my routine rn is basically just moisturizer, doesn't have to be complicated.
- Do exfoliate, helps clear out dead skin, you don't gotta sand your face clean and gentle but consistent is best, your skin can ironically take a harsh exfoliating better than a hard wash. I stick to physical exfoliation, if your body towels are half-decent they'll be a hard terry towel so you can just give your face a good scrub as you dry it. (I have different, microfiber towels for my curly hair, very different scenario)

Uhh yea I guess I do have a kind of routine, more like habits/considerations, hopefully that helps and isn't too rambly and scattershot lmao. Everyone is different, but hopefully people's advice gives you the tools to figure out what your skin is happy with, the rest is working it into your habits.

OH I just saw this! The ask box is so empty I forget to check.

And uhh, hmmm... I want to just say yes like omg thank you hell yea?? But I also have Personal, Bad Previous Experience reasons that make me a bit apprehensive about the prospect of opening up to gifts like this 😩

Just need people to be normal to girls, I hate that my immediate thought to a nice question like this is "oh god, is That Person using the ask box to circumvent the block?".

So yea, idk, I'll Think About It and I'd be happy to accept the kindness but I'm also not hurting for cash to buy clothes myself atm. Sorry if that got heavy for a pretty simple, likely innocent question!