Binding

Sports bras. Or you could do it the drag king way, with duct tape, pulling them back rather than crushing and smooshing them down.

I know it feels better to bind but you really shouldn't bind with ACE bandages for long periods of time, or at all... I've seen terrible pictures of what could happen. Google is your friend.

 

Please do not use ace bandages and duct tape. It may work temporarily but it is very dangerous. Sports bras are a good option and you can always make you own too. Here is a link on how to make your own (Not my tumblr)

 

Please don't use ACE bandages. You risk permanently damaging your chest and then you might never get surgery (assuming that's what you want)
Try making a binder, using sports bras, or tights

 

ditto about ace bandages and duct tape, it ends badly. do you have any friends or family that you trust to have it mailed to their house? also, most companies use really indiscrete packaging, as long as your parents don't make you open it in front of them you can probably hide it. Mine just came in a plain shipping envelope, didn't even say the companies name, just a return address.

 

Don't use ace bandages, please. One thing you could use is a 'bust lift' spanx, put on backwards. It is meant to smooth your back and works really well on your chest. Also- compression hose- not the legs, the elastic abdominal band. Cut it off, and it allows for easy breathing.

 

Sports bras, compression tanks and even things like spandex shorts are your friends!!

Buy a sturdy sports bra a size under what you normally get, that's flat in the chest, like the kind made for exercise. Compression tanks can be cut and shifted up over your chest to make a sort of compression tube top, and the same with the shorts (Just cut the bottom off and use the flat tubey part to compress your chest).

Ace bandages constrict your body because they are used to cut off blood flow, every time you exhale the bandages get smaller so please, please use some other method. You'll thank yourself later on down the road. It's easier to explain why you're wearing two sports bras than how you broke a rib binding with ace bandages.

 

do you have a pair of tights? if you cut a head hole in the crotch of the tights and cut the legs to make arm holes, it works pretty decently.
otherwise, if you have a camisole (preferably a size down), you can tighten it all the way and put it on backwards, and then put the band across the largest part of your chest.

don't use ace bandages.

 

Are you able to buy anything online? I have bought this binder: Ultimate Chest Binder Tank - F2M Binders and it really just looks like a tank top. It doesn't look weird or suspicious and it just comes in a discreet package in the mail that is very small compared to what you would expect. You could just tell your parents you saw a tank top online that was on sale and wanted to try it out or something, as long as you don't show them the site you bought it at.
It works really well and the only thing suspicious-looking about it is that it isn't a traditional material like cotton or something. When my mom saw mine she commented that she was surprised because it doesn't really look like a binder.

 

There are super cheap ones on ebay that seem to get the job done well from all that I hear (I can't help with sizes since they run a bit small) and underworks, tranzwear and other places are pretty reasonable price wise.

I recommend the sports bra method if you can until you can get a binder since you run the risk of hurting yourself badly with ACE. I had a bad early binding experience in high school, almost blacking out a few times and it got to the point where binding for barely 20 minutes would cause intense dizziness and some pain and I had to put binding on hold for a long time until I could buy one.

So be smart and be careful.

 

Try making one instead. You could use old t-shirts or something. Or do what I did once, and use duct tape to make a binder by sticking two layers together sticky-side, instead of actually sticking it on your chest.

But yeah, ace bandages are bad.

 

Also don't bind for over 8-10 hours maximum. I once had a binder on for 9 hours and it started to hurt a lot and it left a mark on my chest

 

Open a bank account.

 

You need a debit or credit card, which you can apply for at the bank or your choosing. I just opened my own account and signed up for a debit card, which was mailed to me about a week later. The card is hooked up to your account, so anything you spend will be taken out of the account, if that makes sense.

If you get your own card and make your own amazon account, you're good until the package gets to you.

Oh, you can also check stores for amazon gift cards. Buy one with cash, then use the gift card to buy what you want on your own amazon account.

 

I used to wear a swimming costume that was a little too small for me. It didn't end up perfect, but it helped me pass. And then a good baggy shirt over the top looked pretty damn fine to me

 

You need a debit card. Which should come with the account, or at least, it has in my experience. You could use a credit card, but I really don't recommend getting one. It'll only bring you trouble at this stage in your life.