Many autistic people develop camouflaging strategies to mask or compensate for their underlying autism-related differences in order to get by in predominantly non-autistic societies. Autistic adults have described camouflaging as a “lifetime of conditioning to act normal”, suggesting that camouflaging develops over the autistic person’s lifespan. Yet, very little is so far known about the course of camouflaging motivations and behaviours over time or the psychosocial factors that may influence autistic people’s camouflaging trajectories. In an exploratory qualitative study within an Asian sociocultural context, we interviewed 11 Singaporean autistic adults in depth about their camouflaging experiences throughout their lives. We aimed to better understand the beginnings, continuity and changes in their camouflaging motivations and strategies over time, and related psychosocial influences. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and thematically analysed. Twenty-six themes were identified, and were organised across four phases - pre-camouflaging, beginnings, continuity, and change over time. The earliest camouflaging motivations were predominantly relational, linked to a negative self-identity shaped by adverse social experiences. Strategies were increasingly complex and better integrated into one’s sense of self over time, or more selectively engaged in. Our findings highlight the role of psychosocial pressures precipitating camouflaging. They also emphasise the need for both individual psychological and societal-level changes to move from pathologizing autistic differences to acceptance, understanding, and inclusion, so as to reduce psychosocial pressures on autistic people of all ages to camouflage.