Reasonable DIY Transdermal Testosterone

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https://www.irjponline.com/admin/php/uploads/2645_pdf.pdf

Coconut Oil

Coconut oil is extracted from the kernel or meat of matured coconuts harvested from the coconut palm (Cocos nucifera). It has various applications in food, medicine, and industry. The colour of the oil varies from a light yellow to a brownish yellow colour. The oil is also referred to as copra oil and contains average amounts of caproic- (0.2 - 0.8%), caprylic- (5 - 9%), palmitic- (7 - 11%), stearic (1 - 3%) and oleic- (5 - 8%) acids. More than 90% of the fatty acids in this oil are of low molecular weight and are saturated, which makes coconut oil the richest source of medium chain, fatty acids (C6-, C8- and C10). Due to significant concentrations of lauric acid, this oil will pass abruptly from a brittle solid to a liquid, within a narrow temperature range. It, furthermore, melts rapidly and completely below body temperature, due to the low molecular weight of the lauric acid43.
A study was conducted to check the enhancing property of coconut oil. A transdermal drug delivery system of gabapentin was prepared with a cosolvent and microemulsion. Coconut oil was taken as the oil phase of the microemulsion. The in vitro drug release of the drug showed that there was significant increase in the skin permeation of the drug44.

Nice, but there's a few problems with this. For one, they made a micro-emulsion which makes this hard to rely on (since it increases effectiveness). Regardless, there is no dispute that medium chain fatty acids are effective at skin penetration. In fact, decanoic acid, and undecanoic acids are highly effective disruptors of the lipid matrix and show tremendous skin permeation enhancing effect beyond oleic and even linoleic acids. Still, their concentration is low, and I would imagine that it wouldn't be sufficient to over-ride pure FA.

I didn't realize that CO has any noteworthy quantities of fatty acids, but this still doesn't convince me to use MCT as an ingredient. "The term capric acid is derived from the Latin "caper / capra" (goat) because the sweaty, unpleasant smell of the compound is reminiscent of goats." So, unless you can smell a gross scent, I doubt that you have sufficient quantities of capric/caprylic acids. What's more, is that if you buy pure MCT, then there is even less chance of a smell, since, well, its just MCT.(it's often even advertised as smell-free) I don't know how much FA would still end up in MCT, but I doubt it's very much to matter.

1-undecanol is probably one of the more effective penetration enhancers. It beats all other fatty alcohols by a mile. It even smells nice (supposedly), but sadly it's quite hard to find a seller for, and it might be irritating to the skin.

 

[brightside]

https://www.irjponline.com/admin/php/uploads/2645_pdf.pdf

Coconut Oil

Coconut oil is extracted from the kernel or meat of matured coconuts harvested from the coconut palm (Cocos nucifera). It has various applications in food, medicine, and industry. The colour of the oil varies from a light yellow to a brownish yellow colour. The oil is also referred to as copra oil and contains average amounts of caproic- (0.2 - 0.8%), caprylic- (5 - 9%), palmitic- (7 - 11%), stearic (1 - 3%) and oleic- (5 - 8%) acids. More than 90% of the fatty acids in this oil are of low molecular weight and are saturated, which makes coconut oil the richest source of medium chain, fatty acids (C6-, C8- and C10). Due to significant concentrations of lauric acid, this oil will pass abruptly from a brittle solid to a liquid, within a narrow temperature range. It, furthermore, melts rapidly and completely below body temperature, due to the low molecular weight of the lauric acid43.
A study was conducted to check the enhancing property of coconut oil. A transdermal drug delivery system of gabapentin was prepared with a cosolvent and microemulsion. Coconut oil was taken as the oil phase of the microemulsion. The in vitro drug release of the drug showed that there was significant increase in the skin permeation of the drug44.

Like I thought, this is a problem of incorrect term use. I will specifically say this, because it clearly needs to be stated, MCT's are NOT fatty acids. Many, many people use this interchangeably, but they are not the same thing. It's lame that I have to bring it up, but it's understandable, given that the majority people talking about this use them interchangeably.

Now, this study is most likely referring to the fatty acid content of the fatty acid portion of the coconut oil, not the general fat content. In other words, coconut oil has only 0.03% fatty acid content, and ~1% of that is caproic, 5-9% is caprylic, etc. This is not saying that you have 5-9% caprylic fatty acids by weight (although maybe they are talking about MCT's loaded with caprylic acids, not sure).

This is why coconut oil doesn't smell like goats, and also why MCT oil has no smell. There are essentially 0 fatty acids there. Now, the last thing to explain is why this did result in increased skin permeability.

Well, microemulsions are the partial explanation, since they are effective at bypassing the lipid bilayers. Of course, the carrier oil does play a large role, and oils mixed with IPM did do better, so using a penetration enhancer with a microemulsion is definitely the way to go for non scrotal skin.

However, my point still stands, MCT's are not effective penetration enhancers, nor are they good solvents for testosterone. Something like pure caprylic acid, or 1-undecanol would blow them out of the park.

Influence of free fatty acid content of coconut oil on deposit and performance of plant oil pressure stoves

In tropical and subtropical countries, utilization of unprocessed plant oil or used frying oil as household cooking fuel promises to be a competitive …

www.sciencedirect.com

 

[brightside]

GOOD JOB RED BUTTON

NICE AND EASY JUST THE WAY WE LIKE IT MAN

View attachment 48073

James, if you want me to make you a super custom formulation for an ULTRA POTENT, ESTROGEN ANNIHILATING, and MAXIMALLY MASCULIZING DHT cream, all you have to do is ask

 

[Ionson]

Is anyone able to share sources of their T and DHT for their DIY lotions/creams?

 

[blackface]

Is anyone able to share sources of their T and DHT for their DIY lotions/creams?

Depends on where you live. Generally Purple Panda labs have both test and DHT. I can also recommend Qingdao Sigma Chemical. Check this thread on thinksteroids.

https://thinksteroids.com/community/threads/qingdao-sigma-chemical-co-ltd-international-us-eu-canada-and-australia-domestic.134407154/

​

 

[Santosh]

Like I thought, this is a problem of incorrect term use. I will specifically say this, because it clearly needs to be stated, MCT's are NOT fatty acids. Many, many people use this interchangeably, but they are not the same thing. It's lame that I have to bring it up, but it's understandable, given that the majority people talking about this use them interchangeably.

Now, this study is most likely referring to the fatty acid content of the fatty acid portion of the coconut oil, not the general fat content. In other words, coconut oil has only 0.03% fatty acid content, and ~1% of that is caproic, 5-9% is caprylic, etc. This is not saying that you have 5-9% caprylic fatty acids by weight (although maybe they are talking about MCT's loaded with caprylic acids, not sure).

This is why coconut oil doesn't smell like goats, and also why MCT oil has no smell. There are essentially 0 fatty acids there. Now, the last thing to explain is why this did result in increased skin permeability.

Well, microemulsions are the partial explanation, since they are effective at bypassing the lipid bilayers. Of course, the carrier oil does play a large role, and oils mixed with IPM did do better, so using a penetration enhancer with a microemulsion is definitely the way to go for non scrotal skin.

However, my point still stands, MCT's are not effective penetration enhancers, nor are they good solvents for testosterone. Something like pure caprylic acid, or 1-undecanol would blow them out of the park.

Influence of free fatty acid content of coconut oil on deposit and performance of plant oil pressure stoves

In tropical and subtropical countries, utilization of unprocessed plant oil or used frying oil as household cooking fuel promises to be a competitive …

www.sciencedirect.com

The point of the oil in my formulation was never to be a solvent.
It's to create a solid consistancy so that the ethanol doesn't evaporate.

 

[Santosh]

Is anyone able to share sources of their T and DHT for their DIY lotions/creams?

Purple Panda Labs.

 

[JamesGatz]

James, if you want me to make you a super custom formulation for an ULTRA POTENT, ESTROGEN ANNIHILATING, and MAXIMALLY MASCULIZING DHT cream, all you have to do is ask

IM ALL NATURAL MAN, I do not NEED any supplements

You SHOULD MAKE IT for yourself man, since you need these supplements

But how much do you charge anyway?

By the way, YESTERDAY I saw you at the Staples at Coney Island at the CLEARANCE section for $5.99 a pop, I was going to say hi but YOU WERE REAL QUIET man - you didn't look like you wanted to talk man

 

[Ionson]

Seems all too complicated to me.
I only put two ingredients on my skin which are the least harmful : ethanol + MCT.
Works well, holds up to 130mg/ml ie 13%.

Thanks again for the info - I also prefer to keep things as simple as possible.

Where do you source your ethanol & MTC? Do you just mix them at 1:1 - do they make a lotion? I have a decent understanding of hormones & reconstitution of peptides, but creating creams & lotions is new to me.

 

[brightside]

Thanks again for the info - I also prefer to keep things as simple as possible.

Where do you source your ethanol & MTC? Do you just mix them at 1:1 - do they make a lotion? I have a decent understanding of hormones & reconstitution of peptides, but creating creams & lotions is new to me.

No, its not an emulsion. Its a clear liquid that roughly resembles water.

Both items can be bought online or at the grocery store.

 

[Santosh]

Thanks again for the info - I also prefer to keep things as simple as possible.

Where do you source your ethanol & MTC? Do you just mix them at 1:1 - do they make a lotion? I have a decent understanding of hormones & reconstitution of peptides, but creating creams & lotions is new to me.

The end consistancy is slightly less viscous than oil.

I buy 96% vodka from Poland.
MCT oil anywhere online is fine.

 

[Ionson]

The end consistancy is slightly less viscous than oil.

I buy 96% vodka from Poland.
MCT oil anywhere online is fine.

And the absorption through the skin & into the blood is significant? That's my understanding of why DMSO is typically used, but obviously has it's own drawbacks.

 

[vulture]

You missed the point that most men's androgen receptors are clogged by heavy metals and other environmental toxins nowadays.
Which renders levels above 1000ng/dl imperative for me to feel optimal, 1500ng/dl to have no complaint actually.

Have you tried injected? Like Enanthate or Cypionate? How does it compare regarding effects?

 

[Santosh]

And the absorption through the skin & into the blood is significant?

Yes

 

[Ionson]

@Santosh and just a 1:1 ratio of vodka and mct?

 

[brightside]

To understand transdermal absorption of drugs a bit better, I figured the best way is to look deeper into the structure of the skin. I tried my best to summarize what I've learned, and hopefully I got the information all correct. If anyone has anything to add, that would obviously be very helpful.

Stratum Corneum

The stratum corneum (SC) is the outermost layer of the skin and is composed of many layers of dead cells called corneocytes. These corneocytes are thin and layered and compose the physical barrier to the external world. In between these corneocytes is a lipid matrix(LM) which consists of ceramides(CER) (~50%), cholesterol (~25%), various fatty acids(FA) (15%), and other lipids (10%). This matrix is composed of two lipid bilayers and is highly structured.

The first image shows the layers of the skin, while the second image is showing the layers of the SC and the lipid matrix. The third image shows the molecular components of the LM, and lastly, the fourth image shows the general FA and CER composition of the LM.

The SC can be thought of as “bricks and mortar” with the corneocytes being the bricks, and the highly complex lipid matrix being the mortar. Most of the transdermal absorption goes through this lipid matrix and is usually the most effective method for transdermal drug delivery. There are many methods to make this lipid layer permeable, most common being disruption and liquidation of the lipids, extraction of lipids, increased drug solubility in the lipids, and lastly disruption of the protein domains in the SC.

Since lipid extraction is often irritating and drying (think pure ethanol), other methods should also be more heavily relied upon. Many of the methods of increasing permeability work by increasing the liquidity of the LM which is just another way of saying that it screws with the lipids and disrupts their organized structure. Increasing drug solubility in the SC is also helpful, along with disruption of the proteins, although denaturation can be irritating.

Besides picking an ideal penetration enhancer, the thickness of the SC should be considered as well, since that will also play a major role in drug absorption. The SC is generally ~10-15 micrometers thick across the body which roughly translates to 10-15 layers of corneocytes. On the palms and heels, the SC can reach up to 600 micrometers in thickness, while on some very thin areas such as the scrotum, the SC is just 5 micrometers (or 5 layers) thick. Drug absorption is directly proportional to the thickness of the SC; therefore, the ideal location needs to be also considered.

To summarize, the best way to move a drug through the SC is to allow it to pass through the lipid matrix in between the SC corneocytes. Whether this is achieved by extracting lipids, interfering with lipids or proteins, or through other methods, shouldn’t matter as long as it’s reliable, effective, and not too destructive.

 

[brightside]

Because I don't think that ethanol is the optimal choice, I also looked into how it works, and how it compares against other alcohols, namely propylene glycol.
Ethanol

Ethanol’s penetration ability is based on its ability to bind to the polar heads of fatty acids and pull them out. At most concentrations (>30%), ethanol extracts fatty acids. At higher concentrations, it extracts CER in addition to the FA. This results in a decent method for drug permeation, and even creates pores in the lipid matrix which can be used to permeate deeper into the skin. Additionally, ethanol that's inside the LM is able to increase the liquidity of the lipids and produce a more permeable lipid matrix. At very high concentrations (>80%) ethanol can pull water through the pores, and therefore boost the absorption of hydrophilic drugs, while not necessarily increasing the effectiveness of lipophilic ones.

At high concentrations, much of the fatty acids and ceramides are extracted which results in drying out of the skin, irritation, and a potential “tolerance” to the permeation effects of ethanol.

Spoiler: tolerance?

Effect of alcohol on cellular membranes - PubMed and Ethanol and membrane lipids - PubMed
These studies suggest that various membranes treated with ethanol respond by increasing their membrane composition in favor of cholesterol. This helps protect the membrane from ethanol exposure in the future. Since ethanol extracts primarily FA and CER, cholesterol is therefore resistant to its effects, and increased levels of cholesterol in the SC would therefore reduce penetration ability of ethanol. This is highly speculative on my part, though, since IDK if that would result in increased cholesterol in the LM specifically.

One of the core problems of ethanol is its rapid drying time. On one hand, it’s able to extract lipids of the SC in mere microseconds, on the other, it’s not around long enough to ensure optimal drug delivery. Ethanol’s volatility prevents it from being an effective long term skin penetration enhancer. What’s worse, is that it drops the active compounds once it has evaporated, leading to a large waste of the drug. Lastly, ethanol is a bit too harsh and disruptive to the skin, which can result in excessive drying, cracking, and irritation.

Propylene Glycol

Ethanol is not the only available alcohol, and other alcohols can instead be used. A good alternative is propylene glycol (PG). PG is a bit more polar than ethanol, making it a weaker solvent of hormones, more hydrophilic (logP of -1.84) and most likely a weaker penetration enhancer than ethanol. However, this is a small price to pay for an extremely extended duration of action from around 1 minute to pretty much indefinite. Additionally, PG synergizes with fatty acids resulting in dramatic increases of permeation enhancement.

In case safety is a concern, PG is considered a safe substance since it gets metabolized to lactic acid. Of course, lactic acid is itself a problematic substance, however, the amount used in a few mL’s of lotion poses no real harm, in my opinion.

The real downside of PG seems to be its unpredictable relationship with fatty acids. It’s hard to predict what combination of fatty acid, hormone, and PG would be most effective. An oleic acid/PG combo boosts hydrophilic drug absorption much more than lipophilic. While, lauric acid/PG combo boosts lipophilic drug absorption substantially.

Regardless, PG solves most of the shortcomings of ethanol, while costing only in a slight reduction in the possible concentration of the hormone. Because of these reasons, I think that PG is a superior ingredient to use in a transdermal product instead of ethanol.

Permeation Enhancers of Hormones Penetration through the Skin

Hormones have attracted considerable interest in recent years due to their potential use in treatment of many diseases. Their ability to have a multidirectional effect leads to searching for new and increasingly effective drugs and therapies. Limitations in formulating drug forms containing...

encyclopedia.pub

Molecular mechanism of the skin permeation enhancing effect of ethanol: a molecular dynamics study

Ethanol is widely used in various pharmaceutical and cosmetic formulations in order to enhance skin penetration of active ingredients. While it is well known that ethanol partitions into the skin and enhances the permeation of both polar and nonpolar molecules, the exact mechanisms by which it...

pubs.rsc.org

 

[brightside]

Since I mention logP, here's a bit of an explanation as to what it means:

Spoiler: logP

To better understand how drugs will spread throughout the body, a specific system was developed that shows how well a particular drug solubilizes between a water and an oil phase. Octanol is usually used as the oil phase due its similarity to the BBB, while pure water is used as the water phase. Therefore, depending on the solubility of the drug in either the water phase, or oil phase, you can get an idea of how the drug spreads and acts in the body.

A logP that’s higher means the substance is hydrophobic, while a logP that’s low or negative, implies that the substance is hydrophilic. For example, ethanol’s logP is -0.18 which means that more ethanol dissolves in water than in octanol, although only slightly. On the other hand, the logP of a commonly discussed triglyceride, tricaprin ( three capric acid + glycerol backbone) is 12.2. Meaning, much more of this triglyceride dissolves in octanol vs water, making it a very lipophilic substance.

Fatty penetration enhancers seem to work best within a particular logP range, somewhere between 3-6. Generally, higher lipophilicity doesn’t bring extra benefit unless there is a degree of unsaturation. Lower lipophilicity may indeed cause increased disruption, however, the clearance out of the skin is faster. For context, here is Log P of several compounds (these can vary slightly depending on whether they were calculated or measured)

Lauric acid – 4.6
Stearic acid – 8.23
Oleic acid – 6.5
Testosterone – 3.32
Estrogen – 4

 

[brightside]

Lastly, here is the most interesting information I found.

Fatty acids, fatty alcohols, and cholesterol

There's a particular phrase that I ran into that I think is helpful when talking about this topic, like dissolves like. It has a lot of truth to it, and can often be relied on to quickly guess to solubility of various compounds in a variety of solvents. This phrase usually refers to polar and non-polar substances, however it can also apply to fatty acids, cholesterol, and fatty alcohols. (it will make more sense later)

Fatty Acids
FA are a useful tool in solubilizing and enhancing penetration of lipophilic drugs. Most FA have abysmal penetration rates, but a few stand out, namely: decanoic(C10), undecanoic(C11), oleic(C18:1), and linoleic(C18:2) acids. The reason for their effectiveness has to do with a few inter-related factors, their unsaturation, length, melting point, and lipophilicity. The shorter saturated fatty acids have lower melting points, and lower lipophilicity, all of which increases the penetration enhancement. Long unsaturated fatty acids also have a greater penetration enhancement despite their higher lipophilicity and length (less lipophilic than their saturated counterparts). Because of this, specifically the shorter decanoic(C10) and undecanoic(C11) acids, and the longer unsaturated oleic(C18:1) and linoleic(C18:2) acids show tremendous skin permeability.
(I imagine that C8 and C9 are also potent enhancers, but the study I was looking at did not include them)

Decanoic and undecanoic acids (and C8, C9) have two problems which make them unusable, their scarcity, and their bad smell. Oleic and linoleic have a different problem that makes the unusable, their unsaturation and toxicity. I will write specifically about the problems of oleic acid, but for now, it’s too unsaturated to use.

This leaves me with only a few FAs to use in my formulation, and I have to choose between the saturated FA from C12 to C18 or so. Annoyingly, the longer FAs also come with the problem of a high melting point which creates a thicker lotion that is harder to put into bottles (application is better, though). I was originally going to pass on lauric acid (C12), because of potential inhibition of 5ar, but I think it might be worth it.

Spoiler: 5ar inhibition?

Below are two images which show the comparison of various characteristics of a selection of FAs. The silicone elastomer data is roughly correlated with penetration power and can be used to approximate real life results. On the second image, corticosterone is used as the drug of choice, and shows the true penetrating power of these fatty acids. These FA were deposited using a water buffered with phosphate, so the FA’s are relatively isolated, and there are no additional variables. However, in the study that I will talk about in the fatty alcohols section, the carrier of choice was ethanol. Despite ethanol’s penetration effects, the authors mentioned that there was no cumulative effect, and therefore the ethanol did not interfere with the results. In my opinion, this highlights the low strength of ethanol, since it’s too volatile to produce substantial differences.

Cholesterol
Before getting into fatty alcohols, I wanted to first look at cholesterol. Cholesterol is a sterol, which means it has three hexagon (cyclohexane) rings, and one pentagon (cyclopentane) ring. Lastly, it has a hydroxyl group which is polar. The sterol base of cholesterol makes it ridged, which gives cholesterol the specific characteristics it needs to serve many important functions in the body.

Here is a visual example of what that that rigidity looks like:

Cholesterol:


Oleic Acid:


Because of this specific shape and rigidity, cholesterol is able to exist in cellular membranes and provide the rigidity and fluidity that is needed. This includes the lipid bilayer of the SC. Here is a visual example of cholesterol and a sphingomyelin in a lipid raft. (not the same as the lipid bilayer in the SC, but it gets the idea across)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lipid_raft

Therefore, besides disrupting the lipids in the LM, it also makes sense to disrupt the substantial amount of cholesterol (25%) that helps stabilize the FA and ceramides in the LM.

This is where that idea of like dissolves like comes into play. The shorter fatty alcohols provide an even greater permeation enhancement than the fatty acids, and this is, in part, due to their ability to disrupt cholesterol-cholesterol/ceramide connections. Specifically, decanoic, undecanoic and lauryl alcohols ( C10-12) are most effective, since they are closest in length to the sterol core. Unlike cholesterol, these alcohols are incredibly jiggly and therefore displace and disrupt the rigidity of the lipid matrix.


Fatty Alcohols

There are many fatty alcohols to pick from, but the most useful ones are from C8 to about C14. C18 is useful in its own regard, but it probably doesn’t have any substantial permeation enhancing effects. The potency of fatty alcohols surpasses some fatty acids, making them excellent penetration enhancers. They have two problems, however, which are mainly irritation, and scarcity.

In this particular study, octanol (C8) and nonanol (C9) were the best over-all choice.
Even though the drug of choice was melatonin and not a steroid, I think the results are still incredibly insightful. For one, if the mechanism of action is indeed cholesterol disruption, then the drug of choice should not be as relevant. Next, skin irritation and water loss are important factors which eliminate most of the fatty alcohols and narrow down a few candidates.

These three images show the irritation amounts of the fatty alcohols, their effects on flux, and the cumulative penetration of the melatonin. (TEWL = Transepidermal water loss, and higher values are usually bad. Skin blood flow is not always a bad thing, but it is indicative of irritation. Lastly, erythema is a score of the visible irritation of the skin. The scale used by the study goes from 0-4.)

Lastly, there is one more study which compares a few alcohols and a bunch of other random chemicals. This study also compared the results with the fatty acids study. To make it more readable, I remade one of their charts.

As you can see, everything is pretty much useless on here, with ethanol being one of the lowest scoring penetration enhancers. Palmitic acid is OK, and so are things like IPM, and lauric acid. The most interesting results are the Oleyl alcohol, and the undecanol. Oleyl alcohol is obviously unsaturated and therefore a poor option, while the undecanol is a reasonable option given its extreme domination over pretty much everything there besides the DoP and LA. Undecanol might be too irritating to use, but I really have no idea, since I have never tried it. (Since the undecanol was dumped with ethanol, it could be more irritating because it would be left alone, vs in a lotion with many other ingredients.)

Unfortunately, octanol was excluded because it cleared out of the skin too quickly. However, judging by the other melatonin study, it would have done reasonably well.


My conclusions

Since octanol might dissipate too quickly, I don’t think it’s the ideal penetration enhancer to use. Unfortunately, the study above did not test nonanol, but I have a feeling that nonanol would perform much better and not dissipate as quickly. For one, nonanol’s logP is 4.3, while octanol’s is only 3. If I compare it to decanoic acid which has a logP of 4.02 and still shows tremendous PE, perhaps the nonanol would not have the same downside. In addition, the study using melatonin showed acceptable results using octanol, but excellent results with nonanol.

Compared to the fatty acids, the fatty alcohols have a mild citrusy/floral smell and won’t make you smell like goat. Because of their smell, I was able to find a source for them from a perfume shop. Unfortunately, they don’t have undecanol.

The fatty acid that works best with my requirements (maximum permeability, no unsaturation, no nasty smell) is lauric acid. Additionally, lauric acid has a study behind it highlighting its synergism with PG. The one downside of lauric acid is 5AR inhibition. Realistically, only doses of 50-100mg would be used, and a chunk of that would probably not make it far, but that might still be enough to inhibit 5ar substantially. ( I don’t know how to calculate a concentration of 1.3 mM with topical application on a small area such as the scrotum)

Perhaps this is irrelevant, or maybe it’s problematic, I don’t know. However, oleic acid shows similar 5AR inhibition; therefore, if using a fatty acid, lauric acid is still a much better option than oleic.

If this is indeed a problem, DHT can be added to the mix or supplemented separately (I benefit from it despite scrotal T use). Alternatively, lotions with these ingredients can be reserved for other thin skin areas, such as the armpits or navel; and a different formulation (say, one relying more on LIM) can be used on the scrotum. These ingredients will achieve good hormone penetration despite thicker skin, and will still outcompete ethanol only mixes (MCT doesn’t count as a penetration enhancer), therefore using such a lotion on random body areas will still yield good results.

Once I find a combination of ingredients that I like, I will post an updated recipe here.

Fatty Acid study: Efficiency of Fatty Acids as Chemical Penetration Enhancers: Mechanisms and Structure Enhancement Relationship
Fatty alcohol + chemicals Study: Effects of Solvent Deposited Enhancers on Transdermal Permeation and their Relationship with Emax
Melatonin Study: https://sci-hub.ru/https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12429475/
Lauric acid + PG study: Sci-Hub | Pharmaceutical Research, 19(5), 661–668 | 10.1023/a:1015314314796
5AR study:Sci-Hub | Anti-Androgenic Activity of Fatty Acids. Chemistry & Biodiversity, 6(4), 503–512 | 10.1002/cbdv.200800125

 

[brightside]

You missed the point that most men's androgen receptors are clogged by heavy metals and other environmental toxins nowadays.
Which renders levels above 1000ng/dl imperative for me to feel optimal, 1500ng/dl to have no complaint actually.

Nice deflection..

The point of the oil in my formulation was never to be a solvent.
It's to create a solid consistancy so that the ethanol doesn't evaporate.

Out of curiosity, I tested that. I set up three containers, and filled each with 10ml of ethanol. One I left as pure ethanol (control), into the second one, I put 2g of MCT (10ml of EtOH is ~8g, so 2g of MCT to bring it up to 10.), and in the last container I added 1g of Stearyl alcohol. Unfortunately, the stearyl alcohol isn't very soluble in ethanol and only a little bit dissolved. ( I also ended up adding 1g of MCT to see if it would help)

Anyways, the results:
The ethanol took around 8 hours to evaporate.
The ethanol+MCT took around... 8 hours to evaporate.
And the stearyl alcohol one took well over a day to completely evaporate.
(evaporation obviously depends on the container, temperature, etc. I obviously used the same containers, and everything was in the same room)

The reason that I also picked stearyl alcohol was because I read that it can form a lipid monolayer on the surface of water and retard evaporation. It's probably possible to recreate, but it didn't seem to work in my case. In my case, the stearyl alcohol combined with the MCT fell out of solution on top of the ethanol, forming a hard layer. I mean, I guess that counts as an evaporation retardant, but that wouldn't work on skin lol.

As a surprise to me, the MCT crashed out of solution very quickly. This means that even if the MCT could retard evaporation, it wouldn't do it for very long, since it would just fall out of solution.

Lastly, I tried to look into it a bit more and found this study: Penetration enhancing effects of selected natural oils utilized in topical dosage forms
It says, "The following rank order for the emulgel flux-values was obtained: Hydrogel >>>> olive oil >> liquid paraffin >> coconut oil > grape seed oil >> Avocado oil Crocodile oil >> Emu oil".
However, after looking a bit deeper, they say this, "It is their unsaponifiable fractions (such as fatty acids, e.g. oleic acid) that are thought to contribute to their penetration enhancing activities. Free fatty acids which are released when natural oils (lipophilic substances) are metabolized within the skin". However, this would mean that they get metabolized too deeply to produce any effect. They would probably be past the SC lipid matrix, and therefore produce no real effect.

Interestingly, lipase is indeed present in the skin, but only in a few areas that are irrelevant. "In normal skin, lipase is detected in the sebaceous glands and in the external root sheath of the hair follicle"

Lipase expression in human skin - PubMed

We have used a monoclonal antibody against human pancreatic lipase to study the immunohistochemical expression of lipase in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded biopsy specimens from normal and a variety of tumoral and inflammatory skin diseases. In normal skin, lipase is detected in the sebaceous...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

So, MCT might be a very light penetration enhancer, but it just doesnt compare to free fatty acids. I mean, using MCT as a penetration enhancer is kind of like using a semi to deliver pizza.. downtown lol. It's huge, its very lipophillic, and it doesn't offer anything over fatty alcohols, or fatty acids.