Hormone Esters

An ester is a slight variation on the chemical compound making up the hormone. These cause the hormones to have slightly different properties and half-lives, but are “considered to be bioidentical”¹

Recommended Esters

Estradiol

For estradiol use Estradiol Enanthate (EEn). It has a slightly higher half life in the body than Estradiol Cypionate (EC), and a substantially higher half-life than Estradiol Valerate (EV)². EEn is well suited to be injected every seven days.

Estradiol Undecylate (EU) has a much longer half life in the body than EEn, and can sometimes be preferable to some folks, as many people only inject it every other week. However, this is not a normal ester for DIY, and so most information out there doesn’t apply to EU. This makes EU a poor choice for people who need a weekly routine or for mutual aid orgs who can’t do a lot of education. EU is more ideal for trans feminine people who are heavy into DIY self-education and can confidentially manage their own meds.

Testosterone

Reminder that testosterone is a controlled substance in the United States and many other jurisdictions. This information is intended only for use in locations where testosterone is fully legal.

While both Testosterone Cypionate (TC) and Testosterone Enanthate (TEn) have good half lives in the body, TEn has a melting point that is so low it can convert back and forth between a solid and a liquid during shipping. This makes TC a more obvious choice so you don’t have to deal with this.

References