Skin Thread Over 40

[LoremIpsum9921]

Topical test more readily converts to dht which can lead to hair loss in women. Something to be aware of. Idk any women who use topical test for skin health, and if it’s injectable prop, that’s not gonna absorb the same. It doesn’t make sense that topicals would have esters. Esters make products oil soluble and affect absorption rates, not how deep something goes topically.

Any estrogen that’s not affecting bloods is likely the .01% formulation, or the weaker estriol, both designed to stay local. I’ve never heard of any topical test formulations that don’t become systemic in women.

I’m a woman pretty heavily into skincare, use hrt/trt, and injectable prop. The only topical hormones I use for skin health are non systemic estradiol and occasionally a facial oil that contains progesterone as an ingredient with other things.

I mix the 0.06 percent estradiol gel with some base creme (currently a copper peptide serum) to achieve a lower concentration. It's probably a ratio of one part of the estradiol creme to two or three parts of the serum.

No systemic side effects, my estrogen is still on the lower end of the reference range. I guess the area of the face is too small and there are also some studies (take a look at the reddit link I posted before, they are linked there) that show no systemic absorption with facial application.

 

[Swedishsteel]

I'm not sure what to think about topical test. I thought that the general consensus is that (injected) androgens age your face and that's also my own experience

Seems like to high test ages collagen and regular trt doses increase collagen ala 80-120 mg per week and 200mg + causes aging

 

[Swedishsteel]

Topical test more readily converts to dht which can lead to hair loss in women. Something to be aware of. Idk any women who use topical test for skin health, and if it’s injectable prop, that’s not gonna absorb the same. It doesn’t make sense that topicals would have esters. Esters make products oil soluble and affect absorption rates, not how deep something goes topically.

Any estrogen that’s not affecting bloods is likely the .01% formulation, or the weaker estriol, both designed to stay local. I’ve never heard of any topical test formulations that don’t become systemic in women.

I’m a woman pretty heavily into skincare, use hrt/trt, and injectable prop. The only topical hormones I use for skin health are non systemic estradiol and occasionally a facial oil that contains progesterone as an ingredient with other things.

I think the doc that recomend the test cream uses test prop as prop wont become systemic. you wouldent want a test cream that gets taken up topical n goes systemic

That is at least the idea behind it. now females need testosterone as well and not just prog/estrogen as trt (as you prob know as you are on test trt as well)

 

[LoremIpsum9921]

Seems like to high test ages collagen and regular trt doses increase collagen ala 80-120 mg per week and 200mg + causes aging

So just having a maintaining a normal test (and this estrogen) level.
Not sure how this translates to topical application, since the dermis receives far higher concentrations of an active if used topically. I guess topical test would correspond to grams of injected test.

 

[Swedishsteel]

So just take Test Prop and rub it on the skin? or should it be mixed with some other medium?

Prob very important to not get to much, i would mimic the serum that sold in the skincare industry. dont remember the doc that promotes it but should be easy to find and read the reddit reviews on it

Seen some girls being mad about him and how it will ruin you as it contains test but then saw the entire ester thing being explained and how the prop ester is specifically used to block systemic uptake

 

[Superchicken]

I mix the 0.06 percent estradiol gel with some base creme (currently a copper peptide serum) to achieve a lower concentration. It's probably a ratio of one part of the estradiol creme to two or three parts of the serum.

No systemic side effects, my estrogen is still on the lower end of the reference range. I guess the area of the face is too small and there are also some studies (take a look at the reddit link I posted before, they are linked there) that show no systemic absorption with facial application.

I went and looked. Out of those studies, the ones that weren’t systemic therapy were the .01% estradiol and the .3% estriol, neither which will affect serum levels. All of the rest was systemic topical or oral therapy. I suspect that you mixing with the cream is what’s saving you. As a man, I would not gamble with systemic estrogens. A large part of why I use injx is to prevent the risk of contamination amongst the males and animals in my house.

Men tend to have thicker skin and fewer wrinkles because of how collagen is affected by testosterone. I’m not familiar with any hormonal treatments for men in regards to skin health, and though it’s working for you, wouldn’t suggest any man use topical estrogens. There are plenty of other options that are efficacious without the risk. Microneedling is #1 imo used with retinols.

 

[LoremIpsum9921]

I went and looked. Out of those studies, the ones that weren’t systemic therapy were the .01% estradiol and the .3% estriol, neither which will affect serum levels. All of the rest was systemic topical or oral therapy. I suspect that you mixing with the cream is what’s saving you. As a man, I would not gamble with systemic estrogens. A large part of why I use injx is to prevent the risk of contamination amongst the males and animals in my house.

Men tend to have thicker skin and fewer wrinkles because of how collagen is affected by testosterone. I’m not familiar with any hormonal treatments for men in regards to skin health, and though it’s working for you, wouldn’t suggest any man use topical estrogens. There are plenty of other options that are efficacious without the risk. Microneedling is #1 imo used with retinols.

It's definitely risky and there is no research for topical estrogen for men.
I can just say that my skin got definitely better from it. I'm into skincare since a couple of years and tried from derma rolling, red light therapy to Korean rejuran (salmon sperm DNA) meso injections quite a lot of treatments, and topical estrogen is definitely a top contender that rivals tretinoin.

But my baseline was already quite high with clear skin and no wrinkles. My skin is now more youthfully "bouncy" and has more volume and no it's not water retention from high estrogen

 

[Superchicken]

It's definitely risky and there is no research for topical estrogen for men.
I can just say that my skin got definitely better from it. I'm into skincare since a couple of years and tried from derma rolling, red light therapy to Korean rejuran (salmon sperm DNA) meso injections quite a lot of treatments, and topical estrogen is definitely a top contender that rivals tretinoin.

But my baseline was already quite high with clear skin and no wrinkles. My skin is now more youthfully "bouncy" and has more volume and no it's not water retention from high estrogen

I do find this interesting, just would be stressed if my husband tried it. Do you think it could be the other things you’ve done that contribute to the positives you’ve seen? Like how the copper is well studied for skin benefits. Do you use an AI? I’ve never found topical estradiol to give any major benefits, but figured it’s because of all the other things I already do. I’m vain though and will continue to use it jic.

Since you’re into Korean skincare, I’m not an affiliate, but I shared codes for different Korean vendors on a thread about glutathione. The diy skincare Reddit subs have codes for vendors, too. I just google a vendor + discount code and it’ll pull up the posts.

You’re smart taking care of your skin before it looks like it needs help. Nobody ever thinks I’m in my 40s, but I’ve been obsessed with skincare and sun protection for most of my life. It’s paid off.

 

[LoremIpsum9921]

I do find this interesting, just would be stressed if my husband tried it. Do you think it could be the other things you’ve done that contribute to the positives you’ve seen? Like how the copper is well studied for skin benefits. Do you use an AI? I’ve never found topical estradiol to give any major benefits, but figured it’s because of all the other things I already do. I’m vain though and will continue to use it jic.

Since you’re into Korean skincare, I’m not an affiliate, but I shared codes for different Korean vendors on a thread about glutathione. The diy skincare Reddit subs have codes for vendors, too. I just google a vendor + discount code and it’ll pull up the posts.

You’re smart taking care of your skin before it looks like it needs help. Nobody ever thinks I’m in my 40s, but I’ve been obsessed with skincare and sun protection for most of my life. It’s paid off.

I can relate, I was also stressed when I applied estrogen on my face as a guy. But luckily it turned out well.
I'm not using an AI and currently I'm just on HCG monotherapy and my last cycle happened more than a year ago.

I'm pretty sure it's the estrogen. Copper peptides, tretinoin, topical Vitamin c, red light therapy etc where introduced months/years before estrogen and had enough time to show effects.

I also thought about using glutathione, but not sure if there is any meaningful advantage over its precursors nac and glycine.

Hopefully if also pays of for me when im in my 40s
Skincare is for me honestly the most important part regarding my appearance. Being big is nice, but if I look in the morning into a mirror the first thing I see is my face not my biceps and for most people the face is just the most important body part.

 

[2lanes]

Any body moisturizer recommendations?

 

[LoremIpsum9921]

Any body moisturizer recommendations?

Cerave is solid.

Otherwise, just get some cheap lotion without many ingredients and without fragrance. Bonus points if it has some niacinamide in a meaningful concentration like 5%. High end if it does contain ceramides also in a meaningful concentration, but it is mostly impossible to find. Most products like that from cerave that contain ceramides don't specify the concentration and use some proprietary blends.

 

[Scooby69]

Cerave is solid.

Otherwise, just get some cheap lotion without many ingredients and without fragrance. Bonus points if it has some niacinamide in a meaningful concentration like 5%. High end if it does contain ceramides also in a meaningful concentration, but it is mostly impossible to find. Most products like that from cerave that contain ceramides don't specify the concentration and use some proprietary blends.

Cerave is good. Another option is Cetaphil, which was recommended by my dermatologist. I use their lotion but also use their Gentle Skin Cleanser instead of bar soap in the shower. It has helped my dry itchy skin quite a bit.

 

[Country Club Hero]

IMO, the entire stack which one would need to improve/prevent photoaging is simply:

basic skincare routine;
- cleansing am and pm
- moisturizing after cleansing
- spf in am and even applied again in afternoon if you please
- topical retinoid daily (tazarotene or tretinoin 1% are fantastic choices)
*ramp up the frequency in which you use the topical retinoid of choice and also start with a weaker concentration and graduate to higher concentration*

drugs;
- low dose isotretinoin (5 mg/day or 10 mg MWF)
- GH (HRT replacement dose is entirely sufficient for skincare purposes)
- GHK-cu 2-3 mg/day (not as researched as the other interventions but i think its promising and sure wont hurt)

Theres other compounds that I think are worthy additions such as glutathione/antioxidants but the above more than covers your bases.

I personally use basic cerave foaming facial cleanser am and pm, (i let my face airdry after cleansing because towels just trap bacteria) basic cetaphil moisturizer, and la roche posay SPF. 10 mg isotret MWF, tretinoin 0.1% every night, 3 mg GHK-cu per day, 375 mg glutathione MWF, and im going to be starting GH in the near future.

While I’m kinda impressed, this is way too much for an average dude to do routinely. Prolly takes you an hour to get ready in the morning lol.

We are all a little vain on here but this is beyond vanity. This is womanly. But I bet you have some purdy skin and an even purdyer mouth, college boy.

 

[BumpassHell]

While I’m kinda impressed, this is way too much for an average dude to do routinely. Prolly takes you an hour to get ready in the morning lol.

We are all a little vain on here but this is beyond vanity. This is womanly. But I bet you have some purdy skin and an even purdyer mouth, college boy.

Haha, I would have thought this a couple years ago but got tired of having dry, shitty, red skin. This is almost exactly what I do, minus the isotretinoin, and adding azelaic acid in the morning. It sounds like a lot, but it takes almost no time. The hardest part was just remembering to do it until it became routine.