# Simple Transdermal Recipe



## powders101 (Sep 29, 2011)

By: Whitey

I've heard a couple requests recently for an easy to make transdermal steroid carrier. Phlojel Ultra is an excellent commercial product, but if you're chemically inclined, and you'd like to save a few bucks, here is an old recipe, that's just about as good as it gets for your traditional alcohol-based carriers. From our friends at AM, scrubbed up, and hopefully coherent enough to follow.

It is developed mainly for base steroid hormones (Testosterone Base, Boldenone Base, Nandrolone Base, etc.), but will work for many compounds to provide reasonably effective systemic delivery. The absorption rate is estimated to be around 40% with the 10% DMSO version listed below. The final product is a liquid, and while it's possible to add carbomers and thickeners to form a lotion or gel, it is considerably more involved and probably not worth the effort. Additionally, the liquid form is easier to compound - you can make it ahead of time, and just add your hormone powder and shake. Or you can dissolve the hormone earlier in the process, as described below.


Ingredients:
40% Isopropyl Alcohol (91% or better)
15% Isopropyl Myristate
15% Isopropyl Palmitate
10% Oleic Acid
10% Propylene Glycol
10% DMSO (99% Technical Grade or better recommended)


Don't feel like doing math? Whitey's got you covered.
For a 240ml (8 oz) batch:
40% Isopropyl Alcohol = 96ml
15% Isopropyl Myristate = 36ml
15% Isopropyl Palmitate = 36ml
10% Oleic Acid = 24ml
10% Propylene Glycol = 24ml
10% DMSO = 24ml


How Does It Work?:
40% Isopropyl Alcohol - Solvent for the compound, with moderate penetration capability
15% Isopropyl Myristate - Lubricates and softens the skin to enhance penetration
15% Isopropyl Palmitate - Same as IM, but oilier
10% Oleic Acid - Penetration enhancer works by disrupting the lipid layer of the skin
10% Propylene Glycol - Seals moisture in to aid in penetration
10% DMSO - The most powerful penetration enhancer available; drawbacks - garlic and sulfur smell/taste (less pronounced in higher purity DMSO), irritates and dries out the skin


Preparation (2 easy steps):

1. Dissolve your compound in the isopropyl alcohol. You can experiment (and it will vary from compound to compound), but don't expect to get more than 50mg of compound dissolved per ml.*
--DMSO is a good solvent also, so you may want to add it in first with the isopropanol to help dissolve the compound.

2. Add the other ingredients, mix, and you're done.
--Alternative (easy) method: just pour all ingredients into a beaker, mix, pour into bottle with your compound powder and shake intensely. If necessary, soak in hot water bath, and shake again.


Dosing and Administration:
The easiest way to apply is to use a spray bottle to apply, and then just rub it in vigorously. You can measure the output of your sprayer yourself to find out how many pumps/sprays equal a ml, and calculate your dosing from there. Thin patches of skin, like the tops of your feet work best. Keeping skin moisturized and rotating application sites can boost absorption by ~15%. Apply to clean, exfoliated skin, and don't forget to remove hair in the area you apply, or you will be wasting a tremendous amount of your carrier and compound.


Modifications:
--DMSO changes - I would go with 10% DMSO if you can handle it, maybe 5% less, if you have sensitive skin. 10% is better for absorption, 20% is even better, of course - but anything at 15% or higher will probably destroy your skin. You may be able to mitigate this by using aloe vera gel, but make it 100% pure, with no additives, because some of what you apply will get through the skin. Let your skin and yuck factor be your guide. To keep things simple, if you add/cut DMSO, you can just add back to/take from the isopropyl alcohol.

--If you don't want to buy isopropyl palmitate, you can just substitute isopropyl myristate. But it's in there for a reason, so leave it in if you can.

--If you decide to increase the concentration and use DMSO to counter the penetration problem, you should use another solvent to dissolve the compound before adding it to the mix. PEG is an excellent solvent which you can substitute up to 10% of the isopropyl alcohol portion in order to get more compound in. Other solvents like guaiacol and benzyl salicylate may be useful as well.


Cheers,

-Whitey-

*You can get more compound in the mixture, depending on how aggressive you want to be. However, you will reach diminishing returns quickly in trying to get a high concentration past the skin barrier. For best results, you need to expose as much skin as possible to a reasonable concentration of hormone/compound. In other words, less is more. If you did increase the concentration significantly, you'd need extra DMSO to pull the compound through the skin, and would have to deal corresponding irritation and stench issues.

--Respect to curt2go for the original recipe & Chemo at AM for much of the info in this post.


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