Hormone Testing
Updated July 17, 2023
Basic Compound Verification at Home
It is not possible to do adequate testing of hormone powders that you receive in the mail at home. Even the most basic of lab tests require chemicals that are too dangerous to be handled by someone without formal lab training, and even then the results would be suspect.
So what we can do instead is test the melting point of the compound, and the compound’s solubility in water and oil.
As you may have noticed, raw hormones are incredibly inexpensive. They also happen to have rather unique properties as powders. The general wisdom inside of the DIY community is that if you are buying from a reputable seller and your product has these properties then you can be fairly certain that you were sold the correct thing. This is because there is no money to be made in selling you fake powders that pass these tests the same way. It’s cheapest to just manufacture the real thing.
That being said, this does not account for impurities in the product, or being sold the wrong hormone ester purely by mistake.
Melting Point Test
Look up the hormone ester that you’re working with on Google, make sure you find the CAS number, and look up the melting point. Here are a few to get you started, try to use PubChem if you can, as they seem to have the most data publicly available.
| Hormone | CAS | Melting Point |
|---|---|---|
| Estradiol Enanthate | 4956-37-0 | 94-96° C 1 |
| Estradiol Cypionate | 313-06-4 | 151-152° C 2 |
| β-Estradiol | 50-28-2 | 173-179° C 3 |
| Testosterone Cypionate | 58-20-8 | 98-104° C 4 |
| Testosterone Enanthate | 315-37-7 | 34-39° C 5 |
| Testosterone Base | 58-22-0 | 151-157° C 6 |
To perform a melting point test with estradiol enanthate you can use a double boiler. Use a heat safe laboratory grade media bottle, or use a glass vial that your finished product will be put into. Place a small amount of product into the container and seal if necessary (to keep water out). Place that container into a pot of water and boil. The water will get to 100° C, and when the heat transfers to the product it should melt.
For substances with a higher melting point, we have to get more creative. With a proper thermometer such as a laser thermometer or an oven thermometer, you can cook it in the oven or on the stovetop, monitoring the temperature with your fancy thermometer to see when it melts.
Solubility Test
Hormones do not dissolve in water, but they do dissolve in oils as well as benzyl benzoate. Attempt to dissolve some of your product in both water and oil (or BB), and observe the results. You may need to shake or stir to encourage it to dissolve. With water, it won’t matter how much you shake.
If your product dissolves into oil but not water this is one more positive indication that you received the right compound.
Laboratory Hormone Testing
Hormones that are coming from the grey-market are unlikely to have the same level of purity as hormones acquired from USP grade pharmaceutical manufacturers. For example, instead of 99.8% purity you might end up with something like 97.2% (like was the case with Boobs Not Bombs testing7). We’re unable to determine what compromises the remaining 2.8%, or what levels of purity are expected from pharmaceutical-grade hormones.
When you purchase bulk raw hormones you should send them in to be tested before you brew with and inject them.
Ideally, you will adjust the amount of hormone ester to use based on knowing the purity of the raw product you purchased.
Additionally, you should have it tested for harmful substances like heavy metals and narcotics.
We recommend that anyone with the means to do so, submit their raw powder for laboratory testing. If you sell the HRT you are compounding you have an ethical obligation to do this, and you can even build the cost into the price you sell for.