What are the different types of testosterone for women?

Have you seen women talking about testosterone on Menopause TikTok and been wondering if it could help you, too? Testosterone plays a part in libido, arousal, mood, and energy, so if your levels are low, it can leave you feeling like you’re missing a big part of your life. Testosterone can help, but it’s usually not the first place to start with treatment. If you’ve tried other types of menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) and still feel like something’s off, testosterone might be something to talk about with your doctor. 

What does testosterone do for women?

Testosterone isn’t just for men’s health. Women of every age depend on it for sex drive, mood, energy, and overall well-being. While testosterone has a more gradual drop-off than estrogen, the decline can be very noticeable in your daily life since women actually produce 4 times the amount of testosterone as estrogen when still cycling. 

When testosterone levels are low, some women notice:

• Lower sexual desire
• Less arousal or pleasure during sex
• Fatigue or persistent low energy
• A flatter mood or trouble feeling motivated
• Loss of muscle strength
• Changes in body composition
• Gradual loss of bone density (though estrogen loss plays a bigger role here)

The symptoms on this list can be caused by plenty of other things, so it’s important to get a proper workup with your doctor before pointing the finger at testosterone. Stress, poor sleep, thyroid problems, depression, medications, and other hormone changes can look like low testosterone. 

Types of testosterone for women

There are no FDA-approved testosterone formulations made specifically for women, so menopausal testosterone therapy is prescribed off-label. This is very common for doctors to do this if they think medications will help in certain situations. Women are also prescribed much smaller doses of testosterone than men, about 10% of what men take. 

Because it’s off-label, insurance plans don’t always cover therapeutic testosterone for women. Check with your insurance provider to see what’s included in your plan and whether prior authorization is needed. 

1. Testosterone creams and gels

Creams and gels are the preferred and most popular types of testosterone for women. They’re applied once daily to clean, dry skin in areas like the inner thighs, abdomen, behind the knee, or inner forearms. Wash your hands thoroughly after using these products and avoid skin-to-skin contact with others. 

At QuickMD, we offer testosterone cream for just $59 a month. You can book a visit with one of our doctors to see if testosterone cream is right for you. If it’s a good fit, they can provide a prescription and have the cream shipped right to your doorstep. 

Average recommended dose:

The typical starting doses of testosterone cream and gel for women are 5 mg (0.5 ml) and can be increased to 10 mg (1 ml) if needed. Compounded creams may start at a different dosage, typically in the range of 1-6 mg. Your doctor can offer guidance depending on the method you decide on. 

Benefits of creams and gels:

• Application is easy and painless.
• Doses are easier to adjust or stop than injections or lozenges. 
• Less likely than pellets or injections to cause very high testosterone levels. 
• Less likely to cause severe hair growth or acne.

Drawbacks:

• Needs to be applied daily.
• Can have variable absorption rates. 
• May be hard to dose precisely at small amounts. 
• Risk of transferring to others (children, partners, pets). 
• Can cause hair growth at the application site if you don’t rotate areas. 

2. Testosterone lozenges

Testosterone lozenges, sometimes called troches, are a compounded form of testosterone that dissolves in the mouth and absorbs through the lining of your cheeks and gums.

Average recommended dose:

Lozenges are compounded, so dosing varies and is individualized. They typically come in doses ranging from 0.25 mg to 4 mg. 

Benefits:

• Easy to take and use.
• No messy creams or risk of transferring testosterone to others.
• More flexibility in dosing and personalization as a compounded medication. 

Drawbacks:

• Multiple major national and international guidelines recommend against using compounded testosterone in women. 
• Compounded products don’t have the standardized dosing consistency FDA-approved products do.
• Causes a rapid spike and then a rapid drop in testosterone. 
• The taste of lozenges can sometimes be unpleasant. 

3. Testosterone pellets

Testosterone pellets are small implants placed under the skin, usually in the hip or buttock area, during a quick in-office procedure. Once placed, they release testosterone steadily for about 4 to 6 months before they’re absorbed.

Average recommended dose:

Pellet doses are typically 75 to 100 mg every 4 to 6 months. 

Benefits:

• Don’t require daily application, which some women find convenient. 
• Helps maintain more consistent testosterone levels than other delivery methods. 
• Provides rapid and sustained relief of symptoms. 
• Good choice if remembering to take medication is a challenge. 

Drawbacks:

• Once the pellet is placed, providers can’t fine-tune the levels. 
• May cause higher than normal levels of testosterone, which can mean unwanted side effects. 
• Implants generally cannot be removed, so if side effects occur, you have to wait for the pellet to wear off.  

Types of testosterone less commonly used by women

Some forms of testosterone aren’t a good fit for women, even if they’re widely used in men. For instance, testosterone patches and injectables are typically used for men, and some countries use testosterone patches to treat low drive in women, but this is not a common practice.

The reasons why patches and injectables aren’t recommended for women usually come down to the dosage being hard to control, the formulation tends to push testosterone levels too high, and there isn’t enough research to know whether they’re safe for women over time, or (in certain cases) no FDA-approved product is available at all.

How different types of testosterone for women compare

Each delivery method has its own strengths and tradeoffs. Here’s a side-by-side look at how the main options compare.

Testosterone types	How they’re used	Main benefits	Main tradeoffs
Creams /gels	Applied daily to skin	Preferred option for womenDoses are easy to adjust or stop	Needs to be applied dailyTestosterone can transfer to partners, children, or pets if not applied carefully
Lozenges	Dissolved in the mouth and absorbed through cheek and gum lining	Easy to take No risk of transferring testosterone through skin contact	Compounded products don’t have a standardized doseCauses rapid spikes then drops of testosterone
Pellets	Implanted under the skin by your provider and releases slowly over months	Lasts for months with steady release No daily dosing	Once it’s implanted, it generally cannot be removedMay cause higher than normal testosterone levels
Injectables	Injected into fat or muscle on a regular schedule	Less frequent dosing More precise dosing control compared to topicals	Levels may spike or fluctuate Higher side-effect risk
Patches	Applied to the skin and changed daily or every few days	Steady delivery Lower transfer risk	Discontinued and unavailable in the U.S.

Side effects of testosterone for women

Side effects usually show up when the dose is too high, or your testosterone levels climb above the typical female range. Most are reversible once your dose is adjusted, which is why monitoring and checking in with your provider is important.

Common side effects include:

• Acne or oily skin
• Increased facial or body hair
• Scalp hair thinning or pattern hair loss
• Weight gain
• Irritability or aggression
• Headaches
• Nausea
• Hair growth at the site of application when using cream form

Less common but more serious side effects can occur with prolonged exposure to higher-than-normal testosterone levels:

• Voice deepening (which may not fully reverse)
• Enlarged clitoris
• Changes in cholesterol levels (mostly seen with oral testosterone, which is rarely prescribed)
• Risk of heart attack or stroke

Mood changes and irritability are also possible and tend to track with how steady or unsteady your levels are between doses. Because long-term safety data beyond 24 months is limited, testosterone therapy is generally used for the short term or with counseling by your healthcare provider. However, a growing movement among sexual wellness experts is pushing to update the science and treatment recommendations behind testosterone’s health benefits, which extend far beyond the bedroom.

Ready to start your hormone replacement journey?

If your sex drive has been absent or your energy levels won’t come back no matter what you try, low testosterone might be part of what’s going on. It’s normal for testosterone levels to drop with aging during perimenopause and menopause. At QuickMD, our doctors can help you explore your options with MHT. The right type and dose can get you feeling like yourself again. To make sure everything’s working the way it should, we’ll schedule a follow-up to check your testosterone levels after 6-8 weeks.