What’s the TL;DR?

DHEA has been used by women to un-stall breast growth. It is a pre-cursor hormone that can become estrogen or testosterone, but not progesterone. It may be possible to reverse atrophied breasts with DHEA.

However, it has a bad reputation due to the common misconception that “it is androgenic in XX persons and estrogenic in XY persons.” This claim is entirely false, but DHEA does have androgenic effects that can be effectively managed or mitigated.

Dosage and timing

Oral dosage: Many people warn that one should not exceed 5-10mg per day to avoid side effects. However, it is not uncommon to use 100mg per day, and both the studies and anecdotal reports detailed below used this amount.

Topical dosage: Generally, topical is hard to dose. 10mg topical per breast is generally the target.

Tolerance: Well tolerated. However, hirsutism has been linked to women with high endogenous DHEA. Some people may report acne.

Timing

DHEA is intended to be converted into estradiol, and act on cellular proliferation in an anabolic fashion. As such, it should be used during the follicular phase. However, remember that Lotus and those following her specifically found success using DHEA in combination with progesterone.

Further details

Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) is not exactly a supplement, but a hormone produced by the adrenal glands. It plays a crucial role in the production of other hormones, such as estrogen and testosterone, but not progesterone. Often referred to as a “precursor hormone,” DHEA levels naturally peak in early adulthood and decline with age. It has been the subject of research for its potential benefits in areas like aging, mood regulation, and cognitive function. It has considerable popularity as a supplement, and is sold OTC in many countries (like the USA), while being banned in some others (like Japan).

Due to incredibly supportive anecdotal reports outlined below, DHEA shows great promise for use in NBE, even if only for short durations to “unstall growth.” One might consider using a 5aR blocker to reduce the risks of elevated DHT, but perhaps not use anti-androgens with DHEA due to the paradoxical androgenic mammary growth found in a rodent study detailed below. Pro-aromatase substances may also synergize with DHEA.

DHEA has many other effects on health as well, such as improved mood¹ and healing via estrogen receptors.²

Community Anecdotes

In the NBE community, a trans woman going by the username “Lotus” is a major proponent of using DHEA cream in conjunction with progesterone cream.³ Some users have adopted this method and have reported success.⁴

In the transgender community (unrelated to the NBE community), DHEA usage is rather rare. However many have tried it orally with success, and it has been reported as a means to “restart stalled breast growth.” ^{5 6 7 8 9 10}

DHEA is employed in a clinical setting (by a physician specializing in trans care) during the first year of HRT, citing cisgender puberty DHEA levels and attempting to mimic cisgender puberty. He also uses it to address stalled breast growth for trans women as well.¹¹

Unfortunately, very few reports can be found for DHEA being used by cisgender women for NBE. This is likely due to the rumor that DHEA raises estrogen in men and testosterone in women. But this has been studied and is reported on below.

Despite DHEA currently being more common among trans women, cis women should consider DHEA as well. Notably, due to the fact that biologically breasts are the same in both populations and respond to the same stimulus.

DHEA applied topically to the breast is likely the preferred method of administration to minimize systemic effects.

How does it work?

DHEA doesn’t have its own receptor but enters cells via passive diffusion due to its lipophilic nature. Once inside, it can be converted into other hormones depending on the local enzyme activity. The conversion of DHEA into other hormones like testosterone and estradiol is controlled by enzymes such as 17β-HSD, aromatase, and others.

These enzymes are tissue-specific, meaning that different tissues will convert DHEA into different hormones based on the enzyme concentrations they express. Due to high aromatase activity in adipose and breast tissue,^{12 13} DHEA is more likely to convert to estrogens in the breast and can activate ERα and ERβ.¹⁴

Available studies

In an animal study spanning 12 months, DHEA supplementation was found to develop mammary ductal and lobuloalveolar growth in ovariectomized rats. Paradoxically, this was only the case when not affected by an anti-androgen,¹⁵ and anti-estrogens did not stunt growth – meaning it used an androgenic pathway. The study found that DHEA was able to fully reverse mammary atrophy, and performed better than both estradiol and DHT. It also mentioned that final growth was on par with pregnant and lactating rats. Yet, it is odd that this study reported DHT to grow mammary tissue, as DHT has been used to reverse gynecomastia in male puberty.¹⁶ Another study mentioned that DHT can impair the effects of estrogen, but on its own had no effect.¹⁷

In a small study with cisgender women aged over 50, 6 months of DHEA supplementation restored testosterone levels to young adult levels,¹⁸ however these women were on HRT, complicating the results. In a short study with young adult athletes, DHEA supplementation increased testosterone levels in women by about 6x (to levels roughly 4.5x higher than female upper range), however estrone levels also increased by 4x,¹⁹ and estradiol levels were not recorded, which is extremely unfortunate. Note that these studies used 100mg of orally administered DHEA and a DHEA cream applied to the breasts would not exhibit the same systemic effects.

Studies have also found oral DHEA to increase ovarian function in regards to fertility.²⁰

Products to consider

$21/240ct 100mg Micronized DHEA – Naturebell

Amazon

$13/60ct 100mg DHEA – Swanson

iHerb

$28/4oz 10mg/0.25tsp Elite DHEA Cream – Supplement Spot

Amazon