3ChainedAminos
Active member
Finally put my big boy pants on and trying transdermals. Got XPG pump because I’m still on my ever lasting quest for the juiciest pumps. When applied, about how long until the compounds are completely absorbed?
Transdermal question
- Thread starter 3ChainedAminos
- Start date
3ChainedAminos
Active member
Awesome, thanks. I am thoroughly impressed with the quality of bottle and gel. I literally hate oily lotion and this is completely different, dries fast and is not oily.
LeanEngineer
Legend
Agreed here! You can't beat XPG. Glad we carry majority of their products at Strong Supplement Shop!
max silver
Well-known member
I personally don't like the XPG transdermal product smell very much, and I find it tends to irritate my skin with continuous use although that can be mitigated somewhat by rotating usage sites. My favorite topicals are the Apex Alchemy variety although the minty smell of those can be a little strong for my preferences as well.
sns8778
Board Sponsor
There is no smell/fragrance added to any of the XPG products. The smell is based off the ingredients.
You've been here since 2003, so you likely remember Avant Labs. I'm not sure if you know, but XPG uses the Avant Labs carrier and Par customizes it as needed based on the individual ingredients/product.
Part of a topical carrier working is absorption and penetration enhancement, so rotating application areas is important for anyone with sensitive skin, as is waiting at least 15 minutes after you get out of the shower to apply them bc when a person first gets out of the shower, the skin is at its most sensitive state.
warnerve
Well-known member
Interesting, I never realized this - I always put it on right after the shower just for convenience. Should we wait 15 mins for effectiveness too?? I put it on right away and personally don’t get any irritation. I rotate sites a bit but not that much actually.
sns8778
Board Sponsor
For people that it doesn't irritate their skin, right after a shower is fine. No problem at all.
It's just that most of the time that anyone says they irritate their skin, they are either using them right after a shower, not rotating application areas, or both.
sns8778
Board Sponsor
You may know this next part, but was going to use the topic in your post to do a quick explanatory post for anyone reading that may not.
I think a lot of people don't really know or think about the science behind how td products work.
Many people tend to think about it as just putting an ingredient on the skin in something and its going to work, but that's not the case at all.
Many people don't think about td's any differently than a lotion for example, but there is a huge difference between a lotion that absorbs into the skin and a td that delivers ingredients into the bloodstream.
A td product is only as good as the td carrier and a big part of that is the penetration enhancers.
Transdermals work due to the penetration enhancers temporarily disrupting the skin's outer barrier to allow the ingredient(s) to pass through the skin.
When a person first gets out of the shower, their skin is going to be the most sensitive that it is going to be any time of the day, so putting something on the skin with penetration enhancers when the skin is in its most sensitive state may cause skin irritation in some people.
Most people it isn't going to bother, especially if they rotate application areas, but for some people it may, and can usually be resolved by not applying during that window and rotating application areas.
max silver
Well-known member
I certainly wouldn't think that there's any fragrance added to the XPG topicals as it's a pronounced chemical odor to the few that I've used. The worst offender for me of the XPG topicals I've used is Absolved, as that one is strong enough for my coworkers to notice which certainly isn't ideal. Unfortunately given that the target area for that particular product is only really an isolated section of the body it's not possible to rotate the product. I do intend to try Napalm at some point in the future as I recall that the original product wasn't problematic for my skin at the time.
sns8778
Board Sponsor
I'm not sure what you mean about a chemical smell, unless you're considering D-Limonene to have a chemical smell. It is found in the peels of oranges, lemons, and limes and has a citrus smell.
Ab-Solved contains Punicic Acid, which is derived from Pomegranate so it therefore smells like Pomegranate; not much could do about that other than not use the ingredient and it's a very important ingredient in the formula. Ab-Solved was originally an Avant Labs product and XPG Ab-Solved is an update on the original Ab-Solved and Punicic Acid was the main thing Par wanted to add to it. If I recall correctly, it was @Dustin07 that said that he liked the smell of it.
As for rotating, yeah, Ab-Solved is one that's harder to rotate, but the Punicic Acid in the Pomegranate has some moisturizing properties. I don't know of anyone that's ever had issues with that one except when using it directly after the shower and having very sensitive skin and that can be solved by waiting at least 15 minutes after the shower.
When it comes to carriers, Par/Avant handles all of that as he is brilliant on that subject. For anyone that wasn't around when Par Deus/Avant Labs was on AM, Avant was the first company to introduce td's to sports nutrition products and their carriers have long been considered the gold standard for maximum absorption.
The only ones that have a smell that stands out to me is Ab-Solved smelling like Pomegranate and Epicatechin smelling like Epicatechin, which kind of has a green tea type smell to it. There was one, I can't remember which, that some people say had a bit of a menthol smell to it, but I couldn't smell it unless I really tried to.
We just aren't willing to add fragrances that someone could be allergic to or that compromise the effectiveness of the products. As you may remember, ingredient science and carrier science is very important to Par, as it is to me, and I'm very against adding fragrances that people can be allergic to.
As someone with bad allergies, I have the upmost respect for the challenges that other people go through and am not a fan of adding fragrances to anything.
To each their own, and I'm not trying to be disagreeable, just explaining for the benefit of anyone reading.