Biote HER-T: What It Is and What the Evidence Says About Testosterone for Women

What is Biote HER-T?

If you have searched “Her T” or “Biote Her-T,” you may have seen it described in different ways, including as a testosterone pellet. Biote’s own pages describe something else. On its nutraceuticals page, Biote lists HER-T as “Healthy Testosterone Balance Support for Women,” alongside its other supplement products, and says it supports healthy testosterone balance, balanced cortisol levels, and health and longevity.

The HER-T product page calls it “one of Biote’s newest nutraceuticals,” designed to support healthy testosterone balance in women in a “naturally-derived, science-based formulation.” Biote says it may support “multi-mechanistic hormone balance,” naming selective estrogen receptor modulation, prolactin, aromatase, five-alpha reductase and luteinizing hormone. The page says HER-T may benefit adult women over 18 who are not pregnant or breastfeeding, and that it can be used with or without hormone therapy.

Three things are worth knowing up front:

• It is a nutraceutical, not a prescription hormone. Biote’s claims about HER-T carry an asterisk pointing to the statement that they have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.
• The ingredient list isn’t on the product page text. Biote’s page describes what the formula is meant to do but does not list ingredients or amounts, so check the Supplement Facts panel on the bottle itself.
• We found no published trials of the formula. We could not find clinical studies of HER-T in PubMed. Biote’s page points to research on testosterone levels in women in general, which is a different question from whether this product changes them.

How is HER-T different from Biote testosterone pellets?

Biote is best known for hormone pellet therapy. Its pellet FAQ describes testosterone pellets as powdered testosterone fused into a pellet with stearic acid, inserted under the skin of the upper buttock by a Biote-certified provider after lab work, and repeated two to four times a year. That is a compounded prescription medicine. HER-T is something you swallow and buy as a nutraceutical. Here is how the options people often confuse compare.

Does testosterone actually help women?

Testosterone is a normal hormone in women, and levels fall gradually with age. But the evidence for treating women with it is narrower than marketing often suggests.

The Global Consensus Position Statement on testosterone for women, published in 2019 and endorsed by The Endocrine Society, The Menopause Society and other international groups, concluded that the only evidence-based use of testosterone in women is for postmenopausal women diagnosed with hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD), meaning low desire that causes real distress, after a full assessment. That is a specific endorsement, not a general one. The same statement found:

• No effect of testosterone on general wellbeing in postmenopausal women.
• Not enough evidence to use it for memory, thinking or preventing cognitive decline.
• Its recommendations do not apply to pellets, injections, compounded products, or anything that raises testosterone above the normal female range.
• A blood testosterone level should not be used to diagnose HSDD.

The benefit, where it exists, is modest. In a meta-analysis of 36 randomized trials with almost 8,500 women, testosterone added just under one extra satisfying sexual event per month (0.85) compared with placebo or a comparator, along with improvements in desire, arousal and orgasm. It found no effect on body composition, muscles, bones or cognition, though few women contributed data on those. The Endocrine Society’s 2014 guideline recommends against general use of testosterone for cognitive, cardiovascular, metabolic or bone health, or for wellbeing. For more on the libido question, see our guide to testosterone and libido in women.

By the numbers

Testosterone for low desire: the trial evidence

36randomized trials pooled, with almost 8,500 womenSource: Islam 2019

0.85extra satisfying sexual events per month vs. placebo or comparatorSource: Islam 2019

What do pellets mean for testosterone dosing?

If you are comparing HER-T with Biote’s testosterone pellets, the delivery method matters as much as the hormone. Once a pellet is in, it releases hormone until it dissolves. You can’t lower the dose partway through, and the pellet isn’t designed to be removed.

• Levels can run high. A 2025 review of 38 studies found testosterone pellets in women produce early peaks above the normal female range (over 100 to 250 ng/dL) with wide variation from person to person. In a records study of 539 postmenopausal women, average peak testosterone was 194 ng/dL with pellets versus about 16 ng/dL with FDA-approved hormone therapy, and side effects were more common in the pellet group.
• Guidance favors other forms. ACOG recommends preparations other than pellets for testosterone, citing the lack of safety data and the inability to remove the pellet. It advises keeping levels in the premenopausal range of 20 to 80 ng/dL.
• The evidence is mostly observational. The 2025 review found one small randomized trial of pellets. It concluded that pellet benefits remain “hypothesis-generating” and that safety cannot yet be confirmed.

By the numbers

Pellet testosterone levels vs. the target range

194 ng/dLaverage peak testosterone with pelletsSource: Jiang 2021

~16 ng/dLaverage peak with FDA-approved hormone therapySource: Jiang 2021

20–80 ng/dLpremenopausal range ACOG advises keeping levels withinSource: ACOG 2023

Our guide to how hormone pellet therapy works covers the procedure itself.

What are the side effects of testosterone for women?

In the trial meta-analysis, women on testosterone were more likely to report acne and unwanted hair growth than women on placebo, and an overall increase in weight was recorded. ACOG lists hirsutism, acne and other masculinizing effects, which may be permanent, among the most common adverse events, and notes that the long-term effects on heart disease and breast cancer risk are unknown. ACOG also notes that studies of testosterone pellets have reported perceived voice changes, mood swings and anxiety. These effects are harder to manage when the dose can’t be turned down. Our page on hormone pellet side effects goes through what is common and what needs a call to your clinician.

What are the alternatives to HER-T or testosterone pellets?

The right choice depends on what you are trying to fix. Many women looking at HER-T are dealing with low desire, low energy or menopause symptoms, and those have different answers.

• Distressing low desire after menopause: ask about transdermal testosterone dosed to stay in the female range, with a blood level checked before and a few weeks after starting, as the consensus statement recommends.
• Low desire before menopause: two medicines are FDA-approved for HSDD. Addyi (flibanserin) is a nightly pill approved for acquired, generalized HSDD in women under 65, and Vyleesi (bremelanotide) is an as-needed injection for premenopausal women that modestly improved desire in two phase 3 trials.
• Hot flashes, night sweats and poor sleep: estrogen is the most effective treatment, with progesterone added to protect the uterus if you have one. FDA-approved estradiol and progesterone products are available in many forms; our guide to hormone replacement therapy explains the choices. Better sleep and fewer night sweats can also help energy and desire.
• Painful sex or dryness: low-dose vaginal estrogen, moisturizers and lubricants often help desire indirectly.

Amie HRT+ is one prescription option for menopause symptoms: a single compounded cream with estradiol and progesterone, at a strength a licensed clinician chooses after an online review. Like Biote pellets, it is compounded and not FDA-approved. Unlike a pellet, it is used at home, and the clinician can change the strength at the next prescription. It does not contain testosterone and is not a libido treatment, and a clinician decides whether it is appropriate for you.

Questions to ask before you try HER-T or pellets

• What exactly am I hoping this will change, and how will we know if it worked?
• For HER-T: what is on the Supplement Facts panel, and could any ingredient interact with my medicines?
• For testosterone: have other causes of low desire, such as pain, mood, medicines, sleep or relationship stress, been looked at first?
• What testosterone level are you aiming for, and when will you recheck it?
• What happens if I get acne, hair growth or voice changes?
• Would an FDA-approved product, or a form I can stop quickly, work for me instead?

For a broader look at safety, read is Biote safe?, or browse the pellets and Biote hub.