DHB is Xeno Laboratories' dihydroboldenone cypionate, an oily solution for deep intramuscular injection. The shorthand DHB, or 1-testosterone, is more common than the full name, and the compound sits in the DHT branch of the family where nothing can be converted to estrogen.
Its reputation rests on two things that pull in opposite directions. The tissue it builds is dry and dense, which is what attracts users, and the injections are notably uncomfortable for a large share of them, which is what limits the amount people are willing to run.
Product Overview
Dihydroboldenone is 1-testosterone, a molecule that is a DHT derivative with a double bond in the first ring. The practical effect of that structure is a strong androgen that cannot aromatise at all, so fluid retention and chest tissue are not expected results of using it. The cypionate ester attached to it is a longer chain, described in the project reference material as an ester requiring two or three injections a week, while some vendor pages quote a figure of roughly six days for the half-life; that number has no independent confirmation, and it is presented here as a vendor statement rather than an established value.
Animal work is the only detailed pharmacology available. In those studies the substance matched testosterone propionate for growth of the prostate and the levator ani muscle at equal molar amounts, and it also increased liver weight, which is a laboratory finding rather than a documented human injury pattern. It is not a 17-alpha-alkylated compound, so the hepatic mechanism that makes oral methylated steroids risky does not apply in the same way.
Where it fits is a dry cycle. Testosterone usually supplies the base, and where a harder finish is wanted the compound is run beside an oral such as Winstrol or Anavar for a short block. The nearest dry injectable neighbour in this line is Primobolan 100, which builds more slowly and hurts far less.
Dosage Protocol
Amounts are set by tolerability as much as by pharmacology, because a dose that cannot be injected consistently is a dose that will not be run.
| Beginner | 200-300 mg a week for 8-10 weeks, starting at the bottom because of injection discomfort |
| Intermediate | 300-400 mg a week for 10-12 weeks, split across two or three injections |
| Advanced | 400-600 mg a week for 12 weeks; part of the range is simply not tolerated by many users |
| Female | No confirmed data; the virilisation risk of a DHT-derived androgen is not something the sources treat as manageable |
| Administration | Intramuscular, two or three times a week, rotating sites wide because of the injection reaction |
The practical advice in the source material is about technique rather than numbers. Alternating sites across a wide area, using a smaller volume per injection and splitting the weekly total more finely all reduce the reaction, and that is the reason a lower concentration is often preferred even when it means more oil.
Suggested Protocols
Three arrangements cover the way it is used. Each pill opens the matching page in the Xeno line.
What to Expect
- Density rather than size. The look that emerges is hard and dry, with no subcutaneous fluid sitting over it.
- Strength arrives over weeks two to four. The change is gradual, and the load on the bar moves before the tape measure does.
- No chest tissue expected. A molecule that cannot aromatise has no route to gynecomastia from the compound itself.
- Injection pain is the common complaint. A significant share of users report it, and for some it decides the ceiling on the amount they run.
- Suppression starts early. Natural production falls within the opening weeks, so recovery has to be part of the plan from the start.
- Blood pressure can drift. Readings tend to rise across a block, which is one of the values worth measuring at home.
Side Effects and Management
The two entries at the top of this list are what separates DHB from the other dry injectables.
Post-Cycle Therapy
The cypionate ester keeps releasing after the last shot, so therapy waits rather than starting straight away.
