So I've been on gel for however long the ticker says. I've been doing as recommended: post shower, after being thoroughly dry, in the morning. I rub the stuff in until it's no longer rub-able, then wash my hands and go slowly get dressed (with shirt being the last item to go on to give any lingering spots time to dry as recommended).

I typically work out about two hours before bed, or generally in the late afternoon/early evening. Then I come home and shower. I've noticed when I'm washing whichever shoulder I applied to, it's super slick and feels like there's a layer that I need to wipe away before I get to skin.

Now, I'm sure this is whatever sticky stuff was left on my skin after applying in the AM. I've reached the conclusion that it's impossible to rub it in any more once it gets to a certain level of dryness. Is this normal/are other people experiencing this? I'm sure everything that's going to be absorbed has been by the time I'm getting into the shower, but does this "top layer" affect absorption at all?

I've been on gel for about a year and don't recognize what you are describing. I did have a whitish layer when I didn't spread the gel out enough at times, but that was it.
My doctor told me that the stuff pretty quickly seeps into your skin after applying. From there, it gives off its testosterone to your blood. The safe rule is to not shower for 6 hours after applying, but according to my endo, once the stuff is soaked into your skin, it can't be washed off easily anymore.

I have no idea if that top layer could affect your absorption. The only way to know is to get your T levels checked. Some people are just really good at absorbing it (I had very high t levels with the gel) and other people seem to struggle.

I'm not on t (gel or other), but what you describe matches my experience with other gels applied to the skin. I wouldn't think it means the t isn't absorbed but that it's likely some residue of the carrier substance?

To clarify: I wake up at 4am everyday, shower and apply T. I don't shower again until after 6pm at the earliest. Usually it's closer to 8 or 9pm, but always over 12 hours after the initial application. On days when I don't work out and wait to shower again until the next morning, I don't think I've had this issue. I'll test it out today and we'll see.

I'm not terribly concerned. I'm only on a half dose at the moment and I'm already getting plenty of changes so even if it's not absorbing completely, what I'm getting is just fine. I'll bring it up with my doctor at our next appointment in March.

i used to wake up at 5am and put it on then and then go back to sleep. now i just put it on whenever i wake up, which could be from 8-11. my endo never told me to shower beforehand, but she did say to put it on at night. i decided i'd rather apply it in the morning because natural t levels peak and i get the best out of it then. plus it's not fun to sleep with your shirt sticking to you. if you allow 2-3+ hours for it to dry, there shouldn't be an issue. are you rubbing it in into there's no more moisture? i made that mistake at first and it didn't feel right. i think that you should apply it to both of your shoulders, chest (not by nipple but right below collar bones), and wipe your hands off on your jawline/neck. i don't apply it onto my face or neck now because my dogs constantly wanted to lick it off and i didn't want to hurt them. so... i stick to both shoulders and chest. i think part of the problem could be you're not giving yourself enough space to apply it

tl;dr

-you don't have to shower before hand
-wait at least 2 hours before showering after applying it
-rub in throughly
-apply to BOTH shoulders, chest, and neck


...anyway, good luck! i'm almost done with gel (thankfully) and it's getting pretty tiring to apply it daily... haha

Palexander, can I ask what brand you're on? My doctor specifically told me to apply in the mornings because the testosterone is activated. She said it would likely keep me up at night if I tried to put it on before bed. There are also apparently studies that say the absorption rate of topicals is increased when you do it within 3-5 minutes of getting out of a hot shower. Open pores and whatnot.

When I finish rubbing it in it's typically in the initial drying stages and starting to get sticky. I don't think it would be possible to rub it in any more thoroughly, but I think you may be onto something about the general spread. Since I'm only on a half dose I've been sticking to one shoulder. Tomorrow I'll spread it out over two and see how that works.

I started out with gel and I noticed that it wasn't a very pleasant experience to apply it right after shower. I did dry myself the best I could with a towel but of course my skin was still a bit clammy so slapping gel on that was... eh, pretty terrible. I was on Testogel and it's fricking 96% (or so) alcohol which didn't like moisture AT ALL. It made my skin feel like it was too tight and very sticky. :s I bet I could've tried pulling out a Spiderman stunt and crawl up walls with my hands...

I don't know what sort of T gel you're on but I thought I'd mention my experiences with gel and showers.

i'm on testim. sometimes i stand in front of my fan or stay in my bathroom (with the heat on) for a little bit. not sure which works better, but it does absorb pretty quickly now. or maybe i'm just used to it? either way, whatever i'm doing must be working because i've had a lot of changes

good luck!

Thanks guys! I'm also on Testim. I've had a ton of changes already (in just 2 weeks!), so even if absorption isn't 100% I can't really complain. It just seemed very weird. I'll try some different approaches to applying and figure out what works better.

I've been on gel for 10 months and I recognize this. It's a similar to feeling to when you applied cream against sunburn and you let it dry in. Seeing how it's still a gel that is being applied onto the skin, of course there will be some residue. I think how much depends on how much you applied. I could also have white-ish marks if I applied a lot to certain areas and I didn't apply it evenly.

EDIT
I'm on Testogel and I apply a full satchel on both shoulders as much as I can, and I take any excess on my hands on my stomach/abdomen area since it's recommended to apply Testogel on shoulders and stomach. Like you, I'm on half dose though, but I take a full satchel every other day.

I am on Testim and I apply it at night and then wash it off in the morning. I used to apply on both shoulders but this time when I restarted it I do it on one and switch it everyday. The sticky feeling is one thing but another issue I am having is even after my clothes get washed it still smells like the gel...

As an update:

I took palexander's suggestion and started spreading the gel out over a larger area. I had been confining it to just my shoulders (that was the only application site listed on my directions), so now I extend it to the collarbone region. I've also started doing it immediately after toweling off from the shower. Before I would take care of hair/wash face prior to applying, now it's the first thing I do out of the shower.

This all seems to have helped massively - I'm no longer getting that weird top layer feel. Thanks for all the input, guys!