Masteron is a steroid that’s derived from dihydrotestosterone (DHT) with a slight chemical alteration that gives Masteron a higher anabolic rating than DHT itself.
There are two different versions of Masteron:
- Masteron Propionate (Drostanolone Propionate)
- Masteron Enanthate (Drostanolone Enanthate)
These are simple the Drostanolone compound with a different ester attached to control the release rate and the half-life of the steroid once it’s in the body. The ester itself has no affect at all on the activity of Masteron as it becomes attached over time once you’ve administered the steroid, leaving Masteron to take full effect.
Propionate is the most common form of Masteron, with Enanthate being harder to find even though it comes with a benefit of less regular injections because of its longer half-life. Both forms are relatively difficult to find as they are no longer manufactured in US pharmaceutical labs, so purchasing needs to be done on the black market and underground and this leaves you open to counterfeits and low-quality products.
The cost of Masteron in both forms has reduced in recent times so once you locate a trusted supplier this can become one of the more affordable steroids to include in your cycles.
Masteron Propionate (Drostanolone Propionate)
Propionate is the more widely used variety and allows Masteron to have a longer half-life and a slower rate of release than if the ester were not attached to the hormone.
The resulting half-life is about 2.5 days, which is much shorter than the enanthate variety. Propionate is the most popular variant of Masteron. Being a shorter ester, this version of Masteron is mostly used in shorter cycles than what you would use the enanthate variant for.
Normally the cycle length is 8 to 10 weeks, and it should be combined at least with a testosterone steroid (ideally Testosterone Propionate for compatibility), while it also delivers excellent results when used with more powerful steroids like Winstrol or Trenbolone.
Masteron Enanthate (Drostanolone Enanthate)
The added Enanthate ester gives this version of Masteron a significantly longer half-life of about 10 days.
This version can be harder to come by and has not been as popular with bodybuilders as the propionate type, and only relatively recently has it become more widely used among performance athletes. Due to the long ester and thus long-acting nature of Masteron Enanthate it’s ideally used in cycles that are longer than you might use Masteron Prop for.
This steroid can easily be used for 12 weeks or more with good results in a cutting cycle stacked at a minimum with testosterone, but it also works well if you want to add another powerhouse cutting steroid to the mix like Winstrol.
One of the most popular cycles is Masteron Enanthate, Test Enanthate and the powerful anabolic compound Trenbolone Enanthate. Since they all use the same ester, these compounds are very compatible with each other and produce superb results for competitive bodybuilders especially in a pre-contest cycle.