Best Libido Supplements for Women

The libido supplements for women covered here with placebo-controlled trials behind them are ashwagandha and saffron. Each did better than a placebo in a small randomized trial, one lasting eight weeks and the other six. DHEA improved arousal in one small trial of postmenopausal women. The right pick depends on your life stage and on what is flattening your desire. If nothing has changed after about eight weeks, a prescription such as PT-141 is worth asking your clinical team about.

Which libido supplements work for women?

Ashwagandha and saffron each have a placebo-controlled trial in women. DHEA has one small trial after menopause. Vitamin and mineral blends have no human evidence for libido.

Ashwagandha. In the ashwagandha trial in women aged 18 to 50, women took 300 mg of standardized ashwagandha root extract twice a day. Their sexual distress scores fell from 17.3 to 8.2, compared with 17.7 to 12.4 on placebo. By week eight, the number of satisfying sexual encounters had risen by 2.3 on ashwagandha, compared with 1.1 on placebo. The total number of encounters did not change significantly between the groups. Sex got more satisfying, but the women didn't have it more often.

Saffron. The saffron trial was double-blind and ran at three centers. Side effects on saffron were similar to placebo, and no one stopped taking it.

DHEA. In the DHEA trial, DHEA raised the women's bioavailable testosterone, the testosterone your body can use. It did nothing for the 21 men in the same study. DHEA acts as a hormone, not a gentle herb.

Vitamin and mineral blends. A review of natural aphrodisiacs found no human data showing that high doses of B6, B12, vitamin D, vitamin E, magnesium or zinc raise libido. With a blend built on those, you are mostly paying for the label.

Which libido supplement fits my age and stage?

If you still have periods, ashwagandha is the closest match to the women studied. The ashwagandha trial excluded women in the menopausal transition, women past menopause and women who had had a hysterectomy. Its results apply to otherwise healthy women aged 18 to 50 without hormonal problems.

If you are past menopause, DHEA is the supplement that was tested on women like you. It raised testosterone in that trial, and the authors think it works by converting to testosterone. Check with your clinical team before you buy it.

If your desire drops when you feel like your partner's manager, no supplement fixes that. One woman on r/TwoXChromosomes described the link between chores and her libido: "I find it so hard to initiate when I realise that he hasn't taken out the bins."

Prescription libido drugs draw the same line. Vyleesi is approved for low desire that is not caused by relationship problems, another medical or mental health condition, or a medication.

How do I pick a libido supplement that's worth the money?

1. Match the study. Look for the ingredient and dose that was tested. For ashwagandha, that means standardized ashwagandha root extract (the trial used KSM-66) at 300 mg twice a day. Skip blends that don't list amounts.
2. Check for third-party testing. FDA does not regulate how herbs and supplements are made. Little is known about what is inside many products bought online or in health food stores unless they are independently certified.
3. Give it time. The saffron trial ran six weeks and the ashwagandha trial ran eight. Judge your results at about the eight-week mark, not after a few days.

What if supplements don't fix my low libido?

PT-141 is the research name for bremelanotide, the drug in Vyleesi. FDA approved it for premenopausal women with low desire that bothers them. You inject a 1.75 mg dose under the skin of your belly or thigh at least 45 minutes before you expect to have sex. You use it only when you want to, no more than once in 24 hours and no more than 8 times a month. It is not approved for women past menopause.

In two trials, women on bremelanotide reported a bigger rise in desire than women on placebo. Desire scores rose 0.5 to 0.6 points on bremelanotide, compared with 0.2 on placebo. The drug did not significantly change the number of satisfying sexual events. The difference is in wanting sex. Nausea is the side effect to know about. If you can get pregnant, use effective birth control while you are on it. If nothing has improved after 8 weeks, tell your clinical team.

Our clinical team can prescribe PT-141 if it fits your goal. Hot or Nothing's libido plans also include kisspeptin, and our hormone plans include bioidentical estrogen. Your clinical team decides what fits your stage and health history.

Addyi (flibanserin) is the other approved option. It is a tablet you take every night at bedtime, and it is approved for women under 65. Drinking alcohol close to your dose raises the risk of severe low blood pressure and fainting. The label also says not to take St. John's Wort, ginkgo or resveratrol until you talk to your doctor. Herbs are not automatically harmless next to a prescription.

Tell your clinical team every supplement you take. The Vyleesi label says other medicines can change how bremelanotide works, and it asks patients to list their vitamins and herbal supplements too.

If you want to feel turned on again and don't want to spend another eight weeks guessing, take the quiz. Tell us your stage and what has changed, and your clinical team will see whether a plan with PT-141 or another libido treatment fits you.