[mochaccino]

Hi Lost. Sorry I'm not Eve, but I think I can answer your question. Hops contain 8-prenylnaringenin (8-pn) and xanthohumol. Xanthohumol is an antiandrogen and 8-pn is a very potent phytoestrogen. Hops usually contains much more xanthohumol then 8-pn. Digestion turns some of the xanthohumol into 8-pn, which means that, depending on whether or not your gut contains the right bacteria for conversion, hops should be much more estrogenic if you digest it. Hops extract is much stronger than regular powdered hops, so I see no reason why it wouldn't work topically. You should probably get the extract rather than the powder. Most herbs don't really extract all that well in oil or water, so making your own might not be the best idea in this case. Isabelle either forgot that hops contains a phytoestrogen, even when it's not digested, or she feels that the amount is not significant enough to be worthwhile. I don't really know, and I don't wanna put words in her mouth. You could try mentioning all this to her and asking her to elaborate, if you think she has another reason I hadn't thought of. She generally knows what she's talking about.