Helvy
Women's hormones & menopause
Hormone Balance Blood Test
The cycle-relevant hormones, mapped. FSH, LH, SHBG, testosterone, free androgen index, the markers used in PCOS investigation and perimenopause transition.
£99 · one-off · free UK delivery included
UKAS-accredited UK labs · Finger-prick at home · Results in about 5 working days from when the lab receives your sample
- Finger-prick at home
- Clinician-checked
Is this the one for me?
Who Hormone Balance is for.
Choose this if
- Your periods have become irregular, heavier, or stopped, and nobody has explained why.
- You are in your forties and wondering whether this is the start of the menopause transition.
- A clinician has mentioned PCOS and you want to see the hormones behind that conversation.
Choose something else if
- you are male and want your testosterone read in fullComplete Male Hormones, £119
- you mainly want energy, thyroid and vitamin levels rather than cycle hormonesGeneral Energy & Wellness, £149
Still not sure? Answer a few questions
Why this panel
The cycle-relevant hormones, mapped.
Female hormones move on a cycle, so a one-shot test on the wrong day gives the wrong answer. This panel reads FSH, LH, SHBG and testosterone, and calculates your free androgen index from them. Together these are the markers used in PCOS investigation and to read the perimenopause transition. The kit ships with timing guidance for where in your cycle to test, and the report reads your values in that context.
What you actually get
A report you can actually read.
Every marker comes back with your value, the optimal range from the published research, and a line on what it means for you. Then a qualified clinician reads the whole set before it reaches you.
What “optimal range” means
The lab reference range is drawn wide, across the whole population, to catch disease. The optimal range is narrower, drawn from published research on healthy adults. Sitting outside either is a prompt to look closer, never proof on its own that something is medically wrong.
Illustrative example · Not a real person’s results
What this panel measures
Every marker in Hormone Balance.
5 markers, each measured from a single finger-prick you take at home and read against optimal ranges from the published research, then checked by a qualified clinician.
- FSH
- LH
- SHBG
- Total testosterone
- Free androgen index (calculated)
Clinician review
A qualified clinician reads the whole set.
Your markers are checked together before your results reach you, never one at a time in isolation. Where something sits outside its optimal range, the report says what that usually means and when a GP conversation is the sensible next step.
Where every pound goes
One price, with nothing hidden behind it.
No add-ons at the till, no surprise fees. Here is exactly what your Hormone Balance test pays for.
What is included
- Your home test kitA finger-prick collection kit posted to your door, with everything you need and prepaid return.
- Laboratory analysisYour sample processed and measured by an accredited UK laboratory.
- Qualified-clinician reviewEvery result checked by a qualified clinician before it reaches you.
- Your results, clearly explainedResults showing where each marker sits, and what it means for you.
Total for Hormone BalanceEverything above, included in the price
£99You collect the sample yourself with a simple finger-prick, and we show you exactly how. That is the only step we ask of you, and it is what keeps the price this honest.
How it arrives
A finger-prick at your kitchen table.
The kit lands in a slim box: a lancet, a small sample vial, a wipe and a card that walks you through it. A few drops, back in the prepaid post, and your reading comes to you in about 5 working days from when the lab receives your sample.
- 01Order
- 02Finger-prick
- 03Post it back
- 04Read your result
Keep reading
Guides on women's hormones & menopause.
Honest limits
What this panel can and cannot tell you.
Worth knowing before you pay, not after.
A single reading is a snapshot. FSH and LH move with your cycle, which is why the kit tells you which days to test and the report reads your values against the day you sampled.
It does not include oestradiol or progesterone. If your clinician wants oestrogen tracked directly, that is not part of this test.
One marker outside its range does not on its own mean something is medically wrong. Results need reading against your history and symptoms, and the report says when a GP conversation is the sensible next step.
This is a wellness service. It is not intended to diagnose, prevent, monitor or treat any medical condition.
Questions and answers
Common questions about Hormone Balance.
What hormones does the Hormone Balance panel test?
The panel measures FSH, LH, SHBG, testosterone, and free androgen index (FAI, calculated from testosterone and SHBG). These markers cover menstrual health, fertility investigation, PCOS, perimenopause, and general female hormone balance.
When in my cycle should I take a Hormone Balance blood test?
For the most informative results, test on day 2 to 5 of your menstrual cycle (day 1 is the first day of your period). This is when baseline FSH, LH and SHBG are most stable and can be accurately compared to reference ranges. If your cycle is irregular or absent, test on any day and note the date, and the report reads your values against it.
Can this test diagnose PCOS?
The panel provides the blood markers used in the Rotterdam diagnostic criteria for PCOS, specifically testosterone, SHBG, LH, and FSH. An elevated LH-to-FSH ratio combined with raised testosterone or low SHBG is a strong indicator. However, PCOS diagnosis also requires clinical assessment and often an ultrasound, so your GP or gynaecologist makes the final diagnosis using these results as evidence.
Is this test useful during perimenopause?
A raised FSH, especially alongside a raised LH, is a key blood signal of the menopausal transition, as the ovaries respond less to those pituitary hormones. This panel measures FSH, LH, SHBG and testosterone. It does not include oestradiol, so if your clinician wants to track falling oestrogen directly, that is a separate marker to add.
Can I take this test if I am on hormonal contraception?
You can, but hormonal contraception (the pill, patch, implant, or hormonal IUD) suppresses your natural hormone production, so results will reflect medicated levels rather than your baseline. If you want to see your natural hormone levels, you would need to be off hormonal contraception for at least one full cycle before testing.
Ready when you are
Your clearest read yet,
one finger-prick from here.
- UKAS-accredited UK lab
- Abnormal results reviewed by a qualified clinician