Intervention
Blueprint Micro-Experiments: A Catalogue of Bryan Johnson's Self-Trials
A dated, sourced inventory of the specific self-experiments inside Bryan Johnson's Blueprint protocol, including the ones he dropped.
Summary How strong is the evidence behind the Blueprint longevity protocol? Show / hide ↓
Blueprint is a changing personal health routine designed to slow aging. It combines a calorie-controlled diet, supplements, medicines, exercise, and regular testing. Most results come from one person’s measurements, such as blood markers and biological-age tests, without a comparison group. Some trials were stopped: plasma exchange showed no reported benefit, while rapamycin caused infections, higher blood fats, higher blood sugar, and a faster resting heart rate. A 2025 study of plasma exchange plus immune treatment found an average 2.6-year reduction in biological age, but the protocol’s 17-alpha-estradiol use is based mainly on mouse research, not human trials.
What this means for you: The Blueprint approach is a collection of personal experiments, not proven anti-aging treatment. There is not enough evidence to copy the full protocol or buy products based on it.
weak evidenceBlueprint is not one experiment. It is a running series of them, each with its own start date, its own measurement, and in several cases its own quiet ending. Sorted below by current status, then by date. Filter to see what he dropped, what changed, and what is still running.
Three-generation plasma exchange
Plasma drawn from his son Talmage (then 17) infused into Bryan; Bryan's plasma then given to his father Richard (then 70) at a Texas clinic. Talmage received no replacement for the blood. Billed as the world's first three-generation plasma swap.
- Measured
- Blood biomarkers, imaging, device data, before/after.
- Result
- “No benefits detected,” posted by Johnson on X in July 2023. Stopped days later. He later claimed his father's “aging speed” dropped 25 years after receiving one litre of his plasma, but conceded the effect could not be separated from simply removing old plasma. The result was never published in peer-reviewed form.[1][2]
Rapamycin
Transplant-rejection drug, run through several schedules: weekly at 5, 6, and 10 mg, biweekly at 13 mg, then alternating 6/13 mg week-on week-off. Called it “the most aggressive rapamycin protocol of anyone in the industry.”
- Measured
- Skin/soft-tissue infection rate, blood lipids, fasting glucose, resting heart rate, epigenetic clocks (16-clock panel).
- Result
- Quit after recurring skin and soft-tissue infections, elevated blood lipids, higher fasting glucose, and a faster resting heart rate. A December 2024 16-clock analysis showed increased biological aging on 2 of 16 clocks and no effect on the rest. A June 2026 article in a major scientific journal quoted a biochemist stating plainly that “there's nothing in Bryan Johnson's protocol that would change his maximal lifespan.”[3][4]
Metformin
Diabetes drug taken for more than five years, then paused in favor of a cycling schedule instead of daily dosing.
- Measured
- Self-reported mitochondrial capacity.
- Result
- Reported it built mitochondrial capacity he then could not fully use — stated reason for the pause and switch to cycling.[4]
Hair regrowth protocol
Custom topical combining minoxidil 7%, cetirizine, and latanoprost, applied to reverse thinning and greying.
- Measured
- Visible hair thinning, grey-hair proportion, DHT level.
- Result
- Reversed visible thinning and roughly half his grey hair. Over-suppressed DHT to 5.8 ng/dL at twice-daily use, so cut back to once daily.[12]
DunedinPACE pace-of-aging tracking
Epigenetic pace-of-aging clock built on the Dunedin birth cohort, self-reported at different values across different test dates and outlets.
- Measured
- DunedinPACE score across repeat tests.
- Result
- Reported at 0.69 in the 2025 Netflix documentary, 0.64 in later data, and 0.503 (ranked best-in-world) on the 2026 Rejuvenation Olympics leaderboard. Morgan Levine, PhD, who helped build these clocks, has publicly said the popularized “31 years younger” framing misapplies a rate measure as a duration. Published clock-reliability data also show meaningful replicate-to-replicate noise, capping what any single person's repeat test can prove.[13][14]
Follistatin gene therapy
$25,000 gene therapy delivered by startup Minicircle outside FDA oversight, intended to boost muscle mass via follistatin.
- Measured
- Not independently reported.
- Result
- Physician-scientist Christin Glorioso publicly warned that unregulated constructs like this “likely will kill someone by inducing cancer or liver failure.”[9]
Total plasma exchange (TPE)
Six sessions replacing his own plasma with albumin and immunoglobulin, framed as toxin removal rather than transfusion. In January 2025 he abandoned the son-based method entirely in favour of TPE with albumin.
- Measured
- Pace of aging, organ ages, microplastic load, before/after.
- Result
- Reported his plasma was rated the cleanest the clinic operator had seen. A separate 2025 controlled trial (Circulate Health / Buck Institute, not run by Johnson) found TPE + IVIG cut biological age by 2.6 years on average across a cohort — Johnson's 6-session, n=1 version cannot separate a Blueprint-specific effect from that population-level signal.[5][6]
17-alpha-estradiol
Human use of a compound whose evidence base is a mouse-lifespan finding: male mice given 17-alpha-estradiol gained 19% median survival, with no effect in females.
1,977-calorie diet
Fixed at roughly 1,977 calories (matching his 1977 birth year) across three meals in a six-hour window: Super Veggie, Nutty Pudding, and a rotating third plate, plus 1 tbsp olive oil and 6 g cocoa per meal.
- Measured
- Body composition, metabolic markers (via broader Blueprint panel).
- Result
- No independent outcome data published beyond the general Blueprint biomarker reports; the calorie target itself is a stated design choice, not a measured optimum.[10]
Nocturnal erection tracking
Ring-style sensor tracking nighttime erection duration and frequency, published against his son Talmage's data. He claims Botox injections and shockwave therapy lowered his “erection biological age” to roughly 20 years.
- Measured
- Duration and frequency via wearable ring sensor.
- Result
- Drew public backlash in January 2025 over the family dynamic of comparing the data to his then-19-year-old son's.
DEXA and VO2max scans
Recurring DEXA-based bone density and body composition scans, plus cardiovascular fitness testing.
- Measured
- Bone density, body composition, VO2max.
- Result
- VO2max reading of 58.7 mL/kg/min, reported by Johnson as ranking in the top 1.5% of 18-year-olds.
Skincare protocol
Daily topical regimen: tretinoin, niacinamide, vitamin C, mineral sunscreen.
- Measured
- Self-reported skin-age score.
- Result
- Skin-age score reportedly improved from 64 to the high 30s/low 40s.[11]
Lithium orotate microdosing
Microdosing lithium orotate at 1 mg daily.
- Measured
- Not independently reported.
- Result
- No completed human longevity trial exists behind this dose — self-dosing without a matching efficacy trial.
Protocol audit: claim conflicts, safety signals, and commercial context
Independent findings that sit outside the self-experiment catalogue. Each is labelled by type and evidence basis. None of these are Johnson's own claims; they are external, verified findings from internal documents, legal records, and scientific commentary.
Internal data showed biological age increased by nearly 10 years
Internal documents reviewed by a major newspaper showed Johnson's biological age increased by almost 10 years between January 2022 and February 2024 — the opposite of the 5.1-year decrease featured in the Netflix documentary and Blueprint marketing.
Johnson responded that the decision to highlight the 5.1-year figure was made by the documentary's production team, and that “biological age measurements can vary.” He called the reporting a “hit piece” before publication. The newspaper's spokesperson stated they were confident in the accuracy of the story, which involved reviewing legal and internal documents and interviewing 30 individuals connected to Johnson and his company.
60% of roughly 1,700 product testers reported at least one adverse effect
Of approximately 1,700 people who tested Blueprint products in an internal study, around 60 percent reported at least one negative side effect, including lowered testosterone levels and some progressing to a prediabetic state.
Although Johnson had pledged to unveil the study's results by mid-2024, he released data for only about 300 participants — less than one-fifth of the total — indicating favourable outcomes in January. The severity of the reported side effects remains uncertain.
California Prop 65 settlement: lead and cadmium in Blueprint foods
A settlement was reached over lead in Blueprint's “Nutty Pudding” and cadmium in the cocoa powder — products that had been marketed as free of heavy metals.
The company paid $25,000 and was permanently enjoined from selling the products in California without reformulation or Proposition 65 warnings. A subsequent analysis found the cocoa serving size had been cut from two scoops to one, which brought daily cadmium exposure under the California threshold without actually reducing the cadmium concentration in the product.
Roughly $4.5M annual Amazon revenue; $60M raise after cash-flow warning
Despite the media profile, Blueprint generated only about $4.5 million in annual Amazon revenue. Johnson warned his leadership team in fall 2024 that the company was running out of cash, before a $60 million capital round closed in October 2025.
Johnson has stated the business prices products to break even and has had both profitable and loss-making months. He disputed the revenue framing as part of a broader press critique.
No control groups: dozens of interventions tested in parallel
A leading aging-research institute director points out that serious clinical studies require control groups, while Johnson tests dozens of interventions simultaneously — making it impossible to isolate which single treatment causes any observed effect.
An independent longevity researcher and author has argued in a major scientific journal that no current intervention has been proven to extend human maximal lifespan by directly targeting aging. The protocol is described as a case study at best — the lowest level of scientific evidence — despite being presented with a scientific veneer.
Changing a biomarker is not proven to extend life
A senior epidemiologist at a major US university has stated that unless scientific evidence shows that altering a given biomarker leads to longer or healthier lives, it is essentially a meaningless statistic.
Blueprint's biomarker panel covers over 100 measurements across blood, heart, cardiovascular, bone, brain, and fertility. The critique targets the core assumption of the protocol: that moving a biomarker in a “youthful” direction produces a clinical benefit. No current biomarker has been validated as a surrogate endpoint for human maximal lifespan.
References
Every numbered citation in this entry links here. Each reference links out to the primary source.
-
[1]
Millionaire infuses himself with son's blood to stay young Tier 4
Quotes Johnson's own Instagram announcement of the 'world's first multi-generational plasma exchange' and confirms the one-litre blood donation from Talmage, then 17, and the exchange with father Richard, then 70.
-
[2]
Millionaire Stops Blood Transfusions From Teen Son and Dad After 'No Benefits Detected' Tier 4
Primary confirmation of Johnson's own 'no benefits detected' statement and the July 2023 discontinuation of plasma exchange.
-
[3]
Anti-aging guru Bryan Johnson ditches controversial drug after infections Tier 4
Documents the full rapamycin dosing history Johnson posted on X: weekly 5/6/10 mg, biweekly 13 mg, alternating 6/13 mg schedules, and side effects.
-
[4]
Things that make you age faster, and slower Tier 4
Primary source: Johnson's own account of why he stopped rapamycin (glucose, lipids, resting heart rate) and confirmation metformin continued as of December 2024.
-
[5]
Anti-aging zealot replaces 'liquid gold' plasma in his body in quest for immortality Tier 4
Describes the six-session total plasma exchange (TPE) protocol, albumin replacement method, and baseline measurements Johnson tracked (pace of aging, organ ages, microplastics).
-
[6]
Single-blind, placebo-controlled human trial (Circulate Health/Buck Institute) finding TPE plus IVIG reduced biological age by an average 2.6 years by multi-omic markers, the population-level evidence Johnson's n=1 TPE experiment sits against.
-
[7]
NIA Interventions Testing Program-linked RCT-grade animal study establishing 19% median male lifespan extension in mice with no female effect, the evidence basis for Johnson's 17-alpha-estradiol use.
-
[8]
Primate tolerability and mechanistic data bridging mouse lifespan findings toward human dosing; not a human efficacy trial, underscoring the evidence gap in Johnson's self-dosing.
-
[9]
Bryan Johnson is being used as a human guinea pig in unproven tests to reprogram his genes Tier 4
Reports the $25,000 follistatin gene therapy delivered by Minicircle in Roatan, Honduras, and quotes physician-scientist Christin Glorioso's warning that unregulated constructs like it likely will kill someone by inducing cancer or liver failure.
-
[10]
Bryan Johnson eats a strict diet of 1977 calories a day and 70 pounds of veggies Tier 4
Reports the specific 1,977-calorie daily target, matching Johnson's birth year, as a deliberate design choice.
-
[11]
My New Skincare Protocol [2025] Tier 4
Primary source: Johnson's stated skin-age improvement from 64 to 37-42 and daily topical regimen (niacinamide, vitamin C, hyaluronic acid, tretinoin).
-
[12]
How I Reversed My Hair Loss Tier 4
Primary source: exact topical formulation (minoxidil 7%, cetirizine, latanoprost), application frequency, and Johnson's report of over-suppressing DHT to 5.8 ng/dL at twice-daily dosing.
-
[13]
Bryan Johnson's Best Result Is the One He Doesn't Lead With Tier 4
Critic/analyst piece distinguishing Johnson's headline DunedinPACE claim from his cardiometabolic bloodwork, citing Higgins-Chen et al. on measurement noise limits in single-subject clock readings.
-
[14]
Longevity Expert Explains How Bryan Johnson Has Not Reduced His Pace of Aging by 31 Years Tier 4
Reports Morgan Levine's direct public statement that DunedinPACE is a rate, not a duration, and that the '31 years' framing misuses the metric.
-
[15]
A pilot study evaluating dosing tolerability of 17α-estradiol in male common marmosets Tier 5
Small primate mechanistic pilot on 17-alpha-estradiol dosing tolerability; mechanistic-tier evidence bridging mouse lifespan data toward primates, not a human RCT.
Further reading
Curated external sources for a deeper dive. External links open in a new tab.
- Blueprint Biomarkers page blueprint.bryanjohnson.com
- How I Reversed My Hair Loss blueprint.bryanjohnson.com
- My New Skincare Protocol [2025] blueprint.bryanjohnson.com
- Things that make you age faster, and slower blueprint.bryanjohnson.com