Creams are not alcohol-based, those are the gels. The creams use a lipoderm base. Very similar to a lotion. Never use an alcohol-based gel on your scrotum. It will burn, crack, and dry the skin.
All you ask for is compounded testosterone cream. They come in any concentration up to 20%; above that and they become gritty. 5, 10 and 20% are the most common strengths. Many come in a topi-click dispenser and your doctor would write it as something like 1-2 clicks per day applied to scrotum. Gels usually only go up to 2% for comparison to the creams.
The reason why it works differently and so well in some guys is that when absorbed through the thin skin on the scrotum, there will be a much higher conversion and increase in DHT. Nothing else available can come close to matching it. I have used an injection + cream combination for years and love it.
Listen to Systemlord. If your thyroid is not working then you will see poor results with TRT no matter what you do. About 20 million people in the US have a thyroid problem. And there is another estimated 20 million that don't know or don't think that they have a problem but do. Free T4, Free T3, Reverse T3, TSH, Fasting Insulin. And the normal ranges for those are not normal. Come back here and ask when you have the results for all of those. Fixing my own thyroid made as much of an impact on my health and life as TRT itself.