Home
Daily video #27 (research on women and acne)
I’m doing a bunch of research on topics that relate to women and acne, such as premenstrual acne, pregnancy and acne, birth control, makeup, spironolactone, and cyproterone acetate. It’s fascinating stuff. The human body is an incredible thing, and so complex.
January 12th, 2009 at 7:33 pm
Good work, Dr. Dan!
January 12th, 2009 at 9:25 pm
i’ve had mild-moderate acne since the age of 18 - i’m now 28. using birth control pills definitely reduced the acne. however, once i stopped using them, i began to really break out after 1-2 months. it was worse than it had ever been. it was so bad that i was thinking about going back on the pill just for that particular benefit but luckily i found your regimen. it helped tremendously. it works so well for me that i tell everyone about it. thanks, dan!
January 12th, 2009 at 10:30 pm
I’ve had acne my whole adult life, since age 18 and up to today. BCPs really helped alot but when I went off of them, the acne came back with a vegenance. I’ve been on 3 cycles of accutane and guess what? The acne came back and now it looks almost as bad as before. I haven’t tried the regimen yet. Still using up the tazorac cream that my last doctor prescribed since I paid so much for it. But I do apply it the way you apply the BP in the regimen and I think it helps. Thanks for the research you do Dan!
January 13th, 2009 at 3:49 am
Please discuss more about body acne which I know a lot of people struggle with.
January 13th, 2009 at 9:40 am
I’ve struggled with acne since I was about 12 or 13. I’m now almost 20-years-old, and I would still struggle with it if it weren’t for the regimen. I think it maybe even would have grown into severe acne. I know so many women who have problems with it. It seems to be worse for women then men a lot of the time for some reason. I don’t know a lot of research does need to be done about it. Another good video Dan. Oh, yeah discussing body acne and bacne would be a good video.
January 13th, 2009 at 10:29 am
I’m a woman, and I’ve had acne since I was thirteen. Birth control pills neither helped nor hindered my condition, which I’ll describe as a mild to moderate case of severe acne. Not a huge number of lesions, but I would get cysts
Over the years, I found other ways to help the acne: eating low glycemic foods, taking a multivitamin, no makeup or lotion, using a simple soap on the face (weird, huh?). The biggest thing that helped before the regimen was starting treatment for a thyroid problem. I am now taking thyroid hormone every day. That has helped TREMENDOUSLY. The improvement from the thyroid therapy was what prompted me to look online to see if I could somehow get the rest of the way to clear. It’s working! Thanks, Dan 
January 13th, 2009 at 12:08 pm
I had some spots when I was a teen which didn’t worry me too much because I was a teen and thought that it was part of growing up until I got to 21 and had loads on my chin and forehead. This is when I first went to the doctors who gave me antibiotics/topical gel and showed me a book of people with much worse acne than me which to be honest didn’t really make me feel any less miserable!! My acne gradually spread to my cheeks and got worse but was still only classed as mild to moderate. By 26 I was getting some cysts under the skin which were really painful so tried antibiotics again, then when I was 27 I was told there was nothing more that could be tried except for the Contraceptive Pill, after talking to a friend who had taken it and reading the trouble some people had taking the particular one I was prescribed I decided not to take it. But I was still desperate for a cure and used to scrub my face so hard trying to get it “clean”. Then I found this website which I am so grateful for I am 28 now and have been doing the regimen for almost a year I don’t know where I would be without it. Thank you so much Dan for sharing your regimen you really have changed my life and so many other peoples.
January 14th, 2009 at 12:10 am
I am 20 years old and have cystic acne on my cheeks as well as plenty of black heads in the Tzone. I am currently taking Yaz Birth Control, and have not noticed any change in my acne, I have been on this for almost 6 months. I am also taking Spironolactone (sometimes referred to as aldactone), which is only prescribed to women because its is supposed to reduce the testosterone which in turn should help reduce cystic acne. It has been almost 4 months on 100 mg of spironolactone with little improvement. The only improvement i have found has been a slight decrease in the severity of my cysts. I am just now starting the 2nd week of the acne.org regimen and hopefully things will work out for the better. thanks so much!
January 15th, 2009 at 3:21 pm
When I was 15 I started taking birth control because I was told that the regulation of my hormones would probably help treat and decrease the amount of acne I had, which was really only mild/moderate. It did help with my acne tremendously, and kept it down mostly except around my menstrual cycles. However, nearly a year ago I stopped taking birth control completely because I realized that it really probably wasn’t worth it to be changing my hormonal functions and that maybe my acne would be gone for good because I was nearly past teenage years (I am now 19). Then, within about 2-3 months of not being on the pill my acne came back worse than ever and now it’s past mild and moderate and into the severe (but I started the regime about 3 weeks ago, which is definitely showing effective results). So I would say that given my experience and what I’ve read about others, that birth control only makes matters worse unless you plan to stay on it forever, but who would? Thank you Dan for this regime! And even more for creating the grounds for a supportive community and the search for more knowledge about such an underestimated affliction! I was practically hopeless before I found this website…
January 15th, 2009 at 10:24 pm
I’ve had acne for over 10 years now since i was about 13, and have been given pretty much every treatment under the sun for it (except accutane) with varying degrees of success, but its never cleared completely. I was put on a form of BCP when i was 18 ( UK name dianette, which contains cyproterone acetate which is anti-androgen) to treat my acne which seemed to help control it but didn’t clear it. The link for women between hormones and acne is demonstrated by the incidence of acne amongst sufferers of PCOS (poly-cystic ovarian syndrome) that i was diagnosed with a year ago, that affects hormone levels. Dianette itself or another BCP (UK name Yasmin) is the standard treatment for PCOS as well.
I had to stop taking Dianette 2 months ago as it was causing me to have severe headaches and occasional migraines, and if you suffer from these side-effects you are at increased risk of stroke if you keep taking the medication. Since coming off it although my headaches have gone my acne has got about 5 times worse, which prompted me to look on-line for a solution ( i’ve ordered the products already, i’ll let you know how i do!). Terrible acne breakouts do appear to be quite a common effect of coming off BCP so I don’t think I would advise anyone to use them as a way of treating acne - i certainly wish i never had!
January 17th, 2009 at 3:06 pm
I have had acne for almost 20 years. It started when I was 12 years old and I am now 31. I have tried everything topical and almost every antibiotic. I have been on a topical regimen consisting of tazorac/differin (I switch back and forth) and BP, which I use at night. I took spironolactone for approx. 6 years. It did help control the acne especially around my period. However, I had to discontinue the use of it because it caused me to have acid reflux. I have been off the spiro for approx. 2 years. My acne is worse now than it was before I went on the spiro. I am have been trying to control it topically but I can’t seem to clear it and it is very difficult to control my breakouts around my period. I will be starting accutane next month, so hopefully that will at least help me control the acne a little better. I would not recommend taking spiro or birth control pills to treat acne because when you come off the drug, the acne will be worse than ever.
January 18th, 2009 at 1:01 am
I’ve had acne since I was 10 or 11, but my derm has always told me it’s more genetic than hormonal, since my 3 brothers also had it and we got it from our dad. It’s gotten better as I’ve gotten older though. I saw a new derm a couple years ago and she wanted me to go on BC, but I’m paranoid about becoming infertile or something, ya know?
January 18th, 2009 at 9:40 am
Hi Dan
I’ve had acne since I hit my teen years (I’m now 32) and I too have tried everything from antibiotics to the pill to try and get my acne under control- I wouldn’t say I have severe acne- I get black heads which don’t bother me to much but every month or so I would also get a nodule or a cyst which as you know are huge, painful and don’t go away for a long time. Nothing worked for for at all, I notice zero difference with everything! Even wearing or not wearing make up didn’t make any difference! What I would say though is that I have VERY oily skin which obviously blocks my pores up. Using BP combined with your AHA 10% has finally got it under control! I would say though I need to used both products which seems to stop the spots becoming cysts- they are much smaller and clear up much quicker. I also found that I can get away with using BP at night and AHA in the morning. Thanks Dan for all the research you are doing!
January 19th, 2009 at 12:23 pm
Reading everyone’s comments really reminds me how different we all are, and it seems that we each just have to find our own combination.
I didn’t really have bad acne as a teenager (more like odd spots). As I got older I started getting more acne, in conjunction with my cycle, so likely hormonal. I seem to be opposite of some of the other women here, in that when I am on birth control my acne gets worse, which the doctor seemed to think this confirmed that mine was hormonal acne. I noticed also that someone else mentioned that their thyroid therapy helped. This is interesting to me, as since I increased my prescription is when my acne turned from regular to cystic, which is when I turned to acne.org
I had always manged to put up with having some acne, but the cystic acne has left scarring, which was what got me really worried. I am 32 now, and feel like I am too old for acne, however I have noticed that many of the professional women I meet of my age (e.g. my dentist etc) have the same problem. I wasn’t too surprised by the statistic about the number of women over 25 with acne, because that is pretty much what happened to me, no acne until then.
Part of it might be that as we get older we tend to start using other topical solutions, ie ‘age/wrinkle’ treatments. This then becomes our dilemma as most wrinkle treatments seem to cause acne breakouts and most acne treatments seem to increase (or at least not help) the aging process.
For now, I have decided to concentrate on the acne, as I say because of the scarring. I have used the acne.org products for about 6 months now and they are working great on my acne. At some point I am hoping it will wane enough to continue the use of the ‘anti-aging’ products as I do feel like my skin has aged since switching.
I’ve noticed that some manufactures have honed into this with their anti-aging/acne product ranges. But they are salicylic based, which doesn’t help me, I need the BP. I am hoping that other products come on the market, I would really like to see this. As someone with acne scars and wrinkles starting to emerge, I have noticed that the wrinkles do like to take the path of least resistance and become more pronounced by ‘merging’ with existing acne scars
I don’t know what the incidences of men with acne as they get older, but I am grateful that someone is taking more time to look at the relationship between women and acne.
January 19th, 2009 at 10:23 pm
Hi Dan! After looking at your site I am going to start the regimen, I am religious about my skin and have always had flawless skin. 2 years ago I started birth control, and I went off of it 2 months ago. My skin has broken out soo badly and there have been no other changes than that. I couldn’t believe it, but going off birth control actually gave me ACNE!!
January 20th, 2009 at 2:13 am
I was on birth control from age 18 to 22, but had to discontinue use because I suffer from migraines with aura, which is dangerous with birth control. My skin was great on birth control and bad off of it; low dose birth control helped slightly but caused headaches so was not a long-term solution. Oral antibiotics helped for a while, but I think my body got used to them and they stopped really working. What’s helped me now for over a year is spironolactone, an antiandrogen. I take 75 mg/day (though 50mg was also pretty good). I think this probably varies; I’m a tall and heavyset lady. I am a student and not covered by health insurance for Accutane, otherwise I would do that. So spironolactone has been a good stopgap measure. As Dan says, though, who knows what effects it may have long-term. I sometimes worry about fertility, but that’s completely just ignorance–I have no idea if there is any correlation. My doctor is very open with me and discusses all my options; we agreed that this is a good one for me. Hope this helps.
January 20th, 2009 at 3:50 am
Hi Dan,
I’m 27, never had acne in my teens, and from the age of 22 started experiencing acne all over my face -comedomes, blackheads and moderate red papules. I was prescribed your typical antibiotics which didn’t work, and then went on Yasmin which after 3months cleared the whole lot. When i went off BCP, my acne returned and I had to go back onto antibiotics in combination with Differin, which worked but really upset my tummy. I have recently gone back onto Yasmin (BCP) to hopefully clear up my acne, as I am sure it’s somehow directly linked with hormones. The Regimen was my ideal, however I had a very bad reaction (peeling and scaling of the skin), with the BP, so unfortunately BCP looks like it is my option. Hope that is of some help, Jess.
January 30th, 2009 at 6:25 pm
I’m fast approaching 40 and I have the worst skin now that I’ve ever had!! My parents and brother all had very bad acne (cystic for my brother and mom–bro was on accutane) but I never got anything more than an occasional monthly zit. I chalk that up to birth control–I was on the pill from 15 to 33, when I had my tubes tied. Five years later, and I’m now getting these ENORMOUS (quarter inch or so) cyst-type pimples that are deep under the skin and painful as all get out!! And they take forever to go away! Last week I finaly got rid of this huge third eye that was growing right between my brows….unfortunately, it’s now got a very angry younger sibling that’s trying to pop out under my left eye, at the top of my cheek.
My skin is flakey, which I’ve heard is actually a symptom of oily skin, so I’m not sure if I have a specific “problem” area….I guess I get the really big ones on my chin, cheeks and forhead mostly. I try to use non-comedogenic makeup, I wash my face once a day (in the shower) and moisturize religiously…to no avail. I’ll be heading off to the drugstore tomorrow to grab some supplies and try the Regimen…I’ll let you know how it goes.
Some articles about aging female skin and acne would be lovely….although it pains me greatly to describe my skin as “aging”!!
February 9th, 2009 at 5:34 pm
I was taking orto-tri-cyclen (spell?) from the age of 16 to 25. My doctor started me on it because I was experiencing moderate acne on my back and face. It worked wonderfully! I would still get an occasional breakout, especially around my period. But it completely cleared up my back acne.
BUT….. when I decided to stop taking it my face broke out terribly like never before!!! It was like my acne was getting revenge on my face and back for having been repressed for so many years. It was a beast and it had a evil mind of it’s own. I was getting large cysts and pustules and blackheads along my jawline, my upper neck and my chin. I was also getting blackheads on my cheeks and forehead. It was the most terrible time in my life with acne. Nothing seemed to stop it (I did not know about the Regimen then). I knew that my hormones were totally out of whack from being on birth control for so long and suddenly stopping it.
It took my skin about 2 painful years to finally balance out. I still experience acne (mild to moderate) but not nearly as bad as I used to. Thankfully I no longer get cysts, which are painful and ugly. In the pat I have had to get a couple of them lanced by my doctor.
I am going to start the Regimen today. I have had some bad experiences with benzoil peroxide in the past so I am a little aprehensive. But I bought the jojoba oil so I think that will help a lot with the irriatation and dryness. I am hopeful that the Regimen will work for me.