btw, green tea has also shown to down-regulate COX-2 activity.

Coool. Rofecoxib improves acne!!!!

(Shame it has recently been banned due to causing heart disease, and thus killing people )

rofecoxib == Vioxx

Haha, that's funny, I didnt know it was Vioxx.

But I dont recommend taking drugs anyway.

I just think its interesting that you can reduce acne by inhibiting cyclooxygenase-2.

5-lipoxygenase is another enzyme I've been reading about lately. I think both of these enzymes are intimately invloved in sebum production and inflammatory acne.

5-alpha reductase appears to be less of a factor than previously thought.

I used to sell Celebrex...the only Cox 2 left on the market today. The only real difference between Aleve (Naproxen Sodium) and Celebrex is that Celebrex is safer to take for a longer period of time (fewer NSAID induced GI bleeds). Aleve works just as well on inflamation as the Cox 2 so it should work just as well for Acne if this study rings true. Also, if you suffer from cramps like I do around that time, it's a great one two punch for pain.

I had HORRIBLE cramps, and when the NSAIDs came along, it was like a MIRACLE!! I didn't ever have many problems with my skin, but when I DID, it was always right before my period. I don't doubt that prostaglandin, which is what causes cramps (they have also used it to induce labor!!) has a hand in bringing on skin problems. Just be careful when you take ANY anti-inflamatory drug and make SURE you take it with food. They can all cause ulcers. You have to be careful with them.

So wait- taking an NSAID or Celebrex can inhibit the thingie that causes premenstrual breakouts? I'm confused but excited.

Celebrex might work, but hasn't been tested in clinical trials AFAIK.

I've been using aleve for cramps for ages... plus I take it whenever I feel a cyst coming on and it keeps it from getting big and ugly. Inhibiting the inflammatory response during the formation dramatically reduces the level of inflammation the lesion can attain.

Since my cysts and a lot of my acne is related to my periods, I've always thought about taking Aleve for the weeks before and during my period, but like you said the NSAIDs are great but there's the whole Aleve GI bleeding thang...

COX inhibitors are awesome (except seems like they can't figure the whole 1 vs. 2 thing out... inhibit both, you get the heart benefits but there's risk of GI problems... inhibit just 2 and you lose the cardiac benefits but also the GI problems... etc). My dad worked on Naproxen and Naproxen sodium back in the day. I also have some Naproxen 500mg tablets that I bust out once in a while... that stuff is magnificent.

P.S. Merek won another Vioxx case in California last week! Those money-grubbing folks can't blame their heart attacks on sporadic use of the drug, especially when they have a predisposition to cardiac problems. Sorry, that just made me happy.

I tried this out this month: Aleve twice a day during my PMS week. Worked quite well, I think, I saw only two teensy superficial zits pop up the whole week. I usually have much more trouble than that. Worth trying again, anyway.

I take ibuprofen before bed when I can feel an undergrounder coming up, then I slather on the BP on that one spot, and I take a Zinc to help with healing... the next morning the pimple has calmed down alot.

The other thing that's worth mentioning here is the Zone diet.

Dr. Sears claims that the Zone Diet modifies the levels of the same chemicals that aspirin and other COX inhibitors does.

The implication would appear to be that the zone diet might improve acne; and I have found that to be the case to a fair degree in the past, and the further I get from the zone, the worse my acne gets.

I only get premenstrual acne makes me sad. So now when I see a few pimples I know I am going to get it it just isn't fair. So if I drink green tea more often it would help with premenstrual acne?

It seems unlikely. If there was a big effect it would be well known by now- it's not like half of Asia drinks green tea. Oh! Wait!

Personally I've drunk a lot of green tea, and for whatever reason my skin pretty much hates it. Then again I'm a man, and I don't have premenstrual acne, so YMMV.

Green tea has caffeine in it, and I doubt that that helps any.

For the second time, I'm going to try the Aleve 2x daily during PMS week.

I am going to try this, I think my pms is starting this week. Ever since I got off the pill and since had a baby my pms breakouts are getting worse. I just haven't got around to getting back on the pill, so I will try this in the meantime and hope it works. I'll go with two a day for about a week.

bump

Ibuprofen is a COX inhibitor which presumably hits both COX-2. The problem with it is that it's hard on the stomach of course since it inhibits COX-1 as well.

But topical ibuprofen is available... so it wouldn't go through the stomach.

I've been trying it out for a couple of weeks or so. It looks pretty promising.

Seems much more powerful than salicylic acid.

Where do you get topical ibuprofen? I've never seen it in pharmacies in the US (doesn't mean it's not there).

It's just available in the supermarkets, on the shelf as a sports injury rub thing. Google seems to suggest it's newish but the tube I got was just the supermarket's own brand so there's apparently there's no patent on it in the UK atleast.

My current results suggest it gives pretty good symptomatic relief but doesn't seem to prevent new acne (but I've only been using it a couple of weeks.)