5 replies to this topic

[WishClean]

Hi folks,

I need your advice on this one. I have been trying to figure out what the best combination of herbs and vitamins would be to take for my hormonal acne. I would appreciate some feedback, as I cannot afford hormonal testing and other blood tests at the moment. I can barely afford supplements, but at least I can use coupons and discounts to get those. I have already consulted naturopaths, homeopaths, dermatologists, gynecologists, herbalists, acupuncturists - you name it! All I keep getting is conflicting information and it's confusing me.

So, I decided to stick with things that worked for me in the past, but haven't been working now on their own. I am currently taking saw palmetto (300mg/ day standardized, also contains total 600mg berry extract), and multivitamins (solgar earth source vitamins & acai berry), as well as a lactose-free probiotic in the morning. I have been trying the saw palmetto for almost 3 months now, and I keep getting inflammed pimples and cystic acne, so it's either not working at all or not working on its own. So I decided to combine it with agnus castus (vitex), 15-20 drops a day. Last time I took vitex with just evening primrose for over a year, and it caused increased facial & body hair, some hair loss on my head (receding hairline actually), some premature aging of the skin (but could also be because I used to smoke), and susceptibility to environmental allergies. I was taking about 25 drops/day and it cleared my severe acne within months, but the second time around I took it with sodium chloride drops for my allergies (prescribed by a holistic doctor, not very reliable guy though) so that might be why it wasn't effective...

 

My periods are monthly and regular (although I get spotting before they start usually, so not a normal flow), and so is my weight although I noticed some mid-section weight gain since starting the saw palmetto and probiotics. So, I think I have symptoms of both estrogen dominance/ low progesterone, and excess androgens. Would it therefore make sense to combine saw palmetto with vitex, or am I making things worse??? As I said, I cannot afford hormonal testing and don't want recommendations for hormonal drugs so trial and error through herbs and supplements and diet are my only choice. Diet is already healthy and I exercise 4-6 times a week. Acne is concentrated in the lower half of my face (cheeks and jawline mostly, forehead is clear).

 

Please offer some advice, I'd really appreciate it. My recent flare ups have made me a shadow of my former happy self and even though I try to think positive, sometimes I feel defeated.

Edited by WishClean, 22 March 2013 - 12:52 AM.

[alternativista]

By hormonal, do you mean it comes and goes with your period? Or are you going by the myth that jawline acne is any more hormone related than acne elsewhere.

Since you have observed negative symptoms as a result of taking things to mess with your hormones, I'd reconsider. Or try something much milder like spearmint tea which you can also try topically or broccoli pills to clear excess estrogen. You don't want to gain weight in your midsection.


.

Edited by alternativista, 22 March 2013 - 06:23 AM.

[WishClean]

By hormonal, do you mean it comes and goes with your period? Or are you going by the myth that jawline acne is any more hormone related than acne elsewhere.

Since you have observed negative symptoms as a result of taking things to mess with your hormones, I'd reconsider. Or try something much milder like spearmint tea which you can also try topically or broccoli pills to clear excess estrogen. You don't want to gain weight in your midsection.


.

I was diagnosed with PCOS several times, so I'm sure my acne is at least partially due to hormonal imbalances. My acne gets worse during certain times of the month, such as before my period and during the ovulation stage (around mid-cycle).

Unfortunately, when I tried spearmint tea for a month I did not notice improvement in my acne, and in fact I had more inflammation along with bloating and just general discomfort. Not sure why, but I was drinking a lot of it daily (3-6 cups). When I quit drinking it, the bloating and discomfort were immediately gone.

 

I was basically thinking that by taking vitex and saw palmetto together, they might counteract each other's side effects (e.g. balance out hirsutism and hair loss). Do you think that's possible? So far, I had only taken them separately. I just need to get my acne under control, since right now it is too severe to control with just diet and vitamins. When it's mild to moderate, healthy diet and exercise help keep it under control, but at this point nothing seems to be working - it's been getting progressively worse for the past 6 months, with a few improvements in between that get thrown off mid-cycle and I'm back to square one.

 

here is what my face looks like today (post ovulation, pms stage). The photos don't show it, but I have many little bumps under the surface of my skin as well that make my skin look lumpy rather than smooth.

Edited by WishClean, 18 April 2013 - 08:33 PM.

[rainy326]

Hi. I also have hormonal acne. It gets quite bad at times. I too have researched and tried just about everything out there and I'm so frustrated that I think I'm about to give up and try accutane. My skin is actually pretty decent compared to how it's been during some of my serious hormonal breakouts, but i'm still not clear, and after 16 years of this, I'm over it. However, one of the best things I ever tried for my hormonal acne was Vitex. I don't take it now because I am taking birth control (oral contraceptives) and you're not supposed to take them together.

 

If/when I ever stop taking birth control pills, I will immediately start taking vitex again (and probably will try high doses of saw palmetto too). The last time I stopped taking birth control pills my skin broke out like crazy, and after about 9 months of continuous horrible breakouts, I tried vitex and it helped A LOT. I still got some breakouts, but they were much more manageable. Topically, I started using a lot of exfoliating products like salicylic and glycolic acid, and ACV toner in combination with taking Vitex and for awhile I actually got pretty clear. I wish I could take it now, because I was much more clear doing that than I am now.

 

I couldn't take the capsules of vitex - that made me very nauseous. I took liquid extract - 40 drops in a small amount of water before each meal. At first I only took 40 drops of it in the mornings, but once I realized it was helping some, I started taking more and saw more improvement. Of course we are all different, but if I were you I would try taking more Vitex before giving up on it. I also take a lot of vitamins and I think they do help, but I think Vitex was the most important thing I took. I also take - about 50 - 60 mg of Zinc a day (in divided doses b/c that upsets my stomach if I take a lot at once), calcium, magnesium, folic acid, B6 (P5P form) 50 mg, vitamin D3 (5000 IU), chromium picolinate, vitamin C 2000 - 3000mg a day, and astragalus. I also avoid dairy because it makes my acne flare up much worse. I try to eat a pretty low glycemic diet as well. Also, there is one other thing I want to mention. In your signature it says you use a copper peptide mask. I tried a copper serum a few different times in the past and it broke me out pretty bad each time. I tried it a few different times just to be sure and I won't touch the stuff now. I know it works for a lot of people, so that could just be me, but it's possible that your skin doesn't like it.

 

Best of luck to you!

[WishClean]

Hi. I also have hormonal acne. It gets quite bad at times. I too have researched and tried just about everything out there and I'm so frustrated that I think I'm about to give up and try accutane. My skin is actually pretty decent compared to how it's been during some of my serious hormonal breakouts, but i'm still not clear, and after 16 years of this, I'm over it. However, one of the best things I ever tried for my hormonal acne was Vitex. I don't take it now because I am taking birth control (oral contraceptives) and you're not supposed to take them together.

 

If/when I ever stop taking birth control pills, I will immediately start taking vitex again (and probably will try high doses of saw palmetto too). The last time I stopped taking birth control pills my skin broke out like crazy, and after about 9 months of continuous horrible breakouts, I tried vitex and it helped A LOT. I still got some breakouts, but they were much more manageable. Topically, I started using a lot of exfoliating products like salicylic and glycolic acid, and ACV toner in combination with taking Vitex and for awhile I actually got pretty clear. I wish I could take it now, because I was much more clear doing that than I am now.

 

I couldn't take the capsules of vitex - that made me very nauseous. I took liquid extract - 40 drops in a small amount of water before each meal. At first I only took 40 drops of it in the mornings, but once I realized it was helping some, I started taking more and saw more improvement. Of course we are all different, but if I were you I would try taking more Vitex before giving up on it. I also take a lot of vitamins and I think they do help, but I think Vitex was the most important thing I took. I also take - about 50 - 60 mg of Zinc a day (in divided doses b/c that upsets my stomach if I take a lot at once), calcium, magnesium, folic acid, B6 (P5P form) 50 mg, vitamin D3 (5000 IU), chromium picolinate, vitamin C 2000 - 3000mg a day, and astragalus. I also avoid dairy because it makes my acne flare up much worse. I try to eat a pretty low glycemic diet as well. Also, there is one other thing I want to mention. In your signature it says you use a copper peptide mask. I tried a copper serum a few different times in the past and it broke me out pretty bad each time. I tried it a few different times just to be sure and I won't touch the stuff now. I know it works for a lot of people, so that could just be me, but it's possible that your skin doesn't like it.

 

Best of luck to you!

Hey,

Thanks for the response. I actually stopped all herbal supplements a few months ago. Vitex really helped balance out my hormones when I went off birth control 5 years ago, and it regulated my cycle. However, I took it for too long (I was advised to only take it for 6-12 months) because I was scared the acne would come back. When I came off it, the acne did come back slowly, but my skin was clear while I was taking it and a few months after so that was good. I think it lowered my progesterone and boosted my estrogen in the long run, so it is definitely not a long term remedy. Saw palmetto didn't help that much because I found out that my main issue is low progesterone, not androgens.

Sounds like you have a really healthy diet. Do you have insulin resistance? I haven't checked my insulin yet, but I suspect I might, so I am trying my best to avoid sugar, dairy, gluten, and other common triggers.

As for the copper peptide mask, I haven't used it in a couple of weeks....I'm ambivalent about it. Sometimes it really makes a difference, and other times it just accentuates my scars because it sticks to my skin and takes ages to take it off.

[rainy326]

Hi. I also have hormonal acne. It gets quite bad at times. I too have researched and tried just about everything out there and I'm so frustrated that I think I'm about to give up and try accutane. My skin is actually pretty decent compared to how it's been during some of my serious hormonal breakouts, but i'm still not clear, and after 16 years of this, I'm over it. However, one of the best things I ever tried for my hormonal acne was Vitex. I don't take it now because I am taking birth control (oral contraceptives) and you're not supposed to take them together.

 

If/when I ever stop taking birth control pills, I will immediately start taking vitex again (and probably will try high doses of saw palmetto too). The last time I stopped taking birth control pills my skin broke out like crazy, and after about 9 months of continuous horrible breakouts, I tried vitex and it helped A LOT. I still got some breakouts, but they were much more manageable. Topically, I started using a lot of exfoliating products like salicylic and glycolic acid, and ACV toner in combination with taking Vitex and for awhile I actually got pretty clear. I wish I could take it now, because I was much more clear doing that than I am now.

 

I couldn't take the capsules of vitex - that made me very nauseous. I took liquid extract - 40 drops in a small amount of water before each meal. At first I only took 40 drops of it in the mornings, but once I realized it was helping some, I started taking more and saw more improvement. Of course we are all different, but if I were you I would try taking more Vitex before giving up on it. I also take a lot of vitamins and I think they do help, but I think Vitex was the most important thing I took. I also take - about 50 - 60 mg of Zinc a day (in divided doses b/c that upsets my stomach if I take a lot at once), calcium, magnesium, folic acid, B6 (P5P form) 50 mg, vitamin D3 (5000 IU), chromium picolinate, vitamin C 2000 - 3000mg a day, and astragalus. I also avoid dairy because it makes my acne flare up much worse. I try to eat a pretty low glycemic diet as well. Also, there is one other thing I want to mention. In your signature it says you use a copper peptide mask. I tried a copper serum a few different times in the past and it broke me out pretty bad each time. I tried it a few different times just to be sure and I won't touch the stuff now. I know it works for a lot of people, so that could just be me, but it's possible that your skin doesn't like it.

 

Best of luck to you!

Hey,

Thanks for the response. I actually stopped all herbal supplements a few months ago. Vitex really helped balance out my hormones when I went off birth control 5 years ago, and it regulated my cycle. However, I took it for too long (I was advised to only take it for 6-12 months) because I was scared the acne would come back. When I came off it, the acne did come back slowly, but my skin was clear while I was taking it and a few months after so that was good. I think it lowered my progesterone and boosted my estrogen in the long run, so it is definitely not a long term remedy. Saw palmetto didn't help that much because I found out that my main issue is low progesterone, not androgens.

Sounds like you have a really healthy diet. Do you have insulin resistance? I haven't checked my insulin yet, but I suspect I might, so I am trying my best to avoid sugar, dairy, gluten, and other common triggers.

As for the copper peptide mask, I haven't used it in a couple of weeks....I'm ambivalent about it. Sometimes it really makes a difference, and other times it just accentuates my scars because it sticks to my skin and takes ages to take it off.

Oh I see. Yeah, I also took Vitex longer than a year. I think I took it for about 2 years and then got back on birth control. I tried Saw Palmetto once before and in theory it should work, but I think it might just not be strong enough (unless you take A LOT). Hmm, well if your problem is low progesterone then perhaps you could try natural progesterone cream or DIM. I'm pretty sure both of those things broke me out even more though. My problem is definitely androgens and not low progesterone. Some people say the progesterone cream and/or DIM cleared them, and their issues were estrogen dominance, but they made me worse. Vitex is really the only herbal thing that I felt ever helped me (and I think I've pretty much tried it all).

 

Yes, I try to eat really healthy and I've tried various strict diets (like paleo), but I never got clear even being on a strict diet. I'm also too thin and the "acne diets" make me lose too much weight, so I can't be too restrictive for very long. I haven't had my insulin checked either, but I know I have blood sugar issues, because I'm hypoglycemic (never been tested, but it is very apparent that I am). I can't eat a lot of carbs/sugars (and definitely not without protein) or I will get weak and shaky within a few hours. Well I wish I had some answers, but all I can really say is you're certainly not alone. I recently came across this article about PCOS and thought it was thorough and interesting. They recommend a few herbs and natural treatments:

 

http://ndnr.com/web-...he-inside-out/

 

 

I also thought this was an interesting post someone did on a hair loss forum:

 

http://www.drmcdouga...php?f=1&t=25297
 

They are talking about hair loss, but also how acne seems to result from the same issues. I don't know if he is right, but it seems very well researched and he recommends a certain type of diet that helps both acne and hair loss. I've been thinking about trying to tweak my diet a bit to make it a little more like he is suggesting.