I wrote "yes" for recommendation simply because I'm sure it would work for some women out there-- but don't expect miracles. Stop it if you get funky periods and bloating.

acne reduced in 1 month

This works well for a lot of people, but not for me. After about two weeks, I started getting terrible migraine headaches, rashes, and acne on my chin/jawline. After about two weeks more, I stopped taking it because none of the side effects had dissipated. More than a month later, the side effects have still not dissipated and the acne is actually considerably worse. It's left large swaths of my skin red, pimply, and flakey.

So glad we can finally review vitex! I've been using it for the last 6 months and it has worked well for me. At first I was very skeptical. I'm NOT someone who pops all kinds of vitamins but a friend of mine suggested this since it worked for her. According to my doctors I could either go on BC or accutane--options I desperately did not want to try so I gave Vitex a go. I've been taking one pill a day regularly (except for July, was travelling a lot). In short, I like it, it works and I recommend it as worth trying. I'm going to go into detail about it below just for the benefit of whoever wants more info:

My kind of acne: My hormones have been tested and found to be only slightly out of whack according to my doc. He was ready with a birth control rx but I was not! My acne was severe a year ago and with the help of medical topicals and cleansers I was able to get it in check (not cleared). Even after my acne was in check I still had a bad breakout before my period every month (papules, pustules, inflamation, redness, etc). It would take forever to 'recover' from the breakout. Then right when my skin recovered from that breakout the process started all over again. Sound familiar?

Vitex is not the kind of thing that works really fast. I'd say into the 2nd month I noticed a change. The change was that my monthly breakout was not so severe. Instead of several pimples I might get one or two of the non-inflamed variety. These healed and went away instead of staying and inviting friends. Since then I've had months when I didn't break out at all. Like I said, my acne was not severe when I started using vitex but if yours is I would use vitex in conjunction with whatever topical your doctor might suggest. It is not a magic pill so don't expect miracles but it does what I need it to do which is help reduce or eliminate my hormonal breakouts.Have patience with it. For my part I am thankful to have found an alternative to BC or accutane.

Brand: N

If you have HORMONAL acne, this is an excellent supplement. I take 2 pills everyday, and have for almost 2 months now. It takes 3 weeks to see some noticable results, but it IS worth it. If I go a couple days without taking it, I start to get pimples again so it's important to make you're taking it every day consistently.

BONUS: If you have a problem with ovarian cysts, it calms those symptoms and helps prevent future cysts as well.

I usually breakout badly around my time of the month. I've been taking this for a couple of weeks and I haven't had any breakouts since.

I tried this for about two months but had to stop because it gave me major stomach acid/gastritis.

Apparently it works if you used for 3-6 months but I only used it for about 3 months and didn't see a diff. I know I need an antiandrogen which this is supposed to be but maybe it just works for some?

After the birth of my daughter I started experiencing lots of cysts on my face, neck, and back. I started taking doxycycline, which helped to reduced the size of the cysts, but it did not eliminate them.

I purchased some Vitex at my local health-food store. After about a month or so I started having fewer cysts on my face and body. My acne has definitely cleared up. I still get a couple of cysts before my period, but nothing like before.

There are 2 types of Vitex (also called Chaste Berry). You can buy root or extract. Extract is more potent, so you end up taking fewer pills. The more expensive price tag actually ends up being the same or less expensive than buying Vitex root capsules. I am currently taking Solaray brand, 1 225mg pill per day, but after this bottle I will increase it to 2 225mg pills per day.