Well actually my dermatologist says not all acne is hormonal and some is genetic and mine is considered a mixture which makes a lot of sense to my situation
Acne is still considered an androgenic disease regardless. My acne is genetic too - but that's due to the fact that I inherited a predisposition towards being androgen sensitive from my father. In other words, I'm hyper sensitive to testosterone (even the small amount I have as a woman) through genetics which is entirely why I have acne.
Yea I suppose so but, some people's acne can truly stem from bad hygiene. This isn't true acne but if seriously left untreated it can turn bad. I'm talking about acne cosmetica. Not properly removing your makeup will cause this kind of acne. Or it can be caused by oily creams or anything that has pore clogging ingredients that is applied to the face,neck, shoulders and back.
Yea I suppose so but, some people's acne can truly stem from bad hygiene. This isn't true acne but if seriously left untreated it can turn bad. I'm talking about acne cosmetica. Not properly removing your makeup will cause this kind of acne. Or it can be caused by oily creams or anything that has pore clogging ingredients that is applied to the face,neck, shoulders and back.
For sure. But acne cosmetica is non inflamed and isn't "true acne vulgaris" it's just blocked pores from cosmetics.
I dealt with both inflammatory acne and acne cosmetica at the same time from wearing heavy MAC makeup . I have completely gotten rid of the acne cosmetica from switching to Clarins foundation over MAC and gently exfoliating but my inflammatory acne is still here to stay.
My take is:
Inflammatory acne: Hormonal
Non Inflammatory acne: Cosmetic, environmental.
The hormonal acne section has to do with the treatment of choice. Many treatments for acne do not address the hormones. Antibiotics address the bacteria and inflammation. Salicylic acid addresses the oil. Hormonal treatment (such as birth control) addresses the hormones directly.
The hormonal acne section has to do with the treatment of choice. Many treatments for acne do not address the hormones. Antibiotics address the bacteria and inflammation. Salicylic acid addresses the oil. Hormonal treatment (such as birth control) addresses the hormones directly.
Aww okay, I get what you mean. What's unfortunate is that for the most part only women can get hormonal therapy to lower or block testosterone to lessen acne and men can not (for obvious reasons).
What my derms used to to in the past is first put me on atibiotics (to decrease some of the infection underneath the skin) and then follow up with birth control or spiro to block my androgens after the couse of antibiotics was finished so I'd have better results in the long term.
Hello,
I am a recently turned 21 year old female. I have been struggling with very bad acne since I hit puberty. I will note that I had a very poor diet all throughout my adolescence and I often wonder if this contributed to my bad skin, and also my grandmother had bad skin before she gave birth, and my cousin also has it and is on birth control for it. My skin was so bad in high school that after trying countless other things I went on a regiment of accutane which did clear it up, but then afterwards it began coming back in a more moderate form so I stayed on birth control for a year or so to keep it at bay, this worked but I became fed up with taking pills for it. As soon as I went off of the birth control about a year after I graduated high school it started resurfacing on my cheek bones, not nearly as poorly as in the past, but still quite a blight on my complexion. I then went on spironolactin for awhile, which helped a bit, and then decided to go off of it, for awhile my skin was clear, I was starting to eat more healthy but then I began eating unhealthy again and i started getting cyst along the sides of my face. Then that summer I went back on spirtonolactin and began looking more into trying to heal my skin naturally. I became a vegan, and completely eliminated sugar, and eventually grains and peanut butter from my diet and started working towards becoming a raw vegan, my skin was looking almost completely clear over the next few months. Then I went off the spironolactin about 3 months ago and my acne returned only slightly more then before, but not as bad as when I was eating whatever I wanted. My chest has little tiny red bumps on it but my back is clear unless i scratch and pick at it. Sometimes I wonder if I just left it alone entirely and didnt touch it or think about it if it would go away. I am still trying to control it by being very cautious about what I eat. I do not wash my face with anything but water for the most part, or eggs, avocado or honey. sometimes I use witch hazel with alcohol to dry it. I have still been eating rice and oats and have begun eating eggs and fish again and take a probiotic regularly. Perhaps I need to eliminate oats and rice and potatoes as well? I have herd there is a strong correlation between salt and acne, so I've just recently stopped eating all salt entirely. And also I have been bathing using only cold water, this seems to make a difference. I often wonder if perhaps there is something more I could be doing. Maybe washing my face differently with something more abrasive or if perhaps my skin is reacting poorly to chemically treated water, or detergent, or dish soap or something. I also was just reading a blog on here and a man seems to have completely cleared his skin just by taking certain vitamins. I have been considering going back on birth control again but really do not want to do that because I feel disgusted by the idea of tampering with my body like that. Maybe my skin is very sensitive to stress? I once read on the internet that some peoples skin really does react badly to stress. I do often feel very stressed so to speak. I have been trying to get a lot of sleep, maybe I need to sleep more? If any woman or man on here has any advice for me I would really love the help. I feel very depressed and ashamed for having this problem. What to do to balance my estrogen and testosterone? Any advice would be welcome....
Hello,
I am a recently turned 21 year old female. I have been struggling with very bad acne since I hit puberty. I will note that I had a very poor diet all throughout my adolescence and I often wonder if this contributed to my bad skin, and also my grandmother had bad skin before she gave birth, and my cousin also has it and is on birth control for it. My skin was so bad in high school that after trying countless other things I went on a regiment of accutane which did clear it up, but then afterwards it began coming back in a more moderate form so I stayed on birth control for a year or so to keep it at bay, this worked but I became fed up with taking pills for it. As soon as I went off of the birth control about a year after I graduated high school it started resurfacing on my cheek bones, not nearly as poorly as in the past, but still quite a blight on my complexion. I then went on spironolactin for awhile, which helped a bit, and then decided to go off of it, for awhile my skin was clear, I was starting to eat more healthy but then I began eating unhealthy again and i started getting cyst along the sides of my face. Then that summer I went back on spirtonolactin and began looking more into trying to heal my skin naturally. I became a vegan, and completely eliminated sugar, and eventually grains and peanut butter from my diet and started working towards becoming a raw vegan, my skin was looking almost completely clear over the next few months. Then I went off the spironolactin about 3 months ago and my acne returned only slightly more then before, but not as bad as when I was eating whatever I wanted. My chest has little tiny red bumps on it but my back is clear unless i scratch and pick at it. Sometimes I wonder if I just left it alone entirely and didnt touch it or think about it if it would go away. I am still trying to control it by being very cautious about what I eat. I do not wash my face with anything but water for the most part, or eggs, avocado or honey. sometimes I use witch hazel with alcohol to dry it. I have still been eating rice and oats and have begun eating eggs and fish again and take a probiotic regularly. Perhaps I need to eliminate oats and rice and potatoes as well? I have herd there is a strong correlation between salt and acne, so I've just recently stopped eating all salt entirely. And also I have been bathing using only cold water, this seems to make a difference. I often wonder if perhaps there is something more I could be doing. Maybe washing my face differently with something more abrasive or if perhaps my skin is reacting poorly to chemically treated water, or detergent, or dish soap or something. I also was just reading a blog on here and a man seems to have completely cleared his skin just by taking certain vitamins. I have been considering going back on birth control again but really do not want to do that because I feel disgusted by the idea of tampering with my body like that. Maybe my skin is very sensitive to stress? I once read on the internet that some peoples skin really does react badly to stress. I do often feel very stressed so to speak. I have been trying to get a lot of sleep, maybe I need to sleep more? If any woman or man on here has any advice for me I would really love the help. I feel very depressed and ashamed for having this problem. What to do to balance my estrogen and testosterone? Any advice would be welcome....
Why did you go off Spironolactone if it helped previously?
any suggestions on how to reduce testosterone levels?
Diindolylmethane (DIM)
Calcium-D-Glucarate
Spearmint tea
Saw palmetto
Those are all said to lower male sex hormones. Stinging nettle supposedly balances hormones in women. All those supplements listed above are worth looking into. I don't know much about those natural remedies other than what herbalists allegedly claim they help out with.