I also read that spearmint is a type 2 blocker... so they say it won't work as well on acne. Experiences, someone's opinion on this?

Other natural 5-reductase (conversion of testosterone to DHT) inhibitors are saw palmetto, green tea, pumpkin seed, zinc, fatty acids like gamma-Linolenic acid (first derived from evening primrose plant), coconut, pygeum, and progesterone... to name a few.

I don't know which "type" of DHT the above supplements reduce... Each one of these supplements work for some and not others. From my experience, spearmint did nothing for my skin. I haven't found any studies on its use for skin, only for hirsutism.

Something else to consider is that if I understand correctly, DHT can also be increased by excessive prolactin. You can reduce prolactin with a couple natural supplements; vitex or melatonin. Inositol also boosts progesterone which can help clear some people as well. Progesterone helped clear my skin but DIM is what keeps me clear. I started taking inositol for my hair last month but it's too soon for results. Hope this helps! (:

missC, where did you read that? I'm not sure it's even accurate. But anyway, inositol is not really a DHT blocker, it reduces testosterone and therefore also lowers DHT but doesn't block it. You need some DHT, you don't want to block all of it .

Saw palmetto helped with oily skin for me, and a little bit with excess hair but not really acne. I think it helped with my skin the first 2-3 weeks, and then nothing. Spearmint made me bloated and PMS-y all the time, I tried it twice to make sure, and I got the same reaction every time. It's risky to just use a DHT-blocker on its own because it can cause estrogen dominance or other imbalances. That's why I think a combination would be better, or things like inositol which boost progesterone and lower -- not block -- testosterone. We are supposed to have some testosterone, just not too much. same for men & estrogen.

Also, LH needs to be stable because too much of it increases androgen production. In this case, you would need to lower your LH to get to the root of the problem, not just block DHT because that is the symptom, not the cause.

So here I am again!

I read online - think on this forum - that type 2 DHT blockers focusses on hirsutism and stopping hair loss. Well, my only problem is acne and oily skin (super oily). Does anyone know natural DHT blockers (teas, herbs, foods, etc.) that focuss on blocking type 1?

Thanks!

hey hearts! Useful points. I was wondering, are we meant to have low or high prolactin for hormonal balance? I read conflicting things on vitex...some sources say it raises prolactin, and others say that it lowers it. I'm confused...I read somewhere that a low dose increases prolactin and a higher dose decreases it. ?!?!?

Other natural 5-reductase (conversion of testosterone to DHT) inhibitors are saw palmetto, green tea, pumpkin seed, zinc, fatty acids like gamma-Linolenic acid (first derived from evening primrose plant), coconut, pygeum, and progesterone... to name a few.

I don't know which "type" of DHT the above supplements reduce... Each one of these supplements work for some and not others. From my experience, spearmint did nothing for my skin. I haven't found any studies on its use for skin, only for hirsutism.

Something else to consider is that if I understand correctly, DHT can also be increased by excessive prolactin. You can reduce prolactin with a couple natural supplements; inositol or melatonin. Inositol also boosts progesterone which can help clear some people as well. Progesterone helped clear my skin but DIM is what keeps me clear. I started taking inositol for my hair last month but it's too soon for results. Hope this helps! (:

hey hearts! Useful points. I was wondering, are we meant to have low or high prolactin for hormonal balance? I read conflicting things on vitex...some sources say it raises prolactin, and others say that it lowers it. I'm confused...I read somewhere that a low dose increases prolactin and a higher dose decreases it. ?!?!?

Hey WishClean! I'm an idiot, I meant to say vitex, not inositol for lowering prolactin. I'll change my original post. I've done reading on so many things related to hormonal acne that I got mixed up! I do know that some B vitamins can help lower prolactin levels, too... perhaps inositol as well since it is related.

As far as I know, vitex lowers prolactin levels, which from what I understand is a good thing if your levels are too high. Prolactin counteracts dopamine, which could cause depression or low libido, etc. It also impedes hair growth if too high and can cause a bunch of other symptoms.... I can only imagine that it has some effect on the skin. I remember reading a post on this forum a long time ago from a guy guessing that excess prolactin was a potential cause of hormonal acne but it didn't get much response. I really don't know its total role but it's something to think about! (:

 

hey hearts! Useful points. I was wondering, are we meant to have low or high prolactin for hormonal balance? I read conflicting things on vitex...some sources say it raises prolactin, and others say that it lowers it. I'm confused...I read somewhere that a low dose increases prolactin and a higher dose decreases it. ?!?!?

Hey WishClean! I'm an idiot, I meant to say vitex, not inositol for lowering prolactin. I'll change my original post. I've done reading on so many things related to hormonal acne that I got mixed up! I do know that some B vitamins can help lower prolactin levels, too... perhaps inositol as well since it is related.

As far as I know, vitex lowers prolactin levels, which from what I understand is a good thing if your levels are too high. Prolactin counteracts dopamine, which could cause depression or low libido, etc. It also impedes hair growth if too high and can cause a bunch of other symptoms.... I can only imagine that it has some effect on the skin. I remember reading a post on this forum a long time ago from a guy guessing that excess prolactin was a potential cause of hormonal acne but it didn't get much response. I really don't know its total role but it's something to think about! (:

Thanks, you did a lot of research and have a grasp on the information Vitex is such a wildcard....I read conflicting things about vitex and dopamine too. More large scale studies need to be done to determine if it works the same on all women, because according to reviews, it can either hurt or help. I think if taken for too long it can lower/increase the hormones it helps in the first place, but I wasn't able to monitor my hormone fluctuations the last 2 times I took it so I didn't know when to decrease the dose and when to stop.

I read that guy's post about prolactin too, and was disappointed that he didn't get a lot of responses. I think people here pay too much attention on the "main" hormones like testosterone, and ignore the other hormones that can increase those "main" hormones involved in acne. If prolactin is the issue, for example, lowering androgens won't fix the problem, just the cause, because prolactin needs to be addressed directly. The endocrine system is such a puzzle :/

Thanks for the responses girls!!

The endocrin system is sooo complex... I'm just trying to 'cover' anything before going off birth control... I know I'm already stressing on that, which is a bad idea! I read so many conflicting stories all the time... people getting cured by something, while on others (like me...) it gives my body a testosterone boost ;/ last thing I need.

I think it was alternativista who said that about type 1 and 2 DHTblockers. It was in an old thread that came up when I googled about DHT blockers. Inositol's lowering testosterone properties sound great.. that's something I need. I am just 100% sure that T is my enemy. If you see I'm breaking out on DIM, Maca and D3 (all supplements that do stuff to your testosterone).

Butttt I have to wait until after I quit BCP what's exactly going on in there... playing for my own Doc would be a bad idea I guess!

Weird though, breaking out on D3 supplements but doing great in sunlight...