Hello everyone. I praise for your suggestions on my case. I am female, 34 years and i am back to hormonal acne after 7 years of clear face. In my early 20's i had irregular cycles, pcos and all that comes along. I was perscribed birth control pill and i got clear quickly ( good skin genes!). After about a year acne returned and it was severe. My gynecologist prescribed me again with the same pill. I took it for three constant years, no side effects at all, but after 3years i had eye problems. My eyes got red like being bitten and no cure was doing a thing. I was even told i may have lupus, but no, it was the pill. I stopped it and thought the acne would return at once,though she remembered me after 7 whole years. Now i have 2-3 pimples or bumps before my cycle. Its not severe, but scars remain and multiply the next month. Since i cannot return to bc pill, i take for about 3 months now saw palmetto, 2 capsules daily, about 1000mg total( no side effects). I also drink a litre of spearmint tea daily for almost 2 months. Lately i use apple cider vinegar as a face lotion many times daily, undiluted. The truth is the vinegar is doing some scabbing. I think it helps with the blemishes. Then i apply lavender oil directly on the blemishes. My problem is how long does it take for sp to work? I have not seen any significant difference. Perhaps it would have been worse if not having it, but i have a more clear picture in my mind. Should i raise the dose to 3 pills? I use solgar's sp, powdered in capsules. My face is extremely tollerant, does not burn or react to anything i apply. Is any other suggestion for topical use? I am waiting for your replies.. Eagerly!!!
hi, while i'm a guy......i've also suffered from cystic acne for 25 years.........i'm almost 40 now and have tried lots of stuff without long term success.......but recently, i've been taking 12 drops of 2% Lugol's iodine + 200mcg selenium +sea salt in distilled water everyday and things are very different this time round.......i dare say my acne has improved 90-95% even when i eat more wheat and sugar (you must avoid them) !
the iodine also helps to repair the skin.......get some sun too as it helps a lot with the acne and repair..........i also take MSM powder in organic apple Cider vinegar with water to help with the scars.........i also take probiotics (acidophillus) and 30mg L-optic zinc and vitamin D3 (not needed with enough sun)
i use a 12% glycolic cleanser and let it sit for 15mins then wash off, dry the skin and apply a thin layer of sulphur cream and let it sit for 15mins before washing off.............you can use ice on the cysts and put aloe vera gel to relax the skin and bring swelling down......
the main thing is the Lugol's iodine + selenium
You would probably see at least some effect from the SP by now if you have been taking it consistently for 3 months. Maybe it's just not what your skin needs... SP is an anti-androgen. I don't know a lot more than that about it since I haven't taken it personally, but I have heard that it can be somewhat estrogenic as well.
What birth control were you you on that cleared you? I ask because if it was something like Yaz, then spironolactone would probably work for you. The problem with spiro is it is a pharmaceutical (need a prescription) and it can cause side effects like birth control.
2-3 bumps a month isn't bad at all, so it shouldn't take extreme doses of anything to clear up. 1000mg is a pretty good dose since I have read about people clearing on as low as ~300mg. I don't know if you should increase it any more than that.
There are other natural hormonal treatments like WishClean suggested... DIM worked for me as it acts as an anti-androgen as well as balances estrogen levels and promotes estrogen metabolism. I am not taking nearly as much as I started with, though (my skin is clear). Inositol worked well for her skin and I have seen some benefits from it as well. Other things are making sure you are getting adequate amounts of vitamin D since that can help regulate hormones. I suggest this mostly because your acne isn't very severe and some people have cleared on supplementing with enough D alone. Most people do not get enough vitamin D even if they get plenty of sun. If you suspect your estrogen levels are high and progesterone is low, you could try natural progesterone cream or vitex.
As far as topicals go, my favorite is witch hazel as a toner. I use Thayers (non-alcoholic with lavender) to cleanse my skin and the lavender + aloe in it seems to moisturize somewhat as well. I have heard great things about using apple cider vinegar for scars so I will be trying that my skin is like yours and is very tolerant / doesn't react to things.
Have you noticed any effect from drinking spearmint tea? I tried drinking several cups a day for mild hirsutism but I have never read anything on it affecting the skin. You are drinking a LOT so I am curious! (:
Hearts, thank you for your post. I started vitex along with sp for 20 days now, but i am thinking dropping off the sp. my vitex dose is 900 mg daily( 71mg standardised extract). My bcp was gynofen 35 ( european name). I think its the same to diane 35. I dont quite remember, but i think it was anti androgenic. Please reply me your thoughts for diane 35-sp-vitex. My vitamin D is adequate as i live in a very sunny country ( i also tan fast!!). Spearmint tea did nothing significant, apart from being diuretic and keep my weight at its lowest. Now, my face is under control. I have about 7 red spots from previous pimples and my skin is feeling really smooth.