Saw Palmetto

After completing a regime of isotretinoin, I was assaulted by a sudden outbreak of acne on my face, back, and neck. I became a nervous wreck because I knew a second course was out of the question. After hours of online research, I stumbled upon a forum member mentioning saw palmetto and how it affected hormonal reactions. I was convinced that my acne was hormonal, so I did even more research, mostly focusing on this supplement. To my surprise, it seemed like this extract's effects on testosterone made perfect sense. Enzymes synthesize DHT (Dihydrotestosterone) in the hair follicles, and this is known to increase the activity of the sebaceous glands. If your face is oily and you have a lot of facial hair, your body may be producing too much of this sex hormone. That was the case with me. After a week of supplementing with saw palmetto extract (standardized - 85% fatty acids), I received amazing results. Over the past few months, I have gotten only two small pustules. I still take this supplement and will probably continue to do so for a few more years.

I'm a women and I have had Acne every since I was a teenager. It was really bad when I was in High School and off and on my adult life (I'm 31). I tried store brand acne products, and I tried a few natural things but never saw results. The only time my acne seemed to get better was in the summer. So I recently researched what the cause of acne was and I read: "Experts believe the primary cause is a rise in androgen levels - androgen is a type of hormone. Androgen levels rise when a human becomes an adolescent. Rising androgen levels make the oil glands under your skin grow; the enlarged gland produces more oil. Excessive sebum can break down cellular walls in your pores, causing bacteria to grow." And that lead me to research natural antiandrogens. And I came across Saw Palmetto. I got some right away at Walmart and started taking 160mg Standardized Saw Palmetto twice daily. At first I noticed a mild headache but that went away. In about one week I noticed my skin was not as oily and I wasn't getting any new acne and my old zits were healing. I doubled the dose to 320mg twice daily for two days and my skin got super dry, so I went back to the 160mg. It has been two weeks and 5days and I have not one zit! I still have my scarring, but I can deal with that. But I am so happy to have found the cure to my acne. I have had little zits break out during this but they have healed overnight. Its really such a blessing!

Been taking saw palmetto for about a week now. I have been taking 3 a day to equal 1800mg I may cut to taking 2 pills as it seems everyone takes lower. My acne has completely stopped. Last week was terrible with inflamed red spots and new cystic acne everyday, now it is completely smooth and not red at all. It's actually unbelievable. I do take speariment tea everyday as well as this is an anti androgen. But I can tell the saw palmetto is really working.

I struggled with this prescription, because I believed in the theory behind Saw Palmetto preventing hormonal acne; however, it took a very long time to see results (approximately three months). After month one and mediocre results, I doubled my dosage to 640 mg/day. I purchase Nature's Bounty Extra Strength capsules, because it also contains Zinc. I have not had a single cyst for over one month now. I am amazed that my face is completely turning around from a single supplement. Guys, if you have done your research, and you are sure that your acne is indeed hormonal, this is totally worth it. But, be patient!

If you think your oily skin is related to hormones, it is worth a try. Really, the effect on my skin has been amazing and I have been taking it only a week. (And believe me, I am a skeptic when it comes to natural remedies). FYI, I am using Nature's Bounty Saw Palmetto, Natural Whole Herb, 450 mg, I take one three times a day (with food). I am also taking Nature's Bounty Milk Thistle, Standardized extract, 175 mg, 1 pill three times daily with food. I have tried everything and nothing has worked. I also had pretty bad seborrheic dermatitis because of my oily skin and this is helping tremendously.

My battle with acne started at 15.Back then the acne was the worst on my forehead,but my cheeks and chin were clear.I tried proactiv and it cleared everything up.Everytime i got off of proactiv my acne would come raging back,so i assumed i would have to depend it it the rest of my life,which irritated me thinking of all the money they make off of me. Now fastforward to 28 yrs old:about a year ago i started breaking out on my cheeks and jawline(somewhere i NEVER broke out before)and proactiv was doing zilch in getting rid of them.After doing tons of research,i came to the conclusion that if proactiv works for you,great,dont mess with it.But if topical stuff does nothing,you've got an internal problem,either your hormones are out of wack or your liver isnt functioning properly and the toxins are working out through your skin.For me,it was my hormones,hence the jawline acne.Anyway i bought the saw palmetto standardized 160mg for 6 dollars at walmart(spring valley brand) and take one in the morning and night.I also take a multivitamin and zinc,in case anyone is interested.After two weeks,i wasnt getting any more acne but the existing ones ran their course as usaul.Now two weeks later,im TOTALY clear.I just cant believe it!Every morning i look in the mirror and expect to see a huge red cyst but its just CLEAR.Any women out there that suspect their acne is hormonal,try it.It is changing my life!This isnt the cure for everyone maybe,but hope i can help someone whose acne is similar to what mine was!

clears acne by blocking DHT..Use it you wont regret it.. In the beginning there will be a purging process so you might breakout more but in the end it can clear you for life and is safe unlike accutane.. USE IT

I am a healthy 24yr old women who had acne for 15 years, with failed attempts of clearing my skin, I happened to find a video from [link removed] about saw p. For hormonal acne. I take saw p three times a day along with Maca (regulate hormones) as well. This is a killer combo if you have PSOD like me. I checked w/ mr dr before taking these herbs, so good idea. Good luck and do your research on these two herbs if you can't get you hormones in balance, def worth a try!!

I tried the whole B5 / Panthothetic Acid thing that people reviewed on here and it didn't work for me. I also tried zinc and fish oil pills (made my skin softer but no reduction in acne). I now take Saw Palmetto once in the morning and once at night. It has been FABULOUS. I went from lots of those cystic, red, large zits that take weeks to go away to 1 super tiny zit every so often. Saw Palmetto essentially is like birth control pills in that its an anti-androgen without the estrogen boost. I don't need the estrogen boost (or side effects) so Saw P is the way to go for me!!!! Oh, and I saw there weren't any reviews for Saw Palmetto but there are blogs on this same website. That's actually were I found this cure. It looks like they are under Acne.org Message Boards > Acne Types > Severe acne - cysts and nodules. First blow is "Pregnenolone and Saw Palmetto, Completely cleared my hormonal acne in 1 week!" There is also an excellent article on androgens and how they cause acne. It seems like hyperlinks are removed from any postings so just Google "dermadoctor AND hormones" to get the article.