Acne and T.

Darrin Scott · March 03, 2012, 07:45:11 PM

Does everyone get acne on T? I'm only 3 shots in so far, but I never had acne with puberty #1. Also, how long does it take for acne to start showing?

conformer · March 03, 2012, 08:36:53 PM

At about the 3 month mark I noticed a solar system on my face. Never had breakout problems pre-T so it kinda sucks, but I'm trying to calm it down with some face cleansers.

wheat thins are delicious · March 03, 2012, 09:14:47 PM

Quote from: Darrin on March 03, 2012, 07:45:11 PM
Does everyone get acne on T? I'm only 3 shots in so far, but I never had acne with puberty #1. Also, how long does it take for acne to start showing?

not necessarily. It's all about your body chemistry. I got acne, not that bad, but it cleared up around 6-8 months on T though i still get the occasional spot.

Arch · March 03, 2012, 09:35:09 PM

I didn't, but I seem to be fairly exceptional. I used to get the occasional zit before transition, and I seemed to get zits a bit more often after I started T. But it was one zit every once in a while. A few times, I got a couple of zits at once, little ones. No big deal.

One thing that did change: occasionally, it wouldn't be a zit but a cystic bump that didn't come to a head. I never used to get these at all. After three years on T, I still get one from time to time.

I should add that all my life I struggled with eczema, skin allergies, and chronic dry skin. Not any more. Maybe everything just balanced out.

Henri · March 03, 2012, 09:43:48 PM

I'm the same time in as you Darrin and I have noticed that my face has become more oily. I've gotten a bit more pimply apparitions than usual. Has your face gotten any more oily?

So far for me it seems my changes are the less exciting ones, lol. Oily and sweaty, that is me. Just me being curious, you don't have to answer if you aren't comfortable of course, but have you noticed any significant changes yet? It is still very early to be expecting any for me I think, but I've heard of people noticing changes very soon after starting.

Arch · March 03, 2012, 09:48:04 PM

My face, too, is much oilier. But I still don't have a problem with zits. I guess it's all relative...much of my face now has normal skin--normal oiliness, I mean--and the oilier spots aren't that bad.

Still, some guys do not get acne. And some don't get it very bad. So there's some hope.

Felix · March 03, 2012, 11:58:59 PM

I thought I always had acne, but I was wrong. I never had it like this before. What I've always had is oily skin, blackheads, whiteheads, little zits that have a head and don't leave marks if you pop them, and freakin gigantic pores.

What I have now started within my first month on T. I get zits that seem to form like deep inside my skull or something, zits I can feel long before I can see them. I had one in my forehead recently and I honestly thought for a couple days that I had bonked my head on the bunkbed (it's got metal parts that everybody hits their heads on cuz they stick out too much), and only realized I didn't when the zit started having a surface presence. Jesus.

I love my skin on T, though. It's thicker and darker and more uniform. Yes it's more disrupted, but I feel like even that helps me pass. I'm still not friends with the occasional weeklong giant zit that doesn't even seem to have pus in it, because my gosh, eww, but I'm getting used to it. Mine hurt but don't leave scars. I'm not too worried about facewashing products or habits; the main thing I really need to learn is not to touch my face so much. I touch zits with my hands the way I worry at cavities with my tongue. It's just hard not to.

JR15 · March 04, 2012, 12:22:57 AM

Can you foretell if you'll get acne while on t? I'm pre t and had a few from time to time. One here one there sometimes three at the same time. It's gotten better since I stopped touching my face so much and used proactiv daily. You all think it'll get worse when I start t?

poptart · March 04, 2012, 12:38:45 AM

No, not everyone. It's the same as XY men who go through puberty -- some get acne and some don't. It definitely makes you more susceptible to acne, but if you're not genetically predisposed to it then you should be OK.

As for how long, that will depend on your genetics and your dose. Speaking for myself though, I noticed it started to increase around 6 months and got HORRIBLE at 12.

Arch · March 04, 2012, 01:32:07 AM

I had very little acne in both my first and second puberty. I imagine that if you didn't have much acne the first time, you'll have relatively low acne the second time around...but that's just a hunch. T seems to be pretty good at awakening the zits.

Darrin Scott · March 04, 2012, 09:45:28 AM

Quote from: henri on March 03, 2012, 09:43:48 PM
I'm the same time in as you Darrin and I have noticed that my face has become more oily. I've gotten a bit more pimply apparitions than usual. Has your face gotten any more oily?

So far for me it seems my changes are the less exciting ones, lol. Oily and sweaty, that is me. Just me being curious, you don't have to answer if you aren't comfortable of course, but have you noticed any significant changes yet? It is still very early to be expecting any for me I think, but I've heard of people noticing changes very soon after starting.

Hey Henri,

My changes are subtle. My face doesn't feel much different. Maybe a little more dry, but that might be because of the weather. I've noticed some dick growth and sensitivity. I've noticed my voice feeling scratchy after the 2nd shot and I thought I had some hair growing on my upper lip, but my friend said it's always been there. So, I don't know. I like talking about changes with people who started the same time as me.

Thanks everyone else. I guess it depends on the person and their chemistry. I just thought for some reason everyone got acne.

Natkat · March 04, 2012, 11:11:45 AM

I dont really get more acne on T compared to before (never had much, maybe alittle around my 12-14 but beside that nothing special)

however, I did had a bigger urge to eat unhealthy, and I guess if I didnt got to controll myself alittle I would look like a pizza.

geek · March 30, 2012, 07:34:52 AM

Within two weeks of my first shot, I'd gone from normal skin to oily skin, it was REVOLTING then I started getting a crap load of pimples, I tried just about everything I could think of, but I'd be oily an hour later again, like it looked like I had a permanent sheen of sweat on me. Blech. Anyway, my GFs mum was crapping on about that infomercial acne stuff, and she ordered me some, fast forward 3 weeks and my skin looks better than it did BEFORE the t even

anyways as cliche as it sounds if you exhaust other avenues give proactive a go. Worked wonders for me

Jam · March 30, 2012, 10:59:05 AM

Quote from: Darrin on March 04, 2012, 09:45:28 AM
Hey Henri,

My changes are subtle. My face doesn't feel much different. Maybe a little more dry, but that might be because of the weather. I've noticed some dick growth and sensitivity. I've noticed my voice feeling scratchy after the 2nd shot and I thought I had some hair growing on my upper lip, but my friend said it's always been there. So, I don't know. I like talking about changes with people who started the same time as me.

Thanks everyone else. I guess it depends on the person and their chemistry. I just thought for some reason everyone got acne.

I started T near you I'm 1 month and 3 weeks in. I got a cluster of little spots on my chin the other week. Besides that my skin is just more patchy that's about it

Sharky · March 30, 2012, 03:20:17 PM

My acne actually got better.

Anon · March 30, 2012, 06:30:47 PM

I had no facial acne and light back acne pre-T.
After 5-6 months I got acne around my hairline (I wear a toque at work, so.), some on my jawline and a lot under my chin. My back acne got worse x2.

Fairy In Boots · March 31, 2012, 04:07:48 PM

Quote from: Darrin on March 03, 2012, 07:45:11 PM
Does everyone get acne on T? I'm only 3 shots in so far, but I never had acne with puberty #1. Also, how long does it take for acne to start showing?

I'd say it seems to happen in about 90% of trans men, maybe more, but not a perfect 100%. Ultimately, it depends on genetics, it's just that hormones can be highly influential.

As to when it started on me after starting HRT, I cannot answer that in the most literal terms, as it never officially ended from about the age of 13 onward --but it did get kinda worse after about three or four months. On the good side, not counting 8th grade school photos week (which I attribute to the gods hating me, but that's another story), it's never been that bad on my face, but instead all over my neck, chest, shoulders, and back.

Felix · April 01, 2012, 03:34:48 AM

Just to check back, I'm still only a few months in and my skin is pretty much chilled out lately. It's still oily but it heals fast. I don't get zits except really surfacey ones. I do have more than I used to on my body, but showering more helps, and I use salicylic acid soap.

Lee11 · April 01, 2012, 11:30:25 AM

Any acne usually disappears in a few months as your body gets used to your new hormone profile. Just think of it as a second puberty:)

Hayzer12 · April 01, 2012, 03:43:32 PM

Mine is settling down, and I reached the 6 month mark this week.

I never had acne during puberty, and when I did it was only in the T zone... but after Testosterone... it was all over my neck. Not as bad as most guys have, but it bothered me. I used some University Medical 3 in 1 acne treatment along with mario badescu spot treatment and it seems to clear up.

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Acne and T.

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