Still searching for an acne cure

[D0LL]

Been a while. Im not dead, I just dont have a computer right now (so excuse the lack of punctuation and any spelling errors).

Im not currently taking hormones, but my PCOS makes my T levels naturally high. Since I stopped taking my feminizing hormones a few months ago, my hormones have been even more out of whack than normal. I guess my body got used to suddenly having female hormones, and stopping them so suddenly has put my body into a sort of shock. Mainly, this has made my acne even worse than it was pre-F hormones, and Ive now developed PMDD.

Im desperate for some sort of "cure" for the acne at least. Unfortunately, all the PCOS acne treatments I find online all involve increasing E/P or decreasing T. Obviously not what I want.

Lately Ive been trying homeopathic acne treatments with some luck. Right now Im loving Nelsons acne tablets (just sulphur tablets) and Nelsons acne gel. Again, if I had a computer, Id provide links. I also like NaturaBio's acne liquid in a dropper bottle, but it tastes like Popov, so Im not sure how long I can take it daily lol

As much as these things (along with washes and tea tree soap) have helped, every month around "that time", my female hormones drop and my T levels become overpowering. It always ends up that all the acne I spent all month trying to erradicate comes back overnight. :/ So either I need to spend a few more months getting these pills into my system, or I just havent found anything strong enough to tackle these huge sudden imbalances every month.

Has **anyone** had any sort of success at getting rid of hormonal acne? Ive tried everything under the sun it seems, and I know plenty of others here have as well. Ive always had terrible skin but this is just horrific. I appreciate any input.

[Jack_M]

Before anyone looks up those products with any hope, stop.

Homeopathy does not work! It's just a placebo, quite ironic in that most of the "medicines" are just water or...yup, sugar tablets.  Homeopathy is based off the idea that the more diluted the ingredient is, the better it works, which is beyond insanity. How diluted is it? Some are at levels where you're talking the equivalent of one drop of the ingredient in the equivalent of the world's oceans.  The idea is water has memory.  Well, if it can remember that one drop of that particular ingredient, what about the millions of tons of urine and excrement that's touched our water supply?  Save your money.  Just because they preach it's natural, doesn't mean it's medicine. Aspirin, for example, is natural and comes from plant extract. You know what any natural product that cures ailments is called? Medicine! There's not a conspiracy, homeopathy is just the modern day snake oil. 

If acne is a real problem, seek real cures and see a dermatologist.

[D0LL]

Thats some real closed-minded opinions youre throwing out there as if theyre fact. Which I see no reason for.

Fact of the matter is, I HAVE seen a derm. My uncles been one for 35 years. Nothing hes given me has ever helped.

In the two months Ive been on homeopathic meds, my acne has nearly stopped within the first few days, and is only unco trollable one week each month.

The reason Ive turned to homeopathy is NOT because its natural. I couldnt care less about that.

Its the fact that homeopathic meds contain ingredients that arent used in western medicines and topicals. Its simply something I havent tried so far, and THATS why Im giving it a try.

Youre free to your own opinions, but keep in mind that they are simply that, opinions.

[D0LL]

If placebo were why these products are working, then Id have cleared my acne eons ago with this "placebo" business. Time and time again Ive tried things without a doubt in my mind that they would work and finally cure my lifelong acne.

[Jack_M]

Homeopathy is just "water with memory". Alternative medicine always has the alternative before it because it doesn't work. If it did work, it would lose the alternative label and become just medicine. Homeopathy on a chemical basis does nowt. Look into what it is if you don't believe me, I'm not embellishing it. These ingredients you seem to be do impressed about them using aren't in the product at all. Homeopathy is about diluting to insane levels where they become completely non existent. It would be like putting one drop of concentrate juice in the ocean in UK and drinking tap water in the West Coast of N. America and expecting to taste it. Homeopathy meds are nothing but water. If you buy into the water memory theory, then please explain to me how it remembers that ingredient but never excrement, oil, blood, etc.  Any positive effects are psychological (placebo) or incidental.  You say you still use washes that actually do have documented effects.  And you have a condition that messes with your hormones. I'd say those were reasons for results over taking water.

There's a difference between being close minded and just being educated on the insane, goes against all logic, claims they make and refusing to buy it.

[Jack_M]

The first one I looked at referred to it as being a 30C solution, which means there's one part of the ingredient to 10 to the power 60 parts water.

The top number is 100C and considered to be the most potent!

[DriftingCrow]

Oh Jesus Christ, this isn't a thread about the validity of homeopathy. 


Now, I could be totally wrong, but I've read that hormonal acne can still be controlled by face washing, because T increasesthe production of certain oils. Topical treatments won't stop the oil production, but it'll at least get it off your skin and keep your pores clean. I am not on T, but get acne before shark week. My skin gets wicked oily. I find using the Target brand (Up & Up) knock off of proactive, and using an avocado mud mask 2-3 times a week helps a ton.The mask is available at CVS and its Freeman's Clay Mask: Avocado and Oatmeal.

It all depends on your skin type, so what helps me might not help you.

[D0LL]

Oh Jesus Christ, this isn't a thread about the validity of homeopathy. 

THANK you. Good lord people.

I do believe the washes *help* me, but only slightly. Sometimes not at all (depending on how bad it is). Ive tried the entire Proactiv kit and only the toner helps me, so I just buy that seperately on Amazon.

My latest resort is tea. I drink a glass of green tea a day, and when Im done I use the tea bag to wash my face. At the very least it at least helps keep the moisture on my face at a good level.

Ive also tried Spearmint tea a few times (helps block DHT), but obviously I dont want to be drinking it. Im not sure  if it absorbs into my bloodstream and into my system just using it on my face, but if it does, its really not enough to do anything. Again, this does seem to keep my face at a good moisture level (which is especially important in these winter months; when my face dries out, the acne gets trapped under my dry skin and I look awful, not to mention the acnes much more painful).

I was just reading about someone using papaya gel for their PCOS acne, but I havent looked into it yet.

[D0LL]

If you buy into the water memory theory, then please explain to me how it remembers that ingredient but never excrement, oil, blood, etc.  Any positive effects are psychological (placebo) or incidental.  You say you still use washes that actually do have documented effects.  And you have a condition that messes with your hormones. I'd say those were reasons for results over taking water.

There's a difference between being close minded and just being educated on the insane, goes against all logic, claims they make and refusing to buy it.

I like how you ct as if Im ignorant yet Ive had acne for over ten years, and just two months ago when I started homeopathic solutions my acne suddenly started getting better within a few days. Homeoptathy was the only thing in my acne regimen that had changed in the past 6 months. But no, it must just be a placebo effect. I guess my homeopathic thyroid pills made with real animal thyroid didnt give me the strength to get out of bed after months of being too sick to exist. I guess that was just placebo, too.
Im not claiming to know WHY the stuff works (Im not saying I know for sure the pills work, as Ive only been taking the pills for two weeks now), but the fact that you continue to argue the fact that they are actually working is pretty damn ignorant. I went with these products in particular because of the Amazon reviews. But I guess not one of those is a real person, theyre probably all fake reviews. >.>
MAYBE there are just some ingredients that are potent enough that they can be watered down enough that they still work.

Sorry, internet, I didnt realize "homeopathy" was a bad word.

[Devlyn]

I'm glad you found something that mostly keeps the acne under control.  The extra kick during that week might be something too strong to overcome.  I hope you find an answer.

Hugs, Devlyn

[Kytri]

The thing with homeopathy is sometimes it's "real" homeopathy which is supposed to be just water and sometimes they label herbal or natural remedies as homeopathic even though they do have stuff in them. Odds are whatever you're using has something helpful in it. And that's all I'm going to say on the matter.

Anyway. I don't have PCOS but I do have pretty severe acne. I'm not on T yet so I'm quite worried about what will happen when I do go on it.

I have had some luck with apple cider vinegar as a topical remedy. I mix it in a one to one ratio with distilled water. Right before bed I shake it up and apply it to my face with a cotton pad. It does dry my skin a little, but it seems to help. It's also waaay cheaper than any of the prescription strength stuff I've tried, and for me it works just as well and irritates my skin less.

I also have a cis female friend who cleared most of her cystic acne using masks of raw honey. She basically smears a thin layer of raw honey on her face and leaves it for about 20 minutes before washing it off. I've tried it too, but it doesn't work quite as well for me as it does for her. I do find it kind of moisturizing, though.

[Contravene]

I think I've suggested this before and it might sound extreme but have you ever tried using isopropyl alcohol as an astringent?

I used to have really bad acne and I tried everything from medications like Proactive to herbal remedies but nothing ever worked for me. Finally I talked to a dermatologist who suggested using isopropyl alcohol as a last resort and it worked like a miracle. It works because it strips the excess oil from your skin and it kills bacteria that would normally irritate your pores. I use a 50% solution, apply it to a cotton pad then clean my face with it. I used to use it every other day along with a moisturizer so my skin wouldn't dry out but I don't even need to use it that often anymore, now I only use it about once a week. I haven't had any acne or a break out in about a year since I started using it.

I've also heard that peroxide and witch hazel work for some people so those might be worth trying if you're concerned about using the alcohol. They never worked for me but everyone's skin is different.

[Jack_M]

There must be something real in it if it's working and therefore been incorrectly labeled as homeopathic.  However, that being said, do NOT look to any true homeopathic BS treatment, because it does NOTHING!  So just don't focus on this area of hocus pocus for further ideas for treatment.  People really need to stop funding this snake oil so it can just die already. When you come from a country where, despite numerous drives from the public and health professionals, they still fund homeopathic treatment on the NHS, you'd be just as angry as me knowing your tax money goes towards paying for people lying to patients and the apparent magic they claim to produce to cure them.

Best way to attack acne is by seeing real doctors, washing face (but not excessively), concentrating on reducing the amount of times you touch your face (once you start taking notice you'll realise it's insane the amount of times you touch your face, the average is between 3000 to 4000 times a day!) and eat more veggies.  Not so much fruit!  I've found great results by juicing but I only juice veggies.  Fruits are better consumed by eating whole, and in a far less amount that vegetables.  Fruit has a lot of fructose and for acne you want to cut down on sugar, even if it's the good sugars.

I started having acne pretty bad and especially with the bumps under my skin that you can do nothing about.  So I started using a stronger acne cream (Oxy vanishing treatment) once to twice a day depending on how dry my skin gets and I make sure to not only wash morning and night, but to either wash after sweating or at least use Oxy pads (not as strong as the cream but good for just washing the face after sweating) if I wasn't able to hit the shower.  Then I started cutting down on sugar and processed food intake and finally started juicing every day for snack and lunch and using the pulp to make soup for dinner (to make use of the fibre in the pulp).  Now, except for the occasional poppable spot, I have pretty clear skin.  Diet plays a huge role with acne.  That's why getting it as a teenager is such a disaster, because we all know what teenage diets are like!

Contrary to what's often believed, it can be okay, and sometimes better, to pop spots.  Anything hard or firm under the skin, don't even think about it, and never force it too far or it'll be something scar worthy.  Use cotton pads or something to squeeze rather than fingers/fingernails as that cuts down on bacteria spreading to your face.  Basically, if it comes to a head, you can pop it if it'll pop easy.  Despite all the "it spreads bacteria!!!" claims, it's been found that if you do it safely by washing hands and using cotton pads and washing area before and after, this is actually fairly minimal and the benefit of getting rid of that spot quicker outweighs the risk of spreading bacteria because now that pus is gone you can properly clean that area again.  If this is something you do regularly you can buy a Comedone Extractor to better perform the task.  This is what the professionals use instead of regular finger squeezing.

[DriftingCrow]

Jack, why don't you just write a giant post in a new thread explaining why everyone who doesn't blindly follow traditional modern Western medicine is an idiot and just put a link to it in your footer  so you don't have to repeat yourself every month or so? Sorry if I sound like a jerk, but no one seems to be changing their position on the matter even though it seems to come up often here.

And yes, I do agree diet and exercise are huge to controlling acne, as well as drinking lots of water and less caffeine and sugary drinks.

[Noah]

I had chronic cystic acne for years until I got on my mtf HRT. Nothing worked except for holistic natural approach. And it helped a lot. What you need to do is reduce the inflammation in your body, try to make your body alkaline and not acidic, and improve digestion.

1. Take a live acidophilus probiotic culture every day. Like 1,000,000 live organisms per serving is good.

2. Eat 1 raw clove of garlic a day. This is a pre-biotic and antifungal. It gets your gut in a good condition to produce healthy bacteria such as the Bacteria you add in supplements like acidophilus.

3. Table spoon of coconut oil in the morning. It's a miracle food. Anti microbial anti fungal anti inflammatory.

3. Drink a glass of water with a table spoon of aple cider vinegar every morning. ACV is incredibly good for skin and shifting the body's alkaline level.

4. Drink fresh green juice every day. Vegetables are like miracle cures for everything.

5. No less than 3 liters of water a day.

6. Drink a tablespoon of chlorophyl every day. Miracle plant blood sooooo good for you and skin.

7. Cod liver oil supplement. So good for skin.

8. Vitamin e and c and zinc - get a multivitamin. All good for skin.

9. Don't eat processed foods and be very conscious of the inflammatory foods you eat like sugar etc.

10. Pull coconut oil. Don't know what oil pulling is? Google it it's awesome.

These are all amazing and totally real and natural MEDICINES. Food is medicine. This treats the cause and not the symptom. Pimples are a manifestation of a problem and not the problem itself. Topical treatment is ineffective. Cure from inside. This is not magic or snake oil it's FOOD.

Eastern culture is foolish for assuming what we put into our body doesn't affect this kind of thing. My doctors told me for me for years that diet had nothing to do w my ace. WRONG.

Although, at the end of the day I believe the REAL cause of my zits was testosterone. I don't break out at all anymore regardless of what I eat. But when I had this acne hormone in my system it was critical that I did all I could to make my body less inflamed etc.

[Noah]

Lol western culture is foolish not eastern my bad

[Nygeel]

It all depends on the kind of skin you have, and where your pimples are. For example, if most of your pimples are on your forehead, it might be from your hair or wearing a hat. Most pimples caused from hormones will appear around the chin. I use a scrub with salicylic acid daily. It gets rid of the oil, and it's helped to clear up my back and shoulders (huge problem area for people who take testosterone). You might be able to make a paste using peroxide, baking soda, and salt which might work but I'm not all that knowledgeable.

[Jared]

I had chronic cystic acne for years until I got on my mtf HRT. Nothing worked except for holistic natural approach. And it helped a lot. What you need to do is reduce the inflammation in your body, try to make your body alkaline and not acidic, and improve digestion.

1. Take a live acidophilus probiotic culture every day. Like 1,000,000 live organisms per serving is good.

2. Eat 1 raw clove of garlic a day. This is a pre-biotic and antifungal. It gets your gut in a good condition to produce healthy bacteria such as the Bacteria you add in supplements like acidophilus.

3. Table spoon of coconut oil in the morning. It's a miracle food. Anti microbial anti fungal anti inflammatory.

3. Drink a glass of water with a table spoon of aple cider vinegar every morning. ACV is incredibly good for skin and shifting the body's alkaline level.

4. Drink fresh green juice every day. Vegetables are like miracle cures for everything.

5. No less than 3 liters of water a day.

6. Drink a tablespoon of chlorophyl every day. Miracle plant blood sooooo good for you and skin.

7. Cod liver oil supplement. So good for skin.

8. Vitamin e and c and zinc - get a multivitamin. All good for skin.

9. Don't eat processed foods and be very conscious of the inflammatory foods you eat like sugar etc.

10. Pull coconut oil. Don't know what oil pulling is? Google it it's awesome.

These are all amazing and totally real and natural MEDICINES. Food is medicine. This treats the cause and not the symptom. Pimples are a manifestation of a problem and not the problem itself. Topical treatment is ineffective. Cure from inside. This is not magic or snake oil it's FOOD.

Eastern culture is foolish for assuming what we put into our body doesn't affect this kind of thing. My doctors told me for me for years that diet had nothing to do w my ace. WRONG.

Although, at the end of the day I believe the REAL cause of my zits was testosterone. I don't break out at all anymore regardless of what I eat. But when I had this acne hormone in my system it was critical that I did all I could to make my body less inflamed etc.

Wow great list, I should try these. Except taking vitamin E, it contains estrogen which I don't think the guys would like to take, but zinc contains testosteron 

[poptart]

I did 6 months of Accutane about 2 years ago and it cleared up completely. Before that I had moderate-severe acne for years and the hormones just made it worse. So if you don't mind spending a lot of money and getting regular blood work, do that!

as for an OTC product, Proactiv's refining mask works hella good. You just put it on the acne overnight and it's either gone or severely diminished the next day.

[harlee]

I've tried many things and the only thing that has really worked for me is Accutane also. I think I have only been taking it for 2 months, but I've noticed a big change already! I'm not really getting any new acne and my face feels pretty smooth now for the most part, I just have these red marks on my face which makes it look like a have alot of pimples, when I dont and I hate it! I'm hoping they will fade away soon or something other wise I might look into scar treatment later on  But if you need something strong, try Accutane.