HRT and acne

[Kyuie]

Hello, I've not posted here in like... ever, so here's kinda a general question that's cropped up (because my endocrinologist is kinda super hard to get a hold of this time of year:

So typically, I've heard that hrt reduces acne for mtf individuals due to the lowered testosterone in system. This is great, today is actually my 5 month anniversary of taking Spiro (And my estrogen prescription only started about 21 days ago). Five months on Spiro and what little acne I had (all shoulders and upper arm) have almost completely disappeared.

Except since being on estrogen, I'm gaining acne and with a vengeance. Im 25, my T levels are really really low, and I never experienced acne growing up through puberty, yet now I have a small Krakatoa developing on my cheek and my upper arms are just riddled.

I've read that, in cis women, using hrt to lessen the symptoms of menopause, and may occassionally get acne flair ups as a result of their hrt... but I've not heard this happening in Trans women and I'm confused and concerned. My body took to Spiro really well and I actually developed a great deal of breast tissue (I started Spiro with a 32A measurement, and now I'm at a 32D and slightly spilling past) and experienced no acne flare ups like this.

Can the estrogen component of hrt cause acne in mtf?

[evecrook]

I don't know. but I had severe acne as a teen .I'm a lot older and been on HRT over 2 months and haven't experienced any thing

[Kyuie]

I don't know. but I had severe acne as a teen .I'm a lot older and been on HRT over 2 months and haven't experienced any thing

Again, I had little to no acne as a teen. Being on estrogen for 21days has resulted in flare ups of acne. :c

[nonameyet]

oh lord one more thing to worry about.
that hadnt actually even occured to me. i hate acne.
ive had acne problems for a few years now at least. ironically they started going away when i finally decided i wanted the srs.
point being that it could be an issue related to stress. whether on your body or mind. both of which may be going through big alterations (at least thats the idea)
but it could also be related to something i havent seen anything written about which im going to call gender reassignment puberty ( just cause its sounds funny and absurd)

i noticed though,when i started feminizing my behavior to suit my comfort level i started going through odd random phases of what seemed like what a genetic woman would go through as she aged.
primarily i noticed that i was really into victorian dresses and corsets and big hoop skirts. playing dress up basically. but without the funds to go crazy.
make up became a big deal because i was experimenting with a feminimity that i hadnt really appreciated yet.
i started noticing that my concept of appearance was different than the women around me. i had less experience with it. they were used to it. same as anything else but it was gender specific.
i was later told by a woman that the whole big elaborate dresses thing was something that girls typically go through early on and grow out of.
anyway. i suspect that (from personal experience and from seeing it in someone else) the initial transition process is, maybe on purpose maybe not, about going through certain rights of passage that we miss out on as members of the gender were trying to get out of.

maybe. now that im getting back to the issue at hand. for some people hormones function that way physically. the body essentially goes through a sort of puberty and responds accordingly.


hope i didnt lose everyone trying to get to that completely unfactual and purely theoretical notion of a process i have yet to experience first hand.
:-/

[AMDERS]

That happened to me as well. After my estrogen dosage was increased, my acne flared up a bit. After a few weeks though, it died down. You should try Exposed skin care. It worked wonders for me without over drying my skin (an issue since I started HRT)

[FalseHybridPrincess]

After starting hrt my acne problem is no more,,,

so many years and this was the cure?
lol...

[Kyuie]

That happened to me as well. After my estrogen dosage was increased, my acne flared up a bit. After a few weeks though, it died down. You should try Exposed skin care. It worked wonders for me without over drying my skin (an issue since I started HRT)

Thanks, I'll give it a go beyond my normal facial routine.

After starting hrt my acne problem is no more,,,

so many years and this was the cure?
lol...

This... kinda also kinda misses the point of the post? My acne was exacerbated and given life by estrogen. Not fixed by hrt.

Maybe it's a temporary flare up due to increased estrogen in my body.

[FalseHybridPrincess]

I dont know dear

seems wierd,,,

ok i will eventually have 1 -2 or 3 pimples in my face but on shoulder /chest /back it has completely vanished...
how bad is it for you?

[Jamie D]

Hello, I've not posted here in like... ever, so here's kinda a general question that's cropped up (because my endocrinologist is kinda super hard to get a hold of this time of year:

So typically, I've heard that hrt reduces acne for mtf individuals due to the lowered testosterone in system. This is great, today is actually my 5 month anniversary of taking Spiro (And my estrogen prescription only started about 21 days ago). Five months on Spiro and what little acne I had (all shoulders and upper arm) have almost completely disappeared.

Except since being on estrogen, I'm gaining acne and with a vengeance. Im 25, my T levels are really really low, and I never experienced acne growing up through puberty, yet now I have a small Krakatoa developing on my cheek and my upper arms are just riddled.

I've read that, in cis women, using hrt to lessen the symptoms of menopause, and may occassionally get acne flair ups as a result of their hrt... but I've not heard this happening in Trans women and I'm confused and concerned. My body took to Spiro really well and I actually developed a great deal of breast tissue (I started Spiro with a 32A measurement, and now I'm at a 32D and slightly spilling past) and experienced no acne flare ups like this.

Can the estrogen component of hrt cause acne in mtf?

Because your hormone levels are in flux right now, a breakout might be expected.

Higher T levels increase the production of sebum on the pores.  That is why our FtM brothers often develop bad cases of acne when they begin T.  In fact, one sign of androgen steroid abuse, are mountains of back acne.

Natal women sometimes experience breakouts during certain days of their menstrual cycle.

So, I would not worry too much.