Oily skin on T :(

[nbnik]

So, I don't know if this happens to every trans guy or transmasculine person who starts T, but for me, one of the major drawbacks of starting hormones has been that my skin often feels oily. It's a huge sensory thing for me that I hate, hate, hate the feel of oil. I stay with my parents and they cook with these heavy cast iron pans that have to be oiled after cleaning, or they start to rust, and I always "forget" to oil them because I feel greasy for quite some time after, no matter what I do. I'm sure it's partially mental, but the point is, I can't stand it.

Something I've been using for my face that I wanted to put to the community on here is these little wipes by Alba Botanica. I never had to worry about my skin before using T, and before transitioning, I never wore makeup (of my own volition) and certainly never knew how to buy anything more advanced than a basic body wash. Well, I went to the grocery store, because I'm like, oh, they have skin things there in the makeup aisle. And sure enough, they did, near the cotton balls.

So I found this little packet of 30 wipes by Alba Botanica. The package says they're "Hawaiian 3-in-1 clean towelettes" with pineapple enzymes and some other things. I had done a bit of research online about what to do for oily skin, and most things said that you wanted to look for a "cleanser." These come in a green and orange packet and say makeup remover + cleanser + toner, and they're vegan, which is important to me. They're also about $3.50 a pack, which is also very important to me, as someone who's not at all well off financially.

I found them at Publix, which is a regional grocery chain we have here in the American southeast, but I've looked, and you can definitely find them online and at places like Vitamin Shoppe, Target, Walmart, etc.

My dad and brother gave me a funny look when I came home with them, and I expected it, because it's considered unmanly in some circles (especially here in the backwoods of northern Florida) to practice good hygiene. But it's not like my masculinity is traditional to begin with, which I consider a good thing.

PS - I don't work for Alba Botanica or any other company I mentioned. I'm just trying to help people out by sharing what's worked for me.

[Elis]

Thanks for letting us know . I was quite surprised how oily my skin had gotten since I started T. I decided to use Lush Coalface soap as it had some good reviews and found it works very well (at least for me). I no longer have oily skin and my acne has cleared up or faded.

[Kylo]

I'd love oilier skin at the moment. Not on T yet but my skin has become dry as a bone and started to irritate and peel (last year or so only). I don't like the feel of greasy skin but skin that is not greasy enough sure sucks...

[Elis]

I'd love oilier skin at the moment. Not on T yet but my skin has become dry as a bone and started to irritate and peel (last year or so only). I don't like the feel of greasy skin but skin that is not greasy enough sure sucks...

I have the same issue every winter. Moisterising cream has been a big help.

[Rem]

I use Oxy's 3-n-1 acne wipes. It "unclogs pores", "retextures skin", but more importantly "controls oil". I've been using them for over a month and my skin has felt and looked a lot better. 

[Kylo]

I have the same issue every winter. Moisterising cream has been a big help.

I think my issue is hormonal, as I've tried E45 and Nivea and all kinds of stuff to keep the water in. The problem started when I quit taking any form of estrogen birth control. A lot of nasty health side effects correlated by rehabbing myself off those.

I do wonder if taking T will somehow address the skin problem, if they ever prescribe me it at this rate. But it would be nice, even if oily skin and a few spots were the cost.

[Elis]

I think my issue is hormonal, as I've tried E45 and Nivea and all kinds of stuff to keep the water in. The problem started when I quit taking any form of estrogen birth control. A lot of nasty health side effects correlated by rehabbing myself off those.

I do wonder if taking T will somehow address the skin problem, if they ever prescribe me it at this rate. But it would be nice, even if oily skin and a few spots were the cost.

Yeah sounds like that could be it. I'd appreciate having spot free skin atm though; T does make you look like the typical gawky teenager .
I don't want to be one of these people which advertise skin products; but you could look into Lush Dream Cream. According to the reviews it's helped a lot of people with various skin problems. It's also the best moisturising cream I've tried.
Hope you get T soon at least

[nbnik]

I'd love oilier skin at the moment. Not on T yet but my skin has become dry as a bone and started to irritate and peel (last year or so only). I don't like the feel of greasy skin but skin that is not greasy enough sure sucks...

My skin is somehow both dry and oily at the same time. I mean, I don't get oily and ashy in the same place at the same time. I just mean I have oily skin on my face and a few other places and dry, icky feeling skin in a lot of others. But like I said, I never really had to worry pre T, so I guess I was a little bit spoiled in that way. I only ever had to worry about using some soap and water or like shower gel and washing my hair a couple times a week.

tl;dr Almost everything I've read says it's virtually guaranteed that your skin will get more oily on T. So hopefully you can get on it soon.

[Kylo]

I hope so. I think the damage wrought on my body by estrogen will be hard to undo. But who knows, they say T is a hell of a drug 

[Magnus]

... I've actually long since resorted to Dawn. Yeah, dish soap. lol. It works for me. Cheap too.

[Contravene]

My skin has gotten pretty oily too. I'm kind of surprised by how quick it happened. I use an astringent, Sea Breeze, and it works pretty well for keeping away the oil. It's not too expensive either, I think it's around 3-4 dollars for a bottle at Walmart.

I've also found something that might seem counter productive but it actually helps, I use a non-greasy and in scented moisturizer on my face too. I've found that it actually helps keep the oiliness down.

Another issue for me is oily hair. I use the shampoo T-Gel once in a while and it's amazing if you don't mind the odd smell and the higher price.

[RaptorChops]

My face is oily and breaks out every once in awhile. My backne is really what kills me. I've tried a bunch of different products and nothing worked. I looked at Lush products and thought maybe it was just too girly for me. Then I saw dark angels by Lush and saw a few reviews. Decided why not get it to see if maybe that would help. Smell isn't the most pleasant and the price was a bit ugh... but It does seem to keep the oil away. It doesn't dry out my skin either so that's a plus. I haven't used it long enough to see any major changes but I feel like it might be clearing up my back and my face break outs a bit. Lush is organic, hand made and not tested animals so you can feel kinda good in the process .

[Elis]

My face is oily and breaks out every once in awhile. My backne is really what kills me. I've tried a bunch of different products and nothing worked. I looked at Lush products and thought maybe it was just too girly for me. Then I saw dark angels by Lush and saw a few reviews. Decided why not get it to see if maybe that would help. Smell isn't the most pleasant and the price was a bit ugh... but It does seem to keep the oil away. It doesn't dry out my skin either so that's a plus. I haven't used it long enough to see any major changes but I feel like it might be clearing up my back and my face break outs a bit. Lush is organic, hand made and not tested animals so you can feel kinda good in the process .

Glad to hear something is working for you . I use Coalface for my backne as well and it seems to have made it less red and scabby. Just wish it could fade away entirely :/
I wish Lush was less expensive but the products last a long time thank god.

Btw; I don't know how good hygiene and not looking like a pimply teenager can be considered girly

[JoanneB]

Back in the day when I was on T my skin was oily. At times so much so you can see it oozing out of the pores on my nose. Diet is a factor. Not living on a basic meat or pizza dies reduced it. Stopping, as best as I could, high fructose corn syrup sweetners. No prob with just sugar.

[nbnik]

My skin has gotten pretty oily too. I'm kind of surprised by how quick it happened. I use an astringent, Sea Breeze, and it works pretty well for keeping away the oil. It's not too expensive either, I think it's around 3-4 dollars for a bottle at Walmart.

I've also found something that might seem counter productive but it actually helps, I use a non-greasy and in scented moisturizer on my face too. I've found that it actually helps keep the oiliness down.

Another issue for me is oily hair. I use the shampoo T-Gel once in a while and it's amazing if you don't mind the odd smell and the higher price.

Oily skin and increased sweating was one of the first things I noticed on T. (Well, that and the increased libido. I didn't think my libido could be any higher, but I was mistaken.) I was like oh dang. No wonder my brother broke out so much more than I did when we were younger.

Yeah, I play with my hair when I'm thinking, and I can hardly stand to touch it at all when I haven't washed it for a couple of days. I tried actually just rinsing it a couple of times when I didn't have the spoons/energy to wash it properly and it just seemed to dry out really badly, but it was somehow still oily?

Like I mentioned, I'm vegan, and so I'm a bit picky when it comes to what I put on and in my body. It's tough, though, when you're hella broke all the time. I got lucky recently; I found some vegan shampoo and conditioner by Kiss My Face and Avalon Organics that really seem to do the trick for me. As far as preventing oily skin and hair, though, I haven't figured out anything for that.

Back in the day when I was on T my skin was oily. At times so much so you can see it oozing out of the pores on my nose. Diet is a factor. Not living on a basic meat or pizza dies reduced it. Stopping, as best as I could, high fructose corn syrup sweetners. No prob with just sugar.

I'm not -quite- that oily at this stage but like, oddly, I changed my diet recently and don't seem to notice any dramatic changes. I've been vegan for over a decade, but until about two months ago, I got a good bit of fat in my diet, and probably more than I really needed. I'm sick and can't work much (waiting on disability, that whole blah, blah, blah) so I have to cut back where I can. So about two months ago, give or take, I decided to totally give up sodas, aside from the occasional diet Red Bull, as well as Chinese takeout, which for me involved fried tofu with a sweet, spicy sauce and more white rice than anyone really needs. And I would also get rice noodles with veg stirfried in oil and who even knows what else. So, lots of fat and corn syrup suddenly out of my diet.

I've lost almost 20 pounds, which is nice, but oddly, my skin hasn't changed much at all. I'm a touch disappointed, tbh, even though it wasn't my primary goal.

[AnxietyDisord3r]

I bought French Clay (you can also use Bentonite Clay) at my local "alternative" grocery store and do a mask once a week. This exfoliates and dries up the oil. Then I use Neutrogena SPF 15 moisturizer so that my face doesn't pump out hella more oil. It's also the only sunscreen I can put on my face that doesn't make me break out (sensitive skin). I've seen it for sale in the men's aisle at Target so I'm not the only guy who has discovered this stuff.

I haven't bothered with the backne because it isn't cystic. I've suffered painful adult acne for years and this is nothing.

[DarkWolf_7]

I'd love oilier skin at the moment. Not on T yet but my skin has become dry as a bone and started to irritate and peel (last year or so only). I don't like the feel of greasy skin but skin that is not greasy enough sure sucks...

I've noticed an improvement going on T. I'm still kind of dry but my skin and hair wasn't as dry as it use to. Cracking and bleeding was never fun. But I know it's genetic because it runs in the family, so even the average person not on T is probably more oilier and sweatier than me.