This is just a word of warning for anyone worried about acne on T.
I've always had pretty bad acne so that's the one side effect I was worried about. I started getting serious about washing my face every day a few weeks before I started T, hoping that would keep it from getting as bad.
It is bad, though. I get huge cystic things that build up under my skin for days at a time, making these big painful bumps on my face. Then they explode. Literally, they will pop and the pus inside will shoot out like a geyser. It's really, really gross. And that's when I am washing multiple times a day. It could be so much worse.
This has only been happening for the last month or two. Next time I see my doctor I'm going to ask about a dermatologist.
What are you currently using? How would you describe your skin? Are you exfoliating as well?
Puberty Part I didn't give me much in the way of pimples, part II did more damage. I have combination skin so I use an acne fighting moisturizer. If your skin is just oily all over, general wash would be better. Exfoliating helps get rid of dead skin cells on your face which clog up pores and promote acne. You don't want to scrub like a lasagna pan, but a good rub down should help.
Wow. I got an occasional cystic bump that sort of dissolved away without coming to a head. But acne really wasn't an issue for me. I sympathize...this sounds really bad.
Can you make an appointment right away to get a derm referral? No sense in waiting around if you don't have to.
I wonder what evolutionary purpose acne serves. Or is it just one of those correlation things that rides along with some other beneficial effect?
I think some people are just more prone to the acne bacteria than others. Haven't verified this but my doc was saying there's a pretty strong genetic component to whether people get bad acne or not (most people have some, obviously).
I just posted this in another thread but prescribed clindamycin is working pretty well for me, but my acne wasn't that bad, just annoying. Apparently clindamycin is just the first step on a series of increasingly aggressive treatments, though, so I bet there are some decent options out there.
I had bad acne before T, and for the most part it's better but now and again I get bad breakouts which involve cysts.
By multiple times, how many do you mean? Cause sometimes you can overwash. The most I ever wash is twice a day, and that's during a bad breakout. I wash with something that has triclosan in it...which I try to use only when I need the extra help, as I try to avoid a lot of chemicals. When my skin is decent, I'll either use a castile soap with tea tree oil, or sometimes, something with salicylic acid (if I'm over at my brother's or something, I just use his stuff).
Also, find a good moisturizer for right after you wash. I like the Nivea for Men aftershave balm (not the lotion, it's got to be the balm). If i forget to moisturize I will break out too.
That's just what I found through my tweaking. I've also noticed that my diet does have an impact. It doesn't cause acne, but if I am stressed and eat a ton of crap it gets much worse.
Quote from: Arch on July 14, 2013, 07:34:09 PM
Wow. I got an occasional cystic bump that sort of dissolved away without coming to a head. But acne really wasn't an issue for me. I sympathize...this sounds really bad.
Can you make an appointment right away to get a derm referral? No sense in waiting around if you don't have to.
I wonder what evolutionary purpose acne serves. Or is it just one of those correlation things that rides along with some other beneficial effect?
nature.com/jid/journal/v53/n1/full/jid1969100a.html <- article on hormones and sebum production
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17340019 <- article on sebum production and acne
Acne is basically a bunch of tiny infections all over your face. I think it's more of a side-effect than anything that serves a purpose.
Aw man, that sucks. Washing your face too often could dry out your face, though, which I believe can make it worse. But I have no experience with that kind of situation so maybe I'm wrong. I handle it by wiping my face down with water daily which seems to work for me. I tried using face soaps but they just irritated my skin and made my acne worse.
Good on you for going for a dermatologist. I hope you can get it cleared up soon! That sounds really irritating.
Welcome to the world of male combination skin, gents! The only thing that I found helpful was to drink water and NOTHING BUT water, all day, every day. Once I started getting around 80 FL OZ a day, my skin became clearer rapidly.
Best of luck to you! I know firsthand how much of a nightmare this can be, but I got through it in the end. I'm sure you will too!
I'm lucky so far. I have bad cystic acne but it's all over my back and I can deal with that. My face is clear for the most part. The ones I do get on my face are tiny. I don't put any soap or cleaners/moisturizers on my face. They actually make me break out. I just wash my face in the shower with a plain washcloth, that's it. The funny thing about acne is the more you wash your face the more your skin produces oil. It's a vicious cycle.
Try switching to a product for sensitive skin or rosacea. They aren't as harsh.
A few things I've figured out with my own acne are...
Pre-squeeze (but not too aggressively, of course) problem areas before you actually get acne breakouts in those areas. This actually does work effectively because it forces the stuff out of there and before the pore can get clogged up and trap it in there to fester and become a huge 'abscess' (cystic acne are abscesses not just typical pimple sores). Yes, I'm well aware of the 'professionals' saying not to do this but they're full of it on this score. I personally would rather a very small little cord-like strain (or else whitish fluid not yet even a cord-like composition) of crud coming out of my pores and without blood and scar-tissue potential than to let all of those alone to become the visible nasties. For me, doing this does not cause more acne but actually reduces it (e.g. my problem area is around my nose and my chin, so those are the areas I do this with).
Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO). Use a small amount of it on your face every day just like you would lotion (NOT washing it off but rather to allow it to be completely absorbed - so you might want to do this a little while before bed) and stop using commercial moisturizers. The oil molecules in this are too large to enter your pores, but it contains a lot of antioxidants as well as vitamins and minerals, which is why it is a very good method of not just moisturizing your face, but also in helping to combat acne bacteria. Also, if your skin is dry (mine is a combination these days), it has no defense against bacteria. Sebum when it is balanced (not too little or too much), is supposed to prevent bacteria from getting inside of your pores, keeping it trapped within itself to be washed away. So if your skin is too dry, you will actually get more acne from that than if your skin was too oily. But don't think you can just use any cooking oil, you can't. The rest absolutely will do the opposite. EVOO is the only one that should ever be used on your skin (not even mineral oil, as a matter of fact).
Wet shaving. Now we're really getting into it here. There is a proper and an improper method for this to mitigate acne and also to promote more of it (although most people aren't aware they're promoting it... skipping aftershave is a big one). As a quick aside, wet shaving itself is one of the absolute best exfoliation for your skin so if you shave in the mornings you don't have to exfoliate with a cloth or whatever else also (just do that in the evening instead).
1. Use warm water on your face before you shave to open the pores up.
2. Shave with the grain or on the side of the grain but not directly against the grain (directly against the grain can and does promote razor burn and which in turn can provide a perfect condition for acne bacteria to set up shop. Every time I unintentionally shave against the grain on my neck, I get razor burn and then I get acne there).
3. Use as cold of water as you can stand immediately after you are done shaving to close the pores.
4. Use an aftershave with antibacterial ingredient (e.g. alcohol) to sterilize all of the little abrasions that shaving causes even if you can't see them (acne bacteria, just like all bacteria, is opportunistic. This halves its likelihood of developing into full-on acne after a shave. The slight burning is a good thing). Rinse the aftershave off, it's done its job and doesn't need to be left on and absorbed. Get a cologne instead to use more towards your chest or on your clothes if you want a scent to hang around. You do not want to leave the aftershave on too long because of the alcohol and which will just dry your skin out and as already stated, dry skin causes more acne than oily skin.
5. Use the EVOO after your aftershave is washed off to moisturize and to soothe.
For some unknown reason to me, I seem to get much less acne when I actually just let myself get scruffy than when I'm "clean shaven". I know that's a contradiction to most sources but for me that's jut how it goes, so I shave less often (as much as I can get away with anyway).
Oh, also... when you're using a wash rag on your face you do NOT need to vigorously scrub to get the job done. That will actually make it worse by irritating your skin. You should also always use a new rag because if you keep using the same one over a couple of days, there's bacteria there. That's what you don't want.
Another thing, I only use Dove soap. Both the bars for my face and the 'for men' body washes because it contains the least 'soap scum' which can, again, also increase acne.
Perhaps the absolute biggest problem with acne is... touching your face. You may not realize this, but your hands are only second to your mouth as the most bacteria-laden area of your entire body. Wash them before you touch your face if at all possible (keep some Purell or such handy).
To wrap this up, I've only had to resort to the clindamycin phosphate (1%) topical solution and only in certain areas about five times after employing these methods. They actually work. There really is no need to buy expensive products (and by the way, most commercial solutions contain chemicals and other such additives that should never be metabolized by the body in the first place. Natural remedies are always superior to commercial and a hell of a lot less expensive besides).
Quote from: Horizon on July 14, 2013, 08:37:40 PM
The only thing that I found helpful was to drink water and NOTHING BUT water, all day, every day. Once I started getting around 80 FL OZ a day, my skin became clearer rapidly.
This also worked for me. When I was younger I had terrible acne that was cystic and painful. When I went into basic training for the military they forced us to drink a ton of water constantly to keep us hydrated and avoid heat stroke. My skin cleared up within weeks and stayed clear while I went through my tech training and was constantly forced to drink water. Now that I've stopped drinking water as often and in such a large volume, I have acne and it's getting worse with T.
It's expensive, but I've tried ProActiv and it worked for me. Didn't get my face completely clear, but it was a huge improvement.
Quote from: dreaming.forever on July 16, 2013, 05:59:10 AM
It's expensive, but I've tried ProActiv and it worked for me. Didn't get my face completely clear, but it was a huge improvement.
this for me too, but id rather deal with zits than a bleached goatee, and the fact that im naturally ginger there (makes me so freaking sad lol) is bad enough without making it blonde :p
Quote from: Geek on July 16, 2013, 06:44:32 AM
this for me too, but id rather deal with zits than a bleached goatee, and the fact that im naturally ginger there (makes me so freaking sad lol) is bad enough without making it blonde :p
Have you tried applying it with a Q-tip? (I assume it's the "step 3" stuff that's bleaching your facial hair--which I'm mad jealous of, btw; once I'm back on T I'll be eagerly awaiting the day I can grow a goatee :))
Thanks for the replies guys. For the last few days I've been moisturizing after washing my face, and it already looks a little better! When I have the time I try to just rinse it with warm water, too.
Probably only a matter of time before I get another really bad breakout, though. It seems to come and go.
Oh lawd, I've already got pretty bad acne, I'm so worried what kind of hideous monster I'm going to become on T. :(
I've tried Proactiv, and it was nice, but honestly the only part of it that actually worked for me was the toner (I used the toner by itself for about 2 months before getting the kit, and I saw no improvements once I started the full kit). Since I'm poor, I found a Neutrogena toner that works almost as well for a much cheaper price than buying the toner separately on Amazon.
What I use:
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fbeauty411.net%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2013%2F03%2FNeutrogena-Pore-Refining-range-grp.jpg&hash=58e00276008490ec7e0bc235180441105a92df29)(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fecx.images-amazon.com%2Fimages%2FI%2F41g4Ya8VOCL.jpg&hash=eb06042ed0d77437d9eb5eff0ab1743f1714e372)
(I use the exfoliating cleanser, but not the actual daily cleanser, still works very well without it.) The lotion works wonders on peeling off my dead skin and drying up pimples, but since it has AHA's in it, you need to use an actual SPF face lotion on top of it if you're going out immediately afterwards (I just SPF right after and don't reapply 2 hours later; I figure the AHAs have absorbed or rubbed off by that point).
If you're thinking you can use this stuff without an SPF lotion, DON'T. PLEASE. I made the mistake before of not using sunscreen after using my cleanser and my entire face turned red instead of tanning. A permanent red shade that I had to bleach away over time with lemon juice. NOT a pleasant experience.
ALSO:
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.allure.com%2Fimages%2Fbeauty-products%2Fskin%2F2010%2Fneutrogena-acne-stress-control-cream-wash-en.jpg&hash=a9c22999f1c9fa773c8edd073f910e33e7320c1b)
This is what I always used to use until it became harder to find in the stores by me (there's a microbead version and a cleanser liquid version they have, and those are both just terrible). This was the only thing that worked for me in high school (used by itself, no toner or lotion). I think it's made specifically for puberty pimples, so I might actually go back to it once I get on T. Smells like cucumbers, feels amazing on my face and didn't over-dry my skin using it twice a day. It's my little miracle cleanser. Everything I use now still dries my skin out a little without slouching off all the old, dead skin, but this stuff never did that to me. You still need to use an SPF face lotion with this, but that's it.
Quote from: Horizon on July 14, 2013, 08:37:40 PM
Welcome to the world of male combination skin, gents! The only thing that I found helpful was to drink water and NOTHING BUT water, all day, every day. Once I started getting around 80 FL OZ a day, my skin became clearer rapidly.
Best of luck to you! I know firsthand how much of a nightmare this can be, but I got through it in the end. I'm sure you will too!
Totally what I did my first puberty.
Ivory soap, exfoliate, I use ASAP lately after... just experimenting... and no refined sugars (or as close to it as possible) clears up my face entirely. If only I didn't have such a sweet tooth.
Crushed garlic. Slap it on the zits before you go to bed. Kills those suckers stone dead.
Well...the past two days I started developing those deep, unpop-able pimples on my face, the ones that hurt just being there. I've got like 4 right now, and they're pretty damn big...I'm not sure if my body's preparing me for the T I'm going on in like a month or what, but...sure doesn't make me look forward to this at all...
BTW, the toothpaste thing really does work. Put a dab on any pimples that are coming up and they'll be either gone or pop-able by the next morning. You don't need to put a lot, so as long as you do it like 10 minutes before bed, it'll dry and won't get all over your pillow.
Too bad that doesn't work for the type of pimples I'm getting right now...