ACNE!  noooo!  its like the plague of teens.  how bad was it for you?

I don't remember exactly, but I don't think it was that obvious before 1 month. So 1-2 months. it's not horribly bad but it's there and it's annoying. I also developed it places I never got it before, like my cheeks and shoulders.

I've always gotten zits before T, even on my back and chest. But now it's ridiculous. I'm glad they're in more hidden places than on my face, but my God! I'm interested in at what length on T did the acne die down some.

Pre-T. I've had moderate acne since I was oh I dunno, 13.. It's turning cystic right now 
That was  the only good thing about taking estrogens, I became almost acne-free after awhile.

I'm not on T but have loads of spots anyway

before T id have maybe 3-4 pimples at a time, now i have too many to count. >_<  i have acne from the bottom of my ribs and up around my whole body.  then again, like radar said, at least its not all over my face.  i probably have like 10 on my face and maybe 100ish on my shoulders, back, and chest.

Before T: I had fairly bad facial acne

After T: Facial acne has improved drastically (but this is most likely not the T and more the fact that I've taken more of an interest in my appearance/personal hygiene since beginning transition), but the acne on my back is out of control!

I'm super worried about this! I get some acne now, not to bad. But im a pretty boy lol i think i am going to ask my doctor for a perscription the day i get my first shot. I dont want to take any chances

ugh.  2 weeks on T tomorrow and my face has gone from an occasional zit to multiple (3-4) scattered around my face (where my hands rest during class/when bored ect.)  its rather unfortunate.  I never suffered acne problems during my teen years and now its seemingly pretty annoying... There are other factors that could have contributed though.  I'm trying to rule them out and mean while am going to attempt invest in some skin care products.

Before T, 13-20: acne on cheeks, chin, forehead; on chest; back and shoulders covered with cystic acne (at least a hundred--ow).

Before T, 21-22: acne cleared up somewhat due to use of some seriously heavy-duty topical medications from my dermatologist.  After discontinuing use of creams (expensive), some acne came back, but it was mostly superficial and not of the nasty infected cystic variety.

After T: it took 3-4 months for the acne to get back to the way it was when I was age 13-20.  Started using same creams at around 6 months on T.  It's getting things under control.  A combination of the creams + doxycycl actually made me almost blemish free (the doxycycl was prescribed as a malaria prophylactic, but apparently it's also used to treat acne), but the doxy messed with my stomach too much so I won't be looking into continuing the prescription.  Since stopping it, the acne has made a bit of a comeback.

Pre-T I never had it, I had one spot when I came on that was about it. NOW though they are all plagued over my face at the moment.. its like an invasion. It gets worse with shaving I find.. I really hate it... I've never had it and now I hate it!   

Jay

I fear the acne. Hopefully I don't get it too bad. Right now I have really clear skin, always have. Usually there is only a pimple or two at a time or none whatsoever. Most pop up on my shoulder back area so no one ever sees them even when they do appear.
I tend to get really busy and stressed, so I rub my shoulders. That's why most of them decide to show up there.
When I go on T I wonder if I will have it really bad or just have a little more since I've never had it horrible. Guess I'll have to find out.

I never had a lot of ache pre-T, and thought I was doing ok on T with only minor ache, then after about 3-4 months I started to get heaps, espically up along the side of my neck and face. Nothing too major but enough to take cream for. It's cleared up for the most part now, so Ill see how it goes

As a teenage boy, I remember being on accutane, and laying in the dermatologist's office having my whole back lanced with special chemicals, several months in a row before giving up and suffering.


You poor dudes are in for a treat. 

Quote from: Jay on September 18, 2009, 02:33:09 AM
...It gets worse with shaving I find...

same here.  but only if i shave using an actual razor.  its fine if i use an electric shaver.

I only got the occasional zit when I was a teenager, and then my chin and back started breaking out pretty badly when I was in my early 20's.  The only thing that helped was ortho cyclene.  It started coming back shortly after I started T, though that probably had as much to do with having been off the female hormones for a few months, as with starting the testosterone.  I'd say it started getting bad around a month in, and really bad at about 3 months, especially in my beard area.  Now, at nearly 5 month, it seems to be getting a little better.  I'm not sure, however, how much of that is my body getting used to the T, how much is my shaving technique improving, and how much is the tetracyclene that my doctor prescribed me finally kicking in and working.

I know what's causing alot of my problem- my binder. I have more zits on my chest, across the shoulders and on my back. Since the summers here are so hot and humid I sweat alot and the zits seem to follow the top of the binder. I'm hoping when cooler weather comes and I sweat less the zits will die down some.

I've done some research on home remedies for acne and found a few things. As well as using the acne pads I'm also taking zinc and B vitamins. Supposedly that helps. There's no improvement yet but I've only been taking it for a week. I'm curious- any guys out there who have found a home remedy that worked for them? I don't want to have to go to a doctor just for stupid zits. 

not really a home remedy, but a cheap one.  walgreens brand acne gel/cream with benzoyl peroxide.  i say walgreens brand because its 4x cheaper and has the same active ingredient as the name brand stuff.  im sure other pharmacies will have their offbrand version too.

it started to clear up my acne in about 3 days, but i wasnt very diligent, then i somehow managed to lose it so it all came back. >_<

Thanks Josh, I'll try that out.

I definitely developed more pimples and got them in places that I didn't before T (rest of body for instance) but it never got to a stage I'd call 'acne'. So, I couldn't really vote on the poll.