[quote]KSTA500 wrote:
Couple of suggestions that have worked for me.
This may seem like over kill but it has worked as a good preventative and reactive solution to bad acne.[/quote]
I’d add, as my personal favorite: bodyshop foaming tea tree wash.
[quote]buddaboy wrote:
20mg a day of accutane for 40 days and acne hasn’t come back since…[/quote]
Interesting. I took accutane in high school and it did a very good job. This was after trying pretty much everything else as well. I’m glad to read it didn’t come back for you even on gear, I was wondering about that. The reason I thought it might was because I do occasionally get a very small pimple here and there, but nothing really…do you ever still get the occasional one?
Having said that…I developed ulcerative coltis from the use of accutane so that kind of sucks lol. For that reason I can’t really recommend it. The antibiotic I took (solodyn) worked too actually before accutane, but I didn’t want to be taking an antibiotic for life and was convinced by someone it was the reason for lack of gains.
I’ll vouch for accutane as well, I did a cycle of it when I was 15 and was acne-free for years. It did come back in my early 20’s, not nearly as bad, which the doc mentioned as a possibility (the younger you take it, the more likely a “relapse” is). But it is normally a permanent solution–it actually shrinks your oil glands.
My first cycle was 40mg per day I believe, since then the normal dosage is lower (10-20). Side effects were definitely uncomfortable the first time–acne got worse before it improved, lips and skin were constantly dry (I never use chapstick or lotion but I relied on it then.) You really want to limit your sun exposure and use lots of sunscreen, you’ll burn easily.
Second cycle at the lower dosage was quite mild, I took it for 6 weeks. Acne was totally gone until I started TRT, but it’s been mild enough since (occasional few zits on two spots on my face) and it’s well-controlled with daily use of a salycilic acid scrub, so I don’t intend to take it again for now.
It is definitely harsh stuff, have your liver values checked before you start and don’t even THINK about taking it on cycle or during PCT. There may be an association with Crohn’s and IBS. That said, I don’t believe taking antibiotics long-term for a cosmetic condition is at all wise. Better to take something harsher, for a short period of time. Recommend going through a dermatologist and being properly monitored, rather than sourcing it yourself.
So I took the Minocycline for about a month and at first it seemed to be helping along with daily scrubbing and going to a tanning bed a few days a week. After a few weeks the back acne would flare up again unfortunately. I decided to take a few weeks off of everything including my weekly 100mg of test cyp for low testosterone.
Well, its been three weeks now and I’m still getting back acne flair ups. I thought the test cyp should be out of my system by now. I have no idea what’s going on? My only guess is that my hormones are still out of balance thus causing the acne. At this point I am planning on starting up my Test cyp again as TRT is basically for life for those of us with low T.
From all my research I think the key is figuring out how to maintain a balanced level of hormones in our body. Once something gets out of whack I think that’s when the acne flair ups occur.
Are you using an AI with your TRT?
ALso, excessive scrubbing will inflame the skin exacerbating the problem. Similar effect with tanning. The tanning will intially dry out the skin but your body isnt stupid, it will compensate for the drying by producing excess oil. It happens to a lot of people that go tanning; their skin clears up immediately after tanning but within days the blemishes return. A non-pore-clogging moisturizer is better than tanning, as counterintuitive as it may sound.
[quote]BONEZ217 wrote:
Are you using an AI with your TRT?
[/quote]
Is this typically recommended?
[quote]David1991 wrote:
[quote]BONEZ217 wrote:
Are you using an AI with your TRT?
[/quote]
Is this typically recommended?[/quote]
I do use an AI while on TRT. Ya, I think maybe scrubbing the back may make it worse, maybe it spreads the bacteria around. I guess my main question is why after 3 weeks off the Test I’m still breaking out. I figured the Test should be out of my system by now.
I’m on TRT and recently switched from Androgel to shots. I’m taking a smaller dose of injectable test but have developed a moderate amount of acne on my shoulders and flanks. I had no acne while on the gel so I decided to apply a single pump of gel once a day to my shoulders in addition to my regular protocol. Within a day the acne appeared to be drying up and after four days I have virtually no acne and absolutely no new zits/pimples. I had a couple bottles left over from when I switched over to the shots. I can only assume the alcohol in the Androgel is helping with the acne. Not sure how to deal with this after I run out.