the AAS and acne thread

[sam1976 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close sam1976]

AAS, amazing as they can be, do come with downfalls and negative side effects. we can avoid many side effects by using reasonable doses and avioding drugs that we know will personally cause us problems. when it comes to acne, some of us are more prone to issues than others. how we treat our skin can play a huge role in the amount of acne a prone user may get. if you have suffered from ance, and found a fix, please feel free to post up what has worked for you.

i am personally, very prone to acne. at different times, it has effected my back, chest, shoulders, and worst yet, my face. years ago, i used accutane. it was hands down the best thing for serere acne. there are many possible issues though, and you should see an MD is you consider going that route.
i've also used retin a, a topicl retinoid, which works simliar to accutane, in that it speeds up the turn over of skin cells to speed up recovery. i found that it irritated my skin and ended up causing more harm than good.

the next best thing i've found, which wont work forever, is the antibiotic bactrim. it seems to work on the perticular acne infection that i get. others may find that another antibiotic works for them. the drawback is...well, you're taking an antibiotic, and i believe in saving them for serious issues, so that they work when you need them. plus, over time, they may become less effective on your acne infection.

besides prescription meds, regular antibacterial dial soap is what i use in the shower. i try to shower twice a day and use fresh towls. the dial bar soap has helped a lot. for my face, i use a generic version of proactive. i change my sheets and pillow cases almost daily. i tan from time to time and this helps dry the skin a little. keep in mind that sun exposure may hide acne, but it can also lead to further scaring, so use moderation if your skin isn't clear. also, i drink lots of water.

what do you have to add to this???

[Great8 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Great8]

The only thing that I could add to what has already been said, as I am myself someone who suffers from acne before I began using AAS, pick up a facial scrub and use it when you shower. Part of the problem with breakouts is dead skin. I get the cheap generic kind that runs maybe 3$ a tube. Use it on areas where breakouts occur. Also, try to avoid picking / popping pimples unless you have showered and cleaned your hands.

A shower 2-3 times a day can be your friend big time. When you are done showering, before you cut the water off run the cold water over yourself this will close the pores on your skin up also.

I have yet to use medications but I do supplement with extra vitamin E and I feel it has helped my skin.

[sam1976 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close sam1976]

good point about the scrub. i use an exfoliating brush in the shower.

[PushinWeight Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close PushinWeight]

man, where to start... ive done it all. i agree with accutane being the most beneficial. but i dont have insurance so i self diagnosed my issue and decided to get isotretinion from a research site. it worked GREAT, and it worked very fast at only 30 mg a day. but i took a cruise and wasnt sure what customs would think of me carrying a bottle of research iso. so i ran out about a week before the cruise and decided to wait til i got back to get more. but during that break i started having back pains that i assumed to be from the iso(my kidneys), so i didnt get anymore and the problem slowly came back. so this time i bit the bullet and went to the derm. i really lucked out bc she only charged me $44, and she gave me a prescription for doxycycline and a benzo peroxide foaming shower wash. i went to publix and they fill antibiotic prescriptions for free! but the benzo wash was $65 so i said f it. ive been on the doxy for just under 2 months right now and im clear for the first time in years. i actually have 1 zit at the current moment, its right in the middle of my back and im sure itll be gone in a day or 2. but if i could only give 1 piece of advise to anyone who needs help, its GET HELP NOW! without insurance i kept putting it off, and now my back is all scarred up

[Jelly bean Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Jelly bean]

Thanks for the thread Sam I look forward to seeing some new ideas in battling the war on acne. I have used panoxly soap and it helps but I will still get "all at once" breakouts that always take time to heal. On other boards I have heard that adding a b5 sup will assist in the battle. One other thing that I have not tried but I was curious about was 25% baking soda to 75% pomolive dish soap, sounds funny but a member from another board swears it works great for him. I would really love for all members to get involved in this thread and share ideas.

[PushinWeight Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close PushinWeight]

more ideas i ran across during my battle...

epsom baths
sweat it out in sauna
benzo soaps
salicylic acid soaps

and the craziest one that actually works wonders(as long as the acne is the little ones on top of the skin, not for cystic) is mitchum non scented roll on deodorant, just roll it on before you go to bed and wear a undershirt or something so it doesnt get on the bed


another point that should be mentioned is your skin has a natural balance of bacteria and yeast on it. if you kill for the bacteria too much, this can allow the yeast to take over. a yeast infection of the skin can cause the same things, little white heads and redness. if this occurs, you can kill off the yeast with nizoral shampoo. and the way to tell the difference in bacterial and yeast infections are the smells. yeast infection smells 100x worse.

[sam1976 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close sam1976]

good stuff, pushinweight. i have also found some results with epson salts...oh and sea salt as well. i kad heard that nizoral could be beneficial, but wasn't sure how. thats some interesting stuff. i actually just got a script for it that i'm using in my new quest to save my hair.

[Jelly bean Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Jelly bean]

good stuff, pushinweight. i have also found some results with epson salts...oh and sea salt as well. i kad heard that nizoral could be beneficial, but wasn't sure how. thats some interesting stuff. i actually just got a script for it that i'm using in my new quest to save my hair.

Nizoral? Is that like a DHT blocker or something?

[BACKAGAIN Member Find all posts View Profile Close BACKAGAIN]

10,000 to 50,000 mg of vitamin A he;ps a lot. Thanks for all the other ideas guys.

[PushinWeight Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close PushinWeight]

Nizoral? Is that like a DHT blocker or something?

in a way, nizoral contains ketoconazole which has been shown to lower dht levels, but only for topical applications. this is how it is used to slow the loss of hair from high dht levels and male pattern baldness. here is an alittle info about it pulled straight from promed health...

"Ketoconazole is used to treat fungal infections. Ketoconazole is most often used to treat fungal infections that can spread to different parts of the body through the bloodstream such as yeast infections of the mouth, skin, urinary tract, and blood, and certain fungal infections that begin on the skin or in the lungs and can spread through the body. Ketoconazole is also used to treat fungal infections of the skin or nails that cannot be treated with other medications. Ketoconazole is in a class of antifungals called imidazoles. It works by slowing the growth of fungi that cause infection."

[coach5 Member Find all posts View Profile Close coach5]

Nioxin shampoo and conditioner works well too.....I've used it since day 1 till now and not only do I have no hair loss, but it grows faster and thicker now too.

[johnwayne Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close johnwayne]

Duac topical Gel from a dermatologist works amazingly for me, until i run out of it, like i just did a few days ago. sigh

[sam1976 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close sam1976]

good stuff guys. thanks for all the feedback!

[coach5 Member Find all posts View Profile Close coach5]

Ok guys....I can tell you this much....I didn't really have any breakouts during my cycle, but now that I am 18 days since my last pin...WHOA!!! My forehead around my hairline, my chest, my shoulders, my back, and the back of my legs are breaking out more and more on a daily basis...Looks like it's time to start the epsom salt baths again.

[PushinWeight Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close PushinWeight]

thats what happened to me coach, i did 2 or 3 cycles i didnt get ANY acne, then going thru my pct after a few cycles i broke out pretty bad on my shoulders and back. ive been fighting it for like a yr now. talk to a derm asap, they prob wont charge you that much and they will get it under control before it gets any worse and starts scarring you. i started getting bigger deeper acne so i finally bit the bullet on the derm. bc of the size and pain of them, i started wondering if maybe i hadnt picked up alittle staph. they said the visit would cost $50-$150 depending on what the dr had to do. she told me to take of my shirt, she took a 2 minute look at my back and said its common acne, and wrote a script. they only charged me $44 bc it was such an easy diagnosis. the script is 3 months long and antibiotics are free at publix. if i know it was going to be that cheap i wouldve addressed it before i got my first scar