Finasteride as acne cure?

[clinicallyhairpressed]

Well guys, I've been on finasteride two days, (I know its a pathetically small amount of time but I'm not referring to its use in hair maintenance) and my skin is great! I've been an acne sufferer for the past 6 years, since I was 12 years old, and have not had clear skin since, but since I took my first propecia tablet I've not had any new pimples appear, which is great. I'm just waiting for the pimples I had before to go and I should continue having great skin, or I hope so. Its not oily anymore, and it feels healthy and smooth.

I read on wikipedia that DHT is one of the primary causes of acne (as well as hair loss and excess body hair) in men, so this is obviously one of the more positive sides that I've not heard of before. Other than this I've had no other sides so far so I'm feeling good

Can anyone else report improved skin condition i.e. complete erradication of acne, from taking finasteride?

Thanks for any replies!

 

[KR78]

I have oily skin and after starting finasteride the oilness on my face reduce a lot.
I ahve stray pimples and finasteride is helping clearing them up......

 

[Felk]

Type 1 5ar2 is found in the skin, not type 2. Therefore taking finasteride will not help with your acne. Also (Bryan is probably tired of pointing this out) the only notes from a medical study on this was that finasteride "has no effect on sebum production"

Dutasteride should effect acne on the skin since it also inhibits type 1, however surprisingly enough Merck's specific type 1 inhibitor was found to have no effect on acne either.

However do a forum search, and you'll have lots of anecdotal reports of finasteride causing acne, or finasteride helping with acne.

 

[Skaff]

Type 1 5ar2 is found in the skin, not type 2. Therefore taking finasteride will not help with your acne.

But it still reduces serum DHT...so it could have an effect...I think.

Anyway, enough people have commented that finasteride has improved their acne for me to believe it has an effect (in some people). On the flip side, I think there's no doubt (Edit: maybe) that finasteride prematurely ages your skin...which is a b**ch.

PS.
Why are swear words bleeped out from posts? Are there bald minors lurking these forums...this is worse than American TV. Sure, give the kid a gun but god forbid the little f****r swears.

PPS.
Evidently 'f****r' is not on the database

 

[Bryan]

Type 1 5ar2 is found in the skin, not type 2. Therefore taking finasteride will not help with your acne.

But it still reduces serum DHT...so it could have an effect...I think.

Yes. At least one would think that, wouldn't one?

However, I've been pointing out for years that the simple fact that Imperto-McGinley's study (which Felk alluded to, above) showed that sebum was unaffected fy finasteride clearly demonstrates that serum DHT has much less influence on body tissues than "locally"-produced DHT. Furthermore, that is presumably counter-balanced by the small INCREASE in testosterone which would tend to fuel further DHT production within sebocytes. I think it's a wash, as demonstrated by Imperato-McGinley's clinical trial.

Anyway, enough people have commented that finasteride has improved their acne for me to believe it has an effect (in some people).

What I find hilarious is that not too long ago on another site (I believe it was HLH), a frustrated poster said something to the effect that "Bryan Shelton needs to finally admit that finasteride causes a LOT of acne in Propecia users"! I kid you not!

My standard response to either side in this argument is that over the years, I've seen people make about the same number of claims: half say that finasteride makes acne BETTER, and half say that it makes acne WORSE. I think it does neither, and any (alleged) effects on acne are probably just coincidental.

Bryan

 

[jayman33]

i have noticed a reduction in oily skin the last couple of days myself, possibly a coinsadence.

 

[iostream71]

i had really bad acne on my shoulders. it has mostly gone away as soon as i started propecia

 

[Guest]

finasteride cleared my face up 90%, and dutasteride did the rest. People may say that they can't do that, but I have the face to prove it. My body acne, like that of the previous poster's, has gone away as well.

 

[biglemoncoke]

omg, i just noticed when reading this post, my acne in my back is all gone

 

[clinicallyhairpressed]

Well, looks like its a fact then. finasteride does affect acne - to me it seems like the finasteride offers the same kind of skin control as a birth control pill for women, in that it lowers the amount of hormone which causes it.

Another thing I was wondering about finasteride, was, if it lowers DHT levels (which aren't responsible for much) and raises testosterone levels because of this (which has I primary role in maintanance of muscle and hypertrophy) is it likely that it will be easier to gain muscle mass visa weight-training? I'm going to keep an eye on my gym gains and I'l report back after a while.

If finasteride could be responsible for prevention of hairloss, acne, and increased hypertropy in correlation with weight-training, then it could quite literally be the miracle pill I've been looking for. I've seen how its affected my skin, and because of this I have higher self-esteem over the last 5 days than I have since I was a preteen. I am never coming off this pill - I figure £1 a day is worth it to feel the best I ever have - and with no sides.

 

[Skaff]

If finasteride could be responsible for prevention of hairloss, acne, and increased hypertropy in correlation with weight-training, then it could quite literally be the miracle pill I've been looking for. I've seen how its affected my skin, and because of this I have higher self-esteem over the last 5 days than I have since I was a preteen. I am never coming off this pill - I figure £1 a day is worth it to feel the best I ever have - and with no sides.

I think it can be a miracle cure for some but for others it can be a nightmare...just depends how your body reacts. Some girls find the Pill clears their skin, other say the complete opposite...same deal with finasteride, I think.

As far as adding muscle...I think it's possible (though I don't have any evidence). It's not really used by bodybuilders for this purpose...only to stop injected T for becoming DHT. So I'd say the effects are minimal. Maybe the extra estrogen counters any real benefit.

 

[MPBWarrior]

i used to have extremely oily skin before finasteride and had really bad acne on my teens. now it's all gone and skin never gets oily. coincidence? maybe, but ill go with the finasteride clearing this up... my little man however is another story!

 

[Katelynch]

Dermalmd blemish serum has helped to clear up my acne entirely. As another user suggested, I apply a pea sized drop to my entire face immediately after I cleanse. For larger spots, I will wait for my face to dry and apply a little bit more as a spot treatment. The smell is strong, but it goes away after it has been applied to my face.

 

[g.i joey]

Propecia worked wonders on my oily facial skin along with cleaning up my minor facial acne. Now if I miss more than one dose the oiliness/pimples start returning, so definitely no coincidence

 

[SaitamaSensei]

I'm not on finasteride but dutasteride helped with oily skin a lot and did some help for acne.