pimples and greasy skin on propecia

[hans]

Ive been on propecia for about 8 months and Im right in the middle of a decent shed. If it were just shedding, I woulnt be as worried because i know for treatments to work shedding is a usual occurrence. However, I've been getting signs of side effects that i would think not occur on a treatment thats suppose to suppress androgens. I'm developing a bad case of back acne and the skin on my forhead especially is getting really greasy. Am I correct to say these are the signs of someone who has high amounts of androgens circulating my body? Arent these a couple signs roid users get? Like I said, if it were just shedding id be ok. But, I am shedding and having these things happen make me feel like propecia is have an adverse affect on me. Thoughts?

 

[jimmystanley]

yeah i got acne while on propecia too

 

[docj077]

It's a sign that the sebaceous glands in your scalp and face are working overtime to convert that testosterone into DHT via type 1 alpha reductase.

In reality, it means that your drug is working, but unfortunately, the side effects are terrible.

I had the same problem for a while, so I went out and bought some paul mitchell tree tea shampoo for my scalp oil and I used green tea (any form pill, drink, etc,) for a while. Once I had that established, everything just sort of stopped and I'm only using the shampoo now. Easily one of the best shampoos I've ever used as far as really cleaning the scalp and keeping it pretty oil free for a long duration. No other shampoo has done that for me.

Those are just my recommendations, however.

 

[Guest]

i've found that the propecia has actually improved my complexion ,and removed most of what little acne I had. but the fda has nt endorsed this. i don't think it can actually worsen it in most people.

 

[nervx]

i've found that the propecia has actually improved my complexion ,and removed most of what little acne I had. but the fda has nt endorsed this. i don't think it can actually worsen it in most people.

How long have you been on propecia? I found it cleared things up at first but after a while my scalp got oily and developed some bumps.

 

[Subliminal]

I've actually found that Propecia doesn't worsen acne. It's minoxidil that turns my skin into an oily mess. IIRC, minoxidil works in part by increasing blood flow to the skin. This means sebaceous glands may also become more active as a result.

I've been on finasteride for about 5 months now. At first I started with 5% Kirkland minoxidil + finasteride combo. Found my skin getting oily and face and back breaking out a little. I stopped for a couple months. Acne went away, oily skin went away. A month ago, I started adding back in minoxidil. Again, skin got oily, face and back was breaking out. I've now stopped minoxidil, and I'm clear again.

minoxidil is absorbed systemically to some extent, so even if you only put it on your scalp, other areas of the skin will still get a dose of minoxidil.

 

[Felk]

IIRC, minoxidil works in part by increasing blood flow to the skin. This means sebaceous glands may also become more active as a result.

Damn, i hope that's not true. I hate the effect of those damn glands. Do you have any evidence backing this up?

 

[Lopfraze]

I developed acne whilst on procepia. It got to the situation that I stopped Procepia because of it. It is a very common side effect.

Any talk of Procepia reducing acne is just wishful thinking - there is absolutely no scientific to back this up.

See my story for more info:

http://www.gourmetstylewellness.com/discussions ... highlight=

 

[Guest]

i've been on it for under 2 weeks so prob too early to see . i just thought maybe that since it depresses dht and i thought tesosterone caused acne.. i dunno. i really thought somewhere that although finasteride wasn't approved for acne that it could actually help. im prob wrong though.

 

[Primex]

I thought I was gonna have bad acne too when I first started Propecia because when I was a teen, I had awful acne. I never had a clear face until I was like 19 (coincidentally that's when I started to lose my hair). But I haven't had any acne at all since I've been using Propecia except the occasional white head here and there that I've always been having since I was a teen. I hope it keeps up. I do feel greasier but that's only in the scalp and forehead from that damn Rogaine. Even when it dries my hair still feels messy until I take a shower.

 

[Subliminal]

IIRC, minoxidil works in part by increasing blood flow to the skin. This means sebaceous glands may also become more active as a result.

Damn, i hope that's not true. I hate the effect of those damn glands. Do you have any evidence backing this up?

Only thing I can find is this. It's only a hypothesis, however, since this hasn't been studied well.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/quer ... med_docsum

Regulation of the hair cycle takes place at the pilo-sebaceous unit with the sebaceous gland as a sex hormone-dependent part. Although minoxidil stimulates proliferation of follicular cells and activation of prostaglandin endoperoxide synthase-1, it was suggested that other mechanisms, such as an increase in the local blood flow, might mediate the drug effect on hair growth. If that is the case, it is possible that minoxidil counteracts some vasoconstrictive mediator of male-pattern alopecia. This hypothetical vasoconstrictive mediator X would have to meet some criteria: (I) vasoconstriction both in the general circulation and in the hair-growing skin; (II) local vasoconstrictive activity in the hair growing skin should be related to the circulating testosterone level; (III) only an increase in the local mediator X activity causes male-pattern alopecia, since hypertensive patients are not balder than expected. The sebaceous gland is a possible place of the mediator X secretion since it is a sex-hormone-dependent part of the pilo-sebaceous unit. ET-1 might be a suitable candidate for the mediator X, since male hormones raise ET-1 plasma levels and female hormones lower them. The speculation presented here is that ET-1, beside vasoconstriction in the general circulation, might also regulate the sebum secretion, by triggering contractions of the myoepithelial cells. This hypothetical mechanism would normally remain confined to the sebaceous gland. During puberty, sex hormones stimulate growth of sebaceous glands in both sexes. In women hypertrophied sebaceous glands under estrogen control would not increase its ET-1 content, while in men, testosterone would increase ET-1 secretion that might affect the neighboring arterioles. Induced vasoconstriction might reduce the hair growth and promote hair loss. If ET-1 plays the described role, then an ET-1 antagonist, i.e. bosentane, should also have some hair-growing properties.