Acne and sex

[bcachot]

Ive had acne ever since I was 12. The only change is that it moved off my face after my teen years and onto my chest and arms. Since Ive been on HRT its become worse and has started appearing on my legs as well. At any given time I dont have many puss filled lesions but the problem is that it literally takes months for a mark to fully heal so Im always covered with hundreds of red marks. I am working on it with daily exfoliation and topical retinoids. It has helped but its a slow process and I dont know if there is going to be any long term benefit.

Anyway thats just some background. One correlation that I am certain of is that the number of breakouts I get is closely linked with how much sex I have. If I abstain for several weeks then things clear up markedly however a weekend of bonking always leads to a flare-up. No doubt there is some hormonal trigger to this, but what in particular and how to deal with it is beyond me.

 

[BigRagu]

How long have u been on hrt? because usually take a few months depending on the person for all your hormones to start to lvl out and your body to get used to it...... i had bad breakouts for months after starting but it slowly died out............

 

[bcachot]

How long have u been on hrt? because usually take a few months depending on the person for all your hormones to start to lvl out and your body to get used to it...... i had bad breakouts for months after starting but it slowly died out............

Over a year, but I've had the acne issue all my life since puberty so somehow I am particularly susceptible.

 

[RitchieC]

I have also had acne since i was a teen - i'm 40 now. Still on my face, a little bit on chest/shoulders. Tried accutane (worked, acne came back though), various antibiotics (some degree of success), retin-a, differin gel.

Then I discovered higher concentration alpha and (especially) beta-hydroxy acids. Salicylic acid in particular. The OTC things are 2%. If I do regular exfoliations with high % skin wash (like 10% or 15%), it stays remarkably under control

Took me a while to get it right, as it can burn the skin if you're not careful.

I put 4-5 drops of the stuff on a Clearasil 2% salicylic Acid pad and put it on my face, shoulders and chest.

I do that once a week or so. Sometimes my face will peel a bit. But it does wonders for the acne, and reduces fine wrinkles as well.

USE WITH CARE. The stuff stings a bit. Start with a small area and test it for a week or two.

In between treatments, i just use the OTC 2% pads after i shower and before bed.

Works wonders for me. SKin looks better than it *ever* has.

 

[bcachot]

Thanks for that it sounds promising. I don't think high % solutions are really available here. I might just have to order it from a chemical company and figure out my own dilutions.

 

[RitchieC]

try glycolicsolutions.com or platinumskincare.com

 

[RitchieC]

try glycolicsolutions.com or platinumskincare.com

Oh, it may sound expensive, but an ounce or 2 of the solution goes a LONG way when you're using 10-15 drops a week on a clearasil pad

Oh, use a sunscreen if you use this stuff on your face. make sure it's a "non-comedogenic" one - go for neutrogena.

 

[Glaim]

I strongly believe benzoyl peroxide is one of the best acne treatments out there--people just don't use it correctly. It's been as effective as accutane for my skin.


www.acne.org has a good regimen.

 

[bcachot]

I strongly believe benzoyl peroxide is one of the best acne treatments out there--people just don't use it correctly. It's been as effective as accutane for my skin.


www.acne.org has a good regimen.

Seems to do wonders for clearing up breakouts, but I've found it has virtually no effect on comedones. My skin is full of them them, and as soon as you take the BP away, they start turning into zits again one by one. It's just absolute bastard skin. Extremely oily, dry and slow to heal, and with the whole thing sensitive to ejaculation. Retinoids, hydroxy acids and the sun are my last resorts.

 

[RitchieC]

BP didn't do all that much for me, unless i used so much of it that my skin dried out and flaked off. But the high concentration salicylic and glycolic acids have done wonders. I "spot treat" the occasional nasty zit with sulfur - leave it on at night.

 

[bcachot]

Thanks RC

I had a look at glycolicsolutions.com. Quite a few things to choose from. Would u recommend glycolic or salicylic? Some of these solutions go up to 60% but you only really spoke about 10-15%. Do you think it's possible/practical to go for the more concentrated stuff and dilute to save some cash? If there are some things in particular you want to recommend on that site, I'm all ears.

 

[RitchieC]

try the salicylic acid. it's better for acne. buy a small bottle first. Put a few drops on a clearasil pad. Test it out on a SMALL part of your skin. Wait 4-5 days. You'll need to learn how your skin reacts to this stuff. This stuff is not a toy. You can actually burn your skin with this stuff (don't worry, you'll look like shit for a few days, peel a lot, and recover).

For example, I can practically pour the stuff on my forehead, but have to be careful on my cheeks or I end up looking like something out of a horror flick for 3 days because of the redness and peeling. It would suck if you did that to your whole face and ended up looking like freak for days on end.

FYI, although the glycolic solutions salicylic acid is a lower concentration, i find that it is stronger/harsher than the higher concentration found at platinum skin care. I think platinum buffers their acids to make it less likely that you'll burn yourself and walk around with red blotches for a few days. I get more peeling with gycolic solutions.com, but more redness too. I get less visible peeling and redness with the higher concentration from platinum, but it seems to work just as well for me. Go figure.