What I wish I knew about acne when I was younger

[Jin23]

No need to load anything or take that long, just take 20mg for 6 weeks and it's enough for a mild steroid acne.

No. There is a need to load. Isotretinoin takes time to have an effect. Your cycle will be half over before it kicks in.

 

[lukiss96]

No. There is a need to load. Isotretinoin takes time to have an effect. Your cycle will be half over before it kicks in.

Steroids take time to work too.

For me 2 weeks and my acne starts to clear by week 3 it's gone and after 4 no acne for a long time. I stop here usually and if it comes back then it's after I fluctuate too much with protocols or take dbol.

 

[Jin23]

Steroids take time to work too.

For me 2 weeks and my acne starts to clear by week 3 it's gone and after 4 no acne for a long time. I stop here usually and if it comes back then it's after I fluctuate too much with protocols or take dbol.

I remember, about 5 years back or so, I used 1ad, that chit gave me crazy acne on the shoulders and upper arms. Started taking isotretinoin and it didn't do chit and I stopped the 1ad before it could have helped.

It's not just me making this up. It was mentioned in this thread also and it's kinda your standard accutane timeline; it gets worse before it gets better and that is more then 3 weeks time.

In any case, nuff said ...

 

[hometeam]

I’ll be damned if my skin ain’t oily as hell again at 42.

Oily skin isn't necessarily a bad thing. People with oily skin actually age slower. It can give you a "dewy" look. Some people, especially those with dry skin, apply oils to their face such as jojoba oil and squalane oil to improve their skin. Those who take hot showers and strip the oil from their skin have been shown to age faster. But it can definitely get to the point of being too much and too greasy. I'm just saying you don't want to dry your skin out too much if the oil isn't causing any problems.

And don't overlook the niacinamide and topical retinoids. The Ordinary 10% niacinamide serum will definately decrease oil production and shrink pore size, it's an anti-inflammatory and moisturizer too. Many people use topical tretinoin 0.05% for anti-aging alone but it will normalize oil/keratin production and fight acne - as well as increase collagen, brighten skin, and reduce wrinkles.

Here's a good video on topical retinoids by a couple of dermatologists:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grxmyM7EuDk

 

[ruxin32424]

This is legit one of the more informative posts on here in the past 6 months. Well done OP

 

[Country Club Hero]

Oily skin isn't necessarily a bad thing. People with oily skin actually age slower. It can give you a "dewy" look. Some people, especially those with dry skin, apply oils to their face such as jojoba oil and squalane oil to improve their skin. Those who take hot showers and strip the oil from their skin have been shown to age faster. But it can definitely get to the point of being too much and too greasy. I'm just saying you don't want to dry your skin out too much if the oil isn't causing any problems.

And don't overlook the niacinamide and topical retinoids. The Ordinary 10% niacinamide serum will definately decrease oil production and shrink pore size, it's an anti-inflammatory and moisturizer too. Many people use topical tretinoin 0.05% for anti-aging alone but it will normalize oil/keratin production and fight acne - as well as increase collagen, brighten skin, and reduce wrinkles.

Here's a good video on topical retinoids by a couple of dermatologists:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grxmyM7EuDk

I know what you mean but I’m talking about significantly oily. Not mild or minor.

 

[hometeam]

I know what you mean but I’m talking about significantly oily. Not mild or minor.

Well I have the same problem and am about your age... currently taking 200mg test per week and am oily like a teenager again. Not dripping oily but in the summer sun it's noticeable. Was on accutane as a teenager and that dried up my skin mostly but not so much when on AAS.

I started using tazarotene mostly because (like retin-a) it has anti-aging properties, I'm over 40 and don't want to look my age. I also get a few zits now and then, which it prevents. I actually started with adapalene because it's OTC and that acclimated me to retinoids before using the harsher tazarotene. A tube of tazarotene in a US pharmacy runs at least $125 but in an overseas pharmacy is just $8. I just ordered a pack of 6 tubes and doubted customs would bother over face cream that isn't a scheduled drug.

Now my skin is almost too dry, especially when using salicylic acid and glycolic acid. SA cleans out and shrinks the pores. Glycolic acid boosts collagen, reduces scars, smooths texture. I have some niacinamide in the mix too. All are drying stuff. Now I need to moisturize, even now in the summer, or it gets too dry. I've thought about adding squalane oil for when I've overdone it on the acids.

Here's a video on tazarotene:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOulH28CU3E

 

[Country Club Hero]

Well I have the same problem and am about your age... currently taking 200mg test per week and am oily like a teenager again. Not dripping oily but in the summer sun it's noticeable. Was on accutane as a teenager and that dried up my skin mostly but not so much when on AAS.

I started using tazarotene mostly because (like retin-a) it has anti-aging properties, I'm over 40 and don't want to look my age. I also get a few zits now and then, which it prevents. I actually started with adapalene because it's OTC and that acclimated me to retinoids before using the harsher tazarotene. A tube of tazarotene in a US pharmacy runs at least $125 but in an overseas pharmacy is just $8. I just ordered a pack of 6 tubes and doubted customs would bother over face cream that isn't a scheduled drug.

Now my skin is almost too dry, especially when using salicylic acid and glycolic acid. SA cleans out and shrinks the pores. Glycolic acid boosts collagen, reduces scars, smooths texture. I have some niacinamide in the mix too. All are drying stuff. Now I need to moisturize, even now in the summer, or it gets too dry. I've thought about adding squalane oil for when I've overdone it on the acids.

Here's a video on tazarotene:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOulH28CU3E

It’s a curse, man. I can’t even look at Proviron. It turns on the oil ducts to max production.

So what is the exact topical combination that has dried you out? And is it necessary to apply twice a day? Does the oil flow if you don’t apply it one day? I’m intrigued because I thought the harsh accutane was the only path to dryness.

 

[hometeam]

It’s a curse, man. I can’t even look at Proviron. It turns on the oil ducts to max production.

So what is the exact topical combination that has dried you out? And is it necessary to apply twice a day? Does the oil flow if you don’t apply it one day? I’m intrigued because I thought the harsh accutane was the only path to dryness.

The advantage accutane has is it's usually permanent. Topicals are not. My understanding is upon stopping the topical retinoid your skin would start to go back to normal after about a month. But I'd like to use topical retinoids daily anyway for the foreseeable future just because of the anti-aging benefits. Maybe if I was married I wouldn't bother though.

I use a 2% SA wash, and only wash my skin once a day. Now you can wash twice a day, but the derms and esthicians I've listened to say they prefer to wash their own face once and wash it very well. Every other day I apply 7% glycolic acid toner before the wash, and sometimes my skin dries out too much from that and gets dull and flakey so then I need to stop that for a couple days.

Then apply the tazarotene once a day after washing. Then a moisturizer with a little niacinamide serum boost to it. And that's all I really do... a wash (sometimes with a toner beforehand), tazarotene, and a moisturizer once a day.

But 0.5% tretinoin works about as well as the tazarotene for anti-aging and acne (and isn't as harsh) you just can't put in on in the daytime or use benzoyl peroxide with it because it's not as stable.

And you do kind of need to acclimate your skin to the retinoids - I went with OTC adapalene for awhile, then used a tube of 0.5% tazarotene, then 1% tazarotene, then added glycolic acid. At each step my skin needed at least a few weeks to adapt. They call it retinization. If you jump straight to the strongest thing you'll have a pretty rough first month while your skin freaks out. You could probably similarly start out with 0.25% tretinoin then 0.5% without bothering with adapalene.

 

[Country Club Hero]

The advantage accutane has is it's usually permanent. Topicals are not. My understanding is upon stopping the topical retinoid your skin would start to go back to normal after about a month. But I'd like to use topical retinoids daily anyway for the foreseeable future just because of the anti-aging benefits. Maybe if I was married I wouldn't bother though.

I use a 2% SA wash, and only wash my skin once a day. Now you can wash twice a day, but the derms and esthicians I've listened to say they prefer to wash their own face once and wash it very well. Every other day I apply 7% glycolic acid toner before the wash, and sometimes my skin dries out too much from that and gets dull and flakey so then I need to stop that for a couple days.

Then apply the tazarotene once a day after washing. Then a moisturizer with a little niacinamide serum boost to it. And that's all I really do... a wash (sometimes with a toner beforehand), tazarotene, and a moisturizer once a day.

But 0.5% tretinoin works about as well as the tazarotene for anti-aging and acne (and isn't as harsh) you just can't put in on in the daytime or use benzoyl peroxide with it because it's not as stable.

And you do kind of need to acclimate your skin to the retinoids - I went with OTC adapalene for awhile, then used a tube of 0.5% tazarotene, then 1% tazarotene, then added glycolic acid. At each step my skin needed at least a few weeks to adapt. They call it retinization. If you jump straight to the strongest thing you'll have a pretty rough first month while your skin freaks out. You could probably similarly start out with 0.25% tretinoin then 0.5% without bothering with adapalene.

Thanks for that. I may give this a try. Or a modified version.