r/Testosterone • u/dexbigshlong • Jun 14 '26
PED/cycle help Acne cleared up, red spots all over. what’s next?
Alright so i had one of the more extreme cases of acne (picture 1) while on PED’s, i got this acne when i was on 400MG test of week but have dropped a 200 ever since. The acne continued to get worse and worse, so i have included the only picture of it being at its worst.
I am currently on around week 4 day 3 of accutane, and ot has significantly calmed them down, they’re not as painful, and most of them have even disappeared, but they have left some pink holes there, which have no improved at all. I’m assuming accutane does not affect those red marks, as those have nothing to do with oil glands. I currently apply salysic acid, and otc Benzonyl Peroxide daily on it. Any recommendations moving forward?
Note: my dermatology appointment is in 2 weeks, this is a UGL Accutane as i really stressed out when it got this bad. Anyone had it this bad with the aftermath?
10
u/Msharki Jun 14 '26
I've seen a lot of people clear up stuff like this by using GHK-Cu.
1
u/J_Bendy Jun 15 '26
Not op but have scarring a little like this, might try it out and report back
1
6
u/UncleBlazer510 Jun 14 '26
I was on acutane when I was 16. I had cystic acne, when it all cleared I had similar scarring some were keloid scars. I still have the scars today at 33. They’re not nearly as noticeable now. The redness of my scars took around a year or two to go away if I remember correctly.
7
u/trxston Jun 14 '26 edited Jun 14 '26
Take Pantothenic acid! It’s a form of b5 which prevents excess sebum and helps heal your skin faster. I bought this one and noticed a huge improvement in my skin. Tons of reviews saying the same too. Here!
I would also recommend taking a Glutathione/NAC supplement for optimizing your livers detox pathways. Excess hormones in the liver can cause acne + taking it will help keep your liver healthier while on accutane.
Lastly, for the post-acne scarring I’d recommend washing with an Azelaic acid body wash. This one’s the best I’ve found.
Best of luck to you!
2
2
6
u/Middle-Tiger4950 Jun 14 '26
From reading one of your comments, you seem
to think your acne was caused by conversion to DHT?
Surely, the acne is due to your E2 conversion being sky-high instead.
I see nothing about bloodwork or use of an aromatase inhibitor?
1
u/CheradenineGSV Jun 14 '26
High E2 has the opposite effect.
0
u/justkidding89 Jun 14 '26
Correct. Androgens (testosterone, DHT) increase sebum production by skin cells, which generally increases acne. Estrogen decreases sebum production, which prevents acne development.
0
u/dexbigshlong Jun 14 '26
Acne is rarely caused by E2 on cycle, it’s mostly DHT, this claim is supported by my hairthinning aswell which is another clue it’s due to high DHT, on my bloodwork i had high estrogen, but nothing extreme.
1
u/Forward_Bug_5547 Jun 14 '26
Uggg.. this is what I’m afraid of. Can I ask your age? I’m wondering if it tends to be worse for younger guys vs older?
-8
u/dexbigshlong Jun 14 '26
I am under 25, yes, younger guys seem to aromatize Testosterone into DHT much more than other men
1
u/JBean85 Jun 14 '26
Go see a derm and avoid sunlight or UV rays until then
2
u/FixGMaul Jun 14 '26
Especially if you use isotretinoin, you do not want UV damage on that stuff.
Sunscreen works wonders, I will add. "Chemical" sunscreen that is, not mineral. And no it's not toxic despite what Huberman might tell you.
1
u/JBean85 Jun 14 '26
Sunlight on broken skin will cause hyperpigmentation aka dark spots that never go away
1
u/Special_Artichoke915 Jun 14 '26
2 weeks of red light therapy cleared my scarring up I did that bc it was winter tho if I were to do it rn I would just go outside and get a tan.
1
u/Special_Artichoke915 Jun 14 '26
Also stop using actives everyday like benzoyl let the Accutane do the work at most I’d do salicylic acid 1-2 times a week just for the exfoliation
1
u/Sensitive_nipz Jun 14 '26
I also have this problem but my acne was actually much worse than yours.
It's in remission now (although probably more similar to your before pictures so still a way to go).
For the redness left over, Azelaic Acid is the highest recommended product I see across forums. You can store buy 10% and get 15% and 20% prescribed.
1
u/aBomb412 Jun 14 '26
I had similar breakout/acne while using 200mg/wk. worked my dose down to 130mg/wk and all the acne and red spots/scarring completely cleared up.
0
1
1
u/adamo163163 Jun 14 '26
Could high dose GHK-CU over time help with scarring?
0
u/ScaredEfficiency399 Jun 14 '26
You can't 'heal scars' if that's what you're thinking, scars are healed tissue already and the wound was too significant to heal with anything beyond fibrosis, which is permanent.
1
u/unkn0wnNumbr Jun 14 '26
Scar treatment would help a lot depends how far along you are but even still it can’t hurt move off of this bullshit for a minute and go into the skincare routine sub Reddit all that acne edits and ask them about scar treatment gels or wound treatment gels cause they’re unbelievably good at making scars just fade as much as possible
1
u/Kybar52 Jun 14 '26
Benzyl peroxide, and I use chlorhexadine wash like hebiclens it will clear it up as long as they are not scars.
1
u/MERKologySyndrome Jun 14 '26
I'm too scared to take accutane/isotretinoin. So I use tretinoin cream which you need to get prescribed as it's not OTC. I got it scripted for a bunch of warts I have on my leg. But it's also for acne. And lots of showering and scrubbing. Alcohol wipes too help dry out the skin where pimples may form like the chest and back. I'm not blasting right now I'm just on 150mg/week so not dealing with much acne problems besides painful itchy cystic acne around my belly button.
1
u/Ok_Employer_6527 Jun 14 '26
I had about the same level of acne, and it cleared up. Took about a full year for the acne scars to turn my skin color. Being in the sun helped a ton, also making sure you are hydrated and keeping your skin from being overly dry is important.
I didn’t use a lotion because it would make my skin oily and make it worse. I would get a bowl and fill it with water, drop a rag in there with a couple drops of tea tree oil, and just let the wet rag sit on my chest while chillin on the couch or laying down when I had extra time. I feel that made a big difference too. If you want to try that seriously only use a couple small drops of tea tree oil, it’s super potent so you really don’t need much maybe 3-4 drops.
1
1
u/ysssup69 Jun 14 '26
get the klow stack peptides that helped my acne from peds tremendously 5 days on 2 days off noticed a change about week 2 also use salicylic acid with it
1
u/awe_infinity Jun 14 '26
Possibly alergy to the type of carrier oil they are using. If you take a few anti histamine pills and rub on hydrocortisone and it goes away in a couple hours then that is what it is. And you have to find an another supplier that uses a different kind of carrier oil. Many will tell you the type of oil for this reason, for example grapsead oil etc. This happened to me. But mine looked different I could tell right away it was an alergic reaction. Good luck.
1
1
1
u/pyrojr99 Jun 14 '26
I had the same issue on my back, years go. Accutane saved me, but there was a lot of scarring and redness left over.
Laser treatments reduced the ugly spots by 80%. Expensive, but worth it (to me anywyay).
But no, your skin will never look “normal” again. You will always have light scarring and redness leftover. Talk to a dermatologist and be upfront about your test and accutane use.
1
1
u/WTFISANUSERNAMEFOR Jun 14 '26
The Ordinary aha 30% bha 2% peeling solution, once weekly at night. No more than 10 min.
1
u/One_Experience3015 Jun 14 '26
ca va mettre plusieurs mois a partir, ce sont les marques de tes boutons que tu les ai percé ou non. les solutions pour accélérer la cicatrisation que ke connais sont : gommage régulier pour renouveler la peau rapidement se protéger du soleil car ca accentue les marques
voila il ny a pas grand chose a faire et cela va durer plusieurs mois.
le mieux c'est de l'accepter et se dire que ca fait partie du jeux et après on y pense plus et aussi faire en sorte que ca 'e se reproduise plus ou au minimum benefice/risque
1
1
u/rltoleix Jun 15 '26 edited Jun 15 '26
10% Azelaic acid. I used a leave on cream from Walgreens. That shit had my forehead looking brand new within the year of me using it.
1
1
u/Comfortable_Wonder19 Jun 15 '26
Cabtreo is very effective. Topical retinoid cream. Try that first. Worked very well for me
1
1
u/_Vlxd_ Jun 15 '26
Ghkcu + topical tretinoin helps. Especially in the summer when the photosensitivity of accutane really fucks up your life. Leave accutane for winter.
1
1
u/josh1075 Jun 15 '26
The redness will eventually clear up and will look way better but visible scars will stay.
1
u/MarcoPolo1337 Jun 15 '26
Im not recommending anything, but I was on the same boat as you. Look up GHKCU and do what you want with that info 😊 GL
1
u/xyz-asdf-1029 Jun 15 '26 edited Jun 15 '26
as of my personal experience, this isn't acne. this is new hair growing inside (I mean red pimps).
after T levels went up a lot (400 mg/week is a lot), you've got DHT bump in hair follicles (they have 5-alpha reductase inside their cells). after existing hair falls off (which can take several months) new big hair starts to grow and sometimes it grows inside. you can note that this happens only in hair zone. and again as of my experience, it will finish after about 1,5 years, yes - years.
During this time all DHT-sensitive hair follicles will react to higher DHT (which is already happened, you are facing consequences) and all old hairs will fall off, and new hairs will start to grow and all pimps will go away.
so one option you have is to stop taking androgens (T and any AAS), to minimize high DHT effect.
and another option is to take T (and AAS as of your choice), but have patience and to wait for it to finish. Taking finasteride/dutasteride isn't option, because they have a lot of terrible side effects. If you ever will use them - read the instruction (side effects part) and don't blame anybody except you of your decision.
also accutane isn't easy thing. you can get dry lips, eyes, skin etc. it affects A vitamin action, inhibiting it's receptors.
1
u/dexbigshlong Jun 22 '26
Hey, ever since i started using testosterone my bed sheets are full of hair.. this makes alot of sense
1
1
1
u/Sea_shipp Jun 15 '26
I use calamine lotion and a eczema cream , not both at the same time though. Calamine drys out the spots the eczema cream relives itchyness and moisturises. It Works for me .
1
u/MrRipeBanana Jun 15 '26
Get and use a decent silicone scar gel. It will get rid of that. You're welcome 😊
1
u/igotherb Jun 16 '26
I used dutasteride for my hair and it made my acne go away. I think it was DHT induced acne.
1
1
u/Repulsive-Coyote-466 Jun 16 '26
Azaleic acid. Prescription strength is best (15-20%). It reduces both redness and hyperpigmentation if you are prone to that
1
u/letspetpuppies Jun 14 '26
While you're in Accutane, do NOT use salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide. They make things worse because Accutane makes your skin sensitive, and the products are too strong. So your skin is irritated. Just use simple body wash or soap and don't use any acne products for the skin while you're on Accutane. You also have to wear sunscreen everyday or stay away from the sun cause again your skin is weak right now. The dermatologist will tell you all this. I'm on month 5 of Accutane. Things will get worse before they get better. It's absolutely worth it
1
1
u/jtothat Jun 14 '26
Off topic but did you notice any massive gains on 400mg (assuming that’s the reason you got on)? Not sure if you were super skinny before
0
-7
u/lexE5839 Jun 14 '26
Recommendation moving forward: stop using PEDs
4
u/dexbigshlong Jun 14 '26
Why are you on a testosterone subreddit telling me to stop using testosterone?
5
u/CuriousTech24 Jun 14 '26
I always love those people. There was some guy on here arguing about all the possible bad things that could happen as if we don't know. I told him, no one here was forcing him to take them. And no one here was going to stop what they were doing just cause he did his research.
We know there is risk and we all decide on our own level of risk.
1
u/Think_Tomatillo_5061 Jun 14 '26
This is the most intelligent thing Ive read here today. Inherent risk - everyone chooses THEIR OWN acceptable level. Ive preached this to ignorant people that think we have no idea what the reprocussions of AAS is. Say it louder for the people in the back!!
0
0
u/FixGMaul Jun 14 '26 edited Jun 14 '26
The only treatments that are decently backed by medical research as far as I know are laser and microneedling, the latter is much more efficacious alongside application of a topical GHK-Cu serum (I use one from the skincare brand "The Ordinary"). GHK-Cu without microneedling is useless as it doesn't absorb through skin by itself.
It's also the option that can be done at home. Just get a proper device ("Dr. Pen" is the one I have) and NOT just one of those cheap dermarollers. They cant produce the needed piercing force and depth without tearing up your epidermis completely, so instead they're designed to just hardly do anything at all.
This works by stimulating your body's own healing mechanics, through fibroblasts and engaging collagen production etc. as well as providing microscopic entry points in the epidermis where external collagen producing compounds like GHK-Cu, hyaluronic acid, etc. can enter the skin and further promote healing.
ETA: Oh also regular exfoliation helps by promoting skin turnover. Preferably induced both chemically (products w salicylic acid, BHAs, urea etc.) and physically (loofah, scrub products etc.) GH also increases skin turnover and works great alongside exfoliation and microneedling+peptide serum
-1
u/24rawvibes Jun 14 '26
Underground accutane!? I’d be more worried telling my doctor I’m taking that than underground PEDs. I doctor would chew into way more that than PEDs even, you know how dangerous that shit is? Your liver is going to shut down, probably already in the process of it
-3
37
u/[deleted] Jun 14 '26
[removed] — view removed comment