Finasteride for acne

[Gainsi]

Been reading about Finasteride being a 5 alpha reductase inhibitor. It acts by reducing the total DHT in the body by 50%. I have Pharmaceutical Grade from France. I want to use it for acne while on cycle. I've read and heard many people including sports doctors recommending it for bodybuilding purposes saying it could clear up acne within days. Anyone? I am thinking of using it at 1mg per day as a starting dose and keeping it there. I've also heard of Dutasteride which reduces total DHT by over 90%. I know that testosterone in the body converts into dihydrotestosterone. And DHT is responsible with everything related to male characteristics; body hair, balding, deepening of the voice, oily skin, acne, agression, etc. Also heard that it's the hormone responsible for muscle hardening. I know that DHT reduces estrogen and that we also need it in the body, so sticking to the less potent one would be the better idea. But would love to hear opinions

[equipoise]

Been reading about Finasteride being a 5 alpha reductase inhibitor. It acts by reducing the total DHT in the body by 50%. I have Pharmaceutical Grade from France. I want to use it for acne while on cycle. I've read and heard many people including sports doctors recommending it for bodybuilding purposes saying it could clear up acne within days. Anyone? I am thinking of using it at 1mg per day as a starting dose and keeping it there. I've also heard of Dutasteride which reduces total DHT by over 90%. I know that testosterone in the body converts into dihydrotestosterone. And DHT is responsible with everything related to male characteristics; body hair, balding, deepening of the voice, oily skin, acne, agression, etc. Also heard that it's the hormone responsible for muscle hardening. I know that DHT reduces estrogen and that we also need it in the body, so sticking to the less potent one would be the better idea. But would love to hear opinions

is your acne caused by high DHT or estro? I've experimented with fina before and found that it actually gave me a bit more acne. Not sure if bro science or whatever but I read somewhere that by inhibiting conversion to DHT more gets converted to estro instead?

Also the strength effects of test come from the higher DHT levels. Also the "hard" androgenic look

I think DHT is also important for helping to prevent gyno, if you reduce it too much compared to estro levels might get gyno

FWIW i remember my dad saying he used fina awhile ago and his skin is still shitty, so there you go lol

[threetrees]

Dutasteride inhibits all three isoforms of 5α-reductase, types I, II, and III, whereas finasteride only inhibits types II and III,[2] and has a much shorter half-life.

i think finasteride is useless for acne because of above mentioned quote. I've used dutasteride and it removes acne 100% and gives smooth skin but I've lost muscle hardness. I've also used a low dose AI to combat the raise of estrogen.

[threetrees]

Saw palmetto had almost the same effect on my acne than dutasteride. Might try that one

[equipoise]

i think finasteride is useless for acne because of above mentioned quote. I've used dutasteride and it removes acne 100% and gives smooth skin but I've lost muscle hardness. I've also used a low dose AI to combat the raise of estrogen.

yeah the problem is that the smooth skin you get is not a masculine acne-free look, it's a feminine smooth skin look, which is why I like DHT. Would rather have little bit of acne but look more masculine than to have smooth skin but have feminine look

[Gainsi]

Isnt saw palmetto to prevent prostate cancer? And smooth skin is what we need. Why would you want bad skin lmao, I've had severe acne in the past, and i wish to have that nice smooth clean skin bodybuilders with blessed genetics have. Looks 100x  better when they use gh as well. Cycles become hard to enjoy when you are concentrated on controlling your acne 95% of the time. I want nice muscles; and i also want to have nice skin. Not down to see a woman freak out after taking my shirt off and having to sit down and explain her that it's not an ebola outbreak

[threetrees]

Isnt saw palmetto to prevent prostate cancer? And smooth skin is what we need. Why would you want bad skin lmao, I've had severe acne in the past, and i wish to have that nice smooth clean skin bodybuilders with blessed genetics have. Looks 100x  better when they use gh as well. Cycles become hard to enjoy when you are concentrated on controlling your acne 95% of the time. I want nice muscles; and i also want to have nice skin. Not down to see a woman freak out after taking my shirt off and having to sit down and explain her that it's not an ebola outbreak

DHT is causing prostata cancer.Saw palmetto is a 5 alpha reductase inhibitor so is dutasteride and so is finasteride. Thus saw palmetto is there to prevent postate cancer, so is dutasteride and so is finasteride. Mostly DHT is the main cause for acne in my opinion, estrogen comes second.

All three drugs will help u with that. But keep in mind that you supposedly should stay away from deca and npp and probably Tren (I'm unsure about that; I scoured the web for months on a precise answer on Tren and DHT inhibitors and there are as many yes-sayers as no-sayers.)

honestly i've tried both dutasteride (e4d after i reached steady blood levels) and saw palmetto (ed dosage) and they had almost the same effect on my skin (dutasteride was slightly better). I think saw palmetto should not be sold OTC. In my opinion it is almost on par with Dutasteride in keeping a nice skin thus being as strong i guess.

hope this helps

[threetrees]

I think finasteride doesn't work with acne because as said before it doesn't block all types of DHT

Dutasteride inhibits all three isoforms of 5α-reductase, types I, II, and III, whereas finasteride only inhibits types II and III,[2] and has a much shorter half-life.

But if you're talking about keeping your hair i guess Dutasteride>Finasteride>Saw Palmetto (supposedly ineffective in the scalpp, i don't understand the science behind this since i have no acne)

I have never tried finasteride against acne. You might wanna try it and give us a feedback

[threetrees]

the effect on acne is pretty fast noticeable. I think it was less than a week for me on a daily dose of 0.5mg dutasteride. So you should see pretty much the same with finasteride if it works.

[Gainsi]

Apart from a genetic stand point, in general, why does DHT affect some people more than others? Do some people just convert testosterone into dht more excessively than others (if excessive dht is even a term i could use since we shoot in aas for one of those reasons)?

I feel like targeting the primary source that is causing my side effect is one way to get at it. However, i feel it will help alot, but will not entirely resolve the problem the way i want to. I feel like accutane is always the best since it targets directly the oil glands and renders them inactive thus the skin being incapable to clog anymore.

Sucks that I can't use accutane yet, because i have bad skin scars that are currently getting treated. And i am literally paying thousands to get them fixed. Accutane hinders healing by a good 90-95% because the skin becomes extremely dry on it and cannot regenerate in such a dry environment.

I hope finasteride will finally be the cure i was looking for all those years and will help resolve this acne disaster i have been dealing with. Dutasteride seems a bit far fetched IMO. You need some DHT in you to function properly and to keep your manhood and that steroids grainy look

[threetrees]

Apart from a genetic stand point, in general, why does DHT affect some people more than others? Do some people just convert testosterone into dht more excessively than others (if excessive dht is even a term i could use since we shoot in aas for one of those reasons)?

I don't know man and I 'suffer' since I'm 14 from acne. You can't tell because i fought it early on but it doesn't subside. I don't have excessive DHT and still produce much acne if not treated. It's something else. maybe an abundance of glands. I don't know. Science hasn't quite got their fingers on acne either.

I feel like targeting the primary source that is causing my side effect is one way to get at it. However, i feel it will help alot, but will not entirely resolve the problem the way i want to. I feel like accutane is always the best since it targets directly the oil glands and renders them inactive thus the skin being incapable to clog anymore.

i did accutane 3 courses. First one~8months, second ~12 months, third i dunno several years. I considered the last one as a lifelong commitment. Didn't have much sideffects besides dry lips and really reduced the dose to the minimum. I'm not on it anymore

Sucks that I can't use accutane yet, because i have bad skin scars that are currently getting treated. And i am literally paying thousands to get them fixed. Accutane hinders healing by a good 90-95% because the skin becomes extremely dry on it and cannot regenerate in such a dry environment.

The delayed or reduced healing while on accutane is the biggest issue with accutane hands down. If you plan to take it long.

I hope finasteride will finally be the cure i was looking for all those years and will help resolve this acne disaster i have been dealing with. Dutasteride seems a bit far fetched IMO. You need some DHT in you to function properly and to keep your manhood and that steroids grainy look

try saw palmetto. I don't think finasteride works. Saw palmetto will surely work and it is a herb and will be less harsh than finasteride and dutasteride prolly

[Gainsi]

Thank you for all of the answers, and threetrees i will try saw palmetto first! Thank you  i am going to stop taking doxycycline as well because i think it stopped working

[Gainsi]

Was just reading about foundations that were created for PFS post finasteride syndrome. People being depressed, fatigued and/or feeling "sedated" or unable to feel an orgasm, or get permanent ED from it. This is enough for me to tell myself I won't use it. It said 1% of the population gets it. Another post said 20%. It's all over the place as in too many different answers. Several of the studies made used minimal dose even (1-5mg). Anyone have any insight about this?

This information i got was from pfsfoundation.org

• Overview

The Post-Finasteride Syndrome Foundation is dedicated to funding research on the characterization, underlying biologic mechanisms and treatments of post-finasteride syndrome (PFS). A secondary goal is to increase global public awareness of PFS.

Often life-altering, PFS is characterized by devastating sexual, neurological, and physical side effects that persist in men who have taken the 5-alpha reductase type II enzyme inhibitor finasteride.

Finasteride is prescribed for the treatment of hair loss under the brand name Propecia (and generics) and for the treatment of enlarged prostate under the brand name Proscar (and generics).


• Physical Side effects:

Gynecomastia
Female-like breast development and enlargement

Fatigue
Chronic fatigue, listlessness

Muscle
Muscle atrophy, weakness
Muscle twitching

Skin
Decreased oil and sebum production
Chronically dry, thinning of skin
Melasma (brownish macules and patches that typically affect sun-exposed areas on the face)

Hearing
Tinnitus (ringing in the ears)

Metabolism
increased fat deposition, obesity and elevated body mass index
decrease in body temperature
Reduced HDL cholesterol, raised fasting glucose and triglycerides

Self-Harm
Attempted suicide
Suicide


• Mental & Neurological Side effects

Memory
Severe memory/recall impairment

Cognition
Slowed thought processes
Impaired problem solving, decreased comprehension

Psychological
Depression
Anxiety
Suicidal ideation

Emotional
Emotional flatness and anhedonia

Sleep
Insomnia

• Sexual Side effects

Libido
Decreased or complete loss of sex drive

Erection
Erectile dysfunction, impotence
Loss of morning and spontaneous erections

Orgasm Disorders
Sexual anhedonia, loss of pleasurable orgasm

Ejaculatory Disorders
Decreased semen volume and force

Penis
Penile shrinkage and numbness
Peyronie’s disease

Testes
Scrotal shrinkage and numbness

[Gainsi]

Here are a couple comments i found to be interesting on some forums:

He talks about how it affects the brain:

Finasteride inhibits the synthesis of neurosteroids, which leads to a desensitivation of GABA A receptors, so permanent changes in brain function can't be ruled out.
Minocycline helps against emotional blunting / cognitive defictis / drive / social dysfunction in schizophrenics. No idea whether it would help in your case, but might be worth a try.

He talks about symptons of Low T:

All your symptoms are due to low T, the doc probably says your T levels are normal because they're within the range but if you have a T level under 5ng/mL then you should be concerned if you're not overweight or have underlying issues.


He also talks about how some people think it is the drug finasteride that is causing the problems when it's really an estrogenic issue due to finasteride lowering total DHT in the body. Lower DHT means a rise in esteogen since DHT helps reduce total estrogen as well in the body. Here you go:


Here is a list of some of the symptoms of high E2 (you don't have to
experience all of the symptoms to know that you have high E2):
* Depression
* Trouble reaching an orgasm
* No erections while sleeping (i.e. "night wood" or "morning wood")
* Anxiety
* Panic Attacks
* Prostate problems
* Gyneomastia
* Water Retention
* Dizziness/Vertigo
* Increased Blood Pressure
* Decreased Libido
* ED
* When penis is limp, it doesn't hang low (it seems to try to crawl back up)
* Asthma like issues (due to increased water retention around the lungs)
* Trouble sleeping at night - waking up multiple times per night
* Lack of Libido
* Crying while watching TV shows/movies
* Easier to get angry (think PMS)
* Insulin Resistance (getting tired after eating a meal - if left
untreated, it can lead to Type II Diabetes)
* Larger stomach
* Redness on the face and/or chest
* Feeling hotter than everybody else
* Thinner skin/bleeding easier



Here is something i looked up too:

Some major known biological functions of neurosteroids include modulation of neural plasticity, learning and memory processes, behavior, and seizure susceptibility, as well as responses to stress, anxiety, and depression. Neurosteroids also appear to play an important role in various sexually-dimorphic behaviors and emotional responses.

[Gainsi]

Found contradictions as well:

1) Propecia destroys your T levels and rises significantly estrogen levels, this is why it helps you to regrow hair.

2) No, it does not do that precisely. Propecia reduces DHT levels, not T levels. DHT is a metabolite of T (testosterone). It actually tends to slightly raise T levels in the average patient, because less of the T gets turned into DHT.

[Gainsi]

Was also reading about Dutasteride and it gave some contradicting information about Finasteride not being effective. Here is what i found:

While dutasteride is similar in structure and action to finasteride, it differs from the first generation reductase inhibitor in its tissue selectivity. Finasteride inhibits the type-2 isozyme of the 5- alpha reductase enzyme, found prominently in the scalp and prostate. Dutasteride is non-specific for isotype, and inhibits both type-1 and type-2 reductase. As such, it inhibits DHT conversion in all tissues including the scalp, liver, prostate, and skin. Because of this it also lowers systemic levels of DHT much more effectively than finasteride.

The DHT inhibiting effects of dutasteride make this drug of some interest to bodybuilders and athletes, particularly those concerned with the androgenic component of testosterone-based steroids. Dutasteride is capable of reducing the androgenic side effects produced by DHT conversion, changing the profile of testosterone drugs measurably. Provided moderate doses of testosterone are being used, the result can be a substantial reduction in the occurrence of oily skin and acne. For those prone to male pattern hair loss, dutasteride may also reduce the harsh impact of testosterone on the hairline. Note that as a selective type-2 inhibitor, finasteride is also effective at lowering DHT levels in the scalp (and reducing hairline impact of testosterone use), but does not work as well for reducing oily skin and acne.

The beneficial effects of this drug also occurred over a wide range of dosages. For example, a 5 mg daily amount caused 98.4% inhibition in DHT levels, while 1/10th of this amount (.5 mg daily, the adopted therapeutic dose) lowered levels by an average of 94.7%.

This was in great contrast to the 5 mg finasteride group, which noticed only 70.8% inhibition. Researchers also noted that there was significantly more of a variation in the results of the finasteride group, with some patients noting DHT suppression in the range of only 50-55%.

Dutasteride, at 2.5mgs/day is roughly 1.5x more effective than Finasteride at 5mgs/day, at treating hair loss (both halting it as well as regrowing it). In addition, Dutasteride can be used successfully at that same dose to treat prostate enlargement , and a lesser known effect of Dutasteride (again, at that same dose) use is to treat Acne caused by an overabundance of androgens in the body.

User Notes

For the steroid using athlete suffering from DHT-related side effects, Dutasteride may be the answer. Hairloss, Acne, and prostate growth can all (potentially) be completely halted with the use of this product. Unfortunately, DHT is not all bad, and you potentially lose some muscle hardness (an amorphous quality if ever there is one), and even some of the other qualities we like from our androgen use.

[Gainsi]

One final thing i found well put and interesting to sum it up:

Just as there can be benefits to lowering 5-alpha reductase activity by way of less androgenic side effects, there can also be some drawbacks. For one, a strong androgen like DHT helps with neuromuscular interaction, fostering strength and muscle gain. Users of reductase inhibitors often report a drop in their maximum lifts soon after the drug is initiated. Libido may also decline as DHT concentrations are lowered. A small percentage of men even find the need to keep Viagra on hand, as dutasteride renders them otherwise impotent. Dihydrotestosterone also serves as a potent endogenous anti-estrogen, as this non-aromatizable steroid competes with other substrates (like testosterone, which aromatizes) to bind with the aromatase enzyme. Gynecomastia or other estrogenic side effects may occur when this competition is absent. Gynecomastia is listed in the warnings for this product, although the frequency of this in testing was very low (1.1% of users).

[Gainsi]

Basically for bodybuilding purposes, Finasteride needs to be taken at 1mg/day and Dutasteride at 0.5mg every day or two until discontinuation of the androgenic or offending steroids.

Also, i noticed that their are two types of Finasteride; proscar and propecia which are both manufacturered by the same company Merck and both contain the same active ingredient Finasteride.

A dose of Proscar, used to reduce symptoms of enlarged prostate (benign prostatic hyperplasia or BPH), has five times more finasteride than a dose of Propecia, and it's used to reduce male pattern hair loss. Both drugs are known to cause ED in some men.

The difference lies in the intended use of the two drugs, and subsequently the dosage of Finasteride that each contains.

Propecia is designed primarily as a hair loss solution, with each tablet containing 1mg of Finasteride.

Proscar on the other hand contains 5mg of Finasteride, and is intended for men with enlarged prostates. The drug prevents the conversion of naturally occurring testosterone into DHT (dihydrotestosterone) which can cause an enlarged prostate and later, a condition called Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia, otherwise known as BPH or prostate cancer.

Whereas the role of Propecia is intended to be cosmetic (i.e preventing or reducing hair loss), Proscar has a much more serious purpose and has undoubtedly prevented many thousands of men from developing prostate cancer.

[Gainsi]

Sorry for the long post everyone. I just thought it would be helpful to understand the drug more in depth and know exactly what i am getting myself into. Would also be nice to hear out your opinions on this. Thank you