propecia and Acne.......... pimples constantly

rowdyone82

hello everyone, I have been using propecia for approxiamately 2years now, and have I have really noticed that I constantly break out with pimples on my back and my face and it is really starting to annoy me. I have heard other things people have used such as Avodert and I was wondering if that has the same side effects as propecia. any input on this would be greatly appreciated.

and also I am in the making of an appointment with Dr. Cole for and FIT surgery and was wondering if when I was done with my surgery if I could possibly get away with using rogaine alone, instead of propecia and rogaine. due to the cost of my propecia and the constant acne that comes from it as well.

visor

I take Proscar daily and it works as far as hair retenting, but I have
pimples as well. To be honest , i have always had some issues with
mild acne, but I never related it to Propecia or Proscar. I need to look into
that. FWIW ....I am having FIT surgery with Dr. cole 3/30.
Good luck.

FIT Club

rowdy,

I am not certain that finasteride would cause pimples. I am not knowledgeable on the subject, but I did do a cursory search and discovered the following item:

http://www.parkhurstexchange.com/qa/A.php?q=/qa/Dermatology/1999-02-14.qa

I believe, if anything, finasteride could be used to treat, not cause acne problems. This warrants further research, however.

rowdyone82

how many grafts are you having done?

FIThair

One of our Doctor has answered your question:

Actually, one would expect the opposite, as DHT purportedly increases oil secretion on the skin, with resultant acne. Propecia blocks DHT formation.
This MAY not be related to Propecia at all. Or it could be some sort of paradoxical effect, it is very hard to know because so many thing may aggravate acne, and just because someone is on Propecia, does not mean that is the cause. Cause and effect relationships are notoriously difficult to establish.

FIThair

iostream71

propecia totally wiped out my shoulder acne, something antibiotics could never seem to do

forhair

interesting, what makes you feel that the propecia cured it?

iostream71

because it went away in less than a month after starting and hasn't been back. it's not in my head 'cause i had no idea propecia could do that. i took antibiotics off and on for 2 years fighting breakouts and they did nothing

forhair

I'm glad it is working for you in 2 ways, i wonder if there are more people that experience this...as far as i know Propecia has not been shown to be effective for acne treatment and is not approved for this use.
But maybe there is something behind that statement after all...