Cystic Acne, is It Hormonal? when Will It Go Away? (photo)

I've had acne since college. 24 now, and 3 years ago developed cystic acne along jaw and neck. Had hormonal and PCOS levels checked twice, negative. was put on minocycline 7 months ago, seen a reduction however still get random flare ups, especially during my period. fixed my diet by eliminating most things and saw minimal change. will this go away? how can it be hormonal? now im stuck with multiple shallow pitted scars and hyper pigmentation marks. lots of blackheads, popping = cysts!

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age 18-24 Minocyline cystic acne hyperpigmentation pitted scar hormones

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1 Doctor Answer | Asked by claudeenesacan

Doctor Answers (1)
Community Comments (3)

Cystic Acne and Hormones

In essence, all acne is hormonal. Your hormones may be completely normal, but acne can be determined by the sensitivity of your oil glands and hair follicles to your hormones. If you have been on Minocycline for 7 months with little success, you may be a prime candidate for Isotretinoin ( Accutane ), a trial of oral contraceptives, or Spironolactone. Please see your Dermatologist for advice.

Comments (3)

JenniferO 6 Jan 2013

Hey, I have cystic acne and get it on my jaw line and cheeks, it's annoying and ugly I know. ..... A few things I use to help reduce the size and time it taks to heal is... Clean and clear Benzoyl peroxide cream.... Panoxly face wash 10% benzoyl peroxide.... And baking soda.... Yes baking soda.. You can YouTube it or google it... I mak it into a mask rub it on my face and let it dry for 10-15mins. You can do it every other night, or if your skin can handle it, nightly.. Hope it helps! It works great to me!

claudeenesacan 26 Jul 2012

i was put on spirolactone, and two months later just stopped with seeing zero results. i was on birth control. loestrine and beyaz. in which i saw absolutely zero as well. accutane is something that ive spoken to my dermatologist to before, whom doesnt guarantee that it will keep the problem at bay. i have been on accutane before for a month where i had the worst side effects.

Megan P (Community Manager) 26 Jul 2012

I'm sorry to hear you are having a hard time finding something to help with your acne. I can definitely relate. I had to get off Accutane because of side effects too. Isn't that such a bummer, because you just want to finish it so your skin will be normal. :-/ I haven't tried spirolactone but have been seriously considering it for the last couple of months. How disappointing to hear it stopped working after a couple of months. I really hope you find something that works well for you.

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