Finasteride and Acne
Hi, I’m 23. I’ve lost some hair around the temples and have been taking Proscar 5 mg in quarter doses for 9 months now (with gaps due to the following). I’ve been experiencing facial acne but when I stop using proscar, the acne vanishes. Is it due to proscar? Perhaps the condition they call hyperandrogenicity? Can the acne be avoided while using Proscar? May I take Finasteride and Minocyclin at the same time to avoid this problem?
I have had occasional reports that Propecia reduces body hair growth. I have reviewed a number of articles in the medical literature to answer your questions and what I learned is that there is no known connection between finasteride, loss of body hair or and that a relationship exists between this drug and acne. Many of the researchers who thought that there might be a connection found in various reslearch activities that Propecia has no value to treating or causing Acne. With regard to your last question, you can take finasteride and minocycline at the same time.
For more, see Dermatology: Finasteride for acne?
Dear Doc.
You say you can find no connection between the use of finasteride and acne, but i can asure you that i too have just recently started finasteride, and have now got craters forming on my forehead, nose etc and they are acne.
The person says in his post the acne appears to go away when he stops the finasteride, but he’s only 23, I’m in my forties so i may be scared for life.
I’ve read quite a few posts now that warn of this on different hair loss forum and to begin with wasn’t sure if it was true or not, but now I’m positive that finasteride causes acne.
I started taking 1 mg of Finesteride daily in June 2008 and have experienced facial acne shortly starting this regimen. Nothing else about my lifestyle has changed. My diet is the same, my stress level is low, etc. The only change has been the use of Finesteride. I’m 30 years old and have NEVER experienced acne in my life, not even during my teenage years. I’m to the point where I’m going to bail on this drug all together because I’m even more self conscious about my looks. Now, I’m a bald guy with acne instead of just being bald.
yes i agree, i had very very little acne before going on proscar 1.25, now it is quite moderate I am 26. I had acne when 16,17 then using treatment it cleared up completely for several years (roacutaine). Is it safe to use roacuatine and poscar at the same time?? thanks.
i saw 2 differing opinions on this.
one study i found that finasteride decreases sebum production and has been used to treat acne in women.
however, what i think is happening in men is that finasteride lowers DHT. due to reduced negative feedback of DHT on the pituitary gland, more LH is secreted and thus more testosterone is produced. more testosterone equals more acne. google testosterone and finasteride and u will see this.
I have started using proscar(finasteride) to treat my polycystic ovarian syndrome, and have also noticed increased acne breakouts once i started taking the pill. Due to the PCOS, I am currently under various treatments (oral antibiotics) as well as topicals to treat my already existing acne due to PCOS.