How long does steroids acne last?

**Synhax** · 09-18-2015, 02:14 PM

I had a breakout of acne in my upper chest and front shoulders starting about 7-8th week of my cycle, and now im 2 weeks into PCT and its still there. Been 2 months since the outbreak, how long does it take to go away? The acne is large and red, not the small ones with white head. Any idea how long this will take to clear up? Is there anything I can try to help get rid of it off the counter?

EDIT: Just realized i posted this in the wrong thread, if a Mod can move it to the Anabolic Steroids section it would be much appreciated. Sorry about that.

**rGus** · 09-18-2015, 08:02 PM

Tea tree oil is the most effective for me.

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**bartman314** · 09-19-2015, 12:14 PM

it can last a really long time (was 1 year for me before i went on accutaine and had any sign of improvement). yrmv.

**Synhax** · 09-21-2015, 08:28 PM

update: been using nizoral anti-dandruff shampoo last 3 days based on the recommendation of some other forums, and it seems to be drying out some of the acne. Gonna keep using it for a few weeks until bottle runs out and update here, hopefully it works.

**Splifton** · 09-22-2015, 06:44 PM

Contribution to the promotion of acne comes from so many sources covering so many different physiological levels it is pretty difficult to say with accuracy what caused it and how long will it persist. Obviously you have exogenously introduced AAS so inherently one can only assume that this is the internal factor defining your acne's pathology. Considering the use of AAS creates a supraphysiological hormone environment, the anabolic /androgenic expressions will also display a net increase in activity.

Androgens contribute to a myriad of biological activities, but the most relevant would be keratin differentiation, sebaceous gland regulation, upregulation to activity of inflammatory potentiators that I can think off the top of my head. Keratin is a protein that helps create the structural integrity of our skin, but over expression from it could lead to an instance called hyperkeratinization. (Keratin overproduction leads to a stronger bond at the cellular formation of skin reducing it's ability to effectively shed old cells leading to clogged pores.)
The sebocyte's secretion of sebum increasing leads to an unfavorable amount of oil on the skin that can inevitably lead to clogging and inflammatory responses. The region that is affected is usually your T-zone in comparison to the U-zone. I know some studies state that some notable androgenic hormones don't directly regulate sebum secretion activity here, while others state the AR site susceptibility correlates to its marked increase in androgenic-related activity here.

Now androgen production in males and females is primarily produced within the adrenal glands and ovaries, but the majority of conversions occurs within our peripheral tissues. This is where the enzymatic conversions from weak androgens into potent counterparts takes place. So knowing that AAS use will increase the concentration of circulating IGF-1, and it has been established here that IGF-1 leads to amplified AR signaling at the tissue level. (study suggests P13K activation leads to AKT-mediated FOXO1 phosphorylation. The removal of the FOX could increase the action potential due to the AR being bound to the AR repressive FOX 1 protein) Steroids can be a factor in further increasing the progressive effects of androgen receptor activation leading to acne.

The amount of time it could fester is going to come down to how quickly you can restore a state of homeostasis with your endocrine system again. The quicker you return your body to natural physiological levels and activities the quicker the recovery from your acute instance of cystic acne can begin.