Did/do you have acne?

[Autumn Sundown]

If so, how severe was/is it? How long did it last? I'm trying to find out how closely related acne and male pattern baldness are. The more answers I can get the better.

My dad's side has a history of male pattern baldness but I don't think any of them ever had acne. I know my father never had a pimple in his life.
Everyone in my mom's side keeps a thick NW1 or 2 all their life but tend to have moderate acne. I know my grandfather got an occasional pimple in his adult life, as does my mother. My uncle got severe adult acne (he's the only person on my mom's side of the family to lose his hair. He started losing it in his mid 40's and is around a NW4 right now. He's 57.)

I have a bit of acne, but it's not too bad. I have a lot of scars from picking at them when I was younger, so it makes it look worse than it is.

 

[Jokerman]

Mild acne, which cleared up after starting finasteride.

 

[davestep]

i had pretty bad acne all through my teenage years. probably from 13yrs - 18yrs it was bad. i have alot of scaring now with still the odd spot. i'm 23, my dad is totally bald, went bald by 21 ish.
and surprise, surprise, as soon as my acne cleared up, i started loosing my hair. i had the acne remarks all through school, now ive got the receeding remarks, im on the verge of taking a razor to it, cos its got that thin.

 

[elvis123]

To be honest I don't think acne has anything at all to do with male pattern baldness. I have friends who have crazy acne and are not going to go bald and I have friends who have perfect skin and are going bald...

Having or not having acne is a case on it's own, the only relation that it has with male pattern baldness is that both are affected by the bodies hormones.

 

[shootingguard]

Every kid has some degree of acne during puberty, it's because of the testosterone. Sometimes, though, it can be skin related...not sure how much this form of acne has in common with hair loss though. I had only mild acne during this time, and don't have any skin problems now...so don't see how the two can be related.

 

[Autumn Sundown]

Every kid has some degree of acne during puberty, it's because of the testosterone. Sometimes, though, it can be skin related...not sure how much this form of acne has in common with hair loss though. I had only mild acne during this time, and don't have any skin problems now...so don't see how the two can be related.

I'm just curious because I asked this question on another forum and got a lot of responses saying they had bad acne during their teen years, then began losing their hair around the time the acne cleared up. I don't see too many people with noticable acne (there are only 3 or 4 people with noticable acne in my grade) so I was just wondering if they are the ones who will suffer from baldness first and see it at it's worst.
I guess there probably isn't much of a relation though, maybe I'm just thinking about it too much.

 

[Thickandthin]

It's all coincidence. Most people's acne clears up in their late teens, and balding begins soon after (early 20s).

 

[Autumn Sundown]

Here's another question, it's something I'm really worried about.
Over the summer I was put on acne medication (Tretinonin cream, Clindamycin-Benzoyl Peroxide Gel and Benzoyl Peroxide 4% creamy wash) Do any of these medications speed up hairloss? Is the hair lost during the use of these medications perminent?
I've heard two sides to this. One is that it reduces sebum, thus drying out the scalp and making you shed hairs. According to that theory your hair is returned to normal around 5 months after you finish using it.
The other theory I heard is that it causes you to shed hairs and that the new ones grow in thin and whispier and that they stay that way.
Are these medications anything like Accutane? Do they contribute to/speed up hair loss?

 

[cuebald]

I had practically no acne.

 

[captain_que]

I´ve had acne for almost ten years and losing for about four.. it´s gotten better, but it´s still pretty bad if I don´t take my antibiotics. My derm said there could be a corelation between the two, and wondered if finasteride could knock them both, but wouldn´t put me on it because of sides.. I´m seeing a new derm in february, primarily for my acne. Heard good things about him, and he´s a big fan of accutane treatment so I guess I´ll have to wait and see. I´m convinced that there´s a link between the two in my case, and wish that there´s a treatment that´s right for it..

 

[WhatYouEgg]

Moderate to severe acne in high school, cleared up when my hairline matured at about 19-20, 27 now with very marginal thinning.