Saw palmetto was my cure

I'm trying to post this around on boards that I used to frequent for advice - I consider myself cured of acne now!

For the past 5 months, I have been taking 320mg of standardized saw palmetto (GNC) in 2 divided doses (one pill in am, one in pm, or just take both together if I forget). It's very important to get the standardized version.

I'm 30 y.o. female who has suffered with moderate to cystic acne since puberty, trying everything, including megadosing on B6, except accutane because I have joint problems already.

And now my skin is now AMAZING, I honestly don't recognize it. It took a month or so to see results. And now I've only had one tiny whitehead in I don't know how long. My oily pores have shrunk. My skin is thinner if that makes sense, not so congested and thick and oily. It just glows - the color is more even, less red. My scalp is no longer as oily either.

I've been reading about the hormonal connections of acne for some time. I got many tests done and I'm totally normal, including a low normal reading of testosterone. But from my reading I understand it's the conversion of testosterone to DHT, the active form in the skin, that could play a role. Saw Palmetto inhibits this conversion. I guess I just inherited this skin sensitivity. (My dad and brother suffer from early balding, could that be a link?)

SP has mainly been studied for inhibiting DHT effects on the prostate in men.

See these links for more info:

http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/8513/31402/346487.html?d=dmtContent

http://www.rxlist.com/cgi/alt/saw_palmetto_faq.htm

Saw Palmetto for Men & Women http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1580172067/gabgirlsbookclub (a book that specifically mentions using SP for acne)

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