Skin care. Aging. Wrinkles.

[maldorf]

I've never heard of that disorder. Good video here demonstrates it, and shows surgery to correct it, at about 33 seconds in.

 

[Muay Thai]

Some guys have the idea that real men dont care that much out their facial appearance and wrinkles. I didnt really care that much until I hit my early 30's and after medical school, residency and fellowship aged my skin significantly. I recall dating in SF and few girls had commented that I looked much older in my face then my actual age. Looking back at my face at that time I had bags under my eyes, about 5 horizonal wrinkles across my forehead and developed two significant vertical glabellar lines. These wrinkles werent present 5 years before.

Ive also noticed that AAS users faces seem to age a lot more then guys who dont take AAS. Its probably secondary to the high level androgens among other things.

I wanted to give a quick run down of things i do that have made a difference for me, backed by good data and safe. I wont be providing my before and after pics as I dont post pics of my face on this forum.

I recently met up with some friends i havent seen in a while and they all commented on how good my skin is looking and how i look younger now then i did in my mid 20's.

1. Retin A: Highly recommend most guys be on this. Good for acne, collagen synthesis, fine lines and wrinkles both treatment and prevention. I use 0.1%. I use it maybe 5 nights a week with moisturizer.


2. Dysport: I like this over botox. Seems to work a bit longer for me and with the smaller molecule it get a lil bit better local coverage. I use about 135 units on my forehead and around eyes. It allowed my horizontal lines on forehead to heal. I dont over do it...i can raise my eyebrows just fine but now i have 2 smaller lines in my lower forehead instead of 5 deep ones.

3. Fillers: This is needed for my glabellar lines. The usual fillers werent enough so I used Juvederm Voluma XC. Usually reserve for mid face but i needed it to smooth out those lines. They are still present but MUCH better. Filler lasts about 2 years with a yearly touchup.

4. Microneedling: I do this for my hair with very good success and my skin. For my hair i do between 0.5m and 1.5mm. I apply topical dutasteride while doing it to get it down to the roots. I do 1.5mm maybe once a month and 0.5mm every week. My regrew a good amount of my hair on the middle of my head over the course of about the first 6-9 months. As for my face i use 0.5-1mm once a week or once every two weeks. I often apply a lil bit of retin A after but becareful....absorption is going to be about 4x better. Also great for collagen and increased VEGF and wnt signaling transcription. My skin GREATLY improved after about 6 months of doing this. I had some chicken pox scars, enlarged pores and wrinkles that resolved >90%. Im not sure if it was the needling itself or a combination of increased retin a absorption...dont care..skin looks much better.

5. Moisturizer: I like cerave or brickell. I use the ceravee AM with SPF often. At night i commonly use the brickell anti aging cream. its thick and has a good amount of HA in it. Works well for me and great for under the eyes.

6. Exfoliate: I use the Kiehls microderm abrasion scrub once a week.

7. Facewash: I use the brickell facewash for oily skin ( im on 200mg TRT) 3x a day.

Some guys will read this thread and by like WTF...gotgame is like an effing chick! Yea maybe.... but i do care about my face and hair. its important for my career and important to me personally. I think prevention is key. Its sometimes hard to deal with the aging after the fact but prevention would have been so much easier. I just didnt care for so many years as i was so busy but im making up for it now.

Epsom salt bath with olive oil makes me feel like Julius fucking Ceasar, exfoliate, Aquaphor at night, coco oil during the day, coco oil has the unique lauric acid within it, the anti-inflammatory...

I use head and shoulders for my body as it is antifungal and kills most bacteria/yeast/candida

lots of healthy fats in diet ingested....

I make my own masks with bentonite clay as a base

retinol, HLA, VITC for topical sometimes as well , I encourage you guys to look into ayurveda and TCM methods

 

[jcc80]

Yes, its well documented. The thing that surprises me is how much effect just 20 minutes affected me, or whatever the time was because I can't remember. The artificial light of the tanning bed seemed almost as if it was more powerful in this effect than natural light. I think its the effect on the pineal glad if I remember right. Perhaps the lamp puts out more of the needed wave length.

Yes, these light therapy lamps put out the wavelength that promotes good mood. It really helps to keep your circadian rhythm on track too. It's easier to wake up early and easy for me to go to sleep despite a tremendous amount of stress at work lately.

It does NOT give off the UV light so there's no tanning or natural vitamin D production. So I still take 10k iu of vitamin D3 per day. All in all, this lamp is one of my best gadget purchases I've ever made. It's a Miroco 10k lux lamp on Amazon and it's only $38 when I checked right now.

 

[Muay Thai]

I will add I have been on steroids since I was 20 and I am 33 now. I get compliments frequently on my skin and how young I look. I also mimic dr. mercolas heat shock protein/cold shock protein protocol with niacin which I believe also helps skin. In theory I should look 100 years old... my dad went bald at 25 and I still have hair without finasteride etc, my bro is bald. stay out of the sun! most important

 

[steve rogers86]

tazorac cream has made a difference for me along with serums with Hyaluronic acid i get some cheap ones at marshals an tj maxx

 

[steve rogers86]

I often do the dysport/botox myself as thats easy.The filler is more challenging and i have a friend do it at her office. Id be willing to use a "softer" filler at home if ever needed but i wouldnt use voluma XC at home.

where do you get your dysport at?

 

[maldorf]

Yes, these light therapy lamps put out the wavelength that promotes good mood. It really helps to keep your circadian rhythm on track too. It's easier to wake up early and easy for me to go to sleep despite a tremendous amount of stress at work lately.

It does NOT give off the UV light so there's no tanning or natural vitamin D production. So I still take 10k iu of vitamin D3 per day. All in all, this lamp is one of my best gadget purchases I've ever made. It's a Miroco 10k lux lamp on Amazon and it's only $38 when I checked right now.

Didn't know those existed. Might have to look into that!

I observed that even just using the tanning bed seemed to be similar to that light you use, it must put out more of those wavelengths than natural light from the sun. Now that I know the dangers of tanning, id not want to do it again but your light is safe. Something to consider for the winter.

 

[Cv215]

Can anyone recommend a brand of retin a and a brand if moisturizer to buy? I want to get started on this.

 

[maldorf]

Yes, these light therapy lamps put out the wavelength that promotes good mood. It really helps to keep your circadian rhythm on track too. It's easier to wake up early and easy for me to go to sleep despite a tremendous amount of stress at work lately.

It does NOT give off the UV light so there's no tanning or natural vitamin D production. So I still take 10k iu of vitamin D3 per day. All in all, this lamp is one of my best gadget purchases I've ever made. It's a Miroco 10k lux lamp on Amazon and it's only $38 when I checked right now.

Looked at that lamp on Amazon and saw how a customer warned that it comes with a warning that it has a magnet and not to use with a pacemaker.

Do you still have the packaging and instructions?

 

[muscle96ss]

Can anyone recommend a brand of retin a and a brand if moisturizer to buy? I want to get started on this.

Retin A requires a Rx. I have been getting it from ADC and Reliable Rx for years. I use the micro version as it is less irritating.

Also,some people are very sensitive to it. So what I personally do is when I haven't used it in a while; I will start out with the .025% strength 3 or 4 times per week for a few weeks, then move up to the .05% for the same time period and then move up to the .1%. Then if I am able, I will work my way up to ED if possible. If I progress too quickly, my face will flake and peel all the time and feel irritated at times.

 

[paulallen]

Retin A requires a Rx. I have been getting it from ADC and Reliable Rx for years. I use the micro version as it is less irritating.

Also,some people are very sensitive to it. So what I personally do is when I haven't used it in a while; I will start out with the .025% strength 3 or 4 times per week for a few weeks, then move up to the .05% for the same time period and then move up to the .1%. Then if I am able, I will work my way up to ED if possible. If I progress too quickly, my face will flake and peel all the time and feel irritated at times.

Do you actually need a script to order off those sites? I've been looking to get some retin-a.

 

[brutus69]

I also have cutis gyrata. Start super mild when i was about 20. Got worse as androgens were supraphysiologic at times. It used to be noticable if my hair was below about 3/4 inch.

There are two things you can do for it other then surgery.

Do microneedling in that area at a depth of about 1.5-2mm to break up that fibrosis and apply topical dutasteride immediately after. I firmly believe cutis gyrata has a strong androgen component when not associated with some weird genetic issues ( which i dont have).

The second thing is if it ever gets too bad you can just use filler there and it will take care of nearly all of it. I have not done that as the microneedling and dutasteride reduced the appearance of mine significantly. I am not aware of any studies on that...i am a case report of one so take that with a grain of salt.

where do u find topical dutasteride? guys make topical finasteride by putting pills in liquid minox but i dont even know if that works.

 

[gotgame]

I've never heard of that disorder. Good video here demonstrates it, and shows surgery to correct it, at about 33 seconds in.

Surgery is the only way i know that the literature shows how to treat it. Its usually thought to be primarily associated with certain genetic issues resulting in inborn errors of metabolism etc. I first noticed a super mild form of it around 20 and once androgrens were introduced it got significantly worse. I know a lot of guys who use AAS who suffer from it. Theres a few articles associating it with androgen levels but not much

For me it got a bit better when i started using topical dutasteride, however it got MUCH better when i started microneedling and applying dutasteride immediately after. My scalp is still a bit " lax' but the ridges are significantly improved and not really apparent unless i was gonna shave my head.

i know of at least one case report were it was treated with derm filler but i havent seen any first hand results with that or published pics

 

[gotgame]

where do you get your dysport at?

galderma or sometimes a friend may have some left over at there office.

 

[gotgame]

where do u find topical dutasteride? guys make topical finasteride by putting pills in liquid minox but i dont even know if that works.

Some compounding pharmacies offer it which was the best topical dutasteride i used. They make them in roll on type applicators with ethanol.

What i currently do is I have a spray bottle and i mix water, some castor oil, about 10 dutasteride caps contents. After i shower i use rubbing alcohol on my scalp to kill bacteria and then i spray that solution on my hair before i microneedle and immediately after. Yes im aware its not a sterile solution. I let it dry and shower a few hours later.

I do also add about 10 duta caps to my 60ml minox solution.

 

[muscle96ss]

Do you actually need a script to order off those sites? I've been looking to get some retin-a.

No, it says you do but I have never had myself or heard of any issues and been using forever.

 

[Matsuo Munefusa]

stay out of the sun! most important

Damn what some of you guys are willing to do for appearances. I'd rather be fucking dead than stay out of the sun.

 

[Matsuo Munefusa]

Some compounding pharmacies offer it which was the best topical dutasteride i used. They make them in roll on type applicators with ethanol.

What i currently do is I have a spray bottle and i mix water, some castor oil, about 10 dutasteride caps contents. After i shower i use rubbing alcohol on my scalp to kill bacteria and then i spray that solution on my hair before i microneedle and immediately after. Yes im aware its not a sterile solution. I let it dry and shower a few hours later.

I do also add about 10 duta caps to my 60ml minox solution.

If you have children around this is dangerous as fuck obviously.

GG I take doesn't have kids but just pointing that out for anybody following with kids.

 

[gotgame]

If you have children around this is dangerous as fuck obviously.

GG I take doesn't have kids but just pointing that out for anybody following with kids.

I do not have children yet.

Id suggest making sure you clean up well. I do it in another bathroom in the house. Anyone pregnant should ofcourse not be exposed to at 5AR inhibs.

 

[gotgame]

To follow up on previous post. That goes for any topical 5ARs. Some guys use creams and liquids with finasteride mixed in. While effective you dont want your family exposed to them even though the risk is low. Make sure you change your pillow case often and if your wife is pregnant dont let her touch any of your hair products that may have it.

Thank you Matsuo for pointing that out.

My wife is trying to get pregnant ( we first tried this past month and we are hoping still...). My protocol for keeping things away from her is to move all my hair products that have dutasteride or finasteride in them to our guest bathroom that isnt in use at the moment. I microneedle in there and make sure everything is clean. She is also a Dr so she is aware of 5ar inhibs and doesnt touch any of my stuff that may have it but id suggest anyone using 5ar inhibs to make sure your significant others or family members dont touch your products. You dont want your wife or child using ur hair spray that has duta in it obviously.