This month’s ‘Ask the Readers’ question is about how long to stick with taking a supplement for your acne (submit your own question here).
When is the right time to call it quits if it doesn’t seem to be working?
I have cystic acne all along my lower jawline area. I’m sure it’s hormonal since It comes on really bad once a month. I never had this problem until about a year ago..I am 36 years old.
I started taking Thorne SAT and the Estroblock supplements about one month ago and haven’t seen much change yet.
How long would you recommend sticking with it to see if I get good results?
Sincerely,
Kelly K.
So friends… how long do you think you should stick with a supplement to see if it works? (I don’t mean just these Thorne SAT and Estroblock, but any supplement)
Please share in the comments below! And if you have specific experience with the two supplements mentioned please share that as well!
24 Responses
I would say 2-3 months to be sure. And if you’re taking estroblock you should make sure you cut down on the beer, conventional/non-organic meat and dairy and soy products. They will increase your estrogen which obviously undermines what you’re trying to do. Also make sure you’re aiding your liver by eating a diet high in vegetables, onions/garlic and water to help your liver flush out the excess estrogen.
That’s what I’m doing. It’s been 3 weeks since I started this regimen and I have yet to see results. I am using estroblock triple strength while also doing an almost all vegetarian diet, cutting out most soy (vegetarian chili tricked me the other day-it had tofu) and lessening up on the beer (meaning one or two per week). I’m 29 and I also have acne on my chin and upper neck.
The one thing I have noticed helping with the acne- which blew up last month- is cutting back on dairy. It’s always bad for me 🙁
I would give the Estroblock 3 months to work, but no longer than that. The reason I say this is because I have been on birth control for acne twice (bad idea). The first time it worked very well within 3 months. The second time it didn’t work at all and I was on it for 4 months. In my experience with hormonal/jawline type acne, it spontaneously cleared when a major life stressor cleared as well, regardless of what I was taking. It may be fruitful to look at all factors in addition to supplements. I hope your acne clears soon…I know just how frustrating it is to have it suddenly appear as an adult! Have a great day!
I definitely agree with the stressor removal! It helps so much. My acne has gotten recently better and different, at first I thought it’d because I came off birth control, but maybe it’s mostly because my exams are mostly over and I feel way less stressed. Now that I think about it, every big outbreak has been in a stressful period, so I’m trying to be calmer now. It definitely shows!
Take this with a grain of salt, because I’m sure it’s not true for everyone, but it’s been my experience that if anything is going to help me, I see at least some improvement in less than a week.
I guess it depends on the cause of your acne. Estroblock, liver-boosting supplements, etc. never helped my skin. If you do have a hormonal condition, I can see why supplements would take way longer to work. If I suspected something like that, I’d probably give it up to three months. It did take a long time to heal my gut and prevent cystic breakouts, but I could also clear them up and prevent them by avoiding the foods that caused them…meaning I could get rid of an outbreak in threeish days.
The only supplement that ever works for me is fish oil/higher-than-average doses of vitamin A – and I always see the difference within a couple of days.
Even back in college when I started a birth control pill that helped my skin (didn’t totally clear it, but made a HUGE difference) – I noticed a drastic change in about four days. (Still don’t understand why it did this, since it never worked again after I switched off that pill, but hey.)
I’ve taken a lot of supplements in the past – zinc, milk thistle, DIM, vitamin D, a good multi, etc – for months on end, just to be sure. Nada. Maybe I’m just impatient or sick of wasting money on things that don’t help, but I have a really, really hard time waiting longer than a couple of weeks. Especially when quality vitamin A takes five to seven days.
That’s interesting that you say that Estroblock and liver support never helped your skin. Because for me it’s the opposite: supplements to clear excess estrogen and to support the liver are the ONLY thing that has helped my skin. I struggled for years, trying strict diets, cutting out foods, adding others, taking zinc, cod liver oil, a multitude of vitamins and supplements, and many other things — with no change to my skin or minimal but not lasting changes. Obviously it is all very individual! 🙂
Finally last fall I tried EstroSmart (a supplement similar to Estroblock) and within a week my skin had improved and all the breakouts I had were drying up. Of course, it’s not that my skin completely healed in a week. It took several more months for things to balance; I still continued to get breakouts but they were smaller and lasted for a shorter period of time, and then there were longer periods of time with no breakouts and so on. Now my skin is the best it’s ever been.
Anyway, to answer the OP’s question, generally for me if it’s going to work, I notice some sort of improvement in the first few weeks. I would imagine it would depend, however, on how out of balance your hormones are, and if there are other factors that are contributing to hormonal imbalance. I have heard in other places that for hormone balancing, it can take a few cycles to start to notice an improvement.
I have to agree with Kit, Estroblock didn’t work for me. After trying supplements, oil, cleansing, honey cleansing and not seeing results I made the sad to decision to go on medication. My sister’s wedding is coming up and I had begun to run out of time to smooth my face and to start the fading process of my scars; I’m African American and acne scars are dark, black, heavily pigmented and can take months to fade. Within two weeks my face started to calm down. My scars are fading. Also, the only side effect I’ve had is nausea if I don’t take it with food.
I’m not suggesting everyone go this route but this is what is working for me. Plus, I’m emotionally feeling better now that I’ve been seeing actual progress.
Hi Kelly,
Short answer: six months to a year.
Long answer:
I also have a history of cystic acne, but all over my face, moreso on my chin and forehead than my cheeks. I had them starting in high school and it got worse in college. I went to dermatologists for years and nothing they gave me helped one bit. I took Accutane back in my early 20s, and while it worked and kept my acne away for 10 years, it was a rough medication to be on. I just remember having terrible eczema-like skin!
Fast forward to January 2013, I am now in my early/mid 30s and my cystic acne came back! I used several different cleansers, all of which dried up my skin, so I resorted to only washing my face with water in the morning and Simple brand makeup remover wipes in the evening to take off the foundation I used to cover the cysts. I also eliminated gluten and dairy from my diet in October 2013, and while it had helped some it did not solve the problem skin-wise. I didn’t want to resort to going back on an Accutane-like medication, so I started seeing an herbalist in January. It’s been a wonderful experience…he’s gets down to the root of the problem (including some hormonal issues) and has given me the appropriate herbs to make me feel — as a whole — a lot better. Even my allergies weren’t as severe as they have been the past couple of years! I do have to say that it’s only recently started to make a difference on my skin, and I’ve been seeing him for seven months now. It takes time, and a rather hefty investment, but I totally think it’s worth it.
Hope this helps. Good luck!
-Robin
Robin,
What kind of herbs does your herbalist have you taking? Is it Chinese Herbs (TCM) or blends?
Given that it is hormonal acne, I agree with those who said 3 months to be sure. Based on what I’ve read and what I’ve experienced with my naturopath, that seems to be about when it’s time to move on and try something else. However I can’t recommend working with a professional highly enough. It’s really hard to be objective about your results. It’s easy to get frustrated while your 6 weeks in on something with no results, or to read about some supplement that sounds really amazing and get tempted to switch it up (or worse, try multiple things at once) before you’ve given it a good chance. Having someone else make those decisions for you takes a lot of frustration out of the process. Especially someone who can run bloodwork and base their recommendations on that. If you haven’t had a hormone panel I think that would be the best place to start.
I’ve been dealing with hormonal acne for 10 years and for most of that time was trying different things to treat it on my own (topical, diet changes, supplements, birth control). My naturopath diagnosed me with PCOS and finally got me on the right track. I did go through a year or so with her trying things that didn’t work, however I am finally on a protocol that has drastically improved my skin.
Good luck, I really hope you find what works for you!
Hi Kelly,
Give it 2-3 months! I’ve been taking Vitex, DIM, omega 3-6-9, zinc, burdock root, and milk thistle since around April of this year. I’m 38 and have had hormonal acne on my chin for my whole adult life. Such a blessing I stumbled upon “the Love Vitamin” !! Since I started taking the supplements, washing with manuka honey, and using BB cream makeup my face has significantly cleared up. I’m not super strict with my diet anymore and I get outside and get fresh air and sunshine! All the best on your road to clear skin!
Take care!
Erin
I think you should give it at least 3 months. Boost your system by drinking green smoothies and eating lots of greens as well. The estroblock could use the help in trying to balance out your hormones since you just started. Don’t give up yet.
2-3 months is a good rule. If you don’t see results by 3 months there is most likely something causing your acne that the supplements are not addressing. With the Clear Skin Vitamin Pack most of our customers see a difference in the 1-2 month range. Some swear they see a difference after a few days, others it takes several months. And of course there are a few that never see results which is really frustrating to us.
I have been taking a lot of supplements the last three months to help my cystic acne, also starting taking pro – biotics . To which I am beginning to see my skin heal, I have also researched insulin resistance and have eliminated sugar from my diet this last month which has been extremely difficult but worth it as I think I have now found the root cause
I commented earlier but I wanted to say that for the last 3 days I upped my dosage of estroblock triple strength to 2 capsules and I have already seen a difference! Before that I was taking it for 3 weeks, 1 capsule and it might as well have been a sugar pill but I was trying to do the right thing and start small and steady and gradually move up. I’m hoping this happy trend will continue!
I see an acupuncturist for my acne and according to Chinese medicine when ever i broke out on my jawline or neck he said it was my stomach channel. He treated me for poor digestion and liver and my results were astonishing! I’m not saving yours isn’t hormonal but it might not hurt to try something other than hormonal supplements! but estroblock i hear is very good for you!! I when i was taking supplements 2 to 3 months was what I stuck by and if there wasn’t much change in that time I was on to the next!
Could you please suggest what you have been taking to heal your digestion? Thank you;)
As someone who has struggled with hormonal acne for my entire adult life, I completely understand how frustrating it can be to wait for results when you first begin supplements. However, as someone who used antibiotics, topical creams, hormonal birth control and eventually Accutane to clear my skin, only to have the acne come back once I got off all the medication, I can say that it is absolutely worth the wait. I am, for the first time in fifteen years, controlling my acne using natural supplements and by being mindful of what I eat. I started seeing real results – as in true clearing and healing – after about two months. I’m currently on my fourth month taking DIM, agnus castus, zinc, and evening primrose oil, and the difference is incredible.
Give it some more time, drink lots of water, eat lots of veggies, and try not to stress! 🙂
I found your website about 9 months ago. I am 36 and had the cystic/hormonal acne on my chin and around my mouth. I had been fighting it for about 5 years. The prescriptions from my dermatologist worked but I did not want to be on an antibiotic forever. I also went to an esthetician weekly for high frequency skin treatments to kill bacteria in my skin. This helped a little but I could always feel there was another spot just waiting to pop up. I knew it was an internal problem and high frequency was not going to solve the root cause.
I started Estroblock Pro (1 cap/day) and Liv Tox (1cap/day) in November of 2013 and my acne cleared up in about 4 months. I almost gave up after a couple month because I did not think it was getting any better but am so glad I stuck with it! I still take both Estroblock Pro and Liv Tox for maintenance (typically every other day).
I cannot thank you enough for posting this information. I do not even want to think about what my skin would still look like if I hadn’t found your blog!
Yay! That’s awesome Allison! 🙂 I’m really happy for you!
Hi Tracy,
I’ve been feeling really discouraged lately…I was taking estroblock for about 9months (started out with 2 of the triple strength to 4 a day) and it worked to get rid of my severe breakouts I was getting last summer but I’m still stuck with moderate acne. I had to stop because finances are so tight right now that I can’t afford it. I’ve literally tried everything over the years from holistic like what I eat and products to not so natural that the dermatologist gave me. I’ve never been able to afford going to a naturopath so that’s probably the only thing I haven’t tried and still can’t. I know some could be from stress but honestly I’m a pretty stress free easy going person although I do have an anxiety disorder but I have it pretty under control. I’m just starting to feel so discouraged and hopeless lately which really isn’t like me to be like that. Please any advice could really help me have a little hope. Thanks Tracy!!!
You’re not alone! I’ve been taking Estrosmart (similar just different brand) for 2-3 months now and it hasn’t really helped much yet although I’ve read many many people online saying that it only worked after 3-4 months. Nine months? That is a lot. I would really recommend you start using milk thistle (a liver detox supplement) and double or triple the recommended dosage.
Once I started using that I felt like my zits were clearing up much faster. One guy online who takes the same Milk Thistle that I do said he takes like 10 a day for a severe condition (not acne related) so it’s safe to take a lot. The one I take is “Jarrow Formulas Milk Thistle”. It’s $12 for 200 caps which is pretty cheap for a good quality supplement. You can get it on Amazon or at Whole Foods and not pay shipping. Or you can call around to stores in your area to find it.
However, if I have sugar the zits come back with a vengence- and when I say zits I mean lots of cystic acne mostly on the neck plus some surface stuff. Getting off the sugar roller coaster is my primary struggle right now and it’s not easy because people keep bringing in amazing baked goods to my work.
You might also try supplementing with an inexpensive Omega 3/6/9 supplement for your anxiety. I’ve had depression, blood sugar problems and ADHD since my childhood and I really think that Omega supplementation helps a lot. I take 6000 mgs a day because studies show that 12,000 mgs a day are incredibly beneficial for those with ADHD. (6 is ok for now) Besides the blood sugar issues which aren’t as bad as they used to be, I feel quite happy and my moods are even. I also eat relatively healthy.
On the plus side, Estrosmart has given me “effortless periods”- just like the bottle says! I’m also feeling my sex drive return bit by bit after almost 2 years of almost non-existent libido- I’m 29 so this shouldn’t be happening. Good luck with your struggles!
Thanks! I appreciate the suggestions and the encouragement 🙂
3 months! But manuka honey and turmeric masks made a difference for me in 3 days!
I tried everything: perfectly healthy diet, exercise, meditation, face washes, cremes, etc. nothing worked in the long term. They worked for some time, but acne kept coming back.
Using Roaccutan for 1 year now, zero acne.
I know it’s unhealthy, but simply no other option. Believe me, this was my LAST resort.