sebaceous hyperplasia
EDS Skin Care Forums Forum Index » Skincare Tools & Do-It-Yourself Skincare

Tue Nov 27, 2012 1:06 pm

Although sebaceous hyperplasia (SH) has been brought up in a couple different threads (most recently by snypes13 and AnnieR ), I'm hoping that by starting a new thread with the specific subject of SH, more people might chime in.

I'm 52 and have had Grade III acne since I was 10. In addition to all the usual culprits of blackheads, pustules, cysts, and scarring, I've also had SH throughout my life, as well as milia and Fordyce spots.

I've been through just about every possible treatment - antibiotics, Retin A, Differen, Tazorac, Metrogel, topical isotretinoin, Accutane, light therapy, lasers (including a full face Erbium), peels (Obagi Blue, glycolic, salicylic, and TCA), subcision, cortisone injections, dry ice, electric needling, dermabrasion, and dermarolling. I recently started using Paula’s Choice BHA9, which specifically mentions treating SH, but feel it’s too soon to judge results.

Almost everything helped to some degree on the acne and there has been some improvement on the scarring over the years. However, the only time I had significant relief from SH was while on Accutane. Unfortunately, any improvements were temporary.

Since going through menopause, I rarely have active acne but still have plenty of post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PHI), nodules, and SH. And now I'm dealing with aging skin on top of it all! I recently read that 1450-nm diode lasers (Smoothbeam) can help SH, but I’m reluctant to put more time and money into lasers, as I haven’t found them to be very helpful. The Erbium laser treatment was very expensive and painful, with the most noticeable result being a demarcation line along my jaw line.

My current regimen includes antioxidants, CP, Retin A, Vit C, and rolling. I’ve only done two 1.5 mm rolls, so I can’t tell yet if that will help. Topical isotretinoin is hard to get, and I didn’t use it long enough to see if it would really help, plus I’m reluctant to use something that strong indefinitely.

Does anyone have any comments, suggestions, experiences to share?

free skin care · Sat Sep 28, 2013 1:16 pm

Alexya, I called Epionce and was able to talk to someone as soon as I called.

I just called my sister and checked in on my BIL's SH for you. She said she saw a reduction in size of the bumps ranging from 30-50% within the first 2 weeks, but it has held pretty steady at that level. Since he did see some improvement and it has helped with the general oiliness of his skin, he is going to keep using the Epionce Lytic Sport. He is also using the Renewal Lite as well.

Wed May 21, 2014 7:41 pm

It is called Lyclear with 5% permethrin.

free skin care · Wed Mar 15, 2017 12:21 pm

For me personally my skin is less oily and my pores are smaller. I have copied and pasted the following from the internet.I do not have acne but do believe strongly that oil production and SH are linked.

Vitamin B5 and Acne

If there is a deficiency of vitamin B5, the body may try to compensate by producing more oil and therefore lead to acne. A proper intake of vitamin B5 can decrease this excess oil content in the body. When vitamin B5-rich foods are added to the diet or a supplement taken, it can cause old acne to disappear. Vitamin B5 clears acne in adults and teens – from all over the body and face. Apart from reducing oil production, pore size is also reduced.

"Vitamin B5 medications

Doctors usually prescribe 5-10mg vitamin B5 to their patients if it is given as a separate drug. An excess can result in stomach problems, in which case the dosage will be reduced. These side effects can be reduced by combining vitamin B5 with L-carnitine. Since vitamin B5 decreases oil production, it can cause dry skin. Vitamin B5 must not be taken if you suffer from hemophilia for the time taken for bleeding to stop can increase."

There is much info out there suggesting pore size is reduced when taking B5

Sat Sep 16, 2017 8:07 am

I've never heard of it either, Annie. If you do happen to find out more about it, please let us know. Smile

Fri Mar 15, 2019 5:11 am

Where do you get differin?

Typed it into amazon and just pulls up retinol creams at 2.5%?

Already got some in a liquid form. Stung like hell when I put it on first time so never touched it again!

Thu Mar 21, 2019 1:21 pm

How are the pits healing up now?

Have they filled out some more and returning to normal skin colour?

free skin care · Tue May 14, 2019 11:34 am

Good luck GW.

I too will give winchester a miss now.

I have booked to see a lady called Elaine Stoddart in Southampton on the 25th July.

I still firmly believe that ACP is the best way to deal with SH alongside washing with Salicylic Acid face wash twice a day. I am still taking B5 so will be interested to see how my skin is doing on the 25th.
It looks pretty good to me but then I don't have a magnifying mirror to look in. That would scare me to death....

Wed May 22, 2019 6:43 am

Hi Lin52

Thanks for your post. I don't have any blogs out there and I'm only in the early stages of getting back up and running as an independent practitioner after selling my clinic in Winchester UK.

I am currently seeing the odd client at a clinic in Winchester. I will be treating Hemp there in a few weeks time. I will try and pass my number to you on here if they let me. That way you can give me a call and we can go from there. You can call anytime and if I'm unable to answer I will get straight back to you.

If anyone else in the UK wishes to call and speak to me about Sebaceous Hyperplasia I'd be only to happy to talk to you

Don't forget that I'm in Winchester in the UK

Kind regards

Andy 07872 058949

Fri May 31, 2019 8:21 am

Yeah it's quite amazing looking at my Facebook as for ten years prior to my treatment it's like the dark ages and a black hole from where I had these wart type lumps all over my face and just stayed at home. Since my first treatment with ACP/Andy it looks more like a non stop party! Laughing

Seeing that new lady I found this coming Monday so will report back on how that goes in case there are people for whom that is more convenient than Winchester.

Fri Jul 05, 2019 8:57 am

Hi AnnieR

Hemp is the expert when it comes to using vitamin B5 (Pantothenic Acid). He feels that it has definitely helped in the reduction of oil or sebum production.

Like just about everyone else who has Sebaceous Hyperplasia, I have oily skin and open pores. To me, word-of-mouth is always the best recommendation anyone can have. So if there's a chance I can reduce both my sebum and pore size, I'm giving it ago! And having met both Hemp & GW several time over the past few years, I can certainly vouch for their integrity and honesty

free skin care · Tue Jul 16, 2019 5:31 am

No science behind why i take it at night.

The bottle is by the side of my bed which helps me to remember.
Its said your skin repairs itself while sleeping so maybe it helps with that.
My skin was always oiliest when i woke up in the morning. Literally running with oil. It is no longer like that , im amazed every morning when i look in the mirror.
As regards energy i dont know. I certainly dont have any trouble sleeping but to be honest i dont think it matters when you take them as long as you do. I am religous and never miss a day 😊

free skin care · Sun Jun 13, 2021 12:02 am

Thats good to hear GW.I still believe the skin classic is the best available solution at this time and i am hugely grateful to have access to it.

I wanted to mention that there is now a very actice facebook group if anyone is interested.
Just type sebacious hyperplasia in the facebook search and join to view it.

It gets a lot more hits than this forum.
.

Fri Jan 20, 2023 2:59 pm

Markp wrote:

AnnieR wrote:

Welcome Mark!
That's a very interesting observation.
I do really love walnuts so that is something to try. This issue does involve oil glands so maybe when they have less oil, they work harder to compensate?
Who knows but I'm willing to give it a try.

Please let me know how you get on, just remember if you find yourself extra oily for a couple of weeks that I'd take that as a good sign. If you have time I'd try work out how much fat you think you're getting in your diet on a typical day, if it's already plenty, maybe 40 or 50g then it's probably not the solution you you, saying that I really hope it is, it's so counter intuitive but I'd love to hear its helped someone else! Take care, Mark

Sorry I can't figure out how to edit my posts, so just going to add this here, after I looked at AnnieRs history (hopefully don't sound like a stalker), I also, like her, suffer adult acne/type 2 rosacea, in fact I think it's some of those pustules that maybe leave behind a hyperplasia. Although my skin improved when it got less oily from the increased fat intake it wasn't a miracle for breakouts like I imagined. However since September last year I've been taking 50mg vit b6, just a cheap no brand one, every other day, and it's done more for me that ivermectin ever did, roughly 80 percent less spots. The last 4 months have been amazing for lack of breakouts, pretty much helped straight away. Please share that info if it helps anyone. I've tried hundreds of things over the last 2 decades, fancy creams, minerals and vitamins, which I document and basically pray it'll help, but increased fat intake and b6 are the only two game changers I've found, neither seem referenced online anywhere really, so maybe I'm unique but I just want it online incase these things can help anyone!

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