Skin regimen to reduce the negative effects of steroids on the skin (Submitted on 31 May 2004)

One of the most problematic side effects of steroids is a deterioration of the skin. This manifest itself in a number of ways, firstly there is water retention and thickening of the skin and secondly the incidence of acne and pimples on the skin.

Many of the skin problems will be related to dosage and duration of steroid use, but it is also affected by personal hygiene and the kind of regimen you follow to reduce potential problems. Because this is a real problem for many people using steroids, I have put together a regimen that will help many uses to reduce skin problems.

First we have to understand the triggers. Steroids will cause the sebaceous gland to produce more oil. Oily skin is prone to causing poser to clog and lead to the formation of pimples and boils. This problem is compounded by the nature of steroid users behaviour. Training that goes hand in hand with steroid use causes additional impurities to be deposited on the skin and this makes the problem worse.

Many preparations like oxy10 fro instance is based on an anti-bacterial alcohol preparation. While these preparations will kill bacteria on the skin, they also dry the skin out and the reaction from the skin is to increase oil production so the problem get worse. Medical solutions like Accutane is effective but in my opinion if your reaction the steroids is that bad, you need to get off the stuff.

Help minimise problems by following this regimen. Make sure you shower at each morning and evening before bed and as soon as possible after a workout. Use an unscented soap like breeze or Pears and a soft back brush for your back. A hard brush will cause the skin to become irritated and produce more oil. Make sure you wash the skin thoroughly.

After drying off, use an alcohol-free toner like Johnson’s 5.5 and a cotton pad to wipe down the shoulders, chest and lats and as far as possible the back. Let the solution dry. The toner helps to balance the skin PH and this reduces oil production. Apply a light amount of body lotion, I use Dawn but you can use different ones, just be sure that it does not leave your skin to oily. I cream my legs; shoulders, chest and lats and back in general. Focus on the areas under the armpits, as this is where stretch marks often show up. The body cream helps to moistures the skin once again reducing the oil production.

If you have problem areas, you can apply something like Oxy10 after you showered, but once the solution as dries, apply body cream to stop the drying out effect. Do this at night and don’t use this kind of preparation all the time, just when you need it.

This simple routine should be followed every time you shower and will go a long way to sort out bad skin. In addition another key thing is how much water you consume. Steroids increase the body temperature causing you to lose moisture. Because steroids often go hand in hand with water retention you must make sure you get lots of water in. This does two things, it reduces water retention and causes the skin to thin a little bit and secondly it helps flush away waste products in a more diluted state. Waste products increase drastically with steroid use due to the increased anabolic state it induces. Waste product are also excreted through your sweat so the more water you drink the more diluted the sweat solution will become causing less concentrated toxins to be deposited on the skin.

If you do have pimples that from, try not to “pop” then prematurely as this my cause scarring of the skin and may enlarge the pimple. Stick to the regime and allow the body to clear up the pimple if possible. If you have to “pop” the pimple, make sure you use clean hands, and a sterile needle to break the skin, this practice also helps reduce scarring and the pressure needed to get the pimple to pop. Clean the affected area afterwards with toner.

This strategy will in most cases solve the steroids user irritating skin problems, but once again, if you suffer from bad acne steroids may simply not be for you.