Women

For women with hormonal-type acne, I recommend you start with the following supplements:

• Inositol – Take myo-inositol and D-chiro-inositol in 40:1 ratio.
  • Myo-inositol: 1000 to 1500mg/day
  • D-chiro-inositol: 25 to 37.5 mg/day
• Spearmint tea 1 or 2 cups a day

If that doesn’t help, you can try the following:

• N-Acetylcysteine (NAC): 600 – 1800 mg/day (start with low dose and increase over time if needed)
• DIM: As recommended by the manufacturer; there are not enough human studies to determine the optimal dosage.

Men

The situation is a bit different for men with hormonal-type acne. While women often struggle with both high insulin and androgen levels, insulin is the main problem for men. Men are also in an unfortunate situation where we have almost no reliable studies to draw from. Most such studies have been conducted on women.

However, the following supplements are worth trying:

• Berberine: Take 500 to 1000mg/day. Start with a lower dosage and increase if necessary. If you notice cramping, bloating or other gastrointestinal problems, try taking the supplements with meals and/or lowering the dosage.
• N-Acetylcysteine (NAC): 600 – 1800 mg/day (start with low dose and increase over time if needed)