Are Birth Control Pills the Cure for Acne?

Adolescents are the primary victims of acne. This is because of the production of sex hormones and that in turn can induce the sebaceous glands (oil producing glands) to work overtime. The oil and dead cells get clogged underneath the skin resulting in acne. Since the main cause of acne is excess hormones, acne can arise at other times in a woman's life when there are changes to the hormonal level of the body. The two most common situations that come to mind are when you take birth control pills or during pregnancy.

Hormone levels differ between brands of birth control and some may cause acne as a side affect. If you are taking birth control pills and find your acne aggravated, you should immediately consult your doctor. Your physician may decide to change the brand of your birth control pill.

More often than not, birth control pills have the opposite effect on acne. There are many women who opt for birth control pills as an acne cure. There are certain prerequisites for opting birth control pills as a treatment for acne. You need to be healthy, at least fifteen years of age, and you need to have started menstruating. Most importantly, you need to consult your doctor about birth control pills and acne. He is the only authorized person to give you advice on birth control pills and acne.

Most experts believe that opting for birth control pills to control acne must be the last option. It should be used only when all other treatments have proven unsuccessful. There may be some side effects of birth control pills and as such it must be taken as specified by the doctor. It is true that there are a lot of birth control pills that might help you solve the problem of acne but there is just one brand of birth control pill that has been formally approved by the FDA for treating acne, Ortho Tri-Cyclen.

Pregnant women will sometimes experience acne problems. Once again we can blame hormonal changes. During pregnancy, the hormone progesterone becomes dominant in the pregnant woman and it is more androgenic (resembling male). This simulates the same situation that causes acne in teens and that is why it might result in the dreaded acne. The good news is that, like the rest of pregnancy woes, it is always a temporary problem and continues just until your pregnancy is over. If you have severe problems with it, you can always consult a dermatologist.