The following article includes relevant information that might make you to reconsider what you thought you understood about How does Birth Control Pills help acne. The most important thing is to study with an open mind and be willing to revise your understanding if necessary. But, before going into the subject, I think it’s reasonable to disclaim that I am neither a doctor nor an expert in this field. I just gathered some useful information about this topic around the internet that might save you time. Besides, learn the truth about the birth control pills for acne can help you clarify things better. Let’s start from the beginning.
What are Birth control pills?
The Birth control pill or The Oral contraceptive pill (OCP) is a common method of contraception using synthetic hormones taken by mouth to help prevent pregnancy. It works by keeping woman’s hormones under control so that she could not get pregnant.
There are mainly two types of the Oral Birth Control Pills available out there include:
- The Combination Oral hormonal Contraceptive pill (COC, ‘the Pill’, ‘Combination pills‘) – This pill contains BOTH a synthetic estrogen as ethinyl estradiol and certain type of progestin such as norethindrone, norgestimate, or drospirenone.
- The progestin-only pill (POP, ‘mini-pill’) -- This pill only contains the hormone progestin.
FYI, in some cases of acne especially hormonal acne, “the combination pill” may be prescribed to deal with this type of acne together with other acne treatments
as a hormonal treatment.
How to know if you have hormonal acne?
You may have hormonal acne if you often have these following conditions:
You are adult with acne breakouts.
You have facial acne breakouts before getting your periods.
You have irregular menstrual periods.
In addition, there are other factors which can cause hormonal fluctuations of human body for example pregnancy, ON/OFF taking birth control pills, and even STRESS. See, these factors can lead to hormonal ACNE.
What causes ACNE Again?
Acne is a disorder of the skin which can range from mild to severe conditions. It results from the imbalance of hormones and irritation of the skin’s oil glands (sebaceous glands) and hair follicles. Some studies show that the main causes of acne are genetics and hormones. However, it is believed that those causes might not be true for each case. Other factors such as medications that you take, the types of makeup you use, personal hygiene and more are also known that can trigger the formation of acne.
So, the exact cause of acne is still unknown, but in this article we will focus on hormonal acne which relates to birth control pills. Without a doubt, one important factor which can cause Acne is an increase in the male sex hormones (as androgens). Androgen is existent in women too and becomes active for both boys and girls during puberty. It causes the sebaceous glands larger, produces more oils (called sebum) and of course more acne. This is why teenagers have more acne breakouts than adults.
How does testosterone cause acne?
In some cases, a formation of acne may be the result of
androgen stimulation of sebum production. Besides, studies have shown that females with hormonal acne also have high level of testosterone.
Testosterone is the primary and most well-known androgen. It is secreted in the testes of men and the ovaries of women. As you might already know, there’s a close relationship between hormones and acne.
To be simple, If you have a very high level of testosterone circulate inside the body, you are likely prone to have acne breakouts than a normal condition. It is because too much free testosterone can stimulate the over-production of sebaceous glands that lead to excess oils (sebum) in your skin. Consequently, it easily makes the skin pores becoming clogged.
When the excess oils which are trapped inside the pores join with the skin bacteria which rapidly grow inside, it causes the pores infected as well as the formation of acne. At last, the immune system of your body begins to work to fix this situation. For this reason you can see your skin become worse such as swelling, redness, and even pus at the affected areas. And of course you will struggle to seek a way to
get rid of this type of acne.
Which Birth control pill that helps acne?
To be blunt, some types of the combination hormonal birth control pills may treat moderate acne. Keep in mind, the primary purpose of the birth control pill is to prevent pregnancy not to cure your acne. Anyway, if your acne cannot be treated by any medications, The Pills may help your acne condition improved while using the pill to help prevent pregnancy.
This benefit results from the combination of both a progestin and of course a synthetic estrogen(EE) when formulated with sufficient amounts depending on each brand; this can increases sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) lead to suppress ovarian androgen production, which will decrease the production of sebum, as a result less acne breakouts. Remember, the pill is an acne treatment option for women.
In addition, The Mini-Pill only contains progestin, so it doesn’t help acne or improve the skin at all.
EE is short for Ethinyl Estradiol—it is a synthetic estrogen found in most the combination Pills.
Estrogen is a hormone produced in a woman's ovaries. It promotes the growth and makes the development of female sexual features to prepare the body for having a baby. It also reduces the effects of androgens inside the body.
A progestin is a synthetic progestagen. It counteracts the effects of estrogens on the body. The birth control pills contain one of these following types of progestin: Norethindrone, Norethindrone Acetate, Ethynodiol Diacetate, Levonorgestrel, Norgestrel, Desogestrel, Norgestimate, or Drospirenone.
What birth control pill is good for acne?
There are many brands of combination birth control pills available out there. And each brand differently contains the synthetic hormones in pills by its own formula. Ideally, the Pill that helps for acne should have higher in estrogen with lower in androgenic potency. If you want more details about this click here.
It is better to talk with your doctor about which is good birth control pill to treat your acne condition. Be careful, most birth control pills have not been specifically approved for the treatment of acne. And they come with side effects.
How to find out the Best Birth Control pill for Acne:
Finding out the best birth control pill that helps your acne is quite a hard job to do. To gain the benefits about this, you need to consult with your doctor open-minded tell him/her about all your medical history. Generally, the doctor will examine your acne condition along with your blood test results (your blood needs to be tested). The answer will depend on the severity of your acne condition plus your overall health including hormones.
To avoid the side effects from the pills that may occur and to get the satisfied results, your doctor will only prescribe the Best Birth Control pill which is suitable for your acne condition. In some cases, other oral medications or other treatments might be alternative options.
When talking about results, using birth control pills to treat acne can make different results depend on each individual. However, many studies have shown that the pills can reduce the total amount of acne or pimples of patients around 40 - 50 percent and most of the pills had a similar positive effect on acne.
Here are Specific brand of Combination Oral hormonal Contraceptives (COCs) approved by FDA that Help Improve Acne:
Ortho Tri-Cyclen— Norgestimate/Ethinyl Estradiol
Estrostep— Norethindrone/ Ethinyl Estradiol
Yaz— Drospirenone/ Ethinyl Estradiol
Beyaz—Drospirenone/Ethinyl Estradiol containing a folate
Birth control pills may be taken for the treatment of moderate acne, if all of these following are YES:
• You want the pill for birth control.
• You have been approved to use the pill.
• You are at least 14 or 15 years old (depends on the brand of COCs).
• You have started having menstrual periods.
• You plan to stay on the pill for at least 6 months.
• You have not improved with other medications.
However,combination birth control pills may be unsuitable, if you have any of these following:
• Smoke, if age over 35
• Obesity
• A previous blood clot (thrombosis, embolism)
• High blood pressure (hypertension) or heart disease
• Recently undergone surgery
• Recently immobile or trauma
• A relative aged less than 50 years who has had blood clots or high blood pressure
• Known or suspected pregnancy
The Risks of Birth Control Pills:
Most common side effects of birth control pills you might experience:
• Nausea /Vomiting
• Abdominal Pain
• Menstrual Irregularities
• Breast Pain/Tenderness
• Bleeding or Spotting between menstrual periods
Less common side effects are:
• Acne
• Weight changes
• Less sexual desire
• Bloating or fluid retention
• Problems tolerating contact lenses
• Blotchy darkening of the skin, especially on the face
• High fat (cholesterol; triglyceride) levels in the blood
• High blood sugar, especially in women who already have diabetes
What are the Most Serious Risks of Taking Birth Control Pills?
These following adverse reactions are uncommon in healthy women, which can lead to more serious problems. If you experience any of these, stop using the pills and go to see your doctor immediately:
• Persistent leg pain (indicating a possible clot in the leg)
• Sudden shortness of breath/Severe chest pain/coughing of blood (indicating a possible clot in the leg)
• Sudden partial or complete blindness (indicating a possible clot in the eye)
• Crushing chest pain (indicating a possible heart attack)
• Sudden, severe headache (unlike your usual headaches -- indicating a stroke)
• Yellowing of the skin or eyeballs (indicating possible liver problems)
• Difficulty in sleeping, weakness, lack of energy, fatigue, or mood changes (indicating severe depression)
Moreover, women (with any age and health) taking combined oral birth control pills
increase a risk of getting thromboembolism (the blocking of blood vessels by blood clots) than nonusers.
Summary:
Hopefully the sections above might clarify you about -- How does Birth Control Help ACNE more or less. Share your new understanding about this topic with others. They'll thank you for it. Recaps, Combination Birth Control Pills contain two active ingredients- both an estrogen and a progestin. They are well known in keeping hormones under control in order to prevent pregnancy plus another benefit is treatment of moderate acne. This is why the combined birth control pill is very beneficial in helping women improve their skin conditions during contraception. But, everyone is different, and reacts differently to the pills. Only you and your doctor can figure out what the best birth control pill that helps acne.
This article is only for informative purposes. This article is not intended to be a medical advice and it is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult your doctor for your medical concerns. Please follow any tip given in this article only after consulting your doctor. The author is not liable for any outcome or damage resulting from information obtained from this article.
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How does birth control help acne? -- “Here Is How”
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