Acne Treatment Birth Control Pills – Does It Really Work?

by Annie Enriquez - Advisor for realacnetreatment.com

When looking for an acne treatment birth control pills are one of the few medications some women turn to. Women find comfort using birth control pills to treat stubborn acne as the solution to their problem. The question is if birth control pills really works. Are they really as effective as they seem to be to some women or do they have their own risks and side effects?

Women who have been struggling with the never – ending acne problem find acne treatment birth control pills effective but how do other feel about this? How do birth control pills really work?

Linking Hormones

In every woman’s menstrual cycle, estrogen (estradiol) and progesterone (progestin) hormones play a major role. The levels of increase and decrease of these hormones determine whether a woman is ovulating, menstruating or pregnant. Testosterone or male hormone also plays a part in the menstrual cycle. Before menstruation, testosterone levels increases to enhance libido and controls the increasing estrogen levels. This is called feedback mechanism. During pregnancy, testosterone levels built up especially among women who are expecting baby boys.

Enhanced testosterone levels do not only enhance sex drive but it also increases acne breakouts among women just before their period. Additional testosterone brings about the production of more oil from the sebaceous glands and results to the combining of the dead skin cells and dirt that cause acne. This as well explains why most women have acne breakouts during their pregnancy.

Acne and Birth Control Pills

How do acne treatment birth control pills work for women with acne breakouts? Birth control pills are generally made of estrogen and progesterone or a combination of both hormones. They prevent mature eggs from developing thus preventing pregnancy. One of the side effects of the pills is they control the production of testosterone which is a great factor in preventing acne breakouts prior to menstruation. This is one of the main reasons why dermatologists suggest the use of birth control pills to women with stubborn acne.

There are three birth control pills at present which have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration in the US namely Ortho Tri – Cyclen, Estrostep and Yaz. Variants of Yaz are also available like Diane – 35 and Yasmin and are also used for treating acne.

When going for acne treatment birth control pills may take about three to six months before you start to see any dramatic changes on your skin. You can start getting used to the pill while waiting for the results and this goes along with the undesirable effects of the pills like nausea, weight gain, mood swings, headaches including high blood pressure, stroke, gallstones as well as depression. Estrogen and progesterone combination are not effective against acne but have lower risk for pregnancy while progesterone only pills comes out to be very effective but have lower rate of preventing pregnancy.

If you’re looking for an acne treatment birth control pills may be a good solution to turn to but nothing is better than going for an all natural acne solution. May be you can try going all natural and see how they work on your acne and your body. They are much healthier and pose no side effects and risks.