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[Nicole*]

Hi everyone! I'm 19 years old and suffering from moderate acne. I don't have cystic acne, and I'm not sure if it's hormonal or not, but I only have it on my face, specifically my forehead, cheeks, and my nose. Most of it is really red and blotchy, and only a few have come to a head as whiteheads. I have some blackheads too, but they seem to be the same ones I've had for years, that just haven't gone away.

My face started breaking out when I was about 12 and I tried tons of commercial products but nothing worked. Then when I was around 15, I went on Yasmin for my acne. Since starting the pill, my face has gotten better and better, and eventually I just had the occasional pimple and my remaining scars. So I decided to go off the pill this past february since I'm 19, and I thought that maybe my skin would be fine even without the pill. Sadly I was sooo wrong. Since february, my face has broken out all over again, mostly on my cheeks, forehead, and nose again.

I was also using clindoxyl gel while on Yasmin, which seemed to help as a spot treatment. But when I try to use it now that I'm off birth control, it doesn't help at all!

Does anyone have similar experiences to me or any advice at all on how to treat my acne? Any help would really be appreciated!

Also, does anyone know what "type" of acne I have? Because I assumed it was hormonal, since the pill helped me, but I also read that hormonal acne occurs along the jawline and chin, which I don't have (only a tiny, tiny bit on my chin). So I have no idea what's causing it! But it's really bad, and has only been getting worse since stopping Yasmin.

[Green Gables]

Hormonal acne can occur anywhere, though it tends to localize on the chin for a lot of people.

The most obvious clue here is that it got better on Yasmin, and you broke out again when you went off it.

Unfortunately hormonal acne requires lifelong treatment. If you don't want more birth control, you can try spironolactone. It is a very mild hormonal treatment that mutes your androgen receptors and is safe to take long-term.

There are many posts on spiro on this board if you want to look into it. I have been on it for 4 months and it is the only thing that has significantly cleared me.

Edited by Green Gables, 04 July 2012 - 10:52 AM.