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Hello everyone, I am new here would like some advice. I am an 18 year old girl and have been experiencing some mild acne flareups for the last few months. I have been birth control pills (Alyacen 1/35 which is generic Ortho-Novum) since the summer, I would say either July or August maybe and its now the end of November. This is my first time being on birth control.
I have never had acne in any form before, maybe be pimple here and there but never more than one or two white heads at a time. Up until the the middle of October my skin was perfectly normal however afterwards it started breaking out. It started out as having large red bumps that didn't come to a head, around my mouth and nose- usually in the creases of my nostrils or on the upper lip or chin that took a while to heal. Now there seem to be more small pimples, some that don't come to a head and a few white heads still around the same area. Its usually the worst around my period but continues to a lesser extent all month.
My skin is has always tended toward normal to dry but now I would say its more dry. I seem to barely produce any oil anymore and I'm noticing that I'm starting to have small eczema flareups on my back and stomach- if I don't moisturize my skin gets extremely itchy. It's come to the point where if I wash my hair more than once a week my scalp gets dry. My skin has always been sensitive and seems to be about the same sensitivity.
My skincare routine hasn't really changed. I use Noxzema Classic Clean for a cleanser morning and night and Cetaphil Daily Facial Moisturizer as a moisturizer. I do this morning and night and have never had any issues with it breaking me out so I don't think its those products. I started using Thayer's Witch Hazel toner a few days a ago because I heard good things about it. I tend not to like using benzyl peroxide or salicylic acid on my acne because it leaves my skin very dry and flaky and seems to make it worse sometimes.
I am on the pill to help with my painful period cramps and heavy flow, added contraceptive protection is a plus, but if the pill is whats causing my acne then I would be more than happy to go off.
I'm here for some advice on what I should do and up to suggestions as to my skincare routine. Should I wait it out and try to seem if this will eventually die down or should I switch pills? Recommendations for other birth control pills? Am I doing something wrong with my skin that is causing this? Any suggestions as to products I should try? Please help, I am desperate and miss my old skin 
Hey!
Because you haven't had any acne problems before with your usual skincare routine, it's more likely to be the pill which is causing the acne. Different pills have different affects on people, and some pills are even used to stop acne. You could ask your doctor about the different types of pill. I've had acne for over a year now and I started taking Rigvideon in September which didn't seem to make my acne any better or worse. But I've heard Yasmin is a better type of pill to take for acne problems!
Have you ever tried stopping using chemicals on your skin altogether? I've tried benzyl peroxide too which was awful for my skin. It made my skin so dry and gave me swollen eyes, so I see why you stopped using that!! I'm in a similar situation to you where I've had dry skin and acne and not using cleansers and topical treatments with chemicals in has helped me so much. Instead I cleanse my face using the Oil Cleansing Method and I use a banana peel mask 1-2 times a day. It's all natural and the olive oil got rid of my dry skin altogether as long as I washed it all off. AND my acne is almost non-existent now.
Sometimes on the pill it can take up to 6 months to adjust to all the side effects. Some people get sudden side effects 5 months into using the pill, so maybe your body just needs time to adjust.
Hope I've helped!
On 11/24/2017 at 8:54 AM, HumanKale said:Hey!
Because you haven't had any acne problems before with your usual skincare routine, it's more likely to be the pill which is causing the acne. Different pills have different affects on people, and some pills are even used to stop acne. You could ask your doctor about the different types of pill. I've had acne for over a year now and I started taking Rigvideon in September which didn't seem to make my acne any better or worse. But I've heard Yasmin is a better type of pill to take for acne problems!
Have you ever tried stopping using chemicals on your skin altogether? I've tried benzyl peroxide too which was awful for my skin. It made my skin so dry and gave me swollen eyes, so I see why you stopped using that!! I'm in a similar situation to you where I've had dry skin and acne and not using cleansers and topical treatments with chemicals in has helped me so much. Instead I cleanse my face using the Oil Cleansing Method and I use a banana peel mask 1-2 times a day. It's all natural and the olive oil got rid of my dry skin altogether as long as I washed it all off. AND my acne is almost non-existent now.
Sometimes on the pill it can take up to 6 months to adjust to all the side effects. Some people get sudden side effects 5 months into using the pill, so maybe your body just needs time to adjust.
Hope I've helped!
its not too bad right now but when the bumps heal they leave bright red spots for weeks it seems... I only have two zits right now- the rest just seems to be scars. Thanks for the suggestion, I™ll try it out.