WARNING: THIS IS A REALLY LONG ARTICLE.

Hello, everyone!

I'm Aleida, I'm 15 years old and I used to have ''perfect'' skin , but now I have hormonal acne.

This is my story, I hope you can help me with some questions I have, thanks for reading, by the way!

So, my skin was dry at first so my skin care routine (Which I started at 12/13 years old) included Extra Virgin Olive Oil as moisturizing and a cream called 'Betametasone', I don't even know what's that cream for but it really made my skin look a lot better.

Of course, I used to have some breakouts (as you can see in my forehead) but I had another cream with benzoyl peroxide that helped me with that.

Now comes the sad part:
Since a year now, I started to have more and more pimples that didn't disappeared with my benzoyl peroxide cream, which was actually doing nothing but burning my skin. I thought it was going to be okay... but no.

My pimples were still there so I went to the doctor on May, she told me my skin WAS NOT acne prone, but I had ''closed comedones'' and she sent me a cream called ''Effaclar K'' from La Roche Posay.

I used to apply it as she told me but I NEVER SAW ANY DIFFERENCE. It was a really expensive cream and it didn't do ANYTHING.
When the cream was over I never bought a new one again.

I don't really remember what I did after that with my skin but I tried not to worry about it and it became worse...

Since 5 or 6 months when I was on my period my sister asked me if I was taking control of it (which means writing down the day you start and the day you finish) and I told her I wasn't, so she realized I was having my period TWICE A MONTH. And yeah, after two weeks, MY PERIOD CAME AGAIN! I don't know exactly since when this was happening to me, but I believe it was right before I went to the doctor.

By that time I didn't have any idea of what Hormonal Acne was, so I was still thinking that my acne was caused by any product I was using.

Then, I started to research about acne causes, how to get rid of pimples, etc and I read about that.. HORMONAL ACNE.

So, considering that my period imbalance is caused by hormones, of course, my acne is , too.

Even after knowing that I thought I could get rid of my acne by topical treatments, so I freaked out and I started putting everything I thought it would work on my face.
Honey, strawberries, olive oil, toothpaste, etc... Of course, ANYTHING WORKED.

When I finally went to the doctor to treat my period imbalance, he said it was COMPLETELY NORMAL and it would regulate itself and sent me some BIRTH CONTROL PILLS (100% ESTROGEN).
Before even taking them I searched about side effects and I read (here, in acne.org) about some girls who took 100% estrogen pills and their acne got worse. (((I am trying to find that article but I can't !)))

Someone said that when a pill is 100% of any hormone, that means it hasn't another hormone to regulate it, so its side efects are awful. (Based on that I looked for 50% estrogen and 50% progesterone on drugstores but I couldn't find any).

After reading that, I got scared so I threw the pills.

But, now some months after I wish I would have taken those pills , just to see if they actually work .

So, few minutes ago I was watching a video about How to control hormonal acne Mod Edit and there's a comment that says:

''I work for a med spa &acne clinic and one thing that works for severe hormonal acne is getting on a estrogen dominant birth control pill - this will help minimize the androgen activity that is stimulating excess oil production. It's always best to go natural but if nothing else works it's an effective option. ''

and another one : ''As a footnote: Drinking mint tea is a more natural alternative. It too is anti-androgen and you won't suffer from the side effects of hormonal birth control. Except is also raises estrogen levels so caution is key!''

So, now I'm REALLY CONFUSED about what to do and my mom doesn't want to take me to the doctor 'cause she has no time and she thinks my acne is ''normal and part of growing up''.

I'm scared that if I take only estrogen pills I could get acne in my chest, back and even more pimples in my face just like the girl I mentioned.

I don't want that. I'm depressed enough with my skin right now to have even more pimples.

Sometimes I wake up and cry, and don't want to go to school because of how my face looks.
I have acne scars, redness, and MILLIUM.

I know my acne is not even THAT bad, so if you have severe acne and it pisses you off that I'm complaining about my light acne, I Apologize, because I know how it feels.

When my best friends complains about a stupid pimple while the rest of her skin is just flawless. It really makes me so upset, so I'm sorry if it bothered any of you.

Now, some things you have to know about my life-style that may explain why I have an hormonal disorder:
1.- I sleep less than 8 hours. Basically I sleep 3 to 5 hours per day.
2.- I don't work out, AT ALL.

3.- I'm always stressed because of school, family, and stuff.
4.- I eat whatever I find at home, and when I go out I buy ice creams, cakes, etc.

Ps. TODAY IS MY FIRST DAY OF VACATIONS, AND TRUST ME I'M GOING TO START SLEEPING 8 HOURS, WORKING OUT PROPERLY, RELAX ABOUT SCHOOL AND TRY TO STAY CALM, AND EAT HEALTHIER. I WANT TO HAVE A BETTER, LONGER AND HAPPIER LIFE.

SO... the main question: WHAT SHOULD I DO? SHOULD I TAKE THE ONLY ESTROGEN PILLS ?

HAVE YOU EVER TAKEN THEM? DO YOU KNOW ABOUT SOMEONE WITH HORMONAL ACNE WHO TRIED THIS?

WHAT ABOUT THE MINT TEA? DO YOU THINK I SHOULD TRY THAT FIRST AND IF IT DOESN'T WORK, THEN GO FOR THE PILLS?

THANKS FOR READING, AGAIN.