If you have been on antibiotics and are still breaking out it may be hormonal. My problem areas have been my chin and truly genetic since my mom suffered from acne as well. I have tiny ice pick scars very little on my cheeks from breakouts and red scarring on my forehead and chin from old breakouts. Since high school I had tried diffirin, multiple antibiotics, topical antibiotics, facial peels for the scarring and I'm on my fourth month of this BC and my cystic acne has disappeared!!! I never wanted to take BC but so far this has been the best decision for me at 24 years old I am currently taking BC and using retinA . RetinA is the best solution for black heads by the way if you use it consistently in a couple of months they come out by themselves, my skin is not crazily severe when broken out but it's bad and cystic acne is painful and other zits on top of that especially by your mouth is aesthetically unpleasant. I also decided to start the BC because I started breaking out on my cheeks which had been resulting in the zit leaving a hole aka a dark semi deep scar . I'm happy with my skin try it! Check out my [Removed] I am starting a makeup and healthy skin lifestyle channel, let me know if you have any more questions! [Removed]

My acne struggles started a few years ago. I had pretty severe acne mostly on my cheeks, but also small bumps all over. I tried a different brand first (Minastrin), but it seemed to be making it worse. Some of the other things I have tried are: most drugstore brands, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, liver supplements, oil cleansing, witch hazel, the list goes on. BC was my last option for the most part. I have been on OTC Lo for about 8 months now. The first 2-3 months didn't do much, but starting with the 4th month and beyond, it just got better and better. It has cleared my skin about 90%. I still break out around my period though. But my skin tone is clearer, the bumps have gone away, and the spots I do get are generally smaller and go away faster. Overall, I am a LOT happier with my skin than when I started. It truly has made a difference. My skin looks plumper, feels softer, and does not break out as much with different topicals. I currently take this pill, wash in the AM and PM with CeraVe foaming cleanser (with a konjac sponge at night), moisturize with argan oil in the AM, and use Fruit of the Earth Aloe Vera Gel on spots at night. I use IT Cosmetics powder foundation (I have gone from heavy foundations and concealers to just a powder foundation!) This simple routine has helped me clear my skin up dramatically. HOWEVER, this will be my last pack. This pill has caused me bloating and persistent depression/anxiety. I realize now that this is just a cover and a blanket cure for my skin. If you think you have hormonal acne, I highly recommend looking into supplements such as DIM, Vitex, Calcium D-Glucarate, and Saw Palmetto. All can help hormonal acne by balancing hormones. I am planning on stopping this pill, and incorporating those supplements! Overall, as an acne treatment I give this a 4/4.5, and as a medication a 3/3.5. If you are struggling and need birth control for contraception as well, give it a shot, but understand the risks and realize it is synthetic hormones (this is making me feel less and less 'natural' every day). However, it can be beneficial. In general, it is not a cure, and only really masks the problem for a short time.

My derm put me on this med to help with my cystic acne. It helped, don't get me wrong, but I wasn't completely clear. It wasn't until I started taking it in conjunction with spironolactone that my acne was gone.

Tried this a year ago and it took about 3 months to really kick in. Then a combination of lots of sun and this bc and i was completely clear. Except like one tiny one right before my period that lasted like a day. I had dealt with moderate acne since I was 14 so this was huge for me. After like 10 months I got cocky and thought maybe I had just grown out of it finally. So I stopped and it slowly creeped back in not too severely at first. Then after a few months, starting at the beginning of this year, it's been horrible. I'm talking two new giant cysts on my face every day. And a breakout of like 5 new cysts on my back every week. I tried eliminating dairy/gluten/sugar, adding vitamins, working out, being very careful to do everything healthy for my skin and nothing has worked. I'm now on my 4th week back on Sprintec and at first it only made it worse. I've been pretty depressed and have been hiding in my house but I haven't had any new spots on my face/chest in two days, skin feels like it's calming down, and my back has been clear since the third week. I believe it will get better because it worked before. That being said, I think bc is something you should reeeeaaally be careful about considering. Do you want to rely on it forever? It works for me and clears me up 99% but also occasionally gives me migraines and mood swings plus I'm afraid of being dependent on it forever. It's a choice of having clear skin and being happy but dealing with the long term downsides.

I'm 15 and have been struggling with acne for three years, trying anything to get rid of it. I have horrible cysitc acne all along my chin and sides of my face with regular pimples that pop up everywhere else. Along with that I have many deep pimples on my back and neck. I began with drugstore remedies with no results. I took many prescriptions of Doxycycline and Metrocycline before realizing that I was actually terribly allergic to them, breaking out in rashes along my neck and having swollen eyelids. It was a nightmare. I turned to Proactive for quite a few months but it didn't work, it only relieved my acne for the first two or three months before I gave up. With yet another trip to the dermatologist, they prompted me to try accutane. However, I read that large booklet of information they gave me and realized that it's side effects could seriously harm me, more so because I'm female. After turning accutane down they recommended birth control. I preyed that my acne was a result of imbalanced hormones and gave it a shot with Ortho Tri-Cyclen. Today I am two weeks away from starting my third month but I hardly see results. I have more cysts on my chin and side of my face but I was warned that it may get worse before getting better, like most medicines. I don't want to give up on BC and truthfully, I don't know if I can handle having acne like this. I am depressed about how I look and how much energy I have to have to appear normal. I wake up an hour or so earlier than anyone I know to cover my acne, and even then it's still noticeable. It affects my interaction with others and focus during school because I'm too hung up on "my acne is horrible people probably thing I'm gross". Summer time is hard too because I can't enjoy going to a public pool and I try not to wear makeup. I've sadly come to the decision that if this doesn't work then I'll turn to accutane, my last resort. But some of these reviews give me hope. After the three months mark I should see more improvements. It's hard to imagine having a clear face after taking my acne day to day for three years. So please, please, please work Ortho Tri-Cyclen!

I've been on trip cyclen lo for about 2 months now going onto my third month in about 2 weeks, but i do see a difference in my acne scars they have faded a lot recently but the only problem is I've been breaking out a lot on my chin and forehead (more my chin) i just really hope by the end of the third month everything will get better and everything will clear up

I am sixteen years old and I have suffered from acne since I started puberty around 11 years old. In the past couple of years, my acne has become more severe across my cheeks, forehead, and every where in between. I had tried many types of acne treatments including seeing a dermatologist and buying perscription medications. Nothing seemed to be clearing up my acne like I wanted it to. I realized that not matter how much I cleaned my face and used different treatments, the acne would not go away because it was directly related to my hormones. I talked to my parents and we decided to try the pill. The first couple of cycles on this pill were hard on me. My acne had become so severe the first couple of months on the pill that I was embarressed to go to school. After a few more months, I noticed a big difference in my skin. The pimples were getting a lot smaller and there were not as many. My acne was being healed. Now, I am on my fifth cycle and I only break out a little around my period. I am so glad I decided to take this birth control. My skin looks so much better and I am more confident. For me, some other advantages to taking this pill were my cramps and migraines around my period are completely gone. My boobs have also gone from an A to C cup.. so that's pretty cool too. I would recommend this pill to anyone who has hormonal acne. The results are different for everyone but I can assure you that it has worked for me.

I took Ortho Tri-Cyclen since I was 15 until I was 21 for acne and birth control. It worked pretty well. I had mild/moderate acne while on it, but without it I likely would have had severe acne. This past year (20 years old), I stopped taking Ortho Tri-Cyclen and I had a major breakout--the worst breakout of my life! Really painful cystic acne covered my whole face. It got so bad that after a few months of being miserable with severe acne I got back on Ortho Tri-Cyclen and started taking Minocycline. After a month I ended up on Accutane and I'm still on Ortho Tri-Cyclen. Anyway, I think this has really helped my acne, but talk to your doctor or dermatologist before getting off of it because it may make your hormones go crazy and make you breakout majorly!

I have been on Tri Sprintec (which is excellent for lack of insurance) for maybe 2 years. Thanks to this pill, my skin has dramatically improved. I had light-moderate acne and would get large, deep blemishes on my back. Now I only break out on my face when (and if) I happen to miss a pill or top using The Regimen, and my back is completely clear. This had also completely cleared my forehead. This in combination with The Treatment (2.5% BP) are my go to!

I've been on this pill for almost a week and 80% of my acne has cleared up and I am so glad I decided to go on the pill. I needed birth control anyways because I am in a serious relationship, but a few years ago I went on Accutane and unfortunately after about a year and a half of being off of it, my acne started to return and that's when my dermatologist recommended that I try birth control because it may be hormonal acne. I didn't actually try birth control about until almost two years later and I have to say, it's done wonders for me so far. Only negative effects I've been dealing with are nausea and sore boobs, but either than that, I really think it's worth a try, especially if your acne gets worse around your period which is a good indicator that you have hormonal acne. Of course everyone's different but because this pill is indicated for acne, I think that if you've tried absolutely everything, this is another option. *****UPDATE***** Alright so I feel like it's time to write an update, I've been on this pill for 8 months now and my rating of 4 stars won't change. So I feel like it has helped with my acne, making it very moderate, a few zits here and there, no miracle though. For me the first row of pills seems to clear me up and then the next two breaks me out a bit, and then the sugar pills are just neutral. So it has helped with my acne, but only slightly. One thing though is that my skin is now pretty soft, tolerant to acne face washed, doesn't dry out anymore, I'm not sure if that's because I don't use anything on my face now and just wash it with a salicylic acid wash, but yep, nothing to really complain about. All those symptoms I've experienced in the first month are now long gone, so that's a plus! So I still recommend this because again, it will most likely help with breakouts, but don't expect a miracle, so any relive you're looking for you might get it with this BC.