Oral Contraceptives
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Oral contraceptives, otherwise known as birth control pills, are also approved to treat acne. They work by regulating male hormones in the female...

Oral contraceptives, otherwise known as birth control pills, are also approved to treat acne. They work by regulating male hormones in the female body. Less male hormones normally lead to less acne. 

Oral contraceptives contain an estrogen component (ethinyl estradiol) that is combined with progestin hormones, such as drospirenone (Yasmin® or Yaz®), norgestimate (Ortho Tri-Cyclen®) or norethindrone (Estrostep®). 

Oral contraceptives are taken once a day with a meal. Make sure to take the pill at the same time every day.

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November 1, 2016
Terrible for acne-prone skin
Let me preface this by saying I have taken many different kinds of birth control pills throughout my teen and adult years. This was by far the worst bcp for my cystic, hormonal acne. I gave it 6 months in hopes that my body would adjust to the pill, but my acne never got better. It actually got worse! I even tried the monophasic version of this one (Ortho-Cyclen) and the results were no different. The minute I went off of these and switched to Caziant was when things started to clear up. Caziant is by far my favorite bcp for hormonal acne. It's true when they say each pill works differently for each person because I've heard great things about Ortho, but it never worked for me. My acne responds best to desogestrel in a triphasic form. The only positive side effect of Ortho was bigger boobs.
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December 10, 2014
bad for hormonal acne!
I was having the occasional break out on my cheek and chin area. i went to my general doc and she suggested the pill in order to balance my hormones. It threw my body into such an unbalance. My period was all over the place, my acne had gotten 200X's worse then ever. I kept taking it for 3 months hoping it was just my body adjusting to the pill. needless to say i stopped taking it. my acne kept getting worse every month i was on it. after taking it it took me 6 months to come back to where i was before i started it.
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August 17, 2013
Clearing me up

Pros:

Significantly less acne on jawline
I feel more confident

Cons:

Decreased libido :(
nausea for the first month

I'm 24 and have been experiencing acne on my jaw and lower cheeks for 2 years now. I started taking ortho partially to clear up acne. I really didn't have my hopes up because the doctor said it might not work for me though it is helpful for some people. I started my third packet two weeks ago and I have noticed that for the last two weeks my skin has been softer and that my jaw line has been less bumpy. I've been eating a normal diet but have not put in much effort to restrict cheese, milk, and chocolate yet the amount of pimples that come out continue to decline. I still have scars and red spots but the bumpiness has gone away. ANOTHER way I have been able to tell that ortho has helped me has been by using the biore pore strips. In addition to using them on my nose I would in the past use them on my cheeks and would remove a lot of sebum from all areas of my face. I used a pore strip this week and NOTHING came out from the cheek area and a little bit did on the nose so this is how i know that sebum production has decreased! So I did a little research and found out that the pill lowers testosterone levels which in turn decrease sebum production therefore causing less acne ;)
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January 1, 2013

Pros:

I have nothing good to say about this pill

Cons:

Daily headaches, back acne, really oily face covered in small zits, dont sleep very well.

I have been on yaz for 4 years and it worked great , clear skin and no negative side affects. I get ovarian cysts which were almost non existant while on yaz. Since switching to ortho tricyclen lo the pain in my side is back=cysts back, my skin is soo bad and i cant sleep. Going back to yaz!
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June 26, 2012

Pros:

+ Acne chilled out
+ Not much weight gained
+ Periods are lighter
+ Not very severe cramps (which is why I was put on it)

Cons:

- RETAIN A LOT of water if I screw up a pack (Missing a pill or taking one kind of late)
- The water weight makes me puffy :
- Missing a pill or taking one late = Constant breakout until a week before my next period

Well, I was put on this pill after being on LoSeasonique (TERRIBLE PILL that made me breakout all over my legs and face). I had horrible cramps so I was put on it. Then I was put on OTCL for cramps AND acne. It had the side effects in the first two months, but I knew it would take some time. Soon, my acne chilled out and my cramps were very little. My "flow" was very light as well and it is really nice knowing when your period is coming. Mine usually last for like 4 or 5ish days. A downside I learned the hard was whenever I would take a pill late or miss one the next month (or pack) would cause me to breakout and retain water. My breakout would last until the week before the placebo pills and I would start retaining water.
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March 7, 2012

Pros:

Lighter Periods
Shorter Periods ( 2-3 dyas)
Very Min Cramps
Breast Enlargement (for women with smaller breast, pro..already large..maybe a con.)
Less Acne

Cons:

It is so hard to remember to take everyday at the same time. Most of the time I just set an alarm on my phone to remind me.
Slight weight gain but nothing a little exercise cant help.

It is a great product.
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March 2, 2012

Pros:

Not Pregnant
Shorter, lighter period
Boobs slightly bigger
Acne cleared up
No weight gain
Greatly reduced cramping

Cons:

Crave food (which caused me to eat a bunch of chocolate and my chin broke out severely for a week)
More emotional

I'm pretty happy I started taking Ortho :)
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February 9, 2012

Pros:

Contraception
Bigger breasts
Controls PCOS symptoms
Clears up acne/ reduces oil in face
No loss of sex drive
Doesn't make me gain weight

Cons:

Tender breasts in first month
Heavier period
Mood swings

As stated by my doctor, this birth control like any takes some time for the body to get used to. The worst symptom I had were the extremely tender breasts. It really did reduce the oil on my face.
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February 5, 2012

Pros:

Not pregnant
Shorter periods
less moody

Cons:

Weight gain
Acne showed up after taking it

As long as it does its main job, its good. Few added bonuses as listed in pros. I get it free from planned parenthood.
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August 18, 2011

Pros:

Cheap
Regular periods

Cons:

Emotional stress
Spotting

I'm on my 2nd month using this birth control and it is the first time I am using it. Never have I ever experienced emotional grief and sadness once I started using this. It works perfectly for regulating my periods, but after the first week of a pack is when I start getting severe mood swings and break downs.
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