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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4
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9.5%

Used Oral Contraceptives? Rate It:

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July 5, 2007

Pros:

no major side effects

Cons:

nausea, didn't help with acne

I was on it for nearly 2 years. I didn't experience any major side effects, but I did feel really sick (like morning sickness) during the first row each month. It didn't help clear my acne at all, but it didn't make it worse either. It was only in conjunction with accutane that my face became really good (like PERFECT). But six months after stopping accutane, my horrible skin came back. And I was still on Ortho tricyclen, which made no difference for my skin. I would recommend it for birth control, but not for acne.
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June 11, 2007

Pros:

clears skin, take the edge of cramps, short period

Cons:

developed cystic acne after stopping, mild weigh gain

I've had nearly perfect, porcelain skin for as long as I can remember. I started taking OTC when I was 19 years old which only made things better - less cramping, not one pimple. stopped taking it when I was 24 and began to break out into 2 or 3 horrible deep cysts on my chin and/or left cheek and they took months to clear. Wound up with some scarring and some clogged pores that took years to purge themselves. I went back on it after 6 months and finally the cysts stopped coming about 4 or 5 months later. Now I'm 27 and I stopped taking the pill again for only 12 days and I have another cyst. Hopefully I can go right back on it and this will be the only one I get... but even one is a painful, embarrassing nightmare to deal with. Take the pill, but pay attention to your skin if you stop... you might need to take it forever!!!
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February 21, 2007

Pros:

Clears skin up almost perfectly, added benefit of birth control if you need it =)

Cons:

Tri-phasic pills like OTC MUST be taken at the same time everyday in order to work for acne, because for perfect skin hormones have to be perfect, and taking the pill sporatically at different times during the day can really mess with your hormones..

So i noticed with OTC, which i have been on for a couple months, that if I miss pills or don't take them at the same time every day, i break out like mad all over my chin and mouth. But, if i take them very diligently, my skin clears up and is perfect...just a tip. For some reason my skin is really sensitive to my birth control. I dont know though maybe this is just for some types of acne like the "hormonal" acne around the chin and mouth...but for other types of acne i would just eat lots of apples drink water tea and take flaxseed oil and your should be fine!!=)
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January 21, 2007

Pros:

Helped clear skin up

Cons:

In between bleeding
Having to take it everyday
Seems to make cramps a lot worst

This is my 2nd time using this product the first time I didn't have much acne so don't remember if it really did anything. Now I have really bad acne and have noticed a difference in my skin.
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January 6, 2007

Pros:

haven't been able to really tell

I've been on both OTC and pro-active for months and my acne didn't seem to improve any more than it had at the beginning. I have tried everything else before starting this combination..including accutane, and many other prescribed topical treatments. I am now trying a new cleansing line from germany..Chris Ferral. It's both helped and made my acne worse. I've decided to commit to it, even though my acne has gotten worse, because they said it takes a few weeks to work. Get worse to get better. But its really made me feel ugly, and I've lost alot of self-esteem, and a boyfriend over it. If anyone has any suggestions, I'd be more than happy to try them. Thanks.
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November 20, 2006

Pros:

I don't really know yet

Cons:

A little mood swingy but that's about it.

Well I started OTC about a month and a half ago for birth control reasons, but I was optimistic about the acne benefits of it also. I have been using Benzaclin, a benzoyl peroxide acne cream for about 2 1/2 years and that worked great, but I still got a few small breakouts around my period. The problem is now I'm breaking out pretty bad. I am still in my second month of OTC, and I don't want to stop it because it seems like maybe it will clear up and I still need the birth control, so is there anyone who had really bad acne the first month or two or three but it cleared up? and should I keep using the benzaclin?
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October 23, 2006

Pros:

worked perfectly! my skin cleared up completely

Cons:

none

i had moderate acne and had tried everything else. I finally was going to try accutane but before i could do that i had to go on bc. They gave me this contraceptive and it worked 100 %...I didn't even need accutane.
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June 19, 2017
hang in there, it pays off
Initially going on it was pretty rough. I went through a rollar coaster of side effects. Nausea, headaches, minor weight gain, 1st month wasn't a good time but I just finished month 3 and my cystic acne has completely cleared up as well as the side effects and I couldn't be happier. Although the adjustment period was rough I think it is worth it in the long run.
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May 20, 2016
So far, so good...
I was prescribed Yasmin during my first year of college and it worked wonderfully to clear up my acne. Over the years I was switched to Ocella because of my insurance, and finally to the generic. It never made a huge difference until last year when I started randomly breaking out consistently. I went to the dermatologist and she prescribed Spironolactone-- Horrible. She said it would take up to 3 months to take effect, but after two months my face got worse and needless to say I saw no improvement. SO, I decided to ask my OB to change my birth control and she prescribed Ortho Tri Sprintec. I'm only on my second week, but my face has already experienced a significant improvement and it hasn't been this clear in a while. I've had some breakthrough bleeding/cramps after the first two days, but it's been about a week now and it's completely stopped. My biggest concern is the possible weight gain that everyone talks about, although I haven't noticed an increase in appetite so far so I'm hoping I'll be in the clear. Keeping my fingers crossed that it continues to work wonders!
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April 30, 2015
yes!
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.
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Wellabys
July 8, 2015
I came off birth control-broke out horrible as well:(... Tried so many things held out 1.5 yrs couldn't take it anymore. Been back on the pill almost 3 mo's. Pretty sure I had an initial breakout which is still healing. Just curious has yours finally kicked in? I'm afraid maybe it won't work for me this time
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