Acne.org Products
Hormonal Therapy
Efficacy
63%
Based on All Available Studies
Strength of Evidence
Note: Improvement significantly increases after 24 weeks.
Hormonal Therapy
Acne.org’s Real World Take
Any brand of oral contraceptive appears to clear the skin about the same amount, regardless of whether it is officially approved for acne treatment. Some people report complete clearing of acne symptoms and others see partial relief. However, artificially controlling your hormones is a serious decision, so it’s best to proceed with caution.
Hormonal Therapy
How to Get It
Have a dermatologist? Make an appointment to get this medication. Don't have a dermatologist? See The American Academy of Dermatology Physician Database to find one.
Used Oral Contraceptives? Rate It:
Choose from 1 to 5 stars
February 21, 2017
Product used: YAZ (Oral Contraceptive)
Slowly working
Thought I'd post my experience with yaz! I started yaz 3 months ago.. I'll be starting my 4th pack in about a week! When I started yaz i was having very mild breakouts on my back as well as a new inflamed pimple on my face about every 4 days or so and theyd take a couple days to go away with the odd cystic pimple every couple months or so! I should also mention that about 95% of my breakouts are around my mouth and chin area! Month 1: my pimples here were about the same with no change really! Month 2: End of month 1 and beginning of month 2 were horrible for me!! all my pimples cleared around my mouth and Id say for the entire month 2 I had maybe 6 cystic pimples on my left cheek.. no where else just my left cheek which I never get pimples there thats how I knew it was from the Yaz. As well as this, my back broke out in at least 20-30 pimples and I'm still dealing with the aftermath of that! Month 3: Month 3 I was still breaking out on my back moderately! I was clear for about 2 weeks now I notice that I am getting a couple more pimples again, so I'm praying that in a couple more months the body acne will be gone for good! As for my face, I havent gotten a cystic pimple in 28 days hooray! And maybe one or two little pimples that have gone away in about 2 days.. although I actually still have the bump on my face from the cystic pimple that was from 28 days ago.. So I'm hoping that goes away soon or I'll have to go to the derm and get an injection I guess! Will update again at the end of month 4 :)
August 1, 2016
Skin is great and no side effects!
I have been on the generic brand (Tri-Previfem) of this pill for almost 6 months now. This was the first birth control I ever tried and I'm happy to say that it completely cleared up my hormonal acne without any side effects! I did feel slightly nauseous the first week and experienced some spotting, but that's it really. It took about 3.5 months for me to actually see improvement in my skin, and it did get worse around the second month, but it was worth it! By 4 full months I was totally clear and my skin finally felt soft and smooth again! The only reason I am giving it 4 stars is because it has not helped with the oiliness of my skin at all.
January 5, 2015
Ortho Tri-Cyclen (Brand Name-- not a fan of generics, when it comes to my acne medications)
You have to give it TIME!!! I have been on it for six months after trying every topical cream/gel plus antibiotics (which worked wonders at first but I probably built a tolerance and it stopped working, was on them for probably a year, which was more than what the doctor wanted me to be on them, but was too scared to get off them, once I did, nothing really happened, so yea built a tolerance against them).... broke out really bad at first, to me it seemed like it was probably one of the worst breakouts, had acne everywhere even my back, but after 6 months now, I can truly say, its almost all gone, I still break out during that time of the month, but nothing I cant handle, very very glad I stuck through the initial phase, be patient, it will work hopefully the way it worked for me... btw I have hormonal acne, scared to death of what will happen when i need to get off these, but will take everything one day at a time. Use it along side with retin-A and a good moisturizer (clinique super surge) and that is all you will need.
July 9, 2014
Wish I could give it no stars..
I promise you when I say this birth control seriously messed up my face, not to mention my self esteem and self confidence. I have never written a review for ANY product, love or hate. This is my first review and I feel it is totally necessary that I warn some of you. I realize this BC might work for some, including my roommate, but it definitely didn't work for me. I started OTC because i was getting a few breakouts here and there and my roomie went on OTC-lo and got cleared up right away, so why not try it? My doc told me OTC-lo isn't the best recommendation, so she suggested OTC.. First month, a few more pimples here and there.. no biggie, researched the product a lot in hopes to find some good reviews saying how in a few more months it will get better... I'll just fast forward to the 4 month mark... O M G... my acne went from bad to worse. I have never had forehead or jaw acne before and it looked like I had been bitten by a million mosquitos. Im not joking when I say I counted 20 zits on my face at once. I stopped going out to the gym when my roomies would ask, I stayed in my room most of the time, I couldn't even run outside in my neighborhood without feeling self conscious. I went into hibernation mode and definitely lost a few friends because of the no contact. After/during those 4 torturous months, I did my research not only online but into my past and when my skin was the clearest. I realized I was the clearest I have ever been on a mono phasic pill called Previfem (generic version of Ortho Cyclen.) I quickly/hesitantly switched back to Previfem and voila... my skin is almost back to the way it was.... but now I have a bunch of scars to remind me of the literal hell I was in for 4 months. I'm telling you people, be careful with this BC... It not only messed up my face but gave me headaches every day and made me extremely lethargic. Save your time and your money... Monophasic pills are the way to go.
January 24, 2014
Product used: YAZ (Oral Contraceptive)
super cure from acne that will mess you up forever as soon as you get off
Cons:
chest lump
shredding hair
irregular period
With this pill, you have to make sacrifices - whether you have clear skin and artificial hormones in your body, or stay healthy with acne. I took it for 2 years and it was amazing for acne! At the time I've had moderate acne which took 5 months or so to clear up. My skin has not been this clear in forever! Plus my hair became less greasy, I've lost weight, got regular period (literally, I knew every month that it will be coming on Thursday at 2 30 p.m.)...All good until I realized I'll have to take it forever, and I want to have a baby in a year or two so I figured better stop now, hoping I grew out of acne. Three months after stopping Yaz everything was still the same and I was so happy... But in September my acne started getting progressively worse, could be related to back to university. In addition, my hair is now greasy by the end of the day I wash it on and it shredded really bad until these days. My nails got so much worse (they have always been long and hard before the pill), I started getting cysts which I NEVER got before... Lastly, I found a lump in my chest that turned out to be a harmless fibroadenoma and I believe the cause was the pill. I've had panic attacks as well; my period is messed up now, sometimes it won't stop and sometimes it won't come.
DO NOT take this if you don't want to take it forever. I am still hoping that I hasn't affected my reproductive ability, but I can only hope....
July 18, 2013
Product used: Yasmin (Oral Contraceptive)
Yasmin and acne
Pros:
clear skin
Cons:
first three months skin made worse
Just stick with it!!
I have suffered from terrible acne over my t-zone area from around the age of 15 (now 22) and have used dianette on/off for years. Over christmas my acne flared up again, probably worse than ever so decided to go on dianette again. However, I had recently been diagnosed with hypothyroidism so was advised to try yasmin. The first three months were terrible in fact my acne got a lot worse, but as soon as i started month 4 things very quickly began to improve and by month five my skin is basically crystal clear soo much clearer than with dianette!! So if you can just make it past the first 3 months you will begin to see signs of improvement!!
March 2, 2013
Product used: YAZ (Oral Contraceptive)
Give it time.
Pros:
Prevents pregnancy
Helps hormonal acne (but not general acne)
Light and short periods
Cons:
Made me moody & irritable
Initial breakout
Tired all the time
Before going on the pill I had minor acne, usually a zit or two once in a while but nothing too drastic - I mostly suffered from on-inflammatory acne. As soon as I started the pill I broke out in some serious cystic acne on my cheeks - a spot I don't usually get acne (at least not often). I know your body need to adjust to the hormones, but all these breakouts are leaving some pretty bad scarring that just doesn't seem to ever fade. I'm only halfway through my second pack, so it may be too soon to tell, so far though it hasn't been good. I've been very irritable and moody since I started it and have lost the desire to do anything.I'm not sure if this depression is a direct cause of the pill or if it's from the worsened acne. On top of all that I feel tired all the time... I know everyone reacts differently, but I personally have not responded well to this medication. Crossing my fingers that things will get better after the 3 month mark! ***UPDATE*** After almost a year on yaz, I must say it does get better. Periods are almost non-existent, and the initial breakout has passed. For those who have hormonal acne (chin, lower cheeks, jawline) I do think yaz helps. I rarely get acne on my chin anymore, where I used to tend to breakout.
January 11, 2013
Product used: LoEstrin (Oral Contraceptive)
Pros:
none
Cons:
Bad Acne
I am 18 and had light acne. My GYN put me on this to help clear the little acne that I had. What a big mistake! Within two months, I started to break out on my chin. I was put on antibiotics which has not helped at all. This is the worst experience I have ever been through. I am seeing the GYN tomorrow and want to get off it,I am so affraid that it will flare up even more. Reading on other people's experiences with Loestrin and only see negative feedback. Don't make the same mistake that I made
October 16, 2012
Product used: LoEstrin (Oral Contraceptive)
Pros:
Prevents you from getting pregnant
Cons:
- Causes severe acne after 2 - 3 months of use
- causes severe mood swings/depression
This is by FAR the WORST birth control EVER!! The first few months were fine until I started getting horrible mood swings, I felt mad/sad for no reason and felt depressed out of nowhere. On top of it, it caused me the worst acne of my life! It was worse than when I was in Highschool! When I first started taking this pill, everything was fine, I even read some bad reviews about it from ppl waring about the acne issues but I just ignored them since I thought they were the "exception". Well I should have listened. Even Antibiotics (Septra) did not help, my face literally looked like a Vulcano and those cystic pimples all around my chin hurt so bad!! I now switched to Necon, it is higher in estrogen (0.035 compared to loestrin at 0.025) and lower in 1st generation progesteron (norethindrone 0.5mg instead of 1mg) and my face is finally starting to clear up. However, I'm 29 years old and my skin does not heal as good as it used to as a teenager so now I have all these ugly acne scars on my face, probably for life! If you are still taking this pill, and had acne problems before, please take my advice and get off of it as soon as possible! It will make your acne ten times worse than it was in your teenage years! Bottom line, this pill makes you depressed and gives you bad acne! Stay away from it!!
September 26, 2012
Product used: Yasmin (Oral Contraceptive)
Pros:
cleared skin
free in the UK
light periods
lovely hair!
have not noticed any difference in mood or lower sex drive
Cons:
Weight gain is easy unless you are careful
Breast size increase (mine were big enough anyway!)
I was on antibiotics for my adult acne for several years which stopped working when I started taking the progesterone only pill. My skin broke out completely and my hair was so brittle and damaged it was breaking off in three inch lengths! GP suggested Yasmin and coming off anti b's (I'm 44 so I am a little old for this BC but she thought better this than anti b's and a BCP which made me break out!) I had started Dan's regimen and my acne was improving but when I started Yasmin, my skin started improving immediately! Within a month I was clear. I do get the odd chin break out but nothing too drastic. I only hope that my GP lets me stay on it until the menopause! Ps. My hair is great too - grows lusciously and is thicker and wavier.
Pros:
Regular period
Healthy nails, skin and hair
Weight loss