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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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August 10, 2015
4 months into BC No More hormonal Cystic Acne Skin is GREAT

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]

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July 17, 2015
Helpful, but not a cure
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.
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Faithslp
August 2, 2015
Did you get breast enlargement from spiro?
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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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April 13, 2015
Tri sprintec
My first week on it and my face looks better than ever! No side effects, I feel so happy. Not sure why everyone is having issues with it!
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January 11, 2015
Cystic Hormonal Acne-Cleared!
Within the first week of taking this medication, my acne cleared up DRAMATICALLY. A little background information: at age 22, I started getting hormonal cystic acne break outs along my left jawline and forehead. Prior to these persistent breakouts, I had no major problems with acne, just the occasional breakout at "that time of the month". After trying Retin-a for a few months with no progress, my dermatologist switched me to a regimen of a Differin and Acanya. Though this helped clear up my forehead acne, my jawline acne was still very persistent. It wasn't until I did a little research that I realize this type of acne was hormone related. Even though I was already taking a generic of Loestrin, I decided it was time to switch my pill. After telling my gynecologist of my troubles, she suggested Ortho tri-cyclen. Within the first week of taking this medication, my existing acne started clearing and no other pimples were appearing. Mind you, these were the persistent ones: painful to the touch with a large white head. I couldn't be happier with the results! A month into taking this medication, I haven't had one cystic pimple appear, it's like a miracle drug! If you have a similar story to me, definitely give it a try!
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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.
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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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October 22, 2014
I wanted it to work so badly
I was on ortho lo which cost 50 dollars a month so after hearing great things about what ortho regular could do for my skin AND it was free i decided to make the switch. The first month i didnt see much difference in my skin I was breaking out a bit but i heard that there was an initial breakout so i figured thats what must have been happening. By month two my skin had erupted with small flesh colored bumps all over my skin! The kind that would just sit there no matter what i did but if i squeezed a hard plug would come out. Determined to believe the whole "it gets worse before it gets better" legend i tried to stick it out. I made appointments with estheticians, had glycolic peels, microderms...you name it. My face was red, bumpy, angry and flat out depressing. After end of month 2 start of month 3 i decided to switch back to Ortho lo...its been about a week and my skin is starting to return to normal. I suffered for 3 months hoping for some kind of miracle skin cure that would never come. I've heard great things for others but unfortunately they didnt happen for me.
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October 3, 2014
Confused
I give this bcp a 3 star rating because before taking this pill, I had brutal period cramps and irregular cycle. Now i have a regular cycle and very minimal cramps. Now speaking skin wise. I am now on my fifth month. My first month, my skin was the same: moderate acne, clogged pores, a zit here and there nothing severe. At the end of the second pack and beginning of thethird, bad things started happening. My skin would leave horrible red marks when zits would leave. I still to this day 2-3 months later still have these marks and they are exceptionally visible. I broke out horribly. The hyper pigmentation was everywhere. Now, it has died down but I have red marks from zits that left my face more than 3 months ago. This never used to happen before I was on these pills. They will not fade. I don`t know whether to continue taking the pills or stop.
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September 12, 2014
Cleared up my skin and grew boobs!
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.
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Finding a Doctor

The right dermatologist can make a big difference to your patient experience and the success of your acne treatment plan. Here are the steps to find a dermatologist who is a good fit:

  1. Use the search feature on the American Academy of Dermatology website to look for board-certified dermatologists in your area, and filter the search results for doctors with a special interest in treating acne.
  2. Read online patient reviews of any dermatologists you are considering and ask people you know whether they have any experience with these dermatologists.
  3. Do your research and go to your first appointment with questions prepared.
  4. Listen to what your gut feeling tells you once you see a dermatologist in person. If you are not completely comfortable, try a different dermatologist.
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Only a select few plastic surgeons specialize in acne scar revision surgery. Be certain to find a provider who specializes in acne scar repair and who is passionate and experienced in this area.

Be sure to:

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  • Be realistic about results. Look for improvement, not a cure.

Questions to ask a potential scar revision specialist:

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Red flags:

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