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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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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August 6, 2013
Happy with the results

Pros:

acne clears up, less oily skin
lighter period (3 days max)
no weight gain, no mood swings

Cons:

have to remember to take it everyday
initial breakout at the beginning

I'm a 22 year old college student and I've been taking this pill for 7 months now. The main reason I decided to go on the pill was to get rid of my acne. I had moderate acne and I would use makeup to cover up my flaws and the scars it left behind. My acne would also get really bad when I was stressed in school. I had tried others and didn't seem to work so I decided to give it a shot. I still remember the first month I didn't see much improvement, on the contrary my acne got slightly worse but by the end of the second month I started to see results. As of now, I've gotten rid of 90 percent of my acne. I say this because I still have the occasional pimple here and there(especially when my period is coming). sometimes even 2 or 3 but it's not as bad as before and they go away pretty quickly within a day or two. I still wear makeup to cover up my acne marks but my skin doesn't break out like before. With the combination of a good face wash(morning and night) and this pill I've seen great improvement. I didn't feel like I gained any weight from this pill nor has it caused me to have any cravings. Didn't have any bad side effects. I wear contact lenses and didn't experience any issues in my vision. I think this pill is great and would recommend it to other girls. Don't give up. To any girl who feels discouraged: you should at least stick with it for 3 months to see complete results :) Hope this helped!
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August 5, 2013
At the end of the 5th pack---Skin is completely clear

Pros:

Helps cramps a little, doesn't eliminate them.
No weight gain.
Cleared acne after 3 and a half months.

Cons:

bad initial breakout in the second pack, last 3 weeks.
Nausea in first week of each new pack.
Periods not any shorter or lighter.

I just finished my 5th pack on this pill, and I must echo others and say you gotta give it a little time! I had literally NO breakouts in high school (I'm 25 now), but a couple years ago, I started getting one or two big pimples a month around ovulation. It's gotten worse over time, where I would get a few big, painful pimples around my mouth--a small breakout. I would classify my pre-OTC acne as very mild to mild. I went on this pill to get rid of that. In the second pack of OTC, I got two bad breakouts---worse than I've ever had in my whole life--big, painful, inflamed, horrible acne. I was really sad because I was convinced it was a sign this pill wasn't going to work. BUT I stuck it out, and by the end of the 3rd pack, my skin began to clear. I haven't had a pimple since. I just use cetaphil in the morning and when I go to bed with Aveeno moisturizer, and that's it! No spot treatments or anything needed. I hope it keeps up this way. See my gallery for pictures of the improvement over time!
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August 4, 2013
SO HAPPY! :)

Pros:

Acne clears up in three days!
No mood swings
Short periods that last three days!

Cons:

Minor abdominal cramps while on period
Feel sick without eating food with it

I went to my doctor really quickly to switch to a new birth control because the previous birth control I was on - Yaz - had a HUGE lawsuit against them from blood clots and people dying from it, here in Canada. So I URGE all women to please do some recent research on the birth control Yaz before considering. Coincidentally, my doctor had clipped out a newspaper article about Yaz and told me he was no longer prescribing it to anyone anymore. He switched me on tricyclen! I had really bad break outs all along my forehead, jaw line, cheeks and chin. Literally after taking it for the past THREE days my skin has drastically started to instantly clear up! I also have a lot of traveling to do this month for a wedding and I'm very happy my face has finally decided to clear up. I haven't had any mood swings or anything. My hormones have been so messed up after having my son 18 months ago and I can finally say I'm happy with my new birth control.
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July 9, 2013
Horrible hormonal acne.

Pros:

absolutely none.

Cons:

severe depressive mood swings
horrible horrible cystic acne
lowered sex drive

I began taking Ortho-tricyclen when I was 18 years old to prevent and combat any acne I had. i had very mild acne, usually on my forehead and around my chin and was wondering if birth control would help to prevent any more breakouts. However, 4 months into Orthotri, I started to develop cystic acne on my chin. Thinking maybe my body needed to adjust to this pill, I decided to stay on it for a year. Biggest mistake. Now I am left with horrible acne scars on my chin (about 8-9 dark spots) and more acne around the time of my period. Please do not take this pill. I greatly regret it and am desperately searching for a product that will help to prevent any more chin acne.
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May 22, 2013

Pros:

clears skin dramatically
regulates cycle

Cons:

made me gain so much weight
carcinogen
made sex painful

it did clear up my skin completelry i would only get the occasional pimple befor my cycle. but it made me gain weight like crazy and i never had and problems with my weight prior. it also took away all my sexual desire and made sex painful for me.. it was giving me nygothian cysts on my cervix.. i know it was the pill cuz one i got off it all went away. i was on the pill for about a year.
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May 18, 2013

Pros:

Free with my insurance
Wasn't overly emotional

Cons:

Crazy hormonal breakouts

I was very optimistic about this birth control pill (I have been on several over the years) because it's so widely recommended. However, with my hormones probably already out of whack - having the 3 weeks of varying levels of hormones made my skin horrible. I gave it 6 months and now at a month before my wedding I have decided to stop taking it and get back on Yaz. So far so good (fingers crossed). Bottom line: if you struggle with hormonal acne, this is not for you.
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April 26, 2013

Pros:

clears up acne
boobs bigger
is good contraceptive

Cons:

causes mood swings (only first 3 months)
can be diffuclt to lose weight
does lower sex drive

I am 27 year old female. I had moderate to severe acne. I finally decided to take ortho tri cyclen. Within 3 months my skin has cleared up about %85. Also due to having such an hormonal imbalance I also have really greasy hair and dandruff. The pill has also put a stop to that as well. Now my hair feels fresh and clean all the time. If there is anyone out there who suffers from acne I would strongly recommend this pill. It seems that there is a %50 chance that it will work with your body. Definitely worth a try. Good luck!!!
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April 16, 2013

Pros:

Clear skin within two packs, brighter complexion, no more deep and painful cystic acne breakouts, larger breasts, and no pregnancy. AWESOME.

Cons:

I did get a little bit of an initial breakout from the first pack. I started on the generic on my first pac (Trinessa), then switched to the brand for my second pack and didn't experience any new breakouts outside of a few stray PMS zits. Not sure if the generic had anything to do with it. Brand name OTC is also a little more expensive at $30/month under my insurance. Slight weight gain from an appetite increase but nothing noticeable.

Works like a charm. I was suffering from sudden, horrible cystic breakouts and none of the topicals and antibiotics I was taking helped. My derm put me on OTC and within two months my skin was clearer. I still get some minor PMS breakouts but nothing serious. I just wanted to throw a positive review out there since I've heard so many mixed things about birth control for acne...I'm assuming it's because people don't really ever leave positive reviews. 2 thumbs up!!
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April 2, 2013

Pros:

anti-baby

Cons:

-Acne, need I say more?

I took this pill last year, hoping to make my skin perfect. (I'm a bit of a perfetionist) My skin was always clear, every now and then would get the odd cystic pimple. I took this pill in order manage that, made my skin SO much worse. I'm still dealing with it 8 months later, my face has been ruined because of this pill. Biggest mistake I could of ever made, I cry about it at times. I hate this pill. Please consider other options before taking contraceptives, trust me.
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