I take Ortho Cyclen generic. Instead of the changing hormone level pills of Ortho Tri-Cyclen, Ortho Cyclen is constant, steady hormones until the week of placebos. If you have problems with mid-cycle breakouts or moodiness, I'd recommend trying the single level hormone birth control. I initially broke out terribly for a week or two when I first started taking it. Halfway through the second cycle, I missed a pill and broke out again. I just started my 3rd pack and my skin looks beautiful. I still have some hyperpigmentation from the second breakout, but it's going away quickly. My skin tone looks more even, too. I started bcp to regulate my unpredictable period and ease pms symptoms, and the pill has worked wonderfully for all of those issues. I only pay $9 a month, and that's WITHOUT health insurance or prescription plans. GO GENERIC, unless you happen to be allergic or sensitive to a generic filler ingredient. Chemically, generic pills are nearly identical to brand names. Also, give bcp at least 3-4 months to begin working. Any review of someone only taking birth control for 2-3 weeks is completely invalid. Like every other acne product, it's going to take time. Also, don't resort to bcp if acne is your only issue. There are serious side effects and complications, and it's not worth the risk, imo, for potentially clearer skin when there are other methods of skin care available. If, like me, you have a hormonal imbalance that affects more than just your skin, give it a try!

I'm just about finished with my first pack of Beyaz....and I have to say that this medication has saved my skin. Background: I'm a 19 year old college student and got my first zit when I was 9. I've had acne for as long as I can remember. I have tried, like so many of you, every product (drug store and high end) under the sun, prescription topicals and oral antibiotics - virtually everything but Accutane. My acne has cleared up a bit over the years and I've actually had months where I've been clear thanks to good products...but my skin is smart and always finds a way around them! My skin went absolutely crazy when I started my fall semester of my sophomore year of college (I think it had a lot to do with stress and coming off birth control, Loestrin-24Fe, three months prior) and continued to deteriorate until about a month ago. In my ten year struggle with acne, never had it been cystic in nature - all of a sudden I had huge, painful lumps under my skin that took weeks, sometimes months, to fade (and even then they would come back). I was waking up to two to three more cysts every single day; my face looked purple and I can honestly say my skin had never looked worse. I could barely leave my dorm room, shut out my friends, avoided class, and came home to cry to my mother whenever I could. I have always been someone who has valued my looks and I just did not feel like me anymore. I made appointments with my dermatologist who recommended cortisone injections (which are God's gift to cystic acne patients!) and minocycline (solodyn). The minocycline made my face dead - nothing was healing, nothing was happening, and my skin was simply getting worse. After that dud, I switched dermatologists; as I sat crying in the new derm's chair, she told me that my only other option (considering birth control, minocycline, and heavy duty prescription topicals such as Retin-A, etc., had failed) was Accutane. I registered with IPledge and then..the magic words...she told me I needed to be on the pill for a month. Enter Beyaz - it has been nearly one month on Beyaz and while my acne did get slightly (minor, seriously, nothing scary at all) worse, mostly around my jaw and neckline - which is typical when starting a new pill - my face is virtually clear now. At first, all I could notice was that the skin underneath my acne was different - it wasn't so purple and it was starting to look brighter, softer, much healthier. Then I started noticing a decrease in oil production (I have the oiliest skin...I was up to 12 blotting sheets a day, people)...and then my zits were disappearing! I was still breaking out but in smaller pimples that were nothing compared to the acne I was unfortunately used to. As of now, I still have about seven zits, one bad one, but they are all in the healing process! I will take 7 normal pimples over 20 cysts, for sure! As for side effects, I did experience a bit of nausea and leg cramping at the beginning of the pack. I think I got one headache and was a little tired, but all side effects have subsided (except for larger breasts....which I can't complain about!). I highly recommend this birth control pill...I can only imagine that my skin will continue to improve with time. I looked in the mirror for the first time in months without make up on and felt pretty - only someone who suffers with acne can understand what a huge deal that is. Please try this if you haven't yet and give it some time....It's always darkest before the dawn!

This is the only product ever that consistently keeps my face clear. I stopped taking it for almost a year due to the high cost...it was bad. I couldn't find anything else, even rx, to clear my face. I am finally just biting the bullet and paying for it because I can count on it! If you can, get this product, it really works.

1st month, I was extremely moody, anxious, depressed. I noticed that I started getting little bumps all over my face, even in places I never had acne before. 2nd-3rd month, the moodiness went away, but then I started getting a couple cysts on my cheeks and jawline, and they would take FOREVER to go away. 4th-5th month, the cysts multiplied and now both cheeks are covered in cysts. There are also some cysts on my temple area, and one or two on my forehead. The jawline has calmed down a little but I get a new cyst occasionally. I went to the dermatologist and they recommended me to go on Clindamyacin (topical cream) and doxycycline (oral pill) to sterilize my face, because they said I need to go on Accutane ASAP. Before Yasmin, my skin had the occasional cyst, but now its full blown, and my doctor said Accutane is my only choice right now. I'm getting off Yasmin ASAP. And I'm going to let Accutane repair the damages. This may work for some people but it does not work for all.

I have had acne for nearly 10 years and this is the ONLY thing that has made people actually notice a decrease in my acne. I've actually had friends say things like, "Wow, you're skin has really cleared up!" after 3 weeks on this pill without changing anything else about my skin care routine (except that I also cut back on smoking, which helped a lot as well!) I still get a few zits when I'm actually on my period, but for the whole week before and during my period I used to get acne so bad all over my face that it was actually painful. This made such a difference! But, it won't work for everyone.. some people's acne is not caused by hormones, so birth control will have no effect. If you tend to get more breakouts around your period, I definitely recommend trying this.

This is the only treatment that effectively cleared up the large cysts that would plague my chin. I still get little pimples here and there, but nothing like the monster ones I used to have. It definitely takes at least 3 months to see results, so wait it out if you want to be certain - unless the side effects are too debilitating. I have been frustrated with my tendency to be irritable, but I'm hoping it will subside eventually. Also, I felt really nauseous the first week I began taking it, but that went away and has yet to return.

This review is for Ortho Tri-Cyclen LO. I used this for 2 months and in the 2 months I broke out horribly like I never had in my life. I've used BC before and have never had this problem before. After two months of usage, I couldn't deal with the wreckage on my face so I discontinued usage and my acne stopped but the red marks have stayed!

not a bad bc, its worth a try. ive had mirena, yaz, nuva ring now ortho lo & this has the least side effects so far. ive never had kids so mirena didnt work for me unfortunately.. severe cramping & i already have bad cramps. hope this helps.

I have suffered from moderate acne from the time I was 13 until in my mid-twenties (when I wasn't on ortho) This had caused me to have severe depression and very low self esteem. Once I got on Ortho, my acne cleared up completely within a few months or less. I recently made the mistake of trying to to come off of this because I am not sexually active at this time and also because I wanted to save a little money every month. The first few months were fine, in fact the first two months my skin was absolutely glowing and seemed more beautiful than ever, then by the third month all heck broke loose! I started breaking out everywhere and even getting large cysts on my jawline, neck and forehead. My face resembled the Gulf oil spill and I looked absolutely horrible and greasy all the time. I had forgotten what it was like to have such bad skin after having been on this for so many years. Not only that but my hair was falling out in clumps! Everyone kept telling me to stick it out, but being in my 30's now and suffering again from acne and oily skin even worse than when I was a teenager was just too much of an emotional toll on me. Not to mention my gorgeous hair falling out in clumps. I didn't even want to leave the house on some days because it was so bad. So after 4 months of suffering all the withdrawl side-effects I decided to just go back on it again and accept the fact that I may have to be on this for the rest of my life. I'm not kidding you when I say that within 2 days of taking the pill again, my face was COMPLETELY clear again. I would rather not be on birth control at all, but to me it's worth it if it helps my skin and my self esteem. One more bit of info..if you get the generic brands of Ortho (or Ortho-lo) they absolutely DO NOT work the same, (This was my experience anyway) I would break out just as bad on those generics. Make sure you ask for brand if you want the clear skin benefits.

I wanted to wait four months before i reviewed this pill, as that is how long it takes (at a minimum) to know whether or not its the right bc pill for you. My stats: I'm 20 years old, with very nice skin (had the occasional pimple or two in high school, but nothing too bad..) then about 5 months ago my skin just exploded for no reason. I was planning on getting back on bc anyway, so I decided to try yaz for the added skin benefits. So im actually on my fourth packet, about to finish it, and the difference between now and the first 2 months is incredible. The first two months were horrible.. I would breakout nearly every day, with huge cystic spots.. mostly on my cheeks which was the worst part. I'd say at about 2 1/2 months in.. maybe 3.. my skin stopped breaking out with the big, red, inflamed spots. Instead I started getting little tiny pimples (similar to whiteheads) mostly on my chin.. this still devastated me to some point, but it was definitely better than the huge red ones. Then at 4 months... no more spots! I don't have one single pimple on my face, and its been a month. I still have a few red spots/marks (hyper pigmentation) left over, but I'm having microdermabrasion on these areas and its working great. And when I put on a bit of makeup, my skin looks flawless. I'm very happy that yaz has done what it promised to do. The reason I'm giving it 4 stars and not 5 is because of the way it kills your sex drive. I've been on other pills before (including yasmin) and never had this problem. But it is starting to become a real strain on my relationship (I'm only 20!) so I'm not sure what I'm going to do... because I really don't want to get off this pill. Anyway, sorry this is so long.. but i know what it feels like to be searching for an answer to your skin problems.. I wanted to make this as detailed as possible. Bottom line.. Yaz is the best bc pill I've been on for weight and skin.. just sucks a