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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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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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March 13, 2013

Cons:

- Major cystic breakouts
- Moody
- Weight gain

I had moderate acne prior to taking this birth control. It wasn't until the second week on the pill that my face started to react drastically. I started to get cystic breakouts all over my face: a lot along the jawline and also on my cheeks, where I never had acne before. My face was bright red and it was noticeably bad (my mom, who never comments on it, even asked me why my acne had gotten so bad). After two months on the pill, I decided to stop taking it because I could not handle it anymore. My face immediately improved and a week after I stopped taking it, I started taking Vitamin B5 and the vitamin Beta Carotene. It's been about 6 months now and my skin is perfectly clear! To begin with, I was very skeptical about taking this birth control or any birth control, because of all the side affects and how unnatural it is. I suggest looking up the vitamins I mentioned and trying those first! Unless you're willing to bare through 8 months of severe acne, I wouldn't try Ortho Tri-Cyclen!
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February 5, 2013

Pros:

nothing

Cons:

nausea
bloating
messed up face-got more scars
mood swings
depression

It's not worth it and I've been on this pill for two months. My face has never been worse. I'm so sad and am going to try yasmin next.
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January 26, 2013

Pros:

- VERY effective birth control
- no significant weight gain
- never have cramps or irregularity

Cons:

- seemingly no correlation to my acne
- artificial hormones in my system

Most of the time I have one or 2 pimples on my face which I can tolerate. However this past year I have had a chronic breakout all over my face, chest, and back, trying every routine & topical product available. I have been taking Tri-Cyclen for 12 years so I don't think it's to blame unless it combined with my young-adult hormone shift to produce chaos. Am switching to Diane 35 to give it a try (lower pregnancy protection but apparently stronger against acne).
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January 23, 2013

Pros:

No weight gain
Seems to slowly cure acne

Cons:

Horrible initial breakout
Mood swings

I have been on this pill for 3.5 months, about to finish my fourth pack. I still have occasional breakouts, though it seems to slowly be getting better. I did not have acne before I started this pill; it GAVE me hormonal adult acne. I am simply sticking with it because of all the reviews that tell you to hang in there. I'm hoping next month is finally the end of this acne bull$&@!! I went on the pill because I was previously on the patch and insurance stopped covering it. If you don't have acne, STAY AWAY. I had perfect skin my whole life, now at 25 I all of the sudden have acne. My self esteem has taken quite a blow and I don't know how much more I can take. This month better yield clear skin, and fast.
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January 19, 2013

Pros:

cleared up my moderate to severe acne within 3-5 months!!! Period improved and was on schedule. NAME BRAND NOT GENERIC!!!

Cons:

mild cramps still but well worth it. skipped one pill and felt VERY nauseous for a two days.

i would recommend!
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January 3, 2013

Pros:

Cleared smaller bits of acne.
Safe sex.
Regulated and lightened my period.

Cons:

Still got the big cystic pimples.
Must be really, really regulated.

Just because you're taking birth control doesn't mean you need to start having sex too, I started taking it specifically for my acne. I would reccommend birth control to even girls at a young age, because it helps regulate your body and helps you out a lot! Cleared my small pimples, so I actually had some clear skin, but I still had my cystic pimples. Also lightened my period a lot, which reduced my stress which also helped reduce my acne.
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January 3, 2013

Pros:

Cleared my skin about 75%
Increased my breast size
No mood swings

Cons:

Slightly longer periods
Breast tenderness for 1 week right before my period
Slightly decreased libido

This birth control really cleared up my skin a lot. I still get about 2 cysts and some small whiteheads around my period but no where near as bad as before. I went from moderate/moderately severe acne to light. I have been on 4 different birth control pills before and OTC cleared my skin the best out of all of them. There are definitely some cons but I think it is still worth taking to keep my skin clear.
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January 1, 2013

Pros:

I have nothing good to say about this pill

Cons:

Daily headaches, back acne, really oily face covered in small zits, dont sleep very well.

I have been on yaz for 4 years and it worked great , clear skin and no negative side affects. I get ovarian cysts which were almost non existant while on yaz. Since switching to ortho tricyclen lo the pain in my side is back=cysts back, my skin is soo bad and i cant sleep. Going back to yaz!
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December 19, 2012

Pros:

- less acne overall, get a few now and some tiny ones that nobody sees anyway
- chest, arms and back are now clear
- body changes. this can be a pro or con, but my waist went from 27 inches to 26, my hips from 36.5 to 41 inches, and my breasts from 34A to 34B.
- no babies, 2 birds with one stone

Cons:

- the acne i do get is cystic and painful, i'll have 1-2 small or large cysts on my face at a time
- recently started getting small bumps on my forehead, never had this problem before, i ahve bangs that cover it, but still
- tiredness and exhaustion

I am an 19 year old girl and had acne since I was 12. I had tried antibiotics, over the counter, and prescription creams, so my doctor recommended OTC. I used it for 4 months. Just finished my fourth pack, and do not plan to continue. I did experience a small initial breakout, but that calmed down within a month. My face isn't cluttered with zits so that's good, and i'd get cysts anyway. However, it did not remove as much as i'd like, and i still struggle. My doctor gave me a prescription for Diane-35, which has a higher amount of female hormone and blocks male hormones too. If you're going to switch up birth controls, look for one that has a higher amount of hormones, a lower amount will most likely cause a terrible initial breakout and other bad side effects. It works for a lot of people though, so give it a shot.
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