Birth control pills are widely used today and prescribed quite often as a means to control acne. Most pills can have the potential to cause acne and weight gain in those susceptible. Birth control pills can be broken down into two categories: androgen dominant pills and estrogen dominant pills.
Androgen Dominant Pills: Androgen is a general term for male hormones, the most commonly known one being testosterone. Testosterone is linked to acne. For a woman who is acne prone, adding these additional male hormones to the body will stimulate a greater sebum production, which then results in acne flareups. The upside of these pills is that they have fewer side effects, which leads them to be often prescribed. Examples of pills that have an adverse affect on acne include Ovral, Lo-Ovral, Lestrin, Norlestrin, Microgestin, and Nuvaring.
Estrogen Dominant Pills: The estrogen in these pills shuts down all the hormones produced in the ovaries. Since about half of a woman’s testosterone is produced in the ovaries, the estrogen pill will lower her testosterone levels, slow sebum production, and clear the acne. High level estrogen pills include Enovid-E, Ovulen, Enovid, and Demulen.
Only you and your doctor can determine what pill is right for you. Individual reactions to the synthetic hormones can vary. Some people have cleared their acne while on an androgen dominant pill. If you are considering taking birth control pills, it is important to know that they are associated with a high risk of blood clots, weight gain, nausea, mood changes, depression, and breast tenderness. An article here gives some examples of symptoms women experienced while on the pill.
It is entirely possible to treat acne without going on the pill at all. If you have no underlying health issues that require you to be on birth control and are considering taking birth control pills only to control your acne, please feel free to contact our office at Proderma to get some additional perspective on how we can help you with the use of topical products and treatments.
