Birth control for acne - All you need to know about!

Acne could be a serious issue for plenty of women out there. Definitely, it causes embarrassment, anxiety, social isolation among women and at the same time, can give you scar marks all over your face and skin. In several cases, women are not even employed in some industries. For the past few decades, dermatologists have been prescribing women to use birth control pills as a treatment for acne. However, only a chosen number of them have been approved by the FDA for this purpose. Birth control for acne is usually recommended for women who are looking for contraceptive pills along with acne treatment, both at the same time. However, medical specialists usually say that one should use these skin treatment for acne once they have already used topical creams and other oral antibiotics, but none of them did work on them effectively. If you see that all of them have failed in treating your acne, you can look for birth control pills, but at the same time, you must always consider taking a professional's guidance.

What causes the relationship between acne and birth control pills?

If you take a clear look at the biological science, you will be able to understand that there is a very strong relationship between acne and hormonal changes in women. Although a lot of women still have acne after their menopause, in most cases, it is common in teenage girls who have a little complexity with their menstrual cycle. A group of hormones called androgens are usually known for regulating the production of sebum. The adrenal glands and ovaries offer female producers are very low level of androgens in normal cases. However, if the production is raised by any chance, it may lead to the production of a higher level of androgens, thus, contributing to acne. Acne is basically caused due to an excess production of sebum. It is an oil secreted by the glands present in our skin. Sebum usually clogs the skin pores, thus, promoting the growth of bacteria in the skin. Now, this level of androgens in the body can be lowered by consuming birth control pills that will have estrogen and progesterone as their main contents. As a result, there is less sebum and less acne.

Types of birth control pills to treat acne

The FDA has approved only the below listed varieties as a treatment for acne:

• Ortho Tri-Cyclen: It uses estrogen along with a progestin called norgestimate. A progestin is basically a synthetic form of progesterone. You can get this with different doses of progestin.

• Estrostep: It uses estrogen and a progestin called norethindrone. The estrogen level vary in different doses.

• YAZ: It uses estrogen combined with a synthetic progestin called drospirenone.The FDA has concluded that the pills containing drospirenone usually have an increased risk for blood clots. Other brands containing drospirenone are Beyaz, Zarah, Gianvi, Ocella, Safyral, Loryna, Syeda, and Yasmin.