Does birth control make your acne worse?

Ah, acne. It’s the unwelcome guest that shows up unannounced on your face, reminding you of your youth and confusing you as to why it still decides to make an appearance after all these years. While there are a multitude of possible causes for acne (like genetics, hormones, diet), we wanted to answer one specific question: does birth control make your acne worse? After all, if we’re going to take something every day for the rest of our reproductive lives, we should at least know what kind of guest it’s inviting over.

Let’s First Discuss How Birth Control Works

Before we jump into whether or not birth control makes acne better or worse, let’s first clarify how they work. Hormonal contraception- which includes pills like Estrostep Fe, seasonique!, and even IUDs – works by suppressing ovulation with synthetic estrogen and progestin hormones essentially tricking your body into thinking it has already ovulated so while sperm may reach the uterus there won’t be anything hanging around waiting for them i.e conceiving a baby is inhibited.

With traditional combination hormonal contraceptive pills containing both estrogen and progestin – they have shown evidence via clinical research that this combination can improve skin overall- specifically in reducing inflammatory lesions in those who suffered from moderately severe acne prior to starting oral contraceptives. :boom: Something positive folks!!

So could hormonal contraception ultimately be protective against pimples perhaps aiding more purposefully than giving its main effect preventing pregnancy?

Can Some Types Of Birth Control Cause Acne Or Aggravate Pre-existing Ones??

While some types of hormonal birth controls might help clear up breakouts /reduce inflammation on bumps down the road others actually can unfortunately cause increased instances/ higher instances in cystic/dry/flaring areas Which ones you ask? Well according^ :smile_cat::arrow_down:
– Depo-Provera shot: This hormone injection which is administered every 3 months only consists of progestin
– Progestin-only mini-pill
– Nexplanon IUD

Some women might experience flare ups when stopping hormonal contraceptives as well. :open_mouth:

A lot depends on a woman’s unique oily skin/ combination dryness, genetics and other factors – this makes it difficult to predict what will happen with any certainty.

The Short And Broad Of It (The Good And The Bad)

No doubt about it – there’s little scientific consensus regarding whether birth control pills universally worsen acne or alleviate it. Even still if you suffer from cystic or severe acne already your dermatologist might consider prescribing even off-label usage of combined oral contraception to help treat both the stubborn pimples but also prevent pregnancy in one fell swoop…talk about a win-win?

In summary: nothing doesn’t have its side-effect, making it extremely challenging! But don’t lose that lovin’ feeling yet ladies neither solution is perfect for everyone either way :wink:. Speaking openly with your physician gynaecologist/dermatologist + experimenting several methods before narrowing down helps with finding out once and for all how each new medication affects your skin particularly. So be kind to yourself on this journey, hormones are no joke baby!!

Acne can be irritating, frustrating and at times quite painful however we hope our exploration into the question ‘does birth control make your acne worse?’ helped lift some foggy areas around the topic –it did so for us!!!

Random Posts