Are Birth Control Pills A Cure For Acne? Acne is a huge problem for numerous teenagers. They find it highly embarrassing, uncomfortable and a source of ridicule from bullies. However, acne is a hormonal problem and there is not a lot you are able to do about it except not encourage it to get any worse by trying to reduce the amount of oil on the affected area. However, it has been found that the hormonal imbalance can sometimes be corrected in girls if they take the birth control pill. This is not a perfect solution because the long term use of birth control pills may also bring its own problems with it. The option is not accessible to boys though, so do not even think of it. It would depend on the birth control pills - what they contain, so you would have to take the advice of a doctor after trying the standard remedies for acne. The first thing to try is to tie your hair back so that the oil in your hair does not smear onto your skin. Next, you ought to replace your pillow cases often, very frequently because they will get covered in oil too. Wear garments that do not have high collars, because these too will collect oil and dirt and put them back into your skin. If the acne is on your back, wear loose-fitting clothes for the same reason. Wash your face no more than normal - three or four times a day but use plain soap without perfume. Be careful with make-up too. In fact, strive not to wear any. If these fundamental precautions do not remove your acne, try an over-the-counter (OTC) cure. OTC remedies vary from antiseptic or / and antibiotic lotions and rinses to salicylic acid washes, all of which are harmless and designed to eliminate the surplus oil from your skin and kill the bacteria, which together with the oil cause the break-outs. If you get this far and nothing has helped, it is worth visiting your GP concerning birth control pills. You would not be taking them for birth control, so he might advise you take a half tablet every two or three days or a quarter tablet a day - only enough to reset your hormonal imbalance, not make you temporarily infertile. In fact, doctors have been using birth control pills to help tackle acne for years, but it has been kept hushed for various reasons that anyone can imagine including the charge of encouraging promiscuity. However, the pill not only reduces female hormones such as progestin and oestrogen, but also the male hormone testosterone, which can be accountable for more acne. Other birth control pills reduce progesterone, which will reduce the androgen hormones, which in turn might reduce the production of surplus oil. I have to saying 'may' and 'might' because only a physician can decide which is the most appropriate pill for you. Some women react badly to some pills and have to be taken off them entirely or placed on a different type. There are yet other birth control pills that prevent fertility in a entirely different way, by increasing the level of testosterone and so they may cause your body to create even
more acne and really bad acne can lead to acne scarring and that is the last thing you want all over your skin. Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many subjects, but is at present involved with salycilic acid acne treatment. If you have an interest in acne, please go over to our website now at Treating Acne Scars