Birth Control Pills Can Help Acne Treatment - Know How

Many young women who are looking for acne treatment and birth control methods tend to look for birth control pills to kill two birds with a stone. It might be surprising for some to know that birth some control pills are very effective in controlling acne and cure considerably in many cases. Birth control pills control the sebum significantly to be produced.

What is acne?

Acne is a chronic disorder of the hair follicles and sebaceous glands. Acne is characterized by black heads, pimple outbreaks, cysts, infected abscesses, and (sometimes) scarring. Acne is the result of inflammation of the sebaceous glands and hair follicles of the skin producing pimples and pustules.

Sebaceous glands (fatty glands found in hair follicles throughout the body that secrete oil into the hair and surrounding skin and they emit oil) found on many parts of the body which produce Sebum. When the production of sebum increases, it blocks the sebaceous glands, which makes sebum filling the gland into balloon shape. This is generally called as acne. If the production of sebum decreases so is the acne and vice-versa

How birth control pills work on acne?

Androgen are group hormones, also known as male hormones in the body are responsible for excess sebum production. Birth control pills control androgen hormones significantly. Androgen hormones’ activity in sebaceous glands either increases or decreases the production of sebum. When androgen hormones increases in sebaceous glands, its produces more sebum and so it appears in the form of acne. This activity is greatly observed in teenagers and young adults specially between the ages of 12 and 24, when they experience many physical changes.

However, it must be noted here that that there are mainly two types of birth control pills available. One is Progestin Only Pill (POP) and other is Combination Pill (having progestin and estrogen hormones). These combination birth control pills come in different combination level of progestin and estrogen hormones. The estrogens may be in the form of ethinyl etradiol. In fact, this is the ethinyl etradiol that controls the level of androgen hormones in the sebaceous glands.

In 1997, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved low-dose birth control pill Ortho Tri-cyclen to be used for acne treatment. It controls the production of androgen hormones in sebaceous glands and thus reduces acne to appear significantly.

Despite the fact that birth control pills work effectively on acne treatment, it is certainly not advisable for sexually inactive and teenagers to use them as the medium of acne treatment unless they consult their physician or doctor first.