Hormonal Acne Treatments - Beat Your Once a Month Breakout

If you are a woman in your 20s or 30s suffering from acne you may want to look into the various hormonal acne treatments for women. Acne and pimples are caused by androgen hormones, not by poor hygiene or diet (although both can affect the severity of your outbreaks). The hormones tend to surge at particular points of the menstrual cycle leading to the familiar once-a-month breakout. It stands to reason that hormonal treatments can help women acne sufferers where other methods have failed for whatever reason. They work by reducing the effect that androgen hormones have on the sebaceous glands in the skin. By lowering the oily sebum that these glands produce, hormonal acne treatments for women can have a dramatic affect on your complexion. Let's take a look at the different treatments available today:

Birth control Pills: When the Pill was first introduced, it contained a lot of estrogen and was very effective at controlling acne. Unfortunately, the amount of estrogen has been reduced dramatically because of side effects. Today's low dose pills can still help to reduce breakouts in women with mild to moderate acne, especially when used in combination with other treatments. You might also notice your acne flare up after you go off of the Pill - proof positive that the Pill was helping to control your hormones. The Pill is not an option if you are over 35, suffer from migraine headaches or smoke. You might also avoid the Pill because of the possibility of weight gain and other, well-documented negative side effects. Some well known low-dose pills that dermatologists consider the best choice are Yasmin, Estrostep and Ortho Tri-Cyclen.

Spironolactone (Aldactone) is often prescribed to women who have cystic acne and deep nodules in the skin. It is a strong antiandrogen and effectively reduces sebum production in the skin. One of the most common side effects of spironolactone is irregular menstrual cycles. Often it will be prescribed with birth control pills which can help to reduce this inconvenient side effect.

Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone Agonists (Buserelin, nafarelin, leuprolide) work in a similar fashion to birth control pills by blocking androgen production by the ovaries. One of the side effects associated with this type of hormonal acne treatment is symptoms of menopause including headaches and bone loss from the lack of estrogen. Obviously these side effects are potentially serious and you will have to discuss with your doctor if this is the right type of treatment for you.

The good news is that if you are a woman suffering from acne, hormonal acne treatments can be very effective. The bad news is that you will have to be supervised by your doctor because all of the treatments have potential side effects. Since you are messing with your bodies hormone production, you must not get pregnant while on any type of hormone therapy as there could be serious consequences, especially to male babies. If other types of treatments have failed for you, hormonal acne treatments might be something to consider.