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---Transistor---Does birth control actually clear your acne, or can it cause acne? And which types of birth control pills work best for beautiful, healthy skin? You’ll find out today. Hi everyone, I’m Damyan Nikolov and welcome to Skincare Secrets. Sometimes, there’s no other way to dice it—the birth control pill is a tricky topic. It affects women’s bodies in many ways, and most obviously, it can change your skin. We’ve come a long way from the time when “only married women could use the pill”—that was the case in the 1960s. How Birth Control Pills Work?Each birth control pill needs a certain amount of hormones in it to be effective and prevent pregnancy. They usually are made of a combination of estrogen and progestin (in the case of combined pills) or just progestin (in the case of mini-pills). Progestins are also sometimes called progestogens—different names, same thing. In addition to making changes in the body to prevent pregnancy, they can often have beneficial side effects — including, reducing acne. For example, a 2017 study found that a combination of 2 active ingredients - ethinylestradiol and dienogest - resulted in a 94% decrease in acne among the participants. Promising, right?So, How Does the Birth Control Pill Affect Acne?One of the many possible causes of acne is hormones.Specifically, androgens. Androgens are hormones that increase sebum production - which is the oil that your skin releases. When you make too much of it, it can result in skin congestion and acne. These hormones occur naturally in both men and women and are what most birth control pills affect.Fact or Fiction: Does the Birth Control Pill Cause Acne?While this is still up for debate among medical professionals, it seems like everyone has a friend who started taking the pill and got awful skin as a result, blaming hormones.  Let’s look at the facts.The thing is, not all birth control hormones are anti-androgenic or lowering oil production. Some progestins still act like androgen hormones in the body, mimicking the same types of hormones that contribute to acne. A 1995 study found that pills containing hormones with androgenic effects DID cause some side effects to the point where women actually stopped taking the pills because of how badly it affected their skin. Yikes! However, compared to the pills used in the study, the newer hormones used in modern pills have lower androgenic activity (or oil production stimulation), and because of this are less likely to cause breakouts. But Can The Pill Treat Acne?While obviously there's one main purpose for the pill, some birth control pills are formulated AND approved to specifically treat acne. As we all know, sometimes the cause of acne isn't as cut and dry as most would think.Usually, pills that are used to treat acne reduce antrogenic those hormone levels from within to effectively get rid of breakouts and pimples. “Hormonal therapy is effective in [treating] acne…” according to a 2016 study, regardless of androgen levels in the study participants. That means even though the acne may not be caused by hormones specifically, some birth control pills were still effective at reducing acne.The pills that are best at treating zits and breakouts are usually ‘combined pills’ — that is, a pill that contains both an estrogen and a progestin. Common combinations of combined pills almost always include Ethinylestradiol as the estrogen, and a specific progestin chosen for its unique benefits. Are There Any Side Effects?No pills come without side effects. And birth control is no exception. Side effects can range from mild (like weight gain) to severe, such as deep vein thrombosis, aka DVT. DVT is a possibly fatal blood clot that breaks free and travels around the body, potentially causing death by blocking a critical vein flowing to the lungs or heart. A specific hormone called drospirenone was linked to a big increase in the risk of blood clots— up to a 75% greater chance of forming those life-threatening blood clots.Because of these health risks, Bayer - a major pharmaceutical company has had multiple lawsuits filed against it for a birth control pill that promised to help acne containing drospirenone. Drospirenone established promising anti-acne effects in clinical trials, making it a potential ‘miracle hormone’ for birth control pills.The thing is, it did help—hundreds of women found that their skin was clearer as a major side effect of starting a birth control pill that contains ethinylestradiol and drospirenone. However, there were some real side effects that many women weren't warned about.Many women actually experienced depression and even worse—fatal blood clots, sparking the class action lawsuit. A 2011 study found that birth control pills containing this hormone were associated with an “...increased risk of deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism,” both potentially deadly concerns that were allegedly downplayed by the company. Despite this, this birth control pill hasn’t been taken off the market, --So, does this mean that using birth control to treat acne is dangerous?No, absolutely not. At the end of the day, this case was just one hormone out of many where the risks outweighed the benefits. There are many, many birth control pill options out there that can help treat acne—the only person that can decide the right one for you is well, YOU and of course your doctor.That’s it for today. Let me know in the comments what you think. Please subscribe to get the latest updates. And I’ll see you in the next one.