Acne Magazine : Skin Care, Tips, Treatment Reviews

I think that being on the birth control pill Ortho Tri Cyclen is actually helping my acne after about a month and a half on it.  I finally noticed that it was helping yesterday, when I looked in the mirror and had less bumps on my face, and also when I wash my face, I notice that I feel smoother.  I will say though, that being on the pill tends to make my face look more uneven it seems, at least until I actually grow accustomed to it.  I guess what I mean by uneven is that the coloring is off.  It’s not all one even color, whether it’s tan or pale, like it should be.

I went on the generic form of the Ortho Tri Cyclen pill, which actually concerned me because my doctor did tell me that contrary to what most people think, generics of medications do not actually legally have to be identical to their brand name counterparts, but they do have to have a percentage of similarity to pass the “generic” test.  It concerned me since I thought that the reason that specifically Ortho Tri Cyclen was recommended for those that have acne was that it had a specific blend of hormones and inert ingredients that helped with the production of acne and excess oil by hormonally balancing the body. 

However, my physician also told me that several birth control pills do help with acne, even the ones that are not triphasic in nature, but they just can’t claim that because they didn’t pay to have the studies done like Ortho did to be able to make the claim that it can help clear acne.  So, from there I guess that I made the decision that it was ok to get the generic, and I’m glad I did make that decision since most insurance companies will pay significantly more of the cost of the medication if you go with generic, and it seems I am getting the same results as I would have with brand name. 

I still have some acne, and don’t believe that the pill should be used as the only means to clear it, so I’ll keep buying and trying products to review and see if I like, but I think the pill is helping.  The weight gain sucks though.  I don’t care what they say, the pill does make you gain weight – at least for me it does.