# acne

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acne/300937>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 25, 2005, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acne/300937 "2005-04-25T01:03:19Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![blue88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ba0ec/32.png) [@blue88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blue88)\
**Post date:** [April 25, 2005, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acne/300937/1 "2005-04-25T01:03:19Z")

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Is it true that birth control pills help with acne?

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**Author:** ![Nefarious\_Chipmunk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nefarious_chipmunk/32/1045_2.png) [@Nefarious\_Chipmunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nefarious_Chipmunk)\
**Post date:** [April 25, 2005, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acne/300937/2 "2005-04-25T01:05:36Z")

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Depnds on the pill. I have been on pills that make acne better, as well as pills that make it much worse.

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**Author:** ![pokey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ebca7d/32.png) [@pokey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pokey)\
**Post date:** [April 25, 2005, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acne/300937/3 "2005-04-25T01:43:13Z")

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The doctor can prescribe bc pills for acne. There are some that can help, like Yasmin or Ortho Trycylen. There are specific pills approved by the FDA for acne. It will only really help if your acne is hormonal. Lots of different factors cause acne. Oil production is the big factor that bc pills can help with. But since there are so many other factors contributing, sometimes the pill won’t make any difference. It has to be one of the specific pills that blocks androgen receptors, and you have to stay on it long enough that your oil production will slow down and then see if that makes a difference.

So, what \*\*heraldgwena \*\* said.