Birth Control is not necessary to use in order to clear acne.  It is considered a band aid effect and only works to suppress your acne.   If clients are on birth control to clear acne, we ask that they get off of it before they start the program.

 

If they are on it for other reasons, recommend an acne safe Birth Control.  Below you will find a list of BC that are both safe and acne triggering that you can share with the clients.

 

A few other pieces of information to know regarding Birth Control:

 

1.  Do not take Saw Palmetto or Chaste Berry Vitex while on Birth Control:  This will reduce the efficacy of both the supplement and the BC

2.  If you must take BC, it is recommended you choose a BC that contains the following:

• Higher dose of Ethinyl Estradiol at least 35mcg
• Progestin with a low androgenic effect

3.  IUD’s even without hormones still trigger because there's a foreign object in the body, still working against you.  IUD’s increases androgens

 

 

Here is an example of what you can say to a client who is on Birth Control:

 

 

 

I see that you are taking Birth Control with a higher estrogen level to help with your acne breakouts.  It’s better to be on a BC that is higher in estrogen whereas someone taking BCP with a low dose of estrogen will have an increase of the androgen levels, which will then lead to oil production. So if you are strictly on BC to help with your acne we would ask that you discontinue its use.  The reason for this is that it could hinder our ability to get you clear, and we know that it’s not necessary to be on any sort of medication in order to clear your skin.  We have a very comprehensive program which will look at many different areas in your life which could also be triggers of acne including Hormonal Imbalances.  And we have some wonderful herbal products that can help with balancing.  

 

If you are on Birth Control for pregnancy prevention, then what you are on may be safe when it comes to clearing your acne because it is a higher dose of estrogen.  But we would need to take a look at what dose of estrogen it contains because we want to make sure it’s at least 35mcg, and we want to make sure that the progestin has a low androgenic effect.  So let’s go ahead and figure that out, and if this isn’t something we consider safe in order to get the best results for clearing your acne, then we can take a look at the list that Natural Acne Clinic has put together for what is considered safe and unsafe while going through our program.