Acne Breakouts After Stopping Birth Control – How To Manage
- By InnateSkin
- June 1, 2020
- Articles
Many women use birth control pills as a way to control their acne. After potentially years of acne-free skin, the decision to stop birth control pills can be difficult due to the concern that their acne could return.
Stopping birth control pills can result in acne even if you’ve never had a problem with breakouts before. For women and teenagers who started taking birth control to clear their acne, going off the pill can be stressful.
Fortunately, there are ways to help reduce or prevent breakouts once you quit taking the pill.
Why Does Your Skin Break Out After Stopping Oral Birth Control?
Your hormones, such as testosterone and estrogen, play a role in whether you develop acne. Birth control pills can help minimize acne in some women by reducing their testosterone levels. However, when you stop oral birth control, your body experiences a rapid shift in the levels of testosterone. Testosterone can lead to increased oil production and cause acne outbreaks.
Some women report experiencing breakouts as early as one month after stopping oral birth control. The acne can show up anywhere on your body, including along the jawline, your back, and your chest. You can also experience cystic acne, which can be harder to get rid of.
For many women, their acne peaks approximately three to six months later. Unfortunately, for some, the acne may not go away on its own. Therefore, some women may choose to go back on oral birth control to get rid of their acne. However, there are ways to help minimize breakouts when stopping oral birth control and make the transition easier for your skin.
4 Strategies to Help Minimize Acne After Stopping Birth Control
Ideally, plan ahead before you stop taking your oral birth control. This approach will allow you time to build up essential nutrients and implement strategies that can help reduce acne breakouts after you stop taking birth control pills.
1 – Increase your vitamin intake before you stop taking birth control
Birth control pills can cause a depletion of critical nutrients your body needs, including your skin. To combat this, focus on increasing your nutrition intake with vitamin-rich foods.
It can be difficult to consistently get the amount of vitamins needed each day from diet alone. A vitamin and mineral supplement can help. To help your skin, be sure your supplement includes:
- Zinc
- Vitamin A
- Vitamin C
- Vitamin E
- Vitamin D
- Vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid)
- Various B vitamins
These vitamins are all important to your body and your skin. They play a critical role in helping your skin stay healthy and allowing it to minimize or prevent breakouts.
Additionally, DIM (diindolylmethane)—a naturally occurring compound found in foods like cauliflower—may also help combat hormonal acne. This compound may help balance your hormones, which can help reduce breakouts.
2 – Keep your blood sugar levels stable
Too much testosterone can lead to increased oil production and acne breakouts. Another hormone that interacts with testosterone is insulin.
When your blood sugar levels aren’t under control, it can impact your insulin and testosterone levels. This interaction can cause an increase in testosterone, which may result in breakouts. Therefore, keeping your blood sugar levels stable can help you maintain a healthy hormonal balance and decrease the chance of breakouts.
To help, be sure to eat low glycemic foods which are nutrient dense, including those with protein and fats.
3 – Incorporate stress management techniques
Increased stress levels can cause an increase and imbalance in your hormone levels, including testosterone. Therefore, incorporating regular stress management techniques, such as meditation, deep breathing, or physical exercise, can help keep your stress levels and your hormones balanced.
4 – Establish a regular skincare routine
You’ll want to incorporate a consistent skincare routine that uses gentle cleansers that work for your skin. Avoid using products that dry out your skin as that can lead to additional problems.
How You Can Minimize Acne Breakouts After Stopping Birth Control Pills
Stopping birth control pills can be a stressful decision, especially if you started them to keep your skin clear of acne. By planning ahead, you can incorporate strategies, such as increasing key vitamins, minerals, and nutrients in your diet, to balance your hormone levels and help your skin stay clearer.
If you’re seeking to boost your vitamins and minerals before stopping birth control, Innate Skin has several products that may work for you. The Clear Skin Vitamin Pack is packed full of acne fighting vitamins, minerals and herbs including all the ones mentioned earlier in this article. A quick search of the reviews of the Clear Skin Vitamin Pack on amazon turn up 5 star praise such as this:
“When I stopped taking birth control, my acne reemerged in full force. This helped me identify that I did in fact have hormonal acne. After doing some research, I found the Clear Skin Vitamin Pack and have been taking them for about 40 days. Over the past two weeks I have noticeably less acne to the point where others are noticing the change and asking me what I’ve been using 🙂 My hair dresser also told me that she could see a ton of new hair growth, which is an added plus! I am so happy with these supplements, I just ordered another pack for my next 60 days. Definitely recommend and be sure to give it at least 30 days to start seeing a difference.”
Innate Skin’s Acnevites DIM Complex can help keep your skin healthy and your hormones more in balance. DIM is a common supplement taken to help control hormonal acne and is often used to replace the pill as an acne treatment. It has anti-androgen benefits and it can help balance out your hormones.