Hormone Therapy for Acne

Acne is such a common skin problem that a lot of skin experts and dermatologists continue to develop various treatments for the skin disease. One of the treatments for acne is hormone therapy. This treatment is especially effective for women.

The Hormone Therapy acne treatment has long been used by dermatologists. This treatment is recommended for women no matter how severe the acne is. So why is hormone therapy effective? Hormone is known as a contributing factor for the development of acne, and if there is a way to balance our hormones, it will help reduce or eliminate acne for good.

How hormones affect our skin

Androgens which are the masculine hormones are the ones that contribute to the growth of acne. These hormones increase when we reach puberty, and they affect the production of oil in the oil glands or sebaceous glands. When too much oil or sebum is produced, the pores of our skin will be clogged. If this happens, the dead skin cells get trapped too. Now, when the bacteria from outside factors like dust and dirt come in contact with the clogged pore, they will cause an infection. When the bacteria have not propagated yet, what you see is either a whitehead or a blackhead. Clogged pores that you usually see are whiteheads, and they become blackheads when some pigmentation caused by melanin makes them dark-colored. Now, when bacteria have infected a certain area on our skin, inflammation will develop. That?s what we call a pimple.

Hormonal Therapy

The purpose of hormonal therapy is to disrupt abnormal hormonal activities that cause acne growth. Hormonal therapy is done by taking oral contraceptives such as:

1. Diane-35
2. Tri-Cyclen
3. Alesse
4. Yasmin

On the other hand, there?s a non-contraceptive anti-androgen medication that can be taken for hormonal therapy. This medicine is called Spironolactone, which comes in the form of estrogen and progestins. As mentioned previously, androgen contributes to acne growth. By keeping androgen production at a minimum level with anti-androgen medication, acne will be reduced, or even eliminated.

You can also check out Acne Guide for more helpful tips about hormone therapy for acne.