Acne when coming off the pill?! (Yasmin) How long does it last?

Hi there,

I was on tricyclen low on and off for about 10 years. Until the most recent time I got off, every time I got off I had no issues. This time my skin lost it, pimples EVERYWHERE, forehead, cheeks, neck, it was unbearably painful. I never had acne like this before getting on the pill so I didn't understand what has happening. I toughed it out and now 11 months after stopping the pill my skin is getting better. It's so difficult to be patient and wait it out but ladies it does get better. Products I used was la Roche Posay effaclar face wash and effaclar moisturizer. When I used spot treatments or face masks it made it worse, I realized less is more. Being gentle with my skin went a LONG way. I was my face only in morning and night. Pat the skin dry with a clean towel (very important don't reuse towels). I promised myself I would write a post if my skin ever got better to give someone else some hope because a few months ago I was crying desparately searching the internet for answers or insight. I am 27 years old and was shocked that my skin was acting this way. My periods came back right away and were regular after I got off the pill so the acne was surprising because I thought my periods coming back was a sign everything was back to normal. To whoever is reading this, I was in your shoes, my face was so painful and full of acne and I couldn't even cover it with makeup. It gets better, just be kind to yourself and try and wait it out if you can (if you can't I totally understand). I had 2 doctors try to get me on antibiotic creams and as tempting as that was, I got off the pill to rid myself of anything artificial so for me personally I didn't want to go down the antibiotic road, 11 months later I am happy that I didn't go down that path. I wish you all luck, I know this is hard :(. Do what you feel is right for your situation whether it be antibiotics or another approach. Xox

Best advice so far, thank you xx

Hi ladies
I was also on the pill and just recently got off after further researching about the harmful future side affects bc actually does to your body after so long. A month after I stopped I suffered with acne for maybe 4 months (until the bc finally wore out of my system I guess) but I stuck with it refusing to use any other form of bc because I know that the body is self healing/ self cleansing if you would just leave it be and allow it to work itself out. I just recently got my cycle back and it's beginning to get back to it's normal routine and my skin is getting better with time... I hope that this helps

Definitely thenpist hoful thread so far!! Thank you!! I am not ready to get off of the pill just yet but I will start these suggestions a few months before to prepare my body when I do get off of it.
Love the affirmations So Much!!! Thank you!!

Hi, I also have problems with acne after I stopped to take yasmin pills. Doctor advised me to take lymecykline instead, but they did not improved my acne at all. In a few weeks I will have appointment with doctor, so will see what he's opinion

Hi! I am soon going off birth control pills and am terrified about the acne. How did everything end up working out for you??

I want this to help anyone who is currently going through this.

I was on Yasmin for 5 years and had the clearest skin in the world and never worried about acne. The first 4 months after stopping my skin continued to be perfect then slowly, but surely, I began breaking out in severe hormonal acne. My whole face was bumpy, and my chin was covered in cystic, painful, long-lasting spots. It was awful. I cried every day and have never felt so insure. I tried absolutely everything to help my spots. I went to the doctor 5 times, I took vitamin A, zinc, evening primrose oil, vitamin d and spent THOUSANDS on facials and skincare products. Name a product and I tried it.

It has now been a year since stopping Yasmin and I can happily say - aside from the occasional breakout - my skin is clear. I haven't been this happy with my face in a long time. Here's how I did it:-
- Avoid dairy and gluten. Cut it out completely for 3/4 weeks and then slowly begin to reintroduce it but don't overdo it. Trust me this works and there's so much you can eat. Live by DeliciouslyElla.
-Biggest saviour - Biologique Reserche skincare. This will change your life. Read the reviews online - everyone says it cured their acne but many people don't know about it because the stuff is hard to get hold of. Call them, get a consolation, if you're in a big city go and see them. The stuff is expensive but IT WORKS LIKE NOTHING ELSE. I'm a student and paying for it killed me but you need the 3 step skincare and I PROMISE your skin will clear up. Don't just order the stuff randomly, let them examine your skin and send photos so they can tell you what you need.
-Do not scrub your skin. Use the Biologique products for a exfoliation with their P50 but do not scrub with acne products or over cleanse your skin. This will make it worse!

This worked for me and I thought I was never going to feel better about myself. It will take 3/4 weeks to see a difference but trust. The pill is a nasty thing to put your body on- I now use the coil and a non-hormonal approach to birth control has elevated my mental health like nothing else.

Good luck guys! Trust in Biologique!

Ladies, I've played the "birth control game" for almost 20 years now. I had perfect skin when I got on it at 19. Now, each time I've tried to get off (going on time 4 now) I end up getting so frustrated by cystic acne on my face, butt, back, and scalp, that I get back on out of desperation.

This time, at 40, I'm vowing to be done with it. I've done a TON of research this time, too, and I hope what I've learned will help me (I'm just starting month 2 of being off, so I have another 1-2 months before I'll know how bad I'll be breaking out this time) and help you all too. What we all need is to balance our hormones naturally after the pill has controlled them for so long.

Now, I didn't have balanced ones to begin with. I had a super late period (almost 16) and then, by 19, annovulation (meaning I just didn't bleed anymore) and at that time was MISDIAGNOSED with PCOS, at which time they told me my only treatment option was the pill. Well, it worked, in that, I DID get a regular period after that and it kept me from getting pregnant as advertised. lol However, a drop in libido and weight gain (about 5lbs when I was younger, 12lbs at my current age!) were the drawbacks.

Then, a few years ago, I did more testing and found out I DON'T have PCOS. In fact, not ONE doctor or endocrinologist has been able to explain (let alone cure) the annovulation. It's beyond frustrating, but I'm learning to live with the fact that there will probably never be an answer. But here's the thing: I don't really care if I ever bleed again because I don't want children. Being infertile is fine. What is NOT fine is not getting my skin back. (I'm a professional and run meetings and I just can't have the skin of a teenager in a room full of men with 20 years on me who already might not take me seriously just because I'm a woman.) I just want to go back to where I was before, and they say that SHOULD happen after you get off the pill, with some adjustment time. Just a few months, the internet said. Well, I went 1.5 YEARS last time off the pill, waiting for my skin to finally normalize and clear up. Guess what? It didn't, and that's why here I am, AGAIN, a few years later, giving it another go. Sigh.

BUT, this time, ladies, I did a TON of research, and really, all we can really do is balance our hormones as best we can at home. First, you need SUPPLEMENTS! DIM and Zinc and Selenium are a MUST. The DIM is for cystic acne, acting on androgens. The Zinc will help regulate your thyroid (I suspect MANY of us with hormonal problems have thyroid issues that don't "show up" on current tests, but that's a whole other post) and also helps your skin in general with aging too! Let's just say that making your thyroid as healthy as possible can only help. The Selenium boosts the zinc, so take them together. Also, primrose oil. Take Vitamin D3, Gota Kula (an herb) and Magnesium at night. (At night cuz Mag makes you sleepy, and the D3 needs to be taken as far from when you take the zinc in the morning, since they diminish one another.) Almost EVERYONE is magnesium-deficient: Google it-- it helps with EVERYTHING. Berberine is an herb that also helps with insulin-related skin inflammation and is good for cystic acne.

Next, stay alkalized. Start your day with lemon water with pink Himalayan Salt. Next, Google xenoestrogens and figure out how to cut as many from your diet as possible. These "faux estrogens" block the receptors that your REAL estrogen needs. After awhile, your body stops producing it's own estrogen. The birth control does this too, so you're getting the double-whammy. You'll be surprised at how many "safe" herbs contain these harmful estrogens. Lavender, hemp oil, sunflower and safflower oil, mint, aloe, nutmeg, chamomile, lemongrass, ANY essential oils, turmeric...the list goes on. I had to throw out even my "all natural" products because many contained essential oils and either safflower or sunflower oil, and aloe. Who would have thought ALOE could mess up your hormones?!

So yeah, use face, body, and make up products that have as few ingredients as possible. In the very least, avoid parabens and sulphates! This will "free up" many estrogen receptors in your body, allowing for a faster recovery from going off the pill.

I personally cleanse my face using oil only. I use almond oil to remove make up and cleanse the skin. But don't use it to moisturize because it oxidates- I use squalane oil and marula oil to moisturize. I use Bare Minerals for make up. And I use a PHYSICAL sunscreen (not a chemical one!) under my make up.

Chemical sunscreens ALL contain xenoestrogens, and there is even some debate if many of their main ingredients might cause cancer! Plus, you don't know how those chemicals are interacting with the chemicals in your lotion and make up. In the very least, you're probably not getting the coverage you think you are using the chemical stuff. If you get hyperpigmentation like I do, you MUST use a good physical sunscreen. I get it-- it's a bit white and thick at first. The other stuff feels lighter and better. BUT is it worth your skin, in the end? A good physical one will dry clear, and your skin WILL thank you. My 40 year-old skin looks late 20's and I swear it is in no small part to the oils I use and my sunscreen. (Then again, my skin is ABOUT to look 14 if I start breaking out! lol)

For sunscreen I use NIA 24. Again, Google using physical sunscreen v. chemical kinds. You'll see that you should be using physical sunscreen, and one that has BOTH as much nano zinc AND titanium as you can get, and NIA is the one I found that has the highest of both combined. And my makeup does NOT pill over it, which has been an issue with many other physical brands I've tried.

SO...if you want to get off birth control or you just have, start with those supplements and start simplifying your products. Google about xenoestrogens and figure out what you can stand to weave out of your routine. I don't know how much different this time will be, but I'm hoping for better results. I mean, if last time I pretty much did nothing (cuz what did I know then?!) and got CRAPPY skin, maybe helping it out with the supplements and products will at least make it DECENT when I hit that dreaded 3 month mark. (I'm only 1 month off right now, so I won't know the full "damage" until about month 3-4.)

Also, I have a Tanda Zap (a little light thing) for zits-- I'm hoping this will help as they come in instead of having to see a derm cuz that's expensive! I got this on sale for under $20.


Good luck!

-did your skin clear up when you started using yasmin again? I was using yasmin for 3 years and during that time my clear was clear even if I stay up all night, I rarely get pimples but when I stopped taking the pill about 4 months ago, my skin is breaking out in the lower part of my face, my neck and my back, there are pimples are some rashes. Planning to go back on taking Yasmin again even if my sex life is dead as of the month. Please let me know if your skin is better now. Thanks

Hi Nero, I just wanted to leave a reply as I read these sorts of posts over the last year and I have to tell you to have hope as it just takes time for your body to adjust and for your hormones to balance out. I came off Yasmin 11 months ago after using it for over 10 years. My skin as a teenager before using Yasmin was fine, just the average hormonal spots and mild breakouts but on Yasmin my skin was amazing. When I stopped taking Yasmin I had horrendous break outs, really huge under the skin boils on my chin, hard spots on my cheeks and small white heads around my mouth, I was so unhappy about it and tried all sorts: expensive facial, steaming, avoiding dairy and taking vitamin supplements. What fixed it in the end was simply time. Now my skin is pretty much back to normal, it’s clear with the odd small hormonal breakout during an expected time in my cycle. So keep your chin up and stick with it, it will be worth it. X

So just to clarify, it took 10 months for my skin to normalise. I know that it’s hard but try to stick with it if you want to come off Yasmin or any other pill because your body will adjust and level out, it just needs time. X

How long did it take for your skin to clear up after going back on the pill? I’m in the same situation that’s all an I’m so upset that I couldn’t take it anymore an just went back on noramin!