Everyone wants to have clean, acne - free, pimples-free glowing skin.
Contraceptive pill is one of the drug to help with acne. It is supposed to change our hormonal patterns by:
reducing androgen production in the body
increasing the amount of SHBG (Sex Hormone Binding Globulin - they attach even more androgens from the body so that the androgen (including testosterone) level is low, also a reason for lower libido
Increasing the amount of estrogen circulating in the body which is responsible for smooth and beautiful skin (estrogen is reducing sebum production) - in the pill it is an artificial estrogen though
Even though many women experience skin smoothing while taking the pills they might expect another, even worth side effect on the skin - it is melasma, hyperpigmentation of the skin.
This is a topic which is very close for me because after I stopped taking the pill and went for holidays to Italy I came back with a big dark spot on my forehead. I am still trying to address it.
Melasma is much more difficult to remove than acne.
It is a price we pay while taking the pill for acne - 25% of women taking OCP develop melasma.
Why does it happen?
The exact explanation how it happens is still not fully clear. However the melanocytes, pigment creating cells, have receptors that can bind with estrogen and progesterone. When estrogen acts on melanocytes (pigment-producing cells), the skin produces more pigment.
Estrogen also increases the number of melanocortin receptors in the skin, which makes melanocytes more sensitive to sun and inflammation. And inflammatory markers (like CRP) are statistically higher among OCP users.
Estrogen also increases the amount of a pigment-forming enzyme called tyrosinase in the body.
Melasma is also called 'mask of pregnency' - the level of estrogen during pregnancy is skyrocketing causing melanin overproduction in the melanocytes.But usually it disappears after the pregnancy however for women who developed it before it migh stay.
There are definitely better ways to address acne and also PCOS, we need to start from the root cause, we need to look at our gut heath, at our detoxification, at our blood sugar balance and stress. And there are no side effects!
Please check out my 12 weeks program during which we will naturally address the root causes of your acne, PCOS. You are also welcome to have a free discovery call with me to see how I can help you.
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