The Yaz birth control pill by Berlex Laboratories is the newest oral contraceptive to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of acne.

The first oral contraceptive to be approved by the FDA for acne treatment was Ortho Tri-Cyclen in 1997. Since that time, various oral contraceptives have been marketed for acne treatment prompting women to seek clearer skin through hormone therapy.

“Birth control pills aren’t usually a first-line treatment for acne,” explains Dr. Sadia Haider, a family planning fellow and clinical instructor at University California San Francisco. “I wouldn’t initiate someone on birth control pills for acne control alone until they have tried some basic acne treatment options.”

Those other options include a slew of skin care products such as benzoyl peroxide based creams, salicylic acid treatments, and topical antibiotics.

But for women who are already interested in a birth control method and haven’t seen results from topical acne remedies, the pill’s potential to reduce acne lesions is a potential bonus.

Haider warns against getting caught up in marketing campaigns associated with pills that combat acne.

“Women will come in and ask for a specific pill because they’ve seen ads in magazines but there are many pills that will give them the same benefits. I’m often able to put them on one that their insurance covers,” Haider said.

Women concerned about their skin should also consider the risk of developing melasma, or darkened patches of skin that usually occur around the cheekbones, when taking the pill.

“Melasma is rare though, and usually reversible,” Haider said.

Choosing to treat acne with oral contraceptives requires a measure of patience.

“It does take a couple of cycles before patients see changes in their skin. It doesn’t have an immediate effect,” Haider explains. In rare case, women can experience headaches, mood changes and decreased libido when taking hormone-based therapies.

Shana Averbach, a graduate student at SF State, said she experienced psychological side effects when she first went on the pill. Averbach didn’t feel like her symptoms, particularly depression, were taken seriously by her doctors.

“They didn’t care. They didn’t take the time. They just kept telling me to try it for another two months,” Averbach said.

Kelly Hines is also a graduate student at SF State and said she’s against treating women for acne with hormone therapy.

“It’s about drug companies and money,” Hines said. Hines is also wary of potential bias against women in the medical establishment. “They think women are just hormonal anyway.”

Jessica Hulin plans to graduate soon from SF State’s counseling program and shares Hines’ and Averbach’s concerns about ulterior motives for marketing drugs to women. But Hulin takes a more accepting stance on the pill and acne control.

“I’m all for it –– if you don’t get pregnant and it gets rid of your acne,” said Hulin. “I never had any negative experiences though. If I had, I would probably feel differently.”

Current birth control pill formulations have a lower dosage of hormones and the chances of negative side effects have decreased since the pill’s inception in the 1960s.

But low dose birth control pills have received some negative press lately. News reports stemming from an FDA meeting in late January warned of higher failure rates with low dose pills compared to earlier generations of the pill.

Haider characterized the difference in efficiency as “minute,” and wouldn’t want to see women make changes to their birth control method because of the recent reports.

“No one here is changing their prescribing patterns yet,” Haider said. “Birth control pills are still the number one method for preventing pregnancy.”

That sentiment is echoed by Albert Angelo, a health educator for SF State’s Student Health Service.

“If I were going to switch, I would look at the efficiency and talk to a doctor,” Angelo said. But without a change in health or other side effects, he advised, “Stay with what works.”