Thinking of coming off the pill but afraid of what might happen to your skin?

Or maybe you’ve tried coming of the pill before but have just gone right back on because you couldn’t prevent the breakouts from coming back.

Coming off the pill doesn’t have to be a stressful for your skin! We can work together to support your skin through the transition to help prevent the severity of skin breakouts.

What really causes post pill acne?

There are a few reasons for post pill acne one of the main causes being increased sebum (skin oil) production after stopping the pill.

This happens because most pills suppress sebum production in the skin and when you stop the body isn’t quite sure what the heck is going on anymore. This can lead to increased sebum production resulting in skin breakouts.

We can work to naturally regulate your skins production of sebum (skin oils). It is important to know that the skin oils are very important for many functions! I often see women go through this transition buying lots of different skin care products that strip the skin, from my clinical experience I have seen this worsening the problem! I always recommend seeing a holistic skin specialist to find products that will assist with your transition off the pill in addition to internal support.

Androgens are another possible key player in acne occurrence! Androgens are types of hormones which can become elevated or might just be going down the wrong pathway in the body causing them to wreak havoc on the skin.

We can work together to identify if this is a contributing factor for you and treat accordingly.

The hard truth is that post pill acne can become most severe 12 weeks to 6 months after stopping the pill and it can take 6 months to 1 year of ongoing treatment to see continuous long term changes in your skin.

This is why I recommend starting treatment early and remember do not lose all hope!

Naturopathic approach to post-pill acne:

I recommend starting treatment before you stop the pill or as soon as you can after stopping the pill.

· Follow a balanced diet consisting of whole foods – avoid refined sugar, work on this with a practitioner to ensure your diet is meeting your nutrient requirements.

· Zinc and Vitamin A are both important for hormone balance and skin cell function. zinc is a nutrient which the skin is so heavily dependent on and it is depleted by certain oral contraceptives.

· Consider nutritional and herbal supplements that prevent elevated androgens e.g. reishi, saw palmetto, peony & licorice, DIM.

· Consider turmeric to reduce inflammation.

· Look at the gut-skin axis and ensure your gut health is optimal. Low stomach acid, low levels of beneficial gut bacteria have been shown to be related to acne.

· Support the bodies detoxification and elimination channels – we often fail to remember that the skin is a major elimination organ! If liver function, kidney function and gut function are not optimal then the skin may try to pick up the slack!

Always speak to a health professional before starting any supplements to ensure the supplement is the right one for you and dosage is correct.

If you would like to learn more about your skin, reduce acne severity and occurence I would love to work with you!

Book Now