I would wait until the end of your third pack to make sure.

I am 23 and I, unfortunately have terrible skin. I have always used a form of birth control that claims to help improve your skin. To be honest, I have never noticed a difference. If you have acne that you describe as "under the skin" (as I have), it cannot be treated topically with ointments and such- it must be treated medically. If the birth control does not help, I would strongly suggest seeing a dermatologist to get a prescription specifically for acne rather than relying on the birth control solely. The only problem with seeing a dermo is that he will most likely prescribe antibiotics, which may affect your birth controls effectiveness. I was on Accutane for about 6 months to a year. It works great but the process/side effects are Hell. I am sure there are other options than antibiotics and accutane. I would check them out.

Yeah, there are a lot of different kinds of pills to take. I was on two different kinds at two different times.

The first time, I swear I was on penicillin for an internal facial cyst caused by a pimple, and I couldn't eat dairy products lol. I love milk! 6 months without milk sucked.

The second time it was something different, and I had to take them several times a day. They mad me very upset to my stomach, but they did work... I was on those for about 6 months as well until my acne had mostly cleared up; then I stopped taking them because I couldn't stand it. I would often throw the pills in the trash instead of taking them without my mom knowing, that's how much I hated the side effect.

My acne always came back after the treatments. I was finally started on a course to get me on Accutain, and that started by taking bcp's for a month. I was terrified of Accutain lol, and I scrubbed better than I ever had in my whole life. I was a lot older at this time too. My acne went away finally!! I didn't need Accutain.

I still get pimples around my period, but for people who have had cystic acne, a few small/medium pimples just once a month is completely acceptable. My face used to be disgusting, I hate looking at old pictures sometimes! I am on orth-lo. I think it worked for me because of several things: consistent washing, and my age. I was 20 when I got on ortho-lo, instead of being a teen.