For many teenage girls as well as women with adult-onset acne, treatment with female sex hormones such as estrogen offers another treatment option. Usually taken in the form of low-dose birth control pills, hormonal therapy increases the level of female hormones in a woman’s bloodstream. This reduces or blocks the production of androgen. Once androgen production is decreased, sebum production is decreased as well. The result is decreased acne outbreaks. A woman describes her experience with hormone therapy: “I was surprised when my doctor prescribed birth control pills to clear up my skin. It sounded strange. But I was at the end of my rope as far as my skin was concerned. I tried just about everything else, so I decided to give birth control pills a shot. I am so happy with the results. My skin hasn’t looked this good in years.”Hormones