How Going Off Oral Birth Control Might Affect Your Hair & Skin

Going on or off oral birth control pills is a personal choice—one that people make for a variety of reasons that are certainly not anyone else's business! Not to mention, there are many options available for birth control, each with its own unique formulas that influence the body and hormones in a variety of ways. And of course, our bodies themselves are highly individualized and may be influenced by said changes in birth control vastly differently. 

This is why I find it challenging to write about skin and hair changes within the context of hormonal birth control. What one person experiences will not hold true for the rest: There are simply too many variables. 

Now, this isn't to say you're guaranteed to deal with either of these when you wean yourself off birth control. (Cannot stress this enough: Everyone is different!) And perhaps the reason these concerns get brought up more often is because people tend not to flag non-concerns. You're likely not going to complain about your skin and hair if nothing has changed over the course of going off birth control, right?

However, there are valid reasons people may experience either of these according to dermatologists. But, again, derms also note that this is a tricky area in which no one's experience is the same as the rest. 

Certain subsets of hormonal birth control can improve hormonal acne while on it. "Combined hormonal contraceptives are birth control methods that contain estrogen and progestin," says King, noting these are often found in forms such as the pill, patch, or ring. "Birth control pills that contain these two hormones are often helpful for hormonal acne because the estrogen they contain can suppress the ovaries' production of androgens and increase a protein called sex-hormone binding globulin in the blood. This protein binds free testosterone in the bloodstream, so then less testosterone is available to cause sebum production and acne."

See, sex hormones have several notable influences on our skin. As King noted, estrogen decreases sebum production (and increases collagen and elastin production), while testosterone increases sebum production. If you're genetically predisposed to acne, any increase in sebum production can cause breakouts. 

So, when you go off these forms of birth control, the hormonal acne you are experiencing is simply your skin responding to the lack of estrogen from birth control, as well as the resurgence of testosterone. 

The first thing you can do is simply understand what's happening, acknowledge that it's temporary (several months may not feel "temporary," but trust that it is!), and allow yourself some grace. 

Hair loss of all kinds is a very common concern for many women. It's a very tricky topic as there are several kinds of hair loss, which are all influenced by a variety of factors. One such factor is birth control, yes. 

"One kind of hair loss that can be experienced after stopping OCP is telogen effluvium. Telogen effluvium is a kind of hair loss that takes place after a person undergoes a stress to the body or mind," says King, noting that this can range from physical injury, personal problems, and, yes, hormonal changes. "Abrupt hormonal change—like after childbirth or stopping an oral contraceptive—is one form of physical stress." 

The good news is that this form of hair loss is temporary, too.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record: The best thing you can do for your body and hair is to understand that this shall pass—and to not panic about it.