Years of Suffering
I’ve struggled with cystic acne since I was a teenager. I tried countless over-the-counter treatments, dermatologist-prescribed topicals, and birth control pills. The only thing that worked for me was the pill.
While it was nice having a reprieve from acne while on the pill, I didn’t like the idea of having to rely on hormonal birth control for the rest of my life for clear skin — especially when the pill had its own risks and side-effects. I had tried many different birth control pills that made my acne even worse before finally trying the pill that I was hoping to avoid — Yasmin.
If you’re a woman who has suffered from acne, you’ve probably researched or have taken Yaz or Yasmin yourself. If not, you might have heard about the lawsuits against Yaz and Yasmin for causing blood clots in women. While the pills have a bad reputation for causing blood clots, they are also known to be highly effective at getting rid of acne.
Yasmin did help my acne, but I was always scared about the increased risk of a deadly blood clot. I also had migraines once a month and developed spider veins on my legs.
I didn’t even realize the spider veins were related to my birth control pill until I had already been on it for two years. It wasn’t until I began reading other women’s reviews of Yasmin and Yaz that I noticed spider veins were being mentioned as a side-effect by a lot of other women. After researching this, I found out that all birth control pills run the risk of causing spider veins because the hormones can weaken the vein walls. And of course, this side-effect is even more common with Yaz and Yasmin. After realizing that there was physical proof of this pill affecting my veins and blood flow, I was ready to go off of it forever.
Rock Bottom
It took about 6 months for my skin to go back to being an oily mess with inflamed cystic acne after going off the pill. I went to the dermatologist and he took one look at my skin and said something that I was not expecting — Accutane.
He didn’t even try to prescribe topicals or antibiotics. He looked at me and said, “You’re 29 years old. You’ve been doing this for a long time. If you have acne now, you’re going to have it when you’re 39 and 49 years old too.” I reluctantly signed the scary paperwork and took the pregnancy test required before starting Accutane. When I got in my car to leave the doctor’s office, I broke down in tears and cried the whole way home.
I had just gone off of Yasmin because of the harsh side effects and fear of what it was doing to my body. The last thing I wanted to do was to go on another risky medication with even worse side-effects. It was at this point that I knew I had to get serious about curing my acne naturally.
Spearmint Tea
I started researching natural cures for acne in hopes of finding a cure with actual science to back it up. I wasn’t interested in trendy DIY natural face masks and other remedies from social media influencers who didn’t even have acne to begin with. I knew a DIY oatmeal and turmeric face mask wasn’t going to cure my hormonal acne. I needed something that would work from the inside.
This is when I discovered spearmint tea. I thought it was too good to be true at first, but it wasn’t hard to find credible research that showed that spearmint tea actually has anti-androgenic properties that significantly decrease free testosterone in the blood. Androgens like testosterone are male sex hormones that are linked to an increase in sebum production that causes acne.
There isn’t only scientific evidence to prove spearmint tea’s efficacy, but there are also a number of rave reviews on places like Reddit and other acne forums. These reviews were from real acne sufferers who weren’t looking to attract followers or sell a product. After reading through all of the research and reviews, I knew I had to give it a shot. I had nothing to lose.
The Results
I was interested in trying the spearmint tea in loose-leaf form, so I ordered organic loose-leaf spearmint tea online from a tea store called Arbor Teas. I made strong cups of spearmint tea in the morning and evening, and the taste was pleasant and refreshing. It’s extremely easy to drink.
My skin started to improve within days of drinking the tea. By the end of my first month of drinking spearmint tea, my face was almost completely clear. It’s been two years since I started drinking spearmint tea, and I still drink it every day. I have never been able to experience clear skin before without birth control pills, and I am still in shock at how effective spearmint tea has been for me. Spearmint tea actually cured my acne and saved me from Accutane and high-risk birth control pills. If you’re a woman struggling with hormonal acne, spearmint tea is an easy and inexpensive option that might work for you too.
