Many women complain that during pregnancy, they develop acne. For some, this problem can be really serious, but for others, there is no big deal about it. That is because it has been observed that during the later period of pregnancy, redness, swelling and irritation, which are all manifestations of acne, start to disappear. To some, this is a source of confusion. Is pregnancy really a cause or a cure for acne? Researchers have spent a considerable amount of effort and time to answer this basic skin care inquiry.

For women who have already been suffering from acne prior to impregnation, it can be observed that the skin problem could become worse at the onset of the child-bearing situation. Researchers have a quick and accurate explanation for this. During the start of the pregnancy, or probably about less than three months of the situation, the female body is secreting more progesterone.

Progesterone is a female hormone that has similar properties to male hormone-like secretion called androgens. Androgens, in turn, help prompt the body’s sebaceous glands underneath the skin to produce more sebum, an oily substance that gets into the enlarging skin pores. Thus, during the period, the skin glands’ secretion significantly increases, leading to the occurrence or further aggravation of acne.

For some women who may not be already experiencing acne before pregnancy, there might be some acne spots that may appear on the facial skin during the initial phase of the situation. Women who may not experience any trace of acne during the entire pregnancy are considered very much fortunate because their bodies do not secrete much progesterone that is identified as the culprit for such skin problem.

Another astounding finding of years of studies is that in most women, acne cases tend to disappear after the third month of pregnancy. It has been established that the rising level of another female hormone called oestrogen helps the body diminish any skin problem leading to acne. It is considered very common to see pregnant women experience several acne spots and then observe that such problems slowly disappears with the progression of pregnancy.

For some pregnant women who may not be too comfortable with acne situations during the period, it would be advisable if they would initially and primarily seek the help of professionals or registered dermatologists. The long practice of taking self medication is not very likely for getting into such could possible incur serious side effects.

To be specific, there are several pharmaceutical generic names and types of medicines that pregnant women should avoid especially during the onset of acne. Among these are tretinoin and isotentinoin. Salicylic acid, which is a very usual ingredient of over-the-counter treatments fir acne, is found to also cause further persistence of acne in pregnant women, while treatments with tetracycline should totally be avoided because this antibiotic has been found to lead to poor growth of bones and discoloration of infants’ teeth.

To be safe, it would definitely be advisable to seek medical assistance to get rid of acne during pregnancy.