Acne is caused by an influx of hormones called androgens, most importantly of these hormones being testosterone. Most women don't even know that testosterone is a male hormone, but it is still in women, in much smaller amounts of course. As you can see, the result of acne is directly related to these hormones.
Female acne due to hormones can start in your teens and be a problem for a while. Many women who aren't sexually active and are still taking contraceptive pills, therefore suffer greatly from acne into their twenties and thirties. Most of the acne breakouts start around the lower region of the face, particulary around the jaw line. A few also have problems on the chest and back.
The biggest cause of female acne is the male hormone testosterone. It stimulates the oil glands to produce more oil. The oil causes the pores in the skin to become clogged and some of it become trapped inside. Bacteria love this and start to flourish, as and they release chemicals that irritate the skin. The body tries to fight off the bacteria and this cause redness, swelling and pus-like fluid. If you go back up the ladder of events we just created you will notice female acne and hormones have a definite link. A lot of women try general acne treatments but nothing is completely successful. They need a treatment that is directed at the hormones to creaTE homeostasis. If your dermatologist is not keen to help you with this method of treatment, you should consider seeing an endocrinologist or gynecologist, as they specialize in female hormone problems.
Oral contraceptives are a popular form of treatment for female acne. It lowers the free testosterone and some medications even block testosterone completely and that can help your acne a great deal. Diane-35 is a very popular contraceptive pill, specifically for treating acne.
Many teenagers get a prescription for 6 months and the doctor monitors the results. If you are scared that your teen might be motivated to become sexually active because of the pill, you can ask your doctor for another pill to be taken with the Diane-35 and it will make it an ineffective form of contraception, let the doctor explain this to her.
As you can see based upon real life case stuides, there is a huge connection between acne and hormones. This is a good thing for women, because they know they have a second option should normal antibiotics and medications for acne not work. Men cannot take the contraceptive pill so they will need to look at other acne treatments such as Accutane, a very invasive, but successful way to treat acne.