Yes - Alesse was awful for my skin - broke me out with cystic acne. Stopped the Alesse and switched to Demulen.

Years ago I took A BCP called Demulen that was suppose to help acne. It did nothing for my acne. Recently I read that the cyclic estrogens in Demulen help acne resulting from increased androgen primarily of ovarian origin. Since my increased androgen is of adrenal origin Demulen was not appropriate for me.

I am now taking Spiro and have had excellent results. This is why it is so important to know the source of increased androgen by an appropriate battery of labs before prescribing hormonal treatment.