Objective To investigate the effect of an oral contraceptive (Novial®) on facial seborrhea and moderate acne.

Methods In this nonrandomized, group-comparative trial, women aged between 18 and 30 with seborrhea were enrolled. Women used either a phasic oral contraceptive containing ethinylestradiol (35/30/30 μg) and Desogestrel (50/100/150 μg (DSG-OC)) (n = 177) or no hormonal treatment (control group; n = 77) for four cycles.

Results Overall, 161 subjects (90.9%) in the DSG-OC group and 73 subjects (94.4%) in the control group completed the study. In the DSG-OC group, the total score for sebum excretion decreased by 0.71 nL/cm² (95% CI 0.36–1.05). In the control group, sebum excretion increased by 0.05 nL/cm² (−0.55 to 0.46). The difference between groups (0.78 nL/cm² (0.19–1.36)) was statistically significant (P = 0.010). The number of active follicles/cm² decreased by 0.86 (0.44–1.28) and 0.08 (−0.53 to 0.69), respectively (P = 0.029). The difference in qualitative scores between the groups (0.93 (0.08–1.78)) was statistically significant ( P = 0.032). Overall, 19.3% of the subjects reported an AE (18.1% in the DSG-OC group, 22.1% in the control group).

Conclusion Novial^® effectively reduces seborrhea after only four cycles of treatment and may be a suitable oral contraceptive for women wishing to improve their facial skin condition.