week 3 update:

I THINK MY IB IS STARTING. well i hope this is the ib...it's bad enough already!! so many new pimples/cysts. just trying to stay calm..my jawline area is crazy with acne!! worst part of my face!

but my face and hair is dry (perfect kind of dryness), lips are dry but endurable with aquaphor, rash on my hands are pretty much gone. everything is well except for the acne.

im trying to stay positive despite the situation!

feeling really sad today...my face is a mess. i want to just cry and never look in the mirror again.. feel so many bumps under the skin and i know they will soon turn into ugly pimples. this is so hard..why do i have to go through this..i dont understand what i did to deserve this..

Hey you! I'm new to accutane and I'm reading logs on acne.org

Just to let you know we're all in this together stay strong!

feeling really sad today...my face is a mess. i want to just cry and never look in the mirror again.. feel so many bumps under the skin and i know they will soon turn into ugly pimples. this is so hard..why do i have to go through this..i dont understand what i did to deserve this..

Hi Rachel - I just started Accutane last week and I know exactly how you feel; especially about the bumps under the skin. It always seems to get worse and not better, but just think that once those bumps come up they will be gone and things will start to clear up. I'm experiencing the IB and things are pretty bad right now but I just keep telling myself it will be worth it in the end. Things will get better and hopefully we will both have clear skin for the summer!!

I'm about 2 weeks behind you in my course so I know how you feel and I know this sucks so much BUT we will get through this!

feeling really sad today...my face is a mess. i want to just cry and never look in the mirror again.. feel so many bumps under the skin and i know they will soon turn into ugly pimples. this is so hard..why do i have to go through this..i dont understand what i did to deserve this..

Hi Rachel - I just started Accutane last week and I know exactly how you feel; especially about the bumps under the skin. It always seems to get worse and not better, but just think that once those bumps come up they will be gone and things will start to clear up. I'm experiencing the IB and things are pretty bad right now but I just keep telling myself it will be worth it in the end. Things will get better and hopefully we will both have clear skin for the summer!!

I'm about 2 weeks behind you in my course so I know how you feel and I know this sucks so much BUT we will get through this!

Hey you! I'm new to accutane and I'm reading logs on acne.org

Just to let you know we're all in this together stay strong!

You both are amazing thank you so much for the encouragement We can get through this together!!!!

Best of luck to both of you!!

Love, Rachel

tmrw is week 4! wow time went by fast im almost finished my first month of pills!!

progress has been......meh. i had a pretty bad breakout these past two weeks with a lot of cysts and smaller pimples everywhere but my forehead lol. however, the breakout does seem to be somewhat subsiding...dont want to jinx it though

so many under the skin bumps/cysts!! theyre like invisible cysts almost...i can only feel the "O" sized bumps when i touch my skin...are they eventually all going to surface and turn to big nasty cystic pimples?? so scared...i just want them to quietly disappear! anyone else have this issue??

my skin is getting very dry :/ esp below my nose area? very flaky and makeup highlights the dryness...in the morning my makeup will be pretty nice and then i go eat.....the skin around my mouth just like cracks and flakes!! im trying to eat food in smaller bite sized pieces so i dont have to stretch my mouth so much (ex. the dreaded burger or sandwich). oh the things acne makes us do lol.

the ezcema on my hand is back. my hair is pretty dry (sporting the 3rd day hair today!) and my lips are very dry and peely! esp the corners of my mouth ouch.

my makeup looks pretty bad with all the dryness going on... im trying to hide all the redness and pigmentation but b/c my skin is so dry it just like highlights the flakes! pigmentation still there -.- anyone got some good makeup tips?? to hide acne scars/pigmentation??

yeah but to some it off, progress is still pretty slow so far.

I would not recommend using any make up while on accutane, but I know it is hard not to . But what works for me is putting on a lot of moisturizer before I do anything(cerave cream), then a mineral make up primer, and then mineral make up foundation. I get all of these from Ulta, and they are the only things I have found that don't make me break out and the coverage is pretty decent. I think the moisturizer under all the make up is the most important part though so that you don't dry out your skin any more than accutane does. But try not to wear make up .

hello thanks for the response!! and is there a reason why you shouldnt wear any makeup during acctuane? i thought as long as it was non comedogenenic and you took it off properly before bed it would be fine....b/c i wear makeup pretty much everyday i have so much hyper pigmentation and stuff.

Hello, just thought I would join in your conversation. I am on day 4 of isotretinoin- skins a mess but that is no different than usual. For once it is nice to read people discussing something and realise there is actually people out there who I can relate to. I have no idea about the make up thing. But I also have been using the cetaphil lotion rather than moisturiser. Wasn't till I read your post that I went to check! X

Hi Rachel,

I understand what you mean about the makeup looking bad with all the dryness, I experienced the exact same thing. I have found that using concealer only on my active spots and hyper-pigmented areas without any foundation looks MUCH better than with foundation. I hated having to come to terms with this because I love how my foundation evened out my skin tone, but the foundation just looked caked on and obvious with my dry skin. The "natural" look just looks best on accutane. :\

Here is how I make myself look at least somewhat done:

Argan oil serum followed by high SPF moisturizer

After allowing moisturizer to absorb, I apply high coverage concealer to all active spots and pigmented areas

I blend the concealer GENTLY with a stipple brush so It doesn't look like I have makeup spots on my skin

I curl my eyelashes (mascara is just too hard to use with my dry eyes) and apply a small dusting of shadow to my eyelids

If I want to get REALLY fancy, I apply just a little bit of blush to the apples of my cheeks. You would think it would make the extra redness in my skin from the 'tane look worse, but I use a very light, natural color that seems to make it look like a more even color than without.

No lip color (useless), I exfoliate my lips gently with a paper towel and cetaphil, and then I apply aquafor.

Hi Rachel,

I understand what you mean about the makeup looking bad with all the dryness, I experienced the exact same thing. I have found that using concealer only on my active spots and hyper-pigmented areas without any foundation looks MUCH better than with foundation. I hated having to come to terms with this because I love how my foundation evened out my skin tone, but the foundation just looked caked on and obvious with my dry skin. The "natural" look just looks best on accutane. :\

Here is how I make myself look at least somewhat done:

Argan oil serum followed by high SPF moisturizer

After allowing moisturizer to absorb, I apply high coverage concealer to all active spots and pigmented areas

I blend the concealer GENTLY with a stipple brush so It doesn't look like I have makeup spots on my skin

I curl my eyelashes (mascara is just too hard to use with my dry eyes) and apply a small dusting of shadow to my eyelids

If I want to get REALLY fancy, I apply just a little bit of blush to the apples of my cheeks. You would think it would make the extra redness in my skin from the 'tane look worse, but I use a very light, natural color that seems to make it look like a more even color than without.

No lip color (useless), I exfoliate my lips gently with a paper towel and cetaphil, and then I apply aquafor.

Hi megtree thanks so much for the reply!! ive read your log and currently keeping up with it and i would like to wear just concealer but i have SO many hyperpigmentation marks that i would probably use up half my concealer in one setting...so sad i bough cetaphil moisturizing cream and its helping A LOT! no flakiness today but im only a month in so im not even THAT dry yet...once i do get dry i will definitely try to just stick with concealer.

and i agree with what youre saying about the blush! i never used blush really until today and instead of highlighting all my pigmentation it actually makes me look healthier? like my face doesnt look so dull and sad from just wearing the foundation.

also, i have one more question...im currently breaking out a lot on my right side of my face (where it was pretty clear until this week!) so im wondering if this is the accutane or if its some other external factor (makeup, different moisturizer, etc)...im on day 30 so is this expected?? that you just randomly breakout where you think your skin has purged enough?? when did your IB relatively end??

But thanks again for stopping by my log and replying i really appreciate it

There isn't a specific reason as to why you should not, but I have found(and many other people) that it makes the dryness, redness, and irritability much worse. Since accutane already makes your skin dry, red, etc., make up can sometimes add to the problem and make you break out a bit since your skin is already really irritated. If you haven't noticed any of these yet then I guess you're fine . Everyone is different! For me, wearing make up while on accutane causes a bit of a break out and makes my skin much more red.

Hi Rachel,

I understand what you mean about the makeup looking bad with all the dryness, I experienced the exact same thing. I have found that using concealer only on my active spots and hyper-pigmented areas without any foundation looks MUCH better than with foundation. I hated having to come to terms with this because I love how my foundation evened out my skin tone, but the foundation just looked caked on and obvious with my dry skin. The "natural" look just looks best on accutane. :\

Here is how I make myself look at least somewhat done:

Argan oil serum followed by high SPF moisturizer

After allowing moisturizer to absorb, I apply high coverage concealer to all active spots and pigmented areas

I blend the concealer GENTLY with a stipple brush so It doesn't look like I have makeup spots on my skin

I curl my eyelashes (mascara is just too hard to use with my dry eyes) and apply a small dusting of shadow to my eyelids

If I want to get REALLY fancy, I apply just a little bit of blush to the apples of my cheeks. You would think it would make the extra redness in my skin from the 'tane look worse, but I use a very light, natural color that seems to make it look like a more even color than without.

No lip color (useless), I exfoliate my lips gently with a paper towel and cetaphil, and then I apply aquafor.

Hi megtree thanks so much for the reply!! ive read your log and currently keeping up with it and i would like to wear just concealer but i have SO many hyperpigmentation marks that i would probably use up half my concealer in one setting...so sad i bough cetaphil moisturizing cream and its helping A LOT! no flakiness today but im only a month in so im not even THAT dry yet...once i do get dry i will definitely try to just stick with concealer.

and i agree with what youre saying about the blush! i never used blush really until today and instead of highlighting all my pigmentation it actually makes me look healthier? like my face doesnt look so dull and sad from just wearing the foundation.

also, i have one more question...im currently breaking out a lot on my right side of my face (where it was pretty clear until this week!) so im wondering if this is the accutane or if its some other external factor (makeup, different moisturizer, etc)...im on day 30 so is this expected?? that you just randomly breakout where you think your skin has purged enough?? when did your IB relatively end??

But thanks again for stopping by my log and replying i really appreciate it

Oh yeah- that's happening to me right now, haha! I started breaking out around day 30 as well (between day 25-and 25 it was the worst), and it was primarily on one side of my face. I am still breaking out here towards the end of month 3 (but it the overall severity of the breakout is nothing like what I had before accutane) and it is still primarily on the right side of my face. Not sure why that side is worse then the other, but that's the way it seemed to be before I started accutane too.

There isn't a specific reason as to why you should not, but I have found(and many other people) that it makes the dryness, redness, and irritability much worse. Since accutane already makes your skin dry, red, etc., make up can sometimes add to the problem and make you break out a bit since your skin is already really irritated. If you haven't noticed any of these yet then I guess you're fine . Everyone is different! For me, wearing make up while on accutane causes a bit of a break out and makes my skin much more red.

ok thanks for the advice i wore just mineral powder and blush today but while i felt my skin could breathe, the red marks that still showed were horrible...i think once the red mark start fading a bit, i'll start wearing just powder but for now, cover fx water based foundation is essential i dont think this makes me break out either b/c its for acne prone skin! feels very light on the face.

just to update.....

im just feeling disappointed these days...just when i thought my skin was FINALLY getting better.....it goes right back to what it used to be....why why! two cysts on each cheek with many more on the jawline.....a huge cyst (i think more than one combined together) on my right jawline has been there for ages! no joke...before i started accutane! why won't it go away? do i have to get it injected?? or just be patient with accutane? feeling so hopeless!

to add on, more little white heads everywhere....but i'd rather have these than cystic acne! ugh... i picked my skin yesterday and im feeling realllly guilty...

overall, i am just having a horrible experience....just want this to end.

megtree: yeah my breakout seems to be subsiding...but who knows for sure right? lol.

do you spot treat at all?? i have this huge cyst/pimple thing that just doesnt seem to go away!! its super annoying..

and have your red marks start to fade?? i have SOO many right now its insane! just makes my acne seem so much more severe!

but good luck on your treatment

Yes, the red-marks are fading in the areas that have not broken out since starting accutane. Unfortunately, the areas that I have are still red.

I have spot-treated with some left-over aczone a couple of times (I figured it was less likely to cause irritation as compared to BP or SA) but it didn't appear to help at all, so I haven't since then.

just to update.....

im just feeling disappointed these days...just when i thought my skin was FINALLY getting better.....it goes right back to what it used to be....why why! two cysts on each cheek with many more on the jawline.....a huge cyst (i think more than one combined together) on my right jawline has been there for ages! no joke...before i started accutane! why won't it go away? do i have to get it injected?? or just be patient with accutane? feeling so hopeless!

to add on, more little white heads everywhere....but i'd rather have these than cystic acne! ugh... i picked my skin yesterday and im feeling realllly guilty...

overall, i am just having a horrible experience....just want this to end.

Hey you, dont be discouraged. You replied on my log too..

I got sad this few days when i thought my skin was getting better.. some people just had to comment.

Try getting those shots. I did for mine and they went away really fast...

Are you still at 40mg?

I am only at 20mg...

i am almost to a point of giving up too, and just feel like using topical creams instead..

Hi guys, I've been on accutane for 3 months now and just about to start my 4th. Im on 40mg a day, i weigh 84kg and im 15 years old with a fair amount of muscle as i go to the gym 5 times a week but dont take supplements anymore due to not being able to have vitamin a (yes i know some proteins don't have vitamin a) but i have realised that when i take protein now i break out. My skin is fairly clear of most lumps but just a lot of red marks are on my face. I have had some side affects such as nose bleeds, dry lips and skin. But one of them that im not to sure about is that im constantly red even at times where i havent been in the sun for a couple of weeks. Anybody know the reason for this and how long will it take for the red marks to be gone?

Thanks

just to update.....

im just feeling disappointed these days...just when i thought my skin was FINALLY getting better.....it goes right back to what it used to be....why why! two cysts on each cheek with many more on the jawline.....a huge cyst (i think more than one combined together) on my right jawline has been there for ages! no joke...before i started accutane! why won't it go away? do i have to get it injected?? or just be patient with accutane? feeling so hopeless!

to add on, more little white heads everywhere....but i'd rather have these than cystic acne! ugh... i picked my skin yesterday and im feeling realllly guilty...

overall, i am just having a horrible experience....just want this to end.

Hey you, dont be discouraged. You replied on my log too..

I got sad this few days when i thought my skin was getting better.. some people just had to comment.

Try getting those shots. I did for mine and they went away really fast...

Are you still at 40mg?

I am only at 20mg...

i am almost to a point of giving up too, and just feel like using topical creams instead..

Lilypad: let's both keep our hopes up and stay strong! i feel very discouraged too these days....but we can do it! it WILL work eventually!

im at 50 mg now:) but i had and still have bad acne...not mild like yours.

Weldy13: hey! congrats on clear skin im still so far from that....but im hoping it starts to clear up soon. when did you start clearing up??

Im not experiencing the red flushing yet....when did that happen?? Im only a little over a month in so im assuming the drug hasn't fully kicked in yet...

what's on my mind

hey guys....so today i have just been thinking about what caused my acne....cystic acne specifically....

because i really want to get to the root cause of this problem just so that it won't ever come back after i finish accutane.

i was wondering if Proactive could have done anything with it.....it REALLY dried my face out and made it feel very tight. thats when i started developing cystic acne too. could that have been the main cause? What do you guys think?

Im hoping it is that and not some hormonal imbalance or food intolerance situation....i never had cystic acne really until proactive...

anyone feel free to reply! or if the same thing happened to you!

rachelll1995: I started to clear up around the end of month 2, don't worry It does clear up it just needs time! The reasons things get worse at the start is due to the fact that accutane is pushing it all out! The rest of the treatment is for healing the skin if I have one tip to give you it would be keep your skin clean and eat healthy foods

hello! to anyone reading this..

i was wondering if anyone could recommend a light, good coverage, non-comedogenic and oil free foundation for accutane?? ive been using cover fx foundation but its really thick and its expensive too...im running low and i dont know if i want to purchase it again. fairly good coverage but you could still see the PIH marks.

im looking for a everyday wear light foundation..would tinted mositurizer/bb cream + mineral powder be a good idea??

thanks!

hello! to anyone reading this..

i was wondering if anyone could recommend a light, good coverage, non-comedogenic and oil free foundation for accutane?? ive been using cover fx foundation but its really thick and its expensive too...im running low and i dont know if i want to purchase it again. fairly good coverage but you could still see the PIH marks.

im looking for a everyday wear light foundation..would tinted mositurizer/bb cream + mineral powder be a good idea??

thanks!

I would recommend Urban Decay Naked liquid foundation. It is a little pricey but it has really good coverage and it pretty much feels like you're wearing nothing! It is non comedogenic and oil free. A little bit goes a long way too so it lasts a very long time.

week 6 update!

still breaking out....one big cyst on each cheek that are really tender hurt so much..

rest are pretty much healing.....

things are going slow but the breakouts seems to be subsiding...

i have SOOOOOO much hyperpigmentation its not even funny.....sigh.

btw, i LOVEEEEE the cetaphil moisturizing cream! ive been using it for a couple of weeks now...seriously a life saver!

will update if anything changes!

I had a couple things on my cheeks that took forever to go away. My chin has always been the worst, but I found that calmed down faster and the cheek stuff just took forever to resolve. With 'forever' being a couple more weeks. Acne slows time down, I think.

Glad to hear all is well.