Hello everyone!

I'm Michelle, 24 years old living in this little sunny island, Singapore. I started my Acnotin 20mg medication on 4th December, it's about 25 days already. I will have a quick update on these 25 days shortly.

Meanwhile, here's a little story about me: I wouldn't say I'm blessed with super good skin, but still presentable, sometimes occasional pops during 'the time of the month', usually on my forehead and chin, nose at times. I enjoy trying new facial products, so every 2 months, I'd change my skincare products. So the nightmare begins this May 20th... Everything seems to turn against me. I woke up to this grainy skin without any visible pimples. I don't even know when and how did it happen. So I panicked. I switched back to my first skincare product, Avene, which I thought it would be fine cos I didn't have any breakouts the last time. Here comes the worst nightmare ever, just few days after usage, my skin turned red and has this burning sensation that my whole face was shedding skin the next days. WHOLE FACE! And yes, I missed my Job interview because of this. It was too hideous to be out in the light. That was like the most depressing moment. And I just wanna hide in my room.

Subsequently, I decided to seek help from dermatologist. I started using Dermalogica products, I still do now. It's pretty gentle but it's quite pricey. Anyway, somehow, I don't know why, facial made it worst. Mind you. I spent close to 3k. I got sicked of people asking me what happen to your face. God knows man, my face wouldn't be in this state if I knew. I regretted, I should've went to the specialist in the first place. And now, I'm totally skeptical about facial.

So yeah. That's about it. So I went to see a skin specialist on 4th December, and this marks my journey of Isotretinoin...

Skin condition : Sensitive, Dry, Oily. Clogged pores on cheeks and chin. Occasional minor breakouts on forehead and nose.

• Medication : Acnotin Isotretinoin 20mg per day.
• Lip Balm : QV Lip Balm with SPF.
• Moisturizer : Dermalogica Active Moist only, occasionally I will top with Barrier Repair/Ultra Calming Serum.
• Concealer : MAC Studio Finish
• Foundation : MakeUpForever Matt Velvet Finish
• Acne Cream : To be Updated.
• Facial Wash : Cetaphil Foam Wash for Oily & Blemishes Skil.

1st Day : Immediately after the consultation, got back home and took my first pill. Couldn't feel anything. I was quite paranoid about the side effects which the specialist cautioned me about. For instance, nose bleed, chapped lips, hair loss, and even depression.

1st Week : I could feel my lips getting drier as each day passed by. And somehow I don't know I got my muscle/joint ache from my running or from this. Oh well, everything we're still within my tolerance. Perhaps, my body is still getting used to this medication.

2nd Week : My lips were still the same, getting chapped and healed and chapped and on repeat. I applied the lip balm which the doctor has recommended. It was super thick, looked as if you just had KFC Fried Chicken without wiping your mouth. I had a couple of breakouts on my cheeks, 4 to be exact, one after another. Damnit.

3rd Week : Chapped lips, despite drinking nearly 5 liters of water every single day. Surprisingly no breakouts, like the huge ones only minor ones like tiny little black heads coming out. Oh, I had blisters on my lips. Super painful but I smudged my lip balm on, healed within 2 days. One observation that I notice that my face healed pretty quickly after breakout. It's like after i asked my mum to squeeze it, the next day, it just dried up on its own. Like pretty fast for me, cos before I had the pills, usually it was at least 3-4 days before the redness and bump subside. Or perhaps my mum did a great job in squeezing them. Hahahaha.

4th Week : I'm still left with 4 pills before I complete my first month of medication. Gotta visit the specialist this coming Sunday (4th Jan 2014). Anyway, as off now, no breakouts but I see tiny bumps surfacing. My nose and lips are pretty dry, my nose somehow bleed a little yesterday. This morning is fine though. I will update again!

(To be updated with more logs)