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Hello everybody ! I'll try to keep it short
Me
22 year old male, 5"6, 103 lbs / 47kg
Acne story (lol)
About 6 years ago I took accutane (forgot the dosage), because I had persistent acne that wouldn't go away after antibiotics and topicals.
It had been pretty clear for a while, with some red bumps and few cysts in more recent years.
I made the mistakes to pick my face a bit in the past, I got scars on my cheeks and forehead. Don't do this mistake !!!
Recently
I had been living on campus abroad, my acne go worse in the recent months, I got more and more obsessed and self conscious with it. Possibly it's from my diet which I improved recently with no results. Possibly it's just me obsessing with it while I didn't care before.
I've been very self conscious over this, I even put foundation on nowadays (yes as a man, you believe this ?).
The derm got me on doxycycline which helped (my skin has less bumps but still red marks) but doesn't solve the issue.
I tried all kinds of topical, and stuff term gave me like eclaran and locacid which I think barely did anything except burn my skin.
Then I finally got accutane, the top quality stuff .
I actually started the 1st February with just 10mg to test the waters, I bumped to 20mg. I'll post the progress I saw even if it's not "live" for other people to understand. I think a low dosage is enough because my acne isn't too severe and I read a lot about low dose accutane. 20mg is almost 0.5mg per kg as I'm very light, so not that low by the way.
Regimen
- Multivitamin in the morning
- 3x15mg Zinc with a meal
- 20mg accutane with fatty meal
- I wash twice a day using topical as long as my skin isn't too dry. If it is, I'll use water and cream to hydrate
- I try to keep it down on very junk food and very sugary food, but I'm not crazy about it
Zinc is because I almost never eat meat or zinc heavy food since living on campus and I think it may be a cause for the acne. I have a few side effects of Zinc deficiency, like very low appetite (look at my weight). It has decent reviews.
Also to is said to help with scars and red marks which have been spreading since the last months in my case.
About same reason for multivitamin, it also has Vitamin A in it but I wad told it was ok since my accutane dosage is lowish.
That's all folks ! I'll post a picture soon
PICTURE IN BELOW POST
Short resume for people new to the thread :
Changes I saw in Month 1 (10 then 20mg a day) : Most of the active acne is gone, I didn't have much. Except some exceptions, most of the bumps, whiteheads and tiny pics I had on my face are gone, my skin feels so much more even and smooth. The red marks and scars are still there, not sure if improved.
Changes I saw in Month 2 : First half : more improvement, then breakouts. Blackheads are gone
Changes I saw in Month 3 : More and more breakouts everywhere ! Looking worse than at day 1 for sure. Closed comedomes are going away but this causes pimples
Changes I saw in Month 4 : Finally getting better ! Little to no actives but a ton of red marks and also new scars. Zero closed comedomes and zero blackheads.
Currently in month 5 (40mg)
Ok, here are the pictures, taken near the start.
It doesn't show too much in the pics but usually I have :
- some of the red marks are bumps
- some other are from recent acne and are mostly flat but acne sometimes comes back and prevents healing
- some whiteheads breakouts
My skin is overall bumpy with tiny pits and larger red bumps.
I'm on Day 15 right now, I'm posting my past impressions :
Started Day 1 with 10mg :
- Day 3 : noticing that my lips and the inside of my nose are drier than usual, nothing crazy tho
- Day 5 : some mild back/joint pain, not very much. I got it on and off from now
- Day 10 : my nose isn't as oily as it used to be at the end of the day
From this point, I'm using 20mg with zinc and multivitamins past this point :
- Day 13 : got 3 big whiteheads which is uncommon for me, they dried very fast and almost fell off on their own. The tane is pushing the sebum out, I can feel it, it's not the same as regular whiteheads, it's just the sebum forming a head, without the inflated red around it, at it goes away fast
- Day 14 : got some blood in my nose for the first time, not a full blown nose bleed tho
- Day 15 : so far, I can tell my skin has MUCH LESS BUMPS, it's more smooth, I don't feel as many small pits as I used to when washing my face with my hands, I almost don't have any active or starting big whiteheads anymore
The redness is still here, are there is more because my skin is irritated
I may wash my face once a day only now to help with the redness and use moisturer.
I'll post picture day 30 or day 60. From my past pictures, the whiteheads are mostly gone but it stays red
My dermatologist said that Multivitamins is kinda risky to take while on accutane. That multivitamins might have Vitamin A, let's just take note that Isotretinoin is a concentrated Vitamin A.
Anyway, Goodluck to our journey to clear skin!!!
Thank you for your post, I was told it was ok since the amount of vitamin A in the multivitamin is very low compared to what brings accutane, and also I'm on a accutane low-ish dosage.
When I finish my multivitamins, I'll probably look for a multivitamin containing no vitamin A if possible.
Day 24 : my face is drier than before, more flakes near my mouth and nose
Good progress overall, the breakout on the top of my cheek "fell off", it's not far from gone in my lower jaw too.
The cysts I had near my mouth are now mostly flattened.
I think blackheads start to disappear, but slowly.
I think most of my red marks are improving, might be placebo thought.
I now only wash with topical in the evening, water only in the morning. I had to moisture a bit the dry areas.
Some more info :
I may have been in Zinc deficiency before, that may or may not have triggered my acne.
Symptoms : I had one or two white marks on my nails (to see, type in google images : zinc deficiency nails), and very low appetite
Since taking 50mg Zinc a day for two weeks so far, the white marks disappeared and my appetite has been thought the roof, I gained 4-5lbs, I need to actually watch how much I eat, that was not the case before.
I'm not sure this few things are enough to conclude on the deficiency, it could be a coincidence. But my acne got much worse when I got on campus and pretty much stopped eating meat (that contains zinc).
Day 31 : I would post a picture but it wouldn't have same lighting, I'll be able to do it next Monday
Blackheads on my nose are disappearing (50% are gone, I mean the back color is gone, the pore is still there).
Few cysts on the areas not cleared yet by acute (neck/chin/near earbrows) and also one on the corner on my mouth, these cysts mostly were there before, they are coming out now I guess
My face is more dry, the dryness extended on most of my cheeks and a bit on nose
I'll add a short resume of Month 1 in the first post so people can see :
MONTH 1 DONE
Changes I saw from day 0 to 31 :
Most of the active acne is gone, with some exceptions, most of the bumps and tiny pics I had on my face are gone. The red marks and scars are still there, not sure if improved.
- Cheeks : gone from lots of small red bumps and occasional whitehead to 95% flat, feels like baby skin almost. But I still have the red marks
- Mouth : I used to get whiteheads around the mouth, no more. It's dry of course. Just had one cyst coming back but it's much better
- Around mouth (chin and jaw) : best improvement, I used to have a lot of cysts red bumps, it's entirely flat now, I still have the red marks
- Nose : I just had blackheads, they are about 50% gone. My nose used to be oily at the end of the day, it's no more the case
- Neck : didn't really respond to the medecine yet, just recently had cysts, I think the medicine starts acting there
- Forehead : didn't really respond to the medecine I think, I don't watch this area too much because my hair cover it
Whole face :
- my face is really more smooth and my skin quality improved a lot
- no more whiteheads where the accutane has acted i.e. no whiteheads except rarely on chin/neck
- the red marks remain there, but hopefully with the cysts mostly gone they'll be able to heal.
- it's also more dry but some moisturer is enough to control it. It tends to be red more easily but nothing crazy.
One good thing is that now that my face problem is mostly "just" red marks now, foundation can cover it decently
Ok, here is one comparison from day 8 to day 39.
My left cheek actually looks worse in photo, I recently got few breakouts near the jaw on this area, but it's mostly flat now at least.
I need to stop touching my left cheek, it's holding it back
One month progress
Day 44 : Last week have been pretty bad !
Breakout on my cheeks, chin, also near earbrows ! I hope it's my cyst's last stand... I secretly hope it's some kind of last reaction before it settles but you never know. I think these new spots are from some closed pores I had or red marks I had, it has been there for a while but flat and hidden.
Only good news : blackheads are 100% gone now on my nose, 90% gone near nose. The rest of red marks are improving I think, not 100% sure, it may just be that they look less noticeable next to the next cysts I have.
For some reason my skin isn't as dry anymore, like it was 2 weeks ago.
Day 60 : Increased accutane dose from 20mg to 30mg, felt like I was stalling
Still breaking out, some closed comedones that transform into cyst/whiteheads. I tend to have more or less 2-3 actives at a time, plus the red marks.
I think the red marks are progressively improving
Will post pictures in the next week
Day 70 : my skin hit the worse state it has ever had in a long time, a lot of cysts surfaced again in places previously clear 
I guess from what I read that it's how the drug works, by eventually making my skin worse than before, then it clears in the last months.
At this point I considered stopping accutane because I felt it wasn't working but
Day 80 : suddenly it's slowly improving again, I don't want to get my hopes up and to be disappointed again. 
Few of the cysts on my left cheek and near my ear brows don't want to get away for some reason.
My right cheek healed pretty fast
Day 96 : disappointed ! Looks like accutane isn't really working for me it seems.
I'm still breaking out, for every pimple that goes away, two shows up and they leave red marks, I look terrible !
Looking at the photos, I look worse that at day 1. Only indisputable improvement is the blackheads disappearing.
Month 1 was pretty decent, but from middle of month 2 it went bad it seems.
I'll finish the course anyway in case I react late to the drug.
Also I'll be taking 40mg starting today, for 3 more months probably, that's close to the 1.0mg/kg limit
Hey man,
I'm currently on 40mg per day and have just started my 4th month, so around the same day as you.
Like you I haven't noticed any improvement yet, and like you said every spot that goes leaves a red mark. I'm covered in them, some of which I had before I started which is depressing 
No point in getting rid of the acne if it still looks like I have it!
Overall though your skin texture looks really good 'underneath' the acne if that makes sense haha, nice colour, no real redness/rosacea. Here's hoping we both are just 'late bloomers' on the medication!
Perhaps uploading some more pics would be a good idea and see what others say -- perhaps they will notice an improvement whereas you don't!
Lore
Day 96 : disappointed ! Looks like accutane isn't really working for me it seems.
I'm still breaking out, for every pimple that goes away, two shows up and they leave red marks, I look terrible !
Looking at the photos, I look worse that at day 1. Only indisputable improvement is the blackheads disappearing.
Month 1 was pretty decent, but from middle of month 2 it went bad it seems.
I'll finish the course anyway in case I react late to the drug.
Also I'll be taking 40mg starting today, for 3 more months probably, that's close to the 1.0mg/kg limit
I'm having a similar experience. I'm about midway through month 2. But I am not giving up!!
Thank you for your answers !
Hey man,
I'm currently on 40mg per day and have just started my 4th month, so around the same day as you.
Like you I haven't noticed any improvement yet, and like you said every spot that goes leaves a red mark. I'm covered in them, some of which I had before I started which is depressing
Overall though your skin texture looks really good 'underneath' the acne if that makes sense haha, nice colour, no real redness/rosacea. Here's hoping we both are just 'late bloomers' on the medication!
Perhaps uploading some more pics would be a good idea and see what others say -- perhaps they will notice an improvement whereas you don't!
Lore
Hi, I saw your topic, and honestly you don't really have any skin issues or acne, only the few red marks on one of your side of your face. Nobody in real life notices you have any skin issues except this minor thing. I read you are sad because of it and don't leave the house. I understand how you feel but trust me, you have nothing wrong with your skin, it's probably average or better than the average person, the vision you have of it is biased, you need to realize it for the best 
. You don't need makeup at all, or just on the few red marks on your temples. It's literally the only wrong thing on your skin, and it's not bad really.
When I have a big embarrassing pimple, I sometimes put a small plaster on it and pretend I cut myself or something. You don't really need it but if it makes you feel better, you could try this.
How are these red marks on the consistance ? Completely flat ? Dry ? Is there a bump ? Make sure you're not overwashing this area to allow the skin to heal. I think the peeling from accutane or retain-a might help and they will fade eventually. But accutane is best removing bumps and whiteheads, not removing red marks, I think.
My advice : drink a lot of water and get Zinc supplement (zinc gluconate). My red marks were staying forever until I realized I was deficient in Zinc (white marks on nails), I nowadays get Zinc and new red marks fade faster but they still leave a small mark. They are not very red, it's like blemishes. They take time to fade, it's excepted.
I'm having a similar experience. I'm about midway through month 2. But I am not giving up!!
I wouldn't worry if I were you, middle of month 2 is pretty standard in terms of no improvement I think! You'll be fine
To both of you : I personally never saw an accutane log ending by "well it didn't worked at all and my skin is worse now", and I read a lot, so I think we just need to stay strong and go through it and it will work eventually!
Day 100
Recently I have a light of hope! I got no new zits in a few days, so it lets my skin heal a bit. I still have plenty of red marks and scars (I had the scars before thought)
4 actives, 3 of them consistently decreasing in size and inflammation.
I know I said that a lot, but my skin has less bumps that before but I'm very red. Once the actives are gone, my skin will not have any bumps or closed comodomes or blackheads at all (just red marks and the permanent scars). It will be the first time in years
I noticed I don't have closed comedones at all now, first time in years. I think all the breakouts were those coming out. Hopefully it's done and my skin can heal.
I now wash my face once a day instead of two because I have plenty of red marks and I want to give my skin some rest.
Since like 2 weeks or so, I apply tretinoin cream (I think people here call it retin-a) to actives (and just actives). I think it helps, I apply it like two times a day, a nice layer over the last actives.
I'm peeling around my mouth and on my cheeks mainly.
I'm really praying it stays on this path
Thanks dude for the reply, I really appreciate it! I definately agree that we probably all seeit worse than others do... it's funny - I literally stare at people on the train and point out every good feature they have but I can't do the same to myself. Unfortunately I do think the pictures lower the quality, soit loses a lot of redness after taking it on my phone, uploading it to the web and then posting it here, but I honestly appreciate your kind words so so much. I think it's a regular thing that all acne sufferers have, being harsh on yourself, to be honest! Still, it's very hard to get out of it. I've never tried that plaster thing actually...that's a pretty decent idea, haha!
As for my marks they are completely flat, not a single bump, so I kind of think that Accutane has 'done it's job' at removing most of the live acne, but I'm still hoping it will alleviate some of the redness because they still look quite live xD Oh the zinc idea is good actually...I brought some supplements when I was living in france and this all started but I was trying so many things to rid of the acne that I just forgot. I'm simply just washing once a day with Cetaphil and have been applying CeraVe with a mix of Aloe Vera, although my dermatologist said it's best to not moisturize anything that is/was active in order to let it dry out...so I'm still really confused with whether or not I should moisturize, and how much.. hmm...
"To both of you : I personally never saw an accutane log ending by "well it didn't worked at all and my skin is worse now", and I read a lot, so I think we just need to stay strong and go through it and it will work eventually!"
I agree, we'll hopefully see the light soon!
And yay! I'm so so glad that you've seen improvement! I'm mostly peeling around the same area (sometimes it looks like I have a white beard around my mouth from how dry I am...ewww), but fingers crossed it keeps improving for you! Like I said, the overall texture of your skin seems really really nice, so I'm sure once the actives go you'll clear up amazingly!
Lore91 > For the Zinc, I'm taking this one (Solgar Zinc 50 100 Tablets), if you need to buy it ! Good brand according to my sister who is pharmacist, and best kind of zinc for acne
Day 111 : Since like 2 weeks I didn't broke out on my face at all, one cyst I had for a long time finally surfaced, and that's pretty much it.
So my face is pretty calm, the million red marks remain.
At some point it was sunny in the UK, I got pretty red and peeling but it's under control now.
However I broke out on my neck, at like day 106. Some of it fell down but left red marks, I have 2 deep bumps left, they are not really visible I think.
So I THINK it's finally getting better except my neck.
I've been very devastated about my skin recently, I was thinking that when my active spots die down I would look like ok but that's not the case, I look like a walking disease and the red marks are not going away anytime soon it seems.
I'm not even sure I really look better than day one, I don't have whiteheads, cysts (except on neck), backheads but I have so many red marks everywhere
In two months I will reach 120mg/kg, I don't see myself having great skin in 2 months. I could continue Accutane forever if I wanted to but it wouldn't help the red marks.
I can't live like this for much longer, avoiding everything and everyone, living in the dark, in shame for something I don't have control on.
Sorry to hear dude...I'm having a similar time. On day 107 I believe, and for the past couple of weeks my breakouts had stopped, then bam, massive breakout on my back. Like you said, I'm covered in marks -- I kinda thought that accutane would be the miracle everyone else has, and I'd have perfect skin, but it just looks like although my face is relatively smooth I will have these marks for a looooong time...I hate it. I'm so embarrassed by how I look.
I never leave the house anymore, I attempted last week but then this breakout happened. It's like I'm being punished for something haha...today it's my brothers birthday and I'm too embarrassed to go out.
It seems like this is something I'm going to be struggling with for the rest of my life. I feel I look worse than day 1.
Have you taken any more pictures? Perhaps others can maybe see an improvement in your skin?
Hello again ! Thanks for following the topic.
I understand what you feel. Judging by your most recent photos, I personally think your case is pretty mild.
In my opinion it isn't noticeable unless people look for it so you shouldn't feel bad. From what at saw you look much better than at day 1 too
I'm fairly disfigured right now, so I don't feel like posting a photo at all, I should take some at the end of the month... I stopped putting makeup a while ago, I might try again to see how I look with it, but no foundation, just powder this time, I don't like how foundation makes me look shiny.
Also I miscalculated, I in fact have 82 days left to reach 120mg per kg.
I did a small Excel sheet to track Accutane progress effortlessly, I'll probably upload it on another topic, it looks like this.
Dude! I think you're looking great! Comparing the images you posted in your first post, I can honestly see such an improvement! Take your front on image, all around your lips and cheeks look clear! The right and left sides look great as well! You can tell there is no active acne there and, to be honest, in those pictures I wouldn't think you even had an acne problem...the small red marks even look like regular freckles! Honestly, I think you're looking great, and when looking the first thing I notice is your bone structure and how I wantit :S Lol, it was the first thing I noticed in your original pictures too... I guess we really are our harshest critics...
Also I love the excel file! I don't have excel on my laptop but I do on the computer downstairs, so I'll have to try and download it! (It's a mega old computer though, so it might take a day to even turn on, haha!)
Also, if it is making you self-conscious, go for trying the make-up again, although I genuinly don't think you need it. Your skin tone is generally great, no blotchy/redness from what I can see. I used Bare Minerals foundation...literally just a small layer. My close friends couldn't believe I was wearing makeup if I told them (and they were girls). It generally looks really natural with no shine.