So I thought it'd be interesting to log my accutane journey via the web. I have been battling acne since I was 15 years old. Its been an emotional and debilitating journey since I was very young. My poor mother tried helping me with no avail - I sometimes think she feels like she failed as a mother because she couldn't help me. It was upsetting not being able to control something that seemed like an easy fix to anyone who wasn't battling it themselves. Everyone tells you what to do and how to treat it, but no one ever addresses the emotional distress that comes with it. Acne seemed like something that was taboo when I was a teenager and I never liked to talk about it. Now that I'm an adult I've accepted that its just part of my life and being open and talking about my acne and flaws actually help me feel a lot better about myself.

I've tried retin-a cream, differin (adapalene) gel, the antibiotic bactrim, and various over the counter treatments. The only thing that seems to help was being on ortho tri cyclen. It seems as though most of my acne is hormonal based. I tend to get a lot of cystic acne on my chin and cheeks around my menstrual cycle.

I went on accutane for the first time when I was 23 years old for 5 months and for some time my acne subsided after treatment. I still have a lot of scarring. It was about a year when I started breaking out again. I went back to the dermatologist 4 years later and she prescribed spironlactone, which didnt seem to help at all. I finally decided to try my second round of accutane with the consent from my dermatologist.

I'm on 40 mg per day, and I'm about 20 days in. I initially broke out, but it seems like my skin has definitely begun drying out. My lips have started to become sensitive to the sun. I am constantly applying lip balm and started wearing sunscreen. The only issue I seem to be having is that I used to use aquaphor as my main ointment for my lips, but it seems to be giving me a strange allergic reaction. Does anyone have any recommendations on an alternative lip ointment? Also my scalp is really dry this time around, so any suggested products for that would be useful as well!

I'm hoping this does the trick! Thanks for reading!

20 days! NO MAKEUP!!! Let the healing begin!!!