Posted : 06/22/2016 9:24 am
Okay, I am going to lay one thing down before I start. I did NOT have insane immediate success on accutane, but I was not unsuccessful. I also did not have severe cystic acne, but I was not an "occasional breakout" person, I always 100% of the time had acne. What I've noticed is that most of these posts are for either people with severe acne / acne that's completely stubborn, or people who want to brag about their immediate success with something we have probably ALL already tried without success ("have you tried TEA TREE OIL?!" Um yea like only 10,000 times). So this is for all you in betweeners, with persistent and consistent active acne that isn't the WORST ever but still will not budge.
so after trying every diet/ cleanse, natural and unnatural regimen, tanning, no makeup (that's rough) , steaming ETC cure that their is, after 10 years with acne that was just getting worse, I decided to start accutane. I was so fed up. Blood tests were perfect, my diet is immaculate. I did everything right . Even when my skin looked good, I still had a million little bumps , colorless clogs, canvassing my face. So, because my skin wasn't horrible, I figured accutane would be a BREEZE. "It says here this person was clear in 1 week!" I would tell everyone warning me of the initial breakout/ purge.
And i I was that 1 weeker!! Or so I thought. Accutane dried my oil out, and in 1 week at 20mg a day I was clear of my existing pimples (and bragging-- see my other post). But by week 2 ALL HELL broke loose. My now clear visage had blown up (karma?) into mountainous cysts which I had rarely gotten, whiteheads galore, and clogged hard bumps that made my skin feel like an alligator.
What the hell dude?! Of course I freaked out and was miserable and thought accutane was turning on me and not working like everything else (untrue). But I muddled through, upping to 40mg a day at derms recommendation to speed process. I at first just wanted to dry it out so I was washing 100 times a day. Don't do that. I then tried popping EVERYTHING. Don't do that either. After messing with it and Doing all kinds of masks etc, I figured out the secret. Ready???
Even on accutane , or maybe especially on accutane , your skin is cycling and changing. You need to ADAPT to the changes. That's why there's so many different posts about what different people find success with. When it is dry/ tight moisturize, when it's weak use gentle healing products. When it's flaky exfoliate. Learn your skin. Trial and error sucks, so I will tell you what products helped ME, and if your skin seems like mine then by all means copy me exactly. But be CAUTIOUS because not everything agrees with everyone's skin.
Ok so during the purge, which lasts a long time , it is best to be gentle as not to aggravate and scar your angry volcanic face. Don't pick, but if a white head is surfacing, prick it. Yes. Take a sterilized with alcohol needle and poke a hole, then gently push down on either side to relieve some pressure. If nothing comes out, leave it with a dab of salicylic acid. ONLY ON THE PIMPLE PUT THE SPOT TREATMENT.
During the purge process, I would use Everyone face for everyday cleanser. Gentle and easy on irritated skin. At night. Wash with clean warm water.
Then, if I wasn't too raw, I would use Alba botanica even advanced deep sea facial mask. I would mix this with activated charcoal, which I bought in capsule form and cut open, to draw out clogs. Leave on for 5-10 min. Then I would use cetaphyl moisturizer. If my skin was raw and in pain, a lot. Even if I had white heads, it was better than scarring. And then sleep forever. Sleep is the BEST healer.
In the morning i would often exfoliate if I felt I could handle it. A gentle wash is Fab First aid beauty : facial radiance polish. A pea size amount and don't apply too much pressure, just warm water and roll in circles.
During the end of my purge aka now, I exfoliate at night also, GENTLY. I then make a mask ( this works wonders) of kfactor 16 Manuka honey, cinnamon, turmeric, and nutmeg. Leave on for half hour and rinse with the face for every day soap or you will be yellow. Follow with cetaphyl and a tiny bit of aquaphor gel to help heal scars/ pigment.
When a lot of tiny clogs are popping up I will massage this cetaphyl and aquaphor combo in for 10 min. This helps roll these out. I know I'm at the end of my purge because the clogs are tiny and at the surface. And I don't have any large pimples. It has been a HELL of a 2 weeks spent purging. And my skin was not healing quickly. Keep that in mind so as not to cause scabs like I did by too much rough handling. Avoid taking too many long hot showers, but a good hot shower / steaming will help loosen scabs and dead skin so opt for every other day/ every few days and don't exfoliate in the shower, rather just use cleanser and let the steam soften and allow everything to gently roll off. Be patient. Adjust to your skin accordingly. Happy accutaning!!
