So here's the deal. I'm on my final month of Accutane (19 days left in a 6 month course), and about two weeks ago, my derm started me on a topical regimen. He prescribed me Tretinoin .05% (a generic for Retin-A) for me to apply every other night; since I had only experienced very mild dryness on Accutane, we both thought it would be okay to start a topical before I finished my course so my skin could acclimate to the cream. We were both wrong. I only applied the Tretinoin two or three times, but my dryness skyrocketed very quickly, and I immediately discontinued using it (it's been a week since I last used it). My skin is still really dry, flaky, and tight, so I've been moisturizing like crazy, but now I think my constant moisturizing is actually breaking me out. I have a bunch of new, small pimples that aren't that visible, but I can feel them when I wash my face, and a couple of older pimples are getting worse. While the dryness and irritation suck, breaking out sucks even more, so I'm thinking of cutting out the moisturizer for a little while to see if my skin responds. (I also found out that the new cleanser I've been using for the past few days contains mica, and a whole bunch of parabens, so I cut that out as well).

My question is this: does dryness cause/exacerbate acne? I've primarily been moisturizing to reduce the discomfort, but it doesn't seem like it's really been actively reducing the dryness itself (my derm basically said I had to wait it out), and I'm willing to suffer through some mild discomfort if it means that this new breakout will die down. However, if dry skin only makes acne worse, then I might as well just keep moisturizing. Thanks!

FYI - I use Neutrogena Oil-Free Moisture with SPF 15. I've also been trying out Pond's Dry Skin Cream for the past few days, but I've only used it on a tiny section of my face to make sure I don't have a bad reaction to it (so far, so good).