It seems like your body is overproducing sebum after the Accutane and this could lead to a buildup of punk and excess materials in the pores. You might want to look into some of the known side effects of Accutane - and I mean ALL of the side effects and see if that has any linkage. Or try taking herbs which will decrease sebum production. A mask of lemon and tomato (literally rubbing fresh lemon slices across your face and then rubbing fresh tomato slices across your face once the lemon has halfway dried) each morning and night might help - it kills bad bacteria, helps keep the face dry with no overdrying, helps keep oil/sebum production down and tightens pores. Try this for like 1.5 - 2 weeks to see if there is any difference.

Here are a few other suggestions -

Have you looked into folliculitis? I got folliculitis after taking Minoclin for 8 months. EVERY SINGLE PORE on my face was inflamed and had a bit of pus in it. The longer they saw there, they larger they got. NO acne medication will stop it or even impact it, remotely.

As a result of the antibiotic Minoclin (or various other anitobiotics used to treat acne), one can develop gram negative folliculitis, which means that bacteria related to the hair/nose grows in every follicle. It's typically found on skin but after harsh acne treatments like Accutane, which wipe out ALL bacteria, the bacteria which again, is SUPPOSED to be on skin will just come back with a vengeance, seeking to balance out the level on the skin. As a result, it will overproduce bacteria, leading to sever inflammation.

Honestly, I'm not dermatologist but it sounds like something internally is going on which is causing this - which could be a sign that something bigger is going to happen if left untreated. Could be hormones, could be bacteria, could be that your body is reacting to the very high/strong/dangerous levels of Vit A Accutance gave you, which would more than likely be it. Drugs like Accutane change more in the body than just skin and hair, so try looking into some of the bodily side effects of the drug and possible ways of fighting that.

You could also have developed an allergy and don't know it. Do you eat a lot of starch? Wheat can cause inflammatory skin responses and lead to build up of pus in pores and inflamed acne. Also, starches like wheat, oats etc turn into sugar if not used and can lead again, to acne/pus in the skin as a result of inflammation. Dairy can do the same.

You should definitely get your allergies tested, ESPECIALLY after going on something as STRONG and DANGEROUS as Accutane.

Try using a strong but natural toner/astringent. Try M2 Skincare - it fights bacteria - or try using Witchhazel. Try Apple Cider Vinegar as an atringent too one night (it's strong so be careful) to see if that kills any bacteria.

I kinda just threw everything as you but hopefully one of these suggestions works!

buildup of gunk*** lol sorry (didn't proofread this before posting..oops)

omg there are a lot of typos. Sorry.

I have a similiar issue which the buildup of gunk in the pores on a daily basis. I can sit for hours plucking and picking at my skin, especially in the chin area. It has been like this for two years after I went on Doxycyline. I was on and off the doxy for a while and I swear it changed something in me. Its like the sebum hardens at the end of the hair follicle, which you can actually see and attach itself the to hair. I have to go around my entire chin area after washing and remove each of these stuck plugs. Some are easlily removed as they are right at the surface but some seem to get embedded like a blackhead but are white. Im assuming they are whiteheads then but not the pus kind.

I have tried everything know to man. Here is a sampling:

Dermatologists

Naturopath

Aestheticians

Homeopathic remedies

Herbal supplments such as Saw Palmetto

Supplments such as Evening Primrose Oil, Flaxseed Oil and Fish Oil

Hyaluronic Acid supplments

B5

Spironolactone

changed diet to exclude wheat, oat, corn, gluten, dairy (currently eating a bit of wheat as it made no difference whatsoever)

Limited sugar intake

Laser Treatments to include Smoothbeam, Vbeam

Sal. Acid peel and Dermasweep

As you can see its quite extensive and have no answer. It is not normal to have to pull this stuff from your face daily. It is the same plugs and specific areas of my chin that keep doing this. Ive tried leaving it alone and they come in by the hundreds so my only alternative is to removed them. I have been tested many many times via blood, and stool and nothing came back positive in the way of allergies. I still get the occasional red bump like pimples along my jaw line and suspected hormones. I am in my early 40's and was exhibiting signs of menopause and put on bioidentical hormones. This made the welts worse so I stopped. I dont know where to turn or what else to try and cannot stop thining of ways to change this..I dont want whats left of my life consumed by this...Im a disgusting mess

As you can see its quite extensive and have no answer. It is not normal to have to pull this stuff from your face daily. It is the same plugs and specific areas of my chin that keep doing this. Ive tried leaving it alone and they come in by the hundreds so my only alternative is to removed them. I have been tested many many times via blood, and stool and nothing came back positive in the way of allergies. I still get the occasional red bump like pimples along my jaw line and suspected hormones. I am in my early 40's and was exhibiting signs of menopause and put on bioidentical hormones. This made the welts worse so I stopped. I dont know where to turn or what else to try and cannot stop thining of ways to change this..I dont want whats left of my life consumed by this...Im a disgusting mess

 

I know, I can't stop myself from plucking either...I am not super convinced that this is a side effect of accutane...accutane makes your body produce less sebum and makes skin cells that shed less sticky. I can't imagine a side effect being the exact opposite of what accutane does. The last round of accutane did nothing to help or hurt my condition. It's also my experience that the pores only are affected by physically clearing them out. I am always very skeptical of any "natural" remedy, but I even did a TCA peel and while it did help with discoloration, it had no effect on clogged pores. I just can't seem to get an answer from the doctor and you're the only person who I've found to be suffering the same way ( If TCA and 20% salicylic acid peels, which hurt like hell, don't help, I can't imagine anything "natural" will...I just don't know what to do anymore.

The other day I tried Castor Oil 20% & EVOO 80%. It worked great. My face felt lighter. I plan on doing it once a week (a little time consuming for me). There's a couple ways of doing it, I choose the the simple 1. Apply the mixture on your face, run a washcloth under hot water than place it over your face until it cools, wipe off your face, and keep repeating a couple times with the hot washcloth. Then rinse off your face with cold water to close pores. You can Google Castor Oil & EVOO for other ways.

Mywitsend - I have the same exact problem. I have been on accutane a few times and just in the past year (2-3 years after accutane my pores are becoming filled with sebum. I can literally squeeze the plugs out of almost every pore...My back has what kind of looks like comedonal acne (blackheads and several pores that become inflamed with hard sebum). My face has the whiteheads underneath the skin that do not come to a head (around my chin) and the rest of my face has some small blackheads and TONS AND TONS of pores filled with sebum. My face is quite bumpy... I want to figure out what's causing this...

I have the same problem. Would castor oil ( without mixing with anything else ) help ? Does it really help to clear these pores ? Is using a toner good for this ?

I have done the Oil Cleansing Method (OCM) several times with terrible results. My skin just doesnt like oils at all. Even though everyone says Jojoba oil mimics our bodies sebum it tends to make me clog with whiteheads literally overnight. Its horrible because I already have so many of them..I can extract them but the same pore refills in a day or two even if I get the huge blockage or plug out. I've tried applying anything and everything I can think of after the plug releases in an effort to alter the state of the pore so it doesnt start producing more gunk and pushing it to the surface. Retin A, differin, Finacea, Epiduo, Mandelic, SA, AHA, and even Tazorac. They eventually all come back. What will alter the state of the way the pore works? BTW, castor oil is very strong and acts more like a cleasning oil.

I had this same problem for years until two weeks ago and am almost completely cured of it. This is what worked for me...get a magnifying mirror and a pimple extractor(drug stores have them in the tweezer section). You will also need St. Ives apricot scrub and Olay daily thermal mini peel. In very bright light, use the pimple extractor and magnifying mirror to purge every pore. This takes a while but it is worth the effort and you only have to do it for the first few days......Next, get in the shower and scrub your face with the apricot scrub . Rinse. Now use the mini peel according to the instructions. Make sure to completely rinse the mini peel until you can't feel the film on your face any more. Repeat this every day, once a day. If your face gets too dry, then only use the apricot scrub every other day. That's it. I have done this for two weeks and my skin is almost perfect now. I specifically joined this site to share the news with everybody that suffers from this problem. I hope it works for you.

I have excatly the same problem only if i pick them out they get infected and cause spots. I dont know what it is but dont like having bumps under my skin. Im thinking maybe after accutaine the skin needs to be left alone and purge for a while. im gonna try only using mild soap and water and no picking for a few days and report back.