I was on accutane for 6 months (feel free to take a look at my log linked in my signature). I didn't see dramatic improvement until around the fourth month, and I didn't fully clear up until after my course was over. That was almost 9 months ago and I am still clear. You look to be right on track, and in fact you are quite obviously improving according to your picture.

Weirdly, my acne improved more quickly on one side before the other, and I remember others noticing this same pattern of improvement. Your skin seems to be following this pattern as well. In any case, it looks like you are one of the lucky ones who begin to see improvement early on in your course, which is great! Keeping track with pictures is definitely the way to go. I did - and it was a great way to keep track of my progress.

Congratulations on your improvements- and good luck with the rest of your course!

Meg, thank you so much for your reply, I really appreciate it. Unfortunately, to me I don't see much improvement thus far...My face is extremely red, and just when the old spots seem to go, it'll leave a red mark and another big one will come up somewhere else, and so on I'm actually not having that much active acne right now, the majority of the right side of my face, believe it or not, is smooth -- but it's covered in red marks, some of which I had before tane which don't seem to go I'm terrified I will have them for the whole course!

Did you notice that your redness/red marks seemed to eventually fade? Or was that only after? Looking at your log it looked like you had lovely skin underneath your acne on day 1 -- whereas the skin underneath mine is blotchy, red and a bit of a mess..the photo's don't even show it justice.

Hey

Im starting mnth 6 of tane

So I know what a sucky ride it can be

I am also still getting small breakouts...hard ot swallow

from what Ive heard and been told by my derm..red marks fade AFTER tane

lets hope so!!

GL

Kim

Meg, thank you so much for your reply, I really appreciate it. Unfortunately, to me I don't see much improvement thus far...My face is extremely red, and just when the old spots seem to go, it'll leave a red mark and another big one will come up somewhere else, and so on I'm actually not having that much active acne right now, the majority of the right side of my face, believe it or not, is smooth -- but it's covered in red marks, some of which I had before tane which don't seem to go I'm terrified I will have them for the whole course!

Did you notice that your redness/red marks seemed to eventually fade? Or was that only after? Looking at your log it looked like you had lovely skin underneath your acne on day 1 -- whereas the skin underneath mine is blotchy, red and a bit of a mess..the photo's don't even show it justice.

Hi - yes, redness and red marks will probably persist for a little while, unfortunately. The red marks are just a part of the healing process, and unfortunately they do take quite a while to fade. Some people are very lucky and their red marks fade soon after the pimple heals, but for most people, especially for people with light, sensitive skin, it can take quite a while for the marks to fade. Once your skin clears up and you are not getting any new actives, the marks will start to fade. Make sure you wear plenty of sunscreen (the sun can really make those red marks worse), and keep your skin moisturized. The redness is also very normal, probably due to dryness. Make sure you are using a gentle moisturizer and applying it often.

In terms of my skin - I think the photos I posted on the first day also didn't do my acne and the marks justice. My skin was also quite blotchy with red marks and such. Here is a more accurate picture I took before starting accutane.

You can see -my red marks were pretty rowdy. They do eventually clear up once your break outs are minimized, it just takes a loooooooonnngg time.

Hey man,

I'm currently on my 3rd course. For my previous two courses it took me late into the 4th month to start seeing improvement! Don't worry about it and hang in there!

I feel your pain!! I'm starting my 3rd month tomorrow, and my skin is much worse than my worst breakout before Accutane!T^T It's so depressing. I guess it's the IB that many patients experience. My derm told me she sees it with most of her patients. I just hope it doesn't scar. I always only broke out on the far sides of my cheeks, but about 1 month in, I started getting cysts on my jawline, near my lips, temples, and forehead. These places were always clear, I just had cystic acne on my far cheeks. I was on 40mg the 1st month, 2nd month 60mg, tomorrow, I'll start 80mg + antibiotics. I'm 5'6 and 55kg. Jus hope all this gets me clear in the long run. I even switched my bcp to a generic of yasmin in order to help. My cysts from my IB are calming down some, but the healing process seems slower because the Accutane effects it. Hope my hurr doesn't fall out with the higher dosage.

I think that the dryness caused by Accutane make your skin really sensitive and slower to heal so just keep up with the moisturiser and making sure you use and spf on a daily basis as well. Your red marks will fade in time, just be gentle with your skin and re asses the situation when you finish Accutane. I think your progress is going well and sure you will be happy with the end results

Thanks Kim, I hope the rest of your journey goes smoothly! Best of luck.

Meg; that's a much clearer picture -- so I'm even more happy for you that your skin now seems flawless. I think because I am naturally sickeningly pale that it makes it all even more noticeable (you can even see some veins on my face...I think 'pale' is an understatement -- more like see-through!) which is obviously why I used to have an occasional sunbed to make me look/feel better... looks like it's going to be a LONG time before I go for one of them and look like my 'old' self As for sunscreen, I haven't used any yet, but I actually haven't left the house in 5 months because of this...it's really really impacted my confidence and effected my life as a whole.

Tiger; that's actually really encouraging that you didn't notice results until the 4th month! When I see a lot of logs it seems like a lot of people are happy at this stage, and I assumed I would be one of those people ;( I thought I'd be able to leave the house without hiding my face by now...

And sorry to hear, Yuki, that we're going through the same -- but hopefully the next couple of months will look up...right?

Thanks gkitten! I really really hope I'm smiling at the end...well, before the end ideally! It's impacted my life drastically, but I think I just need some encouragement and support so I really really do appreciate it! I've bought some Aloe Vera gel, should arrive in the post this week, as I've heard a lot of good things about it for redness, so we'll see!

Lore91,

There are many reports here that people get really worse (for quite a while) before completely clear.

I would say, trust your dermatologist, and stay positive. Roaccutane/Accutane has very high successful rate.

(If you want something to cheer you up, you can look at my example: I was not lucky enough to have access to Roaccutane/Accutane, and been (still) suffering acne for about 25 years. If I had a choice back then, I'd rather get Roaccutane at early stage like your age, no matter how bad it made me during the course.)

I think because I am naturally sickeningly pale that it makes it all even more noticeable (you can even see some veins on my face...I think 'pale' is an understatement -- more like see-through!) which is obviously why I used to have an occasional sunbed to make me look/feel better...

I will try to turn that to something positive. You are lucky to be pale.

Comparing to other race,

"The acute redness and inflammation that directly surround an acne lesion stand in stark contrast to light skin tones. However, when it comes to the red spots that acne leaves behind, white people tend to have less of a struggle." (source: http://www.acne.org/ethnic-white-skin.html )

I am not that lucky.

stillacne,

I'm sorry to hear that you're having a hard time. Are you suffering now from acne still? If so, have you decided to finally take Roaccutane?

I don't know...these marks are very very prominant. Being pale you can literally see every mark on my skin, including all the big pores from the former blackheads -- but the entire right side of my face is just one very big red streak.

I think, however, I /am/ seeing some results. When I look in the mirror with like no lights on, I can see just how smooth my face is. I literally have two tiny actives on my right temple, but that's it. If a blind man felt my face, he would assume my skin was flawless! However, when I turn the lights on I see the horror, haha. All these red marks are just so pronounced and very strong. I've started to use Aloe Vera as a moisturiser and it's actually really helping...it seems to just glide onto my face, whereas the cetaphil cream I seem to have to rub in - which aggravates and reddens me.

Hey,

Wear lots of high SPF sunscreen! Even regular lights inside your house are able to mark your skin!

Not sure if you get a lot of sun, but sunscreen is great help.

As for the breakouts, I'm going through the same. First two months I saw improvement and now on my third month, I'm starting to break out here and there. So discouraging but it's normal, apparently.

Good luck!

It's nothing to do with the sunscreen/sun because, well..I haven't left the house since early December haha. Here's hoping your course goes well! Let me know how you're getting on!

So far this week has been pretty stable...I actually haven't had any breakouts and I'm kind of hoping that now this is it, and my face can just heal all of these red marks... Literally, my face is so smooth! I've been using aloe vera consistantly on my face and I do really think that's helped, but it's not the most moisturizing -- still, I find that my other moisturizers just made me more red and greasy looking and as I'm staying in, I dont mind if I'm a tad flaky here or there.

I'm kind of scared that when I see improvement, however, it's actually just dry/dead skin covering it up because when I just wash my face or apply any kind of face wash/gel/moisturizer everything is ten times redder and that's the /real/ me (as in, the moisturizer, cream is just washing off the thin layer of white skin that makes me look like the marks are lighter than they are) :S Hmm.. still... I'm hoping that since I actually did leave the house without makeup the other day, I'm taking a slow but positive step in the right direction.

Well today is crap.

I've been really trying all week to be positive, and to maybe try and see that tiny teensy bit of hope at the end of the tunnel, but what happens today when I'm getting ready? My dad comes in, "Errrr! What's that on your neck?" - "What?" - "Well it's really red, look, feel how hot it is" (rubbing his hand on the back of my neck.) Turns out I have a massive rash there which has probably been there for days/weeks without me noticing.

So I go to look in the mirror, using a handheld portable mirror so I can see the back, and yep...horrible nasty rash. While doing this, I also get a clearer view of the side of my face and see how red, blotchy, and all marked up it is. I just look a complete disaster and I'm fed up... I've just locked myself away in my room and am crying. I'm so fed up of this, of literally waiting and hoping for something that just isn't going to happen. I'm never going to look like I used too/like a normal person.

Let's just say I wouldn't mind dying right this minute, haha.

What a shame, just when I thought things were turning up, I end up seeing that it's just as bad as ever. My life is just over now, I never leave the house, my career is non-existant and all relationships with my family and friends are completely screwed up. I don't talk to anyone, I don't do anything, and every day my face and body just gets continuously worse. I just want it to be over, and I honestly can't see myself ever being happy again.

Guess that's my rant for this morning, heh...had to let it out somehow.

It'll get better. Trust me, I was where you were. I didn't take accutane but birth control and differin, and it was a long hard and depressing road at times. Even when my actives were pretty non existent, my red marks were terrible, like awful and they took a good 6 months to a year to calm down, I still have some slight marks but you can hardly see them and I have been left with some indented scarring but it's nothing compared to the acne and the red marks. I hid away, stopped seeing friends and family and like you I wanted to die. I actually ended up on a course of anti depressants about six months into my regimen for my skin and I still take one each morning, they saved my life, they took the edge off the worrying and anxiety and let me live my life. Time is a healer, it passes no matter how we feel and in time your skin will get better and you will look back in six months or a year and think wow I'm so glad im not in that place anymore. But right now it's doesn't feel like that, I get it, just don't give up, keep being gentle with your skin, let accutane and time do there thing and give yourself a break, even just one night of doing something you enjoy, a tv programme you like, a film, your favourite food, your brain needs a break from all this worry and it'll thank you. You're not alone, don't give up!x

You guys are making me feel so much better. I'm about to start month 5 and my face is a pizza. Not as a bad as a couple of weeks ago, but still pretty rough. I guess we can't all be the perfect skinned after three weeks youtubers. As long as I never see anyone say it didn't work during or after treatment, I'll be ok!

gkitten, thank you so much for your post -- I really appreciate it. I think I just had a bad day...my mood is very up and down, well...it's down and downer haha. I mean, one day I'll look and I'll go "oh...ok maybe it's working," and then the day after I'll be like oh wow, I look hideous. For example, when I left the house the other day without makeup I thought hmm...ok maybe I don't look too bad -- then the next day I took some pictures and was so so embarrassed that I went out the day before without makeup. Yesterday I thought I looked awful and had a good cry, but today I've felt more 'secure'. It's strange.

I'm also on a course of antidepressants, although I don't really feel they help much. At the time the doctor was just like oh...you're down, take these -- but as the cause of this depression (aka, my skin) is still there staring me in the face everyday, it's not something I can just easily ignore.

I just hope I don't regret taking this...right now there are red marks that havent gone from month one, and it scares me that they haven't shrunk at all ;( What if I have these for the rest of my life?

Im right there w/ ya

My derm (who I saw today) said these marks get better after tane

she also starts her patients on topical retin-a right after stopping tane which will help fade the redness

GL

Kim

Hi Kim, I haven't spoken to my derm yet about 'after tane', but we'll see what she suggests... I guess I hoped by now that I would just have minimal red marks and that would be it, but instead they're pretty big and still look just as bad as the acne. I'm struggling It's really difficult right now.

I haven't left the house since December, it's May soon and there's still no light at the end of the tunnel. I've watched my whole world and life just crash around me, and I'd love to be one of those people who can just 'deal' with the acne, but I'm unfortunately not. It takes me literally hours to get ready in the morning...I wake up scared to have a shower because I know I'll be all red and horrible. When I finally have a shower, I apply my moisturizer and then turn off all the lights and just sit there in darkness for about 20-30 minutes for the moisurizer to sink in and the redness to fade before I can summon the courage to see myself in the mirror. I always tell myself, oh this week will be the week -- but it just never happens.

I have some kind of rash/scratch on my right cheek which is burning, don't know where it's come from, and today my scars all look exceptionally red and violent. I was meant to be continuing with a course today...I'm a dancer and was meant to continue my Dance-Teaching course part-time which I postponed last year due to work. I've been looking forward to it, but instead I've cancelled the entire thing. If I can't even leave the house there's no way I can go into a dance studio and sweat/get hot. My friend was like, "It's 3 hours of your life every other evening", but to an acne/skin sufferer it's so much more than that. It's an entire day of panicking and trying to hide yourself behind a mask of makeup to look even remotely acceptable, trying on three-four different shirts/vest tops to make sure every mark is covered, constant reapplication of moisturizer/makeup throughout the day to eradicate dryness...

On top of this I also have a wart on my finger and a couple of veruccae on my feet -- which I am also having treated by my derm to no avail and with at-home prescriptions. This means that I have to spend two days before I go out constantly filing away at them to remove the excess treatment (it leaves a white mark when you apply it which doesnt come off) and to make them look as presentable as possible, then apply plasters over my toes (we dance bare-feet) and hands (because obviously there is also a lot of written work) so people don't see and question.

It's exhausting. By the time you've done all of that...you're so emotionally crushed, you don't want to leave. You just want to go back to bed and hope to wake up from this nightmare.

It's been a horrid, tearful morning...I just don't know what to do anymore. I'm sorry about this rant, sometimes it just helps to let it out -- and it seems like the folks here are the most understanding. I just want my life back...I genuinly never see myself being happy again and I don't see a point to life. What I'm living isn't a life, but I'm not strong enough to simply 'get over it' right now. I'm on antidepressants, but I don't see how they can help. I'm as happy as anyone with severe chest/back acne, facial acne, scarring/redmarks, verruca's and warts can be.

I want it to be over.

Lesigh. Heh. Sorry.

I'm so up and down...I left the house without makeup again yesterday to go and see my psychiatrist, and she was like 'there's nothing wrong with your skin, you're over-doing it' but in my head I see the most hideous skin. I think what's worse is looking back at photos where I had clear skin. Sure, I might have one of two zits, but nothing like I do today. I just took some more photos and all I see is negativity... Everyone else who takes photos you can see a clear difference from month to month, but I just see it the same. Sure, this one part may get better, but another part has gotten worse, and vice versa ;( I don't think I should ever take photos haha...

So my friend from Scotland is down next tomorrow and invited me to stay with her for the week...I didn't know what to say so I just said yes, I've managed to cut it short so I'll only be staying Mon-Weds, but I'm so so so nervous. She was talking about going to a spa and dance class and everything...heh...there's no way I'm getting shirtless/sweaty in a spa/dance class... I don't want to go, I'm honestly having so much anxiety about seeing her and staying over -- having her see my skin as it is. Oh man I feel sick.

Some more update pictures, these span from March 31st to today, so it's a little over a month. My left side seems to have made some slight progress, however my right side just seems to stay the same. There's absolutely no active acne whatsoever on my face, but this redness/scarring/red marks just won't budge, and hasn't budged since I started ;( It's really disheartening because I thought accutane would help those...and you can't have any other kind of scar/red mark treatment for 6 months...

These pictures don't quite capture the redness, either, as when I email them from my phone, then upload them some of the quality is obviously lost, but you get the general jist. I don't really know what to think at this stage. Tomorrow marks the start of my 4th month, and I thought the 3rd month was meant to be the magic one! ;( I feel like I'm going to have to just get used to the idea of wearing makeup forever...

Is this regular progress for accutane guys? Am I on the right track? Every time I look at logs I can see DISTINCT difference in the photos from month to month, however, mine just seem to be quite similar... obviously on top of these as well I also have similar scarring/red marks all over my back (which still has actives) and chest...so it's fairly depressing...I want to feel comfortable in my own skin.

Some more update pictures, these span from March 31st to today, so it's a little over a month. My left side seems to have made some slight progress, however my right side just seems to stay the same. There's absolutely no active acne whatsoever on my face, but this redness/scarring/red marks just won't budge, and hasn't budged since I started ;( It's really disheartening because I thought accutane would help those...and you can't have any other kind of scar/red mark treatment for 6 months...

 

These pictures don't quite capture the redness, either, as when I email them from my phone, then upload them some of the quality is obviously lost, but you get the general jist. I don't really know what to think at this stage. Tomorrow marks the start of my 4th month, and I thought the 3rd month was meant to be the magic one! ;( I feel like I'm going to have to just get used to the idea of wearing makeup forever...

 

Is this regular progress for accutane guys? Am I on the right track? Every time I look at logs I can see DISTINCT difference in the photos from month to month, however, mine just seem to be quite similar... obviously on top of these as well I also have similar scarring/red marks all over my back (which still has actives) and chest...so it's fairly depressing...I want to feel comfortable in my own skin.

 

 

 

 

 

I don't see how you're not seeing the results at this point. The bottom pictures or left sides of your face shows blatant red mark fadeness and no active acne which is good if you've reached the stage where accutane has now stopped the acne from surfacing and now your skin can focus on the healing. The right side of your face has been cleared from acne if you compare it to the before pic and I can still see progress in the marks fading. Your chin is beautiful clear and look at that forehead, marks are nonexistent and will remain that way after accutane. I think if you look at the top picture you can see the progress of your 4 acne marks at the bottom right of your forehead. They're clearly fading. I know you feel good about your front face picture because you look great.

Last thing, be very careful with shaving, since you're staying at home I wouldn't even shave due to your skin being more sensitive being on accutane especially now into month 4. Never pick your pimples or you will get fucked by the mark on the longterm while on accutane. And you stay clear of makeup if you can, I know a dude who started you concealers from marks he had and has been breaking out ever since.

I can see a real clear difference between the two sets of pictures. I know you say in person things look worse, but if the camera is showing improvement then there must be improvement in real life, even if you still think things don't look great the are clearly moving in the right direction. If I saw you I wouldn't even think you had acne, just a few spots, my boyfriend gets a flare up of bumps on his cheeks and jaw line when he shaves and it it is much more noticeable than yours and I wouldn't even have thought that he has and acne problem. You need to be kinder to yourself, things are working. I know when I was in a deep depression about my acne I couldn't see my own improvement, body dysmorphia takes over and you see something far worse than what actually is. It took up to a year for me to be happy with how my red marks were fading and they continue to fade, so it is a long slog but if the acne has stopped that's the main thing and things can start to heal. Also your healing will be slower on Accutane as your skin is much drier so once you are finish you may notice those red marks fading much faster. I used a great product called reme scar, it was a silicone cream in a stick form and you rubbed a small layer over your scars, it really helped me with redness and texture and I'm pretty sure it would be safe to use with Accutane as it is really gentle and helps with healing.

Hi gkitten! Thank you so so much for your post...it's really great to hear positivity from someone. I don't really get a lot of it in real life.

I think I'm slowly beginning to realize just how bad my BDD is...I literally look at every picture on here and think people have better skin than me. Sure, they may have more active acne, but 'underneath' their skin looks great, or they don't have redness, or it's just in one place, etc... I see the positives in every other person's situation compared to mine.

I think the acne on my face and chest has stopped now. I still get a couple bumps on my back, but nothing that evolves into a whitehead or whatnot. So I'm kind of hoping that this might be it for acne...-fingers crossed-. Just lots of marks everywhere that still look like the acne. I'm content with the left side of my face, but the right side has the worst red marks and they are quite feirce. I'm going to get my hair cut today and I'm a bit nervous...I only want a small trim but I use my hair to cover up the marks on my temples...

I've been looking into remescar! I see they sell it in Boots...there's not a lot about it online, review-wise, so I'm still contemplating! I wonder if it is compatible with accutane-skin... I mean, I understand that your skin is compeltely different on accutane, but at the end of the day skin is skin...and, as you said, it doesn't look like it's that invasive. If these red marks faded on my right side I'm sure I'd feel a lot better in general..

On the plus side I've been looking back at old photos...a lot of them from the past year hurt to look at because my skin was literaly flawless, but before that I see a few where I can see some quite nasty bumps/spots and whatnot. It's funny how they never bothered me at all then, to the point where I didn't even care nor remember ever thinking I had a problem with my skin...I think I have this false image in my head where I always had 'perfect' skin -- when in reality, I didn't, and I still went out and lived my life regardless.

It helps to know I went out in the past with acne and was happy, so I'm trying to leave a lot more now without makeup. I think to myself...if I left last week without makeup, why can't I leave today? Just baby steps, I guess...but like I said, today I'm going to go get my hair cut and meet a friend later, and tomorrow I'm going to see a horror film with my brother at the cinema!

 

Some more update pictures, these span from March 31st to today, so it's a little over a month. My left side seems to have made some slight progress, however my right side just seems to stay the same. There's absolutely no active acne whatsoever on my face, but this redness/scarring/red marks just won't budge, and hasn't budged since I started ;( It's really disheartening because I thought accutane would help those...and you can't have any other kind of scar/red mark treatment for 6 months...

These pictures don't quite capture the redness, either, as when I email them from my phone, then upload them some of the quality is obviously lost, but you get the general jist. I don't really know what to think at this stage. Tomorrow marks the start of my 4th month, and I thought the 3rd month was meant to be the magic one! ;( I feel like I'm going to have to just get used to the idea of wearing makeup forever...

Is this regular progress for accutane guys? Am I on the right track? Every time I look at logs I can see DISTINCT difference in the photos from month to month, however, mine just seem to be quite similar... obviously on top of these as well I also have similar scarring/red marks all over my back (which still has actives) and chest...so it's fairly depressing...I want to feel comfortable in my own skin.

I don't see how you're not seeing the results at this point. The bottom pictures or left sides of your face shows blatant red mark fadeness and no active acne which is good if you've reached the stage where accutane has now stopped the acne from surfacing and now your skin can focus on the healing. The right side of your face has been cleared from acne if you compare it to the before pic and I can still see progress in the marks fading. Your chin is beautiful clear and look at that forehead, marks are nonexistent and will remain that way after accutane. I think if you look at the top picture you can see the progress of your 4 acne marks at the bottom right of your forehead. They're clearly fading. I know you feel good about your front face picture because you look great.

Last thing, be very careful with shaving, since you're staying at home I wouldn't even shave due to your skin being more sensitive being on accutane especially now into month 4. Never pick your pimples or you will get fucked by the mark on the longterm while on accutane. And you stay clear of makeup if you can, I know a dude who started you concealers from marks he had and has been breaking out ever since.

Tator! Sorry I missed your post.. Thank you for the kindness, it honestly helped me so much.. It's weird, I cant really see the improvement myself yet, but I think it's more my BDD, well at least that's what im telling myself!

As for shaving i stopped using razors completely and instead now use an electric. I used to get horrible ingrown hairs from shaving but now I rarely get any which is obviously a plus! It doesnt give me a clean shave, but it's worth it.

I also don't wear makeup at all anymore! Well im trying.. In my chosen profession makeup is always going to be used in some degree.. I wonder what the best thing to put under makeup is in order to kind of 'block it' from touching your skin if you know what I mean, haha.