I'm now finishing my 5th month on accutane and at the moment I have nearly no active acne and it would seem that it is only going to keep improving as the days pass. This would be great if it weren't for the fact that my face is riddled with red marks now. For some strange reason, only my left side is in bad shape in terms of post inflammatory erythema (PIE, no, red marks aren't PIH). My right side has some sequels of past acne but it isn't that bad, and it is seemingly getting better week by week. The same can't be said for my left side. Although I have seen some improvement since I first noticed these marks, which were horrendous at first, months have passed and the change doesn't seem relevant enough. I've tried ice packs and aloe vera but that doesn't seem to have done much. January 2016 is supposed to be my last month of treatment if all goes well enough (my derm said he might have to leave me on it until February if my acne hasn't resolved entirely). I plead guilty to having been in the sun unprotected but the change in skin color hasn't made my marks any worse. Truthfully, my marks started losing prominenceand of all the things I've tried getting slightly tanned is what helped make them less noticeable. Besides, I still have 2 months of summer left. I'm posting this now because yesterday in the shower I thought it'd be a good idea to exfoliate a little. I haven't been touching my face at all in the past months, so no exfoliation besides the natural shedding of my skin. I only had to slightly massage my face with myfingers to start losing skin as being on accutane makes skin more sensitive and thin, making it shed easier. All this did was uncover a bunch of redness.My skin is very smooth but riddled with horrible red marks. This is very stressful. I want a solution besides waiting for the end of my treatment (and who knows how long after that)because quite frankly I have things coming up and I need to look my best.
Luckily I have at least learned to live with it to the extent of been able to go outside and do stuff instead of hide around at my house. This still doesn't make matters any better. Please help.
No feedback so I'll at least keep a log of the situation. So I'm giving aloe vera another run. After a while I discontinued use because it was annoying to do given that I wasn't seen much improvement. I have reason to believe it will be more effective now because before, for whatever reason, my skin wouldn't really absorb the aloe vera gel. It would kind of just form a dry film over my skin that I would later have to wash off. Now that my skin is inbetter condition than before, it is seemingly taking in the gel correctly. Also, I think my skin is in better shape now to start healing properly given that my active acne is very minuscule and also having been on accutane for 5 months already, my skin had adapted so it isn't under so much stress (dryness and overall sensitivity).
I don't intend on avoiding sunlight. I am aware that UV light is damaging to the skin, that accutane makes you more sensitive to sun exposure (something that I haven't really noticed) and that it could potentially hinder the healing of my red marks. Being pale only highlights the marks, and I lack the confidence to keep on looking the way I have in the past months. I've already gone through enough and done as much as I can to ignore my looks.
I'm going to keep up a decent tan, as to even out my skin tone as well as mask/cover the marks, andapply pure aloe vera gel (directly from the leaves of the plant) at least once a day (before I go to sleep). Another thing I do, and will keep on doing, is apply an ice pack (wrapped with a papel towel) on my face for 10mins a time, as many times I can a day.
Any feedback is welcome. I will update every week or so.
In all honesty, exposure to the sun will darken your red acne marks. The tan will provide temporary camouflage, but will darkenthe spots over time. If you are going to be exposed to the sun frequently, I would advise to use a sunscreen and products that contain Niacinamide. Niacinamide will help gradually lighten the spots of your post-acne red marks.
In addition, I would suggest using a self-tanner specifically designed for the face if you are concerned about losing your tan if you use spf. Mixing a self tanner with a moisturizer can help make the tan look more natural and less orange.
Once you are finish with all of the Accutane, chemical peeling can help lighten the spots, but only if you use sunscreen on the face. Your skin will become sensitive to the sun while chemical peeling, but it speeds up your skins renewal process. Chemical peeling may be started 3-6 months after your final dose of Accutane.
Thanks for the feedback! I'm not really getting orange, I'm getting a good natural color, I tan quite well actually. The more prominent marks I've noticed have gotten darker but have also taken in a less red tone making them more of a skin color. All the small red marks that were visible because of exfoliation and being dead pale are almost invisible. I know what I'm doing is ill advised but if made the decision. I'll look in to all of the alternatives you have suggested. For now, aloe vera is being very nice to me and my face, both as a moisturizer as well aiding in healing,soothing and smoothingout my skin.
I was scheduled to finish accutane this month but given the circumstances that were presented through out my coursemy derm will probably leave me on tane through February. I still have some hope. I might not need to have a separate treatment for red marks by the time my course has finished. I try to stay realistic though.
On 1/5/2016 at 9:05 AM, Luciano Antonelli said:Thanks for the feedback! I'm not really getting orange, I'm getting a good natural color, I tan quite well actually. The more prominent marks I've noticed have gotten darker but have also taken in a less red tone making them more of a skin color. All the small red marks that were visible because of exfoliation and being dead pale are almost invisible. I know what I'm doing is ill advised but if made the decision. I'll look in to all of the alternatives you have suggested. For now, aloe vera is being very nice to me and my face, both as a moisturizer as well aiding in healing,soothing and smoothingout my skin.
I was scheduled to finish accutane this month but given the circumstances that were presented through out my coursemy derm will probably leave me on tane through February. I still have some hope. I might not need to have a separate treatment for red marks by the time my course has finished. I try to stay realistic though.
It's been 2 years,how are things now?have you got rid of them?what was your regimen?