Agghh I know how you feel about moisturiser - I never used to use it at all thinking it would make my skin worse. Weirdly I only started using it after I switched foundations, and the new one clung weirdly to any dry patches on my skin, so I had to start moisturising before putting it on. And now it's just a normal part of my routine. I think if anything it did normalise my skin a bit (decrease oil). I'm surprised your derm said that though! I mean, I'm not a doctor or anything but I don't think I've heard of anyone being told that before.
I guess the thing is that if you feel so bad about your skin now, then how much of a risk is it really to try adding in a moisturiser for a few weeks to see? I mean if you are already unhappy, then if it doesn't help then you're not going to be much worse off?
Maybe you could start using just in PM as then you are getting moisturising benefit without risking looking shiny or greasy during the day? (I don't have experience using cetaphil so don't actually know if it would leave a shine or not)
Worth a shot!

I know  my derm was so against it so it's just given me a phobia, and as my skin responded so well to being dry before I just don't know...

Im using the epiduo now and its definately burning my skin so for the past two days ive used cetaphil all over my face (fairly heavily) in the morning and no new breakouts i dont think, but my skin is quite red and swollen, but im blaming this down to the epiduo... Im wondering if I should use it at night as well... I feel like its just so heavy it cant be good for my skin, but everyone always seems to use heavy moisturisers at night anyway, so maybe it'd help ... Ugh i hate this! I hate not knowing what to do

@Lore91

Hey,
Sorry to hear you are struggling with this! I think it's really common for people with acne to have a total phobia of moisturizer, I understand completely. I remember when my acne was at its worst that even the feeling of rubbing something of a cream-like consistency over all my bumpy acne and clogged pores felt absolutely horrible. I dreaded it! However, it is so incredibly important to remember that if you are using not only a cleanser (which will potentially strip your acid mantle) and a drying acne treatment (Epiduo) but Accutane as well, which is known to be extremely drying, you are seriously drying out your skin. And contrary to popular belief, dry skin is as much of a cause for acne as oily skin. When your skin is dry it has no protective barrier, which leaves it extremely vulnerable to bacteria growth and irritation. I would highly recommend getting yourself a moisturizer if you intend to continue with this regimen. I would recommend looking into something light and none clogging, with some good oils and plant extracts to nourish your skin. I hesitate to recommend specific brands since everyones skin is different, but in the past I have used the Burts Bees Sensitive Daily Moisturizer with success. I found that it was incredibly light and absorbed quickly, leaving my skin feeling quenched but not sticky or oily. Best of luck! If you need any further advice or have any questions I'd be happy to try and help.

Hiya Honey, 

oh oh my gosh, how you did that without any moisturiser I will never know. It must have been so painful for you!! 

I have very oily skin, I mean when I wake up I am so shiny and slipper (super cute look! Hehe). But I recently started putting oil on of a night. Either raw coconut oil or bio oil. When I wake up my skin is so calm and less red. I always find that whenever I wash my face my skin is soooo red, raw and inflamed. Oil just soothes it and I know by morning it will be settled. 
I too was against moisturising, it's literally only this year that I've even bought anything to hydrate my face! 

Hooe you you find something that suits your needs  

I just came across your question, not sure how your regime is working. I was doing something very similar to what you're doing now and I did it for years. I am 25, I think I honestly have some sun damage and aging just from not moisturizing and putting all these harsh chemicals on my skin. Use a night cream every night and wear sunscreen (the best brands you can find, natural no chemicals)

I never found anything that I felt truly worked for good but medications only masked it all and made it better temporarily and I never liked having to take pills everyday just to have a clear skin, life is so unfair!

Anyway, I have been following another forum talking about vitamin D and I have been taking 10,000 IU of vitamin D for almost a week now.. and my skin is looking pretty damn amazing.

What's going on with our skin is a much deeper issue then we can even control a lot of the time and I wish I would of been educated on vitamin deficiencies long before I decided to walk into a dermatologist office. I am not saying that for you, it is your problem, but the vitamin D itself will make you feel better so there really are no negative side effects or harm that can come from trying. Good luck! Moisturize...absolutely moisturize. IT is so important for the aging process. I have been using an anti aging mask at night by loreal. So far I look amazing the next day, its also anti fatigue! So brightens you up! Next though my goal is to find an all natural night mask.

Don't be afraid to moisturize!

Before accutane, I never moisturized because I looked like an oily hot mess. Now I moisturize every morning and night on accutane. When I started moisturzing with CeraVe Moisturizer, it calmed down the reddness and I dont have dry flakey skin anymore (I'm on month 3 right now) 

I reccomend to avoid rubbing the moisturizer in because it hurt me doing that. Use a tiny pea size amount  and just pat your face. If theres extra residue, gently pat with a clean towel to remove. 

Please keep in mind this is what works for me. I havent had any breakouts from my routine. I'm a big fan of the CeraVe line. I've been using their cleanser before accutane, so I continue to use it because its very gentle. Their moisturizer is just as gentle too. Sometimes its not neccessarily the moisturizer breaking you out, its the product. All trial and error. If you notice your skin is getting out of control peeling and dry, try implementing a moisturizer just at night OR use it only certain spots.

I remember I used it just on my dry nose, and I didn't break out so I started using it for the whole face.

Hope this was helpful! Goodluck with it and listen to your derm  

I don't know if this is something that would work for you, but I find that kind of compartmentalising things helps me. Like maybe you could set a date 4 or 6 weeks in the future (some amount of time where you could really tell if it was helping you or not), and commit to moisturising every day until then. Then reassess when you get there. That way you don't have to be wondering if it is a good idea, or deciding whether or not to carry on or anything every day, because you have an absolute period of time that you are doing a definite action in. You don't have to think about it again until you reach that date.

Go for the Cetaphil oil control moisturizer. I like mixing it with roeship and/or jojoba oil.

Thanks so much everyone...it always surprises me how this forum never fails to offer its support. I seriously owe you guys my life to when I was in the lowest of my depression.

So... skin update. Used epiduo four days ago and my skin is still red irritated and burning from it. I've smothered my face every morning and night in cetaphil moisturiser since then. Still very red, and the moisturiser still burns ever so slightly, but now it has turned to more itchyness. I'm assuming this is perhaps my skin healing? I think all of this is just obvious to how dehydrated and dry my skin is from never using a moisturiser in my life before. My skin is very red, blotchy, and irritated - but I dont think that the moisturiser has given me any more pimples. I have a couple more, but these are in the dry areas of my face, so I'm putting them down to irritation.

I'm currently off today from work, and my skin is very red and irritated, so I added some aquaphor lightly over the top which I hope is ok.

Is it likely that the itching and burning is all down to lack of moisturizer and a lowered acid mantle? Will moisturizer help reduce this redness and even my skin tone?

11 hours ago, QuanHenry said:

Go for the Cetaphil oil control moisturizer. I like mixing it with roeship and/or jojoba oil.

This is a great suggestion!! Jojoba oil mixed with your moisturizer can give you some extra hydration until your skin recovers and is back in balance.

How long have you been using Epiduo? My guess is the itching and redness may be in reaction to your treatment, coupled with the Accutane. Sometimes skin can freak out a little (or a lot) when a new treatment is introduced. Once your skin adjusts, things should calm down. My son had horrible itchy skin, redness, and a massive IB purge when he first started tretinoin (.05%) but now his skin loves it and responds well to it. During that time, jojoba oil was his best friend!

Thanks De... I only used it for two/three applications before it simply hurt too much. I possibly used too much I'm thinking. It's brought out some horrible patchy redness all over my cheeks, although predominately my right cheek (which is always my worst)

I'm planning on just moisturizing for this week and then possibly starting epiduo again every other day. Is jojoba oil non comedogenic then? And where can I find a good quality one? 🙂

58 minutes ago, Lore91 said:

Thanks De... I only used it for two/three applications before it simply hurt too much. I possibly used too much I'm thinking. It's brought out some horrible patchy redness all over my cheeks, although predominately my right cheek (which is always my worst)

I'm planning on just moisturizing for this week and then possibly starting epiduo again every other day. Is jojoba oil non comedogenic then? And where can I find a good quality one?

Yeah, with Epiduo usually a pea-size amount is plenty, unlike traditional BP where it works best when used liberally. Sounds like a smart plan to let your skin recover and then start over. We made the same mistake with tretinoin...it's hard to use a pea-size amount and feel like it'll cover your face...so we used more than directed but way less than if it were BP...bad move! But you learn from your mistakes.

Jojoba oil is 100% noncomedogenic...won't break you out! It does have an oily feel, so some people only use at night, but if you can put up with a little shine, it's really a great add-on to your regular moisturizer when your skin is dry and distressed and will help get things back in balance. Just add 5-6 drops to your moisturizer, mix in the palm of your hand and apply. Great stuff!! 

You can find a good-quality jojoba oil at your local health food store, or the Acne.org website has a great one available for purchase in the on-line store. But you should have no trouble finding it locally.

Personally, I hate the cetaphil moisturizer for my sensitive skin. I find it irritating. I switched to aveeno with some success. I'm sorry you are going through this  just know we understand and are fighting the same issue with you. I too can't stand to look at myself in the mirror. 

I break out from a lot of moisturizers and oils.. I finally found one that saved my skin. Safflower oil. My face gets dry from all kinds of cleansers as well. Now I only use Safflower oil to clean my face. I massage it all over my face and use a microfiber cloth with lukewarm water to gently wipe off. If I feel dry, I will use 2 drops of oil.

Little update.. I'm pretty sure cetaphil has contributed to a couple of breakouts over the past few days. I never ever breakout on my forehead, and there's a cluster pf close comedones on the right side and under my eyebrow that won't budge.

ugh... It's so annoying! I'm going to lay off the moisturiser for a couple of days and then try to reintroduce another. If I break out from another i'll compare ingrediants and see if anything clicks

Reading this was really making my heart hurt. Ok, so, you ARE suppose to wear moisturizer. Oil is different from moisture and our skin needs the moisture to stay hydrated. Skipping moisturizer will actually produce more oil and then therefore attract bacteria and pimples.
In order for our skin to function well there are certain things we need to do daily. Moisturizing is one of them. The other thing is having a really good skincare routine that suits your skin type and condition.
What's happening to your skin now is all the debris, dirt, oil and dead cells are trapped in the follicles and not allowing your skin to breath, which is then causing it to get infected and the outcome is papillose, pustules, cyst and comedones appearing on the skin. If it is not cleansed, exfoliated and extracted properly it will result in scars and dullness of skin.
The Accutane you are taking actually dries out your skin along with all your organs so please be careful of using that too much.

Seek out the advice of an experienced Skincare Specialist and book a consultation for a facial to get a good cleanse and to help rehydrate your skin.

Nadia Tamara Lee