I figured I should just start a log here since I already obsessively think about my skin and track every change (mostly for the worse).
This is me: woman, 22, with a bad case of acne that started a few months after I quit the birth control pill (Yasmin). I have blackheads on my forehead and nose and pustules on my forehead and cheeks. Thankfully my chin is clear, there's only partially faded hyperpigmentation.
I had had bad acne before, when I was 15, and cleared soon after I started taking the pill. I thought it might not come back because then I was older and had a healthy, almost dairy-free diet. After months trying the natural route I finally gave up and went back on the pill, one month on Yasmin, three on Yaz - I wanted to avoid the side effects -, and then one more on Yasmin. I finally got an appointment with a trusted dermatologist and she put me on Accutane.
My treatment: 6 months on 40mg a day (I weight 95 lb/43 kg).
Everyday care:
- Body: Hidratante Corporal Intensivo ("intensive care") Norwegian Formula by Neutrogena, with glycerin - 1x after shower
- Lips: Bepantol Derma Creme (not the lip balm), with dexpanthenol, lanolin, sweet almond oil and bee wax - 2x a day
- Eyes: Artelac Rebalance by Bausch+Lomb - safe to use with contacts - 2x when I wake up and when I go to sleep
- Nose: saline whenever dry
- Face: Cleanance Gel by Avene at first, then Espuma Regeneradora de Limpeza by Granado, with glycerin and aminoacids - 2x when I wake up and when I go to sleep
- 3 liters of water, 1 cup of green tea every day. Vegetarian diet, dairy and eggs occasionally.
Today is my 5th day of treatment. My skin is not particularly dry yet, but the last bout of oiliness seems to have subsided. Some inflamed spots from my last breakout one day before Accutane, didn't get any pus. My lips are actually softer than before, probably because I'm drinking 3 l of water every day and moisturizing them. I've had very mild headaches, sleepiness and a dry nose, which I fix with saline. I also noticed some peeling around it. I have also started using a different face soap, one with glycerin and amino acids, I wonder if it helps at all to prevent scarring.
Hey, I have a question about teas. Which ones do you people recommend? I drink a cup every day, substituted my usual dandelion for green tea because I read there's vitamin A in it. Do you people know if it's too little to worry? I also wanted to drink horsetail tea, but I don't know if it's too strong to drink along with the medicine.
See you later, o fellow afflicted ones. Next year is going to be cooler, Venus help us.
Week 2 / Day 16
Things haven't changed much since the first log. I got super dry lips after a night out partying a few days ago, but now they are soft enough again. I also got 3 new spots - now I have 6 in total. Older ones have healed. Other than that, my face feels pretty smooth - no scabs, no dryness, no oiliness either. I wouldn't say things are looking good because I still have a lot of red marks, but they are certainly looking up. The skin of my body doesn't feel different yet, except for my fingertips, that seem to wrinkle momentarily when I turn on the air conditioner in my car, just like when we spend too much time in the water, and a small, flaky rash on my back after I bleached my body hair. That was gone in a day. Almost got a headache once, but that was from crying. Nose doesn't feel dry at all, maybe because I've been sleeping with just a fan, no air conditioner. Still using eye drops (preventively), body moisturizer and lip moisturizer. I will update the first post with the names of the products - possibly some of them are sold only in Brazil, where I live.
Week 3 / Day 22
Dry skin and lips. Noticed flaking of body skin, particularly one time I scratched and twice when I got too lazy to apply body moisturizer. Lips also peel sometimes. One new small pimple, at least I think it's new, and it's the only inflamed one - the rest of them is all scabs and bumps. My face overall looks better, the red marks are fading. Been sick for the past week, treated sore throat with nimesulide. I hope it hasn't damaged my liver, the pharmacist said it was okay to use it alongside Accutane.
Day 33 / 1 month
Dry lips, skin above it starting to look red. Body skin is fine, I'm moisturizing only every other day to save product. Got new pimples! Gah. I'd say I have four spots to tend to now. Worried that cysts are going to keep coming back to life occasionally for a long time, and also about my blackheads getting inflamed. I spot treated the biggest ones with white clay but I don't think it did much. I think this breakout happened because I ate too much junk food, I'm not sure I regret it though. 
This has got to be the most difficult part of treating acne, giving up all that tasty cheese (sorry cows). But diet I must - got my blood test results and I my total cholesterol level is high, and also my triglycerides. Still, except for an enormous bump in between my eyes, my face is improved compared to when I first started Accutane.
On 06/03/2018 at 10:00 AM, jPablo said:Hope it keeps getting better for u! You didn't really get an IB?
Not really. I mean, I have broken out (one active pimple now), but not worse than before. My theory is that birth control worked for me - I started a new brand just before I went on Accutane - but my pores are still clogged from the months before. By the way, thanks! Best of luck to you too! 
Day 41 / Week 6
Last few days have been cool. No new pimples, face clear except for one bump next to my eye, some blackheads and closed comedones. I used to have lots of blackheads on the bridge of my nose, even before the great 2017 breakout, and a somewhat bumpy forehead, now it's almost all gone. Red marks are fading slowly, now slightly better than one month ago. Face is peeling a little around my mouth, but that goes away for a while after I reapply sunscreen. Body skin usually feels fine, but I got a burn in my chest from gym clothing the other day. Tired of getting marks all over my body from accidents, acne and stuff. 
At least I know where my future tattoos will be located. Lips dry as always, hair also dry but responds well to this hydrating mask I've been using twice a week, every time I wash it.