Acne.org Products
Oral Retinoid
Efficacy
87%
Based on All Available Studies
Strength of Evidence
Note: Use with EXTREME CAUTION: Causes severe birth defects and fetal death.
Oral Retinoid
Acne.org’s Real World Take
The nuclear option. It works reliably and provides long-term remission of acne, and even severe acne, in about ⅔ of people who properly take an adequate dosage. However, it permanently and irreversibly changes the skin and the body forever and users may experience long-term side effects for the rest of their lives. It’ll nuke it, but there is no going back.
Oral Retinoid
How to Get It
Have a dermatologist? Make an appointment to get this medication. Don't have a dermatologist? See The American Academy of Dermatology Physician Database to find one.
Used Isotretinoin (Accutane®)? Rate It:
Choose from 1 to 5 stars
March 20, 2007
Cons:
dryness, chapped lips, headaches, acne may return as does oily skin.
I used accutane 3 years ago after 5 years of suffering acne. It worked for me and truthfully was the only thing that did drastically.
Your acne does get worse before better. As soon as the dryness kicks in the acne starts drying up too. I used palmers cocoa butter for face and lip balm. works wonders on scars too.
Unfortunately my skin has become oily again over the years which has resulted in break outs. I wouldn't use accutane again to treat my condition now as it isn't as bad as before. Therefore I am taking vitamin B5 vilantae to combat oiliness. lets see how it goes.
Remember to be cautious on accutane. not to fall pregnant or for 3 months after stoping it. Don't take any other medicines with it or apply anything topically. It works best on its own.
December 23, 2006
I started taking acutane two weeks ago and i was wondering what dosage only took 2 months for skin to clear completley. I am on 40 mg a day and my dermatologist said my course would be 6 to 7 months, unlike the reported 2 month clearings.
November 25, 2006
Pros:
beautiful clear, smooth skin really fast,dont need ta wash ya hair for lyk a week as your body just dosn't produce any oil!less of an apetite= lose weight 2.
Cons:
dry lips! can literally peel them off,get sunburnt easily.rash on arms and hands but goes away,joint pain-woke up one morning and thort my foot had broken,itchy skin!dry eyes-water all time coz hurt.cracks in your nose.cost
this drug IS a miracle drug! i've had acne on chest back and face since was bout 12,now am almost 18.had tried dozy(antibiotic),the pill(estel) and made me gain 10 kg, also all the drying face washes and pimple gels...oviously didn't work.i started izotane (1 pill 4 2 weeks) and saw instant results! wud look forward to lookin in mirrow everymrnin to c how much beta it was.have been on it now for about 1 month 2 weeks and my skin is just amazing! i'm tempted to give my dermatologist a big hug next time i c him.i no longer hav to pack on the makeup! yay.everyone who needs to go on this stuff shud!its expensive for the dermo appointmnts but i wud pay mor if i had to, its that gr8!
April 1, 2013
Pros:
Only cleared skin temporarily
Cons:
-LONG TERM side effects:
~Dry Skin
~Chapped Lips
~Night vision/ blurred vision
~Skin scares more easily
~Acne can come back worse and harder to treat
~Skin more sensitive to light/ sunburns
I did two courses of Accutane, one in 2003 and 2005. The first course I only made it through the first 8 weeks because the symptoms were severe. After that, my skin was clear for 6 months, after that my acne slowly started coming back, and by a year I had full blown cystic acne again. I decided to give it another try in 2005, and this time I stayed on it for 6 months. Again, the results were only temporary except this time I only stayed clear for 3 months and when the acne returned it was much worse. A few years later I had a Derm tell me that there were studies that show women with hormonal acne did better on a lower dosage for shorter time then a higher dosage for longer. He wanted me to try another course but I refused. The problem I have with this drug is that I think that people are to eager for a quick fix without realizing the consequences. Accutane should be a LAST RESORT before trying everything else. In 2011 left the US and moved abroad. This is when my acne cleared up without even trying. I later researched and found out about all the chemicals and hormones put into our water and food. I have to travel for work and my acne started coming back but not as severe as before. Now it is manageable with a combination herbal supplements, beauty products, BP, and a change in diet. I believe I could have done this when I was in the US. Derm's don't make money by telling you to change your diet or try herbal supplements. They need to sell pills and creams to support their lifestyle. If they work for you, great, but research the long term effects and make sure your not damaging your body! Since accutane, I have dry lips, dry skin, night vision, skin sensitivity, and skin that doesn't heal as well (not just on my face).
September 30, 2015
Change of diet does in fact help with acne. Despite what some scientists believe . Anyone with acne notices more breakout after a soda or a greasy meal then after cup of water and a salad .
July 9, 2012
Pros:
Clear skin within a month
Cons:
Hair loss, eyelashes started falling off, eyebrows are also weak.
After years of debating, I decided to finally give it a try. I took accutane and the next day, my hair started falling out. I was on 40 mg, I weigh 123 an am 5'u. About a month into it, my eyelashes started falling out so I decided I couldn't deal with all this hair loss. I stopped after a month and it's been 6 months since and my hair still falls. It's decreased, but I never dealt with this problem. I couldn't believe my body couldn't properly handle it because I was always so healthy. It's worth a shot, but make sure you listen to your body and see how it's reacting! Good luck to all! Stay strong.
December 31, 2011
Pros:
Clears you up no doubt
Cons:
sunburn
hair falls out
dry
red face
lips bleed
leaves scars
I had to do two rounds of this.. The first time my beautiful skin lasted 6 months and the second time it lasted a year. I'm breaking out again and it's because I went off of Yaz (girls do not get off of this! This was my problem both times). It did make me have fantastic skin for a while, but I will never go on this again. My face is tomato red in all my pictures and it took about 6 months AFTER getting off of it for me to start tanning again. I don't go to tanning beds, but my face was ghostly white for those 6 months no matter how much sun I got. DO NOT GO ON THIS DRUG, Try Yaz for 3 months if you're a girl, try medicines like Menocycline (I couldn't get on this because of stomach issues), and BENZOYL PEROXIDE (which I'm allergic to). Hope that helps!
August 22, 2011
Pros:
clear skin both times
Cons:
-developed diabetes with no family history
-mental health problems
-nose bleeds
-irregular menstruation
-photosensitivity
-bad night vision
-dry skin, lips, hair
definitely not worth it.
June 29, 2011
Pros:
clear acne completely (for a period of time)
even the black head was so much lesser...
Cons:
horrible acne on face during first few months and I would not want to leave house..
too dry that i cannot do anything with it....
skin rash..
I was on accutane for 2 times....first times clear skin completely then acne came back after 8 months. 2nd time was also the same...acne came back after a year
it only works for me for a short period of time.. and i felt so confident about my skin and i was able to go out WITHOUT ANY MAKE UP. i always had to put on make up to cover my pimples....
but I think i will not go on accutane again because everytime pimples do come back....and i do not think its worth for my body to undergo all the side effects again....all i do now is drink more water and eat healthy...
it really depends on different person....but it just did not work for me....too bad.. if i have to go through all these side effects again (ie bad pimples first few months and dryness then pimples back), i'd honestly rather drink more water and eat healthy even thou sometimes i do feel like a chore...
October 29, 2010
Pros:
made my skin less oily and there was a decreased in acne severity while taking it but just lasted for 3 months
Cons:
initial breakout, i mean the gross type
high possibility of scarring. i got teribble scarring from this
redness of the face
i don't think this would help anyone who are suffering from oily skin like me. it is not safe and does not targeting the root cause of sebaceous glands' oil secretion.
androgen is the major cause of it.
i am taking 100 mg spironolactone once a day for a week now and there is already a decreased in sebum secretion.
April 14, 2010
Pros:
Clearer skin, but just for a few weeks
Cons:
After a month all the pimples came back. Later my skin condition became even worse than before the treatment.
Adverse effects: severe burning scars on my hands, my lips completely dried, burning and scarry.
Fully disappointed. My doctor (said to be one of the best dermatologists of the country) promised me for sure that Accutane will cure my skin problem, and the pimples will never come back again. I took Accutane more than one year long (two months taking, two month pause etc.) without any significant effect (just for the first few weeks).
Pros:
clearer skin, great self confidence and less oily skin.