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
November 19, 2011
Cons:
Dry lips
Dry eyes (can't wear contacts for too long)
Dry nose (especially a con when you're fighting a cold)
I was extremely nervous to start Accutane. After reading reviews (which happened to be mostly negative), I decided most people probably don't get on here to express how happy they are when Accutane is working for them...so I decided I needed to. With all of the monthly precautions, its easy to say, Accutane can be very dangerous. For females, you are REQUIRED to be on a form of birth control. You will be required to take monthly pregnancy tests as well as Cholesterol/Liver tests every other month. If you're not prepared for the monthly lab work...don't consider this. When I first started I was the nervous "initial break-out"...thankfully, that never happened. BUT that is most likely different for everyone. Within a week my current imperfections were cleared...and my skin began to dry out. Unfortunately, the worst part about this would be the incredibly dry lips. I have bought so much chap stick it is unreal. You won't catch me without my chap stick...even when I work out. I have found that Burt's Bees (Medicated) and Aquaphor Lip Repair work wonders! I've been on Accutane for 3 months now and either I'm getting used to the chapped lips or they're not as bad as they once were. I'm so incredibly happy I started this medication. It was a long process to get started (since my doctor had me try almost everything else before Accutane). I have to answer questions through the iPledge system on a monthly basis in order to pick up my prescription...but they are pretty much common sense questions, so no big deal. Again, everyone is different...but this medication has worked wonders for my skin. No make-up, no cover-up and no being self conscious about imperfections...it's been great! My medication costs $10/month with insurance. Although, I have seen on my prescription that my insurance saved me roughly $800 for each refill I have received. Without insurance, this would be an extremely expensive 4-6 months! Great results t
July 16, 2011
Pros:
It pretty much will work no matter what
Cons:
Too many side effects
This pretty much is a last resort drug if nothing else works. It works wonderful. But I get back pains, chapped lips, and joint pains. But after a while I get used to it. I do reccomend this who has tried everything.
July 13, 2011
Pros:
1. my somewhat sever, very painful cystic acne completely stopped
2. my blackheads, mostly on my nose, completely dried up and the pores were invisible after
3. all of the pores on my face shrunk
4. most of my previous scars started to heal and disappear
5. cleared up my back acne for good
6. the acne hasn't come back, aside from small black heads on my nose, and its been four years
Cons:
1. drying out of my skin and hair
2. my hair started to fall out a bit more than normal
3. hallucinations
If you can get a dermatologist to approve it, do it. It was the best thing I ever did for myself after growing up with terrible skin. It was about three months of waiting, I wasn't sure how much better it would get and how bad the side effects would be. It paid off. A bit of dry skin for a little while is worth years of great skin! Just use Aquaphor on your lips, and drink lots of water and use a good lotion. After treatment I went on a strict routine with Proactiv and have not had any outbreaks.
July 12, 2011
Pros:
Perfectly clear soft skin whilst I was taking it
Cleared up my keratosis pilaris for a year
Cons:
Severe joint pain
Constant nosebleeds
Dandruff
Headaches
Scarring
Bleeding, crusted over lips
Dry eyes
Lowered immune system leading to various infections
Bruised easily and wounds took a long time to heal
Worsening of depression
Ah, where do I even start? This was really a last resort for me, after trying every topical lotion and potion, and every oral antiobiotic my derm could prescribe.
Sadly it just didn't work for me. Actually, that's a lie; It did it's just job of clearing up acne wonderfully, it just came at a really painful cost both physically and mentally.
I have no idea whether a full course would have permanently cleared my acne because my derm took me off it after 6 months due to the way my body reacted to it. Now even a year after I stopped taking it many of the negative side effects have persisted, whereas any positives have long since disappeared.
I don't mean to scare anyone away from taking the drug because I know it works wonderfully for some people, but just make sure you really think it through first because there's no way to predict how your body will respond!
June 25, 2011
Pros:
Clear skin (:
Cons:
SO SO easy to get cuts and big red scratches, red skin within the first couple months, very dry lips (to the point where they bleed) , itchy skin, dry skin
Accutane is definitely amazing at clearing your skin. It worked great and I'm so happy with how clear my skin is now. Ive been on it for 4 months and my skin looks so good. But, it caused me alot of stress from all of the constant and many scratches I got so easily. Honestly, the only way I could avoid scratches is by sitting home, doing absolutely nothing! But, I do think its worth it and I would go on it all over again if I had to because it works great. I call it the "magical pill" haha. The side effects do suck but in the end it was worth it (:
May 24, 2011
Pros:
HIGLY EFFECTIVE (only if it's used under strictly dermatologist advices).
Cons:
Very annoying and aggresive symptoms caused by Isotrerinoin.
Very high price (at least in my country).
Use only in severe acne.
Needs at least a combination of other 4 products.
Need a supervision of a doctor and in some cases blood tests during the treatment.
Im 17 years old, the treatment was for 6 months after that i enjoy a pefect face 0% acne, that was just for the 2 months after i finished with the Isotretinoin. One day i discovered a black point in my face, i think i would be normal because of my past several acne but by the time pass my acne became much more severe and in few weeks just after my 2 months of glorius skin, my face was worse than ever. I heard about so many people that the treatment was 100% effective for them and the effectivness was for a long time but for some reason it wasn't effective for me. If you choose Isotretinoin you have to be sure to handle first the annoying symptoms caused by the medicine (in some cases the symptoms of the medicine are worst than a light or moderate acne, i recommend to choose alternative products) and second you'll have to maintain (for the rest of your life) very clean your face, if you don't want acne come back and repeat the treatment again like me. Now seriously im thinking of taking the treatment again because the effects of the medicine, i don't know how but i have learned to accept and to be more confident in myself and i think its the most powerfull remedy for the acne.
May 23, 2011
Pros:
-clears ALL acne
-skin and hair oil-free
-skin texture improves almost immediately
Cons:
-very dry lips
-dry eyes- bright light such as sunlight or an oncoming car is painful
-drowsiness
-joint pain
-very dry/bloody nasal passages
-super sensitive skin
-dry/flaky/painful scalp
-lots of canker sores
-rash on the backs of hands
-the doctor appts and bloodwork every 30 days/ iPledge hassles
I took 40mg/day of the generic Amnesteen for 5 months. Before starting my course I had frequent dermatologist appointments for over 7 years....I was put on every topical possible, several different antibiotics, birth control, spironolactone....EVERYTHING. Finally, my derm decided to put me through a course of accutane. I was well-prepared for the side effects, but I had a very hard time with them. Obviously everything was very dry, but there were several things I wasn't expecting. First, I had severe joint pain in my neck, lower back and hips, knees, wrists and ankles. I tried going to a chiropractor, getting a massage, and both external and internal joint lubricants.... nothing helped. I also was extremely tired a lot of the time, and even when I didn't feel tired, my eyes felt tired because they were so dried out. Being outside in the sun or driving at night with other car's lights made my eyes sting pretty bad. The last thing that really gave me a hard time was my nose....bleeding and just being painfully dry and raw on the inside. Nothing seemed to moisturize the skin up there and it was a constant, very painful annoyance for 5 months straight. However, it was nice to not have oily hair for once, and when I did break out while taking it, the pimples went away very quickly. On accutane your skin is constantly renewing itself, so breakouts last half as long. I am a very healthy, fit, young girl- I'm extremely careful about what I eat, and I workout 4-5 days a week. My doctor told me that her healthiest patients have the hardest time with accutane. Not sure why, but it seems like if isotretinoin is the only bad thing you're doing to your body, your body notices it a lot more! Just a warning to the fit and active- working out gets a lot harder with achy joints. Even though the side effects are NOT fun, I have totally clear skin, which is all I've wanted since middle school (I'm a third-year college student now) and I am completely happy with t
April 4, 2011
Pros:
Perfectly clear skin!
Even skin tone!
Hardly any bad side effects.. for me. :)
Cons:
Chapped lips!! Like veryyy chapped!
Accutane was my true life saver!
I had acne all over.. not cystic acne but mild acne that covered my fast chest & back..
I was extremely self consious about this.
I skipped my school trip to Big Splash bc i wouldnt let people see my chest and back!
I was put on a low dose of accutane my junior year 20mg once a day.. within the six months i was on it i had beautiful skin with no scars and noo spots anywhere to be seen! this is a true miricle drug.. i will be forever in debt to the makers of this.. it got my confidence and my life back!
November 7, 2010
Pros:
- Starting to control break outs, looking like its going to heal soon
- black heads on nose are about 80% gone
Cons:
- dry lips
- extremely dry eyes (makes it hard to focus)
- nosebleeds
- tiredness
- dry skin and patches of eczema
- hair becomes brittle
- skin peeling everywhere
- acne flare
- got cystic acne when got hardly any of it before
tired everything known to man to treat acne, antibiotices did not work in the slightest way
If you want clear skin dont stuff around trying everything for your acne and just go on accutane, works in 95% of case. Im 19 now and I really wish i went on this earlier
August 13, 2010
Pros:
Acne completely cleared during the 2nd month (no initial breakout) Face was smooth, pores shrunk, skin was glowing and oil-free!
Cons:
*Bad ezema on arms and hands.
*Dry, bloody cracked lips (painful to smile)
*Dry eyes.
*HAIR LOSS!!!! I finished my treatment 3 months ago and my hair is now falling out A LOT!. I did not experience this during treatment, my hair was fine.
*Headaches the first couple of days.
My face was completely clear during the 2nd month and stood completely clear throughout my treatment. After stopping my treatment I notice that I started getting small and very mild breakouts (maybe once a month) but most importantly MY HAIR!!!! It's thinning BAD and I'm terrified. I read that it's temporary and the hair will grow back but can takes months even years. I can deal with thin hair (I guess) I just don't want to go bald! :(
Pros:
Clear skin
Dryer skin (definitely a pro if you're an oily mess)
Smoother face/back/chest