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
October 6, 2012
Cons:
Dry lips & dry skin around eyes area
Story: Couple years ago, I started to get acne on top of my head in crown area, two to three bump every two weeks. It grew to about half as dime size, but it would leave nasty dark brown or black scar about size of quarter. Since I am bald, it was CLEARLY visible and looked unpleasant. So ultimately affecting my self esteem. Started visit doc for cure, tried almost all basic remedies, but no luck. After some research online, I asked doc about Accutane. He told me that would be last thing to try, but it would be much more involved as in taking blood sample, more visits to doc, etc, therefore more costly. So I got bit afraid and kept on doing basic remedies. Finally I decided to take the risk, try Isotretinoin in basic form. 40 mg a day. In a week, no bumps on head. My skin texture started to improve, skin was less oily thus less shiny. It is almost a magic pill for me. So far don't have many side effect, just dryness. No mood swing or depressed like some other people say here. In fact, I am much happier and in happy mood, and see myself in mirror more often. Now, I wish I had started this regime much earlier. Will update more 2-3 months later.
September 13, 2012
Pros:
-Cured my acne completely
Cons:
-Dry lips
-Hair loss: While washing my hair, I experienced huge clumps of hair falling out. I still have a good amount of hair, just not as much as i used to.
I have been battling acne for the past 10 years. I have tried EVERYTHING. When it comes down to it, accutane is the only thing that has worked. This seems extreme, but accutane has literally changed my life. I was one of those people who spent months researching accutane and was scared to take it after reading about all of the crazy risks associated with it. Needless to say, accutane has been a heaven sent. There are defiantly some scary risks involved, but if your as desperate as I was, you'll be willing to risk it.
September 13, 2012
Pros:
Perfect skin
Stop paying for over the counter items they dont work... Isotretinoin works..
Cons:
Dry skin and cracked lips..
Do it now it improves your life so much!
August 29, 2012
Pros:
Has cleared my skin up conpetely all over my body after about 3 months of treatment. It's also quite cheap here.
Cons:
Takes some time to get results, some purging in the beginning, side effects such as dry lips, some dry skin, back soreness and some lethargy.
After trying countless treatments for my acne, topical creams, antibiotics, cleansing program's, 3 step program's, led light therapy, salt water etc this has been the only treatment to have fantastic and prolonged results. As someone who was very concerned about the side effects, I was surprised by how easily they are managed and a lower dose at the beginning helped me ease into those. If your acne really gets you down and nothing else seems to work, then GO TO A GOOD DERM AND GET A PERSCRIPTION FOR ACCUTANE it could effectively change your life.
August 15, 2012
Pros:
Mostly clear skin
Slightly dry skin (pro for me because my makeup lasts longer and it's easily controlled with moisturizer)
No greasy hair
No light bacne
Scars have almost completely faded
Confidence!
Cons:
Still get a pimple here and there
Still have a few clogged pores
Dry hands (for about 2 months)
Dry lips
Expensive (in my opinion)
To start off, I'm a 16 year old female and I started accutane with a lot of clogged pores on my face (mostly forehead), regular cysts about twice a month, 2-3 pimples a week (that would go and I'd get new ones), ugly hyperpigmentation/scarring, oily skin, and no confidence. Now I barely have any of that. Basically, I started accutane taking 40mg every other day for the first month. Then I was taking 40mg every day for the second month. Then I was prescribed to take two 40mg pills on MWF, and the rest of the days of the week, only one 40mg pill. I had this prescription from month 3 to month 8. I had to get a blood test every month which was no problem for me. I did have an initial breakout for a good month, then it calmed down a bit. I started seeing results and much clearer skin in month 3 and 4. I continued having ALMOST clear skin through month 4 to month 7, still getting a pimple here and there but no cysts. Month 8, my supposedly last month, I got 2 cysts right beside each other and then another cyst a week later.
I got one pimple since then but I stopped taking accutane after month 8 because I ran out. I haven't taken accutane for about a week now and I don't see my derm for another 2 days.
I'm frustrated with the fact that I still get a pimple even though it's month 8, and not to mention 3 cysts.. but i'll have to see what my derm says.
My skin has improved dramatically, most of my scars have faded a lot and I'm glad I took accutane. I love not having oily skin and my hair looked and felt great, and I only wash it like twice a week. BIG PLUS for me because my hair goes down to my lower back. Overall accutane did make my skin much more clearer, and I breakout a lot less frequently. I am dissapointed that in my "last month" I broke out with 3 cysts, but they are gone now and I have yet to see my derm for possibly further prescriptions of accutane. Accutane was overall about $620, and it was $86.91 every month from month 3
June 5, 2012
Pros:
Smooth Skin
Acne Free
Cons:
Dry Lips
Facial Dryness
Body Aches
This is an amazing drug. For all the horror stories that are out there, there are infinitely more success stories, something my dermatologist pointed out to me. If you're considering accutane, I say go for it. Your skin will improve very significantly, and the side effects are minor. You will need chap stick with you at all times, and to moisturize, but other than that, you just take the pills and watch your skin clear up. Highly reccomended
May 11, 2012
Pros:
-Completely cleared acne
-Hair was never greasy
Cons:
-Constant, never-ending dry, flaky, cracked lips
-Back pain/joint pain
-Dry eyes
-Mild depression
I began taking acne not because of the severity of my acne, but for the bright red blemishes they left behind. Any pimple whatsoever would leave a scar even though I religiously refused to pop or pick at them. Accutane was amazing at clearing my skin, which gave it time to heal and diminish the severity of my scars. I was on accutane for 6 months, the last three months I was taking 80 mg/day. During these 6 months I only got 4 pimples which I think is pretty amazing. I have been off of accutane for about 10 days and I am praying my acne never returns because to be honest, I'm not sure I would ever want to go back on the drug. Yes, it was a MIRACLE at clearing my skin but the depression I experienced throughout the process was very difficult to deal with. However, thousands of people have taken this drug without any depression so I'm only saying this as a cautionary warning. The dry lips were a huge pain but my lips have already returned to their original state! I would undoubtedly recommend this drug to anyone since we all experience and react to drugs differently, but only after telling them to proceed with caution. Accutane can and will give you your confidence back!
April 30, 2012
Pros:
Does everything you want it to!
Hair that basically doesn't get greasy ever
Cons:
Really dry skin which flakes
Really dry lips
Has given me a bad back
Apparently expensive (not in uk though as nhs pays)
It's been almost 10 months since my 6 months of roaccutane ended so thought I'd put an update on here for anyone who is in two minds about whether to give this a go. This sounds dramatic but it really has changed my life so much for the better. I get the odd spot now and again but they tend to be tiny and go away on their own in a day or two. If they started to come back again I would definitely ask to be referred for this treatment again. Does not get rid of all scars so do not expect that to be the case...although it does make skin production a lot quicker so will get rid of some. Being put on roaccutane is the best thing I could have hoped for and stopped me hating to look in the mirror :)
March 14, 2012
Pros:
-100% Clear skin
-Eliminates oiliness and even some discoloration.
Cons:
-Dryness
-Rosy to red complexion during treatment
I took accutane about a year and a half ago, and it was one of the best decisions of my life. My skin has been staying consistently clear. I was told by my doctor, however, that there was a possibility that I would need a second treatment. Due to lack of sleep and proper nutrition, along with a difficult semester, I've started to break out again, and will be asking my doctor about taking the second treatment. It is totally worth it, and if you have painful acne, it's a life saver. I didn't experience any of the severe side effects, simply mild dryness. It does work differently for everyone, though.
March 7, 2012
Pros:
-eliminates oiliness completely
-clears skin!
-makes skin soft and smooth
Cons:
-causes general dryness of skin
-can cause chapped lips (fairly mild for me)
-mild skin redness
Going on Accutane was the best decision I have ever made for myself I started getting acne when I was only in the fifth grade. It was fairly mild, but incredibly premature for an elementary student. Once I hit about age 12, near the cusp of puberty, my real troubles began I started developing cystic/nodular acne that sprouted one or two pimples about twice a month,(usually on my chin or around my nose, where they are impossible to hide) and it took weeks for them to go away. By the time that one pimple left, another was just beginning to grow again. As a young, awkward, impressionable pre-teen, these large, painful bumps were cause for much anxiety and shame. My skin also became ridiculously oily. These large pumps continued to plague my skin, and soon I also developed consistent, numerous, smaller pimples that became staple figures in my T-zone. In high school, my acne devastated my self-esteem. I would try desperately to cover up the acne with loads of make-up, but because of the sheer oiliness of my complexion, by the end of the day my face looked patchy, shiny, and red. I could hardly stand to look at myself, let alone look people in the eye during a conversation and have them stare at my skin instead of my eyes. I decided to start on acne when I had a huge break-out that caused more cysts than I have ever had before, and I was desperate. My fore-head and chin were covered in large, painful cysts that were not going away, and the oiliness of my face only made it worse. The first thing I noticed when I started on Accutane was that my skin gradually became less and less oily, and more and more soft and dry.My skin cleared up completely in the following months. As of today, my skin has never looked better It is the best feeling in the world wake up in the morning and feel good about myself. My friends have all noticed a change.
Acne is no longer a factor in my life, and I feel proud of my skin. My only regret abo
Pros:
Works fast within a week or two, cleared my acne on face & on crown area head (bald)
I feel like new person, now I go out more often