A lemmy community for skincare enthusiasts.
Some ground-rules:
I took accutane for about 4 or 5 years for awful nodular acne.
Some essentials- lotion for the face (I like cerave), chapstick, eyedrops.
Stay very well hydrated.
During the treatment with accutane, I was also using a salicylic acid face wash + epiduo (sp?) cream so keeping my face moisturized was essential.
It's been more than a decade since i finished the treament, and I only get infrequent zits. My face and lips still get dry though
I did accutane about 25 years ago now.
The only thing I really remember being an issue was the random nose bleeds. Keep a spare shirt nearby and something to stop up your nose when you can. I was super super dry for a while when I was on it but my skin eventually went to a 'normal' level after treatment ended. I still have dryness on my forehead so I have to use a moisturizer every morning. My acne virtually disappeared. I get the occasionaly white head but we're talking maybe one every couple of months.
The worst side effect I had was sun sensitivity. Whatever products you use, make sure they have a high enough SPF and that you are applying frequently throughout the day.
Aquaphor is great for chapped skin, ordinary lip balm isn't enough and chances are your lips won't be the only thing that chaps. For the sun sensitivity get long sleeve UV protection shirts and a hat so you don't need to coat yourself in sunscreen as often.
I had to stop my accutane course a couple months early because I developed gout. I can't say for sure if the accutane caused the gout but I believe it contributed. My acne was completely gone at the time I stopped, it started to come back a few months later but there's much much less of it than there was before the accutane.
Even though some of the acne came back, I refuse to go on accutane again because it made me really depressed on top of all the other side effects that made me feel physically terrible. I just really don't want to go through that again.