Eric K

Yes, it is okay to use T/Sal on you face and hair while on accutane, just make certain to wash it off within 5 minutes and moisturize your skin immediately after showering.  Salicylic acid is a mild acid and is a better choice than traditional soaps or shampoos.  So replace other soaps or cleansers with T/Sal -- don't use both. 

Yellow bruising is normal -- that's what I had after my neck lift, and yes the bruising tends to move with gravity downward.  It will go away in another week.

Keep the compression garment on 24/7 (especially important at night) except when you shower.  If you have Dandruff (like I do), it will probably get worse with the garment on your head and you may need to use Nizoral shampoo to clear it up. 

Numbness does go away but it takes months.  Try to be patient and distract yourself with books or movies when you're not otherwise busy.

I had to stop Accutane for a few months because my liver functions were out of the normal range (and no, I wasn't drinking at all).  You might ask your Derm about at least reducing the dose for a while.

Also, I recommend Neutrogenia T/Sal shampoo (make certain it is the one with 3% saliyclic acid, not Coal Tar) as a shampoo and body soap.  I recently discovered it and is has helped unblock pores and clear up my skin.  If I had known about it when I was a teenager, it's possible I wouldn't have needed Accutane at all. The directions say to leave it on for a few minutes, so I turn off the shower, apply it everywhere, wait 5 minutes, and then rise it off the with lukewarm water.  Colder water (75 F) is key because hot water will strip out all of the oil in your skin and your body will respond by trying to create more oil.  After the shower, follow with a non-irritating moisturizer like CeraVe or Vanicream.  Accutane dries out your skin so you need a moisturizer so your skin isn't always stressed by the dryness.  And if you're going outside, get a moisturizer with SPF.

Salicylic acid takes weeks for it to fully clear out your pores, so you need to use T/Sal every time you shower.  T/Sal has worked wonders for me.

Two scars around the ears sounds worse than one scar under the chin if you don't have long hair.  But that's because I'm a guy and chin scars heal better in men (because of the extra blood flow for the beard hairs) than in women apparently.  I already had a scar on the lower right party of my chin from a childhood injury.  The average neck lift price includes people who paid for a what is essentially a lower face lift with scars around the ears.  The neck lift that just involves a chin scar is less expensive.

It was only 2 weeks ago -- I'm waiting until the 5 week follow up when the 'after' photos will be taken since I know that swelling takes a while to resolve.  So far, it really does look like Robert T's result from the side profile.