POSTED UNDER Accutane Reviews
ACCUTANE JOURNEY-DARK SKIN Week One - Great Britain
ORIGINAL POST
Heyyy everyone! I am a 20 year old girl(african...
eadeNovember 26, 2014
$8
Heyyy everyone!
I am a 20 year old girl(african background) battling acne for the past 7 years. I started getting little random spots when i was around 11 but i put it down to a change in the enviroment as i had just recently moved to the Uk. As i adjusted to the enviroment i just got random spost here or there but I wasn't really bothered it as my face was clear. I had a MAJOR habit of picking my spots and constantly touching my face (slowly trying to stop till now) which did me no good. My acne began a lot worse starting college (in 2011) I started breaking out on my chest, back and shoulders in addition :( nightmare!! and i decided to visit the GP and find ways to reduce it. Bare it in mind this was the period of me discovering the fascinating new world of makeup and I loved it and the temporary feeling of a clear FLAWLESS skin...until my face started looking a total greasyball.
My GP started me on topical treatments such as duac,zineryt, benzyol peroxide,differin,panoxyl,quinoderm and more currently isotretonin. I think i have used just about all of the available topical treatments out there.. you name it, been there done that. And then started on oral antibiotics such as tetralysal and recently trimethoprim. I got soo sick of having to change the prescription every time my body decides to get used to a certain treatment. It was like a cycle, new treatment, breakout, acne gone, acne back, breakout over and over again. I was offered accutane around eight months ago, at my first visit to the dermatologist but after reading so much bad rep about accutane "the suicide drug" mostly from newspapers, I thought if i popped one pill, i was going to drop dead. That sounds so stupid now lol of course as everything in life it needs to be done in moderation. After months of research and it seemed like all other methods have failed( even healthy ones.. lemons, honey etc been down that route) accutane was my next/hopefully last resort. I kind of got really lazy with my trimethoprim around 3-4 weeks before my derm appointment and yes my skin is currently at its worst in terms of oil production and breakouts. I can literally scoop the oil of my skin after an hour of washing it. It gets sooo oily as much as i hate it, I am glad that summer is over or else it would be way worse.
The major side effect that I am worried about is dry scalp as my hair gets quite dry already and with me being natural, dry hair is a no-no in terms of retaining length and thickness. Also the breakout period **sigh** i know it's inevitable but i'm hoping it skips me some way or the other lol *fingers crossed* A
What would you recommed to prepare for the dry period and as a face cleanser? I am thinking of using shea butter and/or coconut oil? As i'm sure i read that they are good for skin and they don't clog pores?
Any other advices/recommendation please do not hesistate to comment? Also did you experience and bad joint paints as i tend to excercise/gym/basketball often. Oh and i am on 40mg a day and i forgot how long i would be on it for, i think 4-6 months.
The pictures are before accutane
I am a 20 year old girl(african background) battling acne for the past 7 years. I started getting little random spots when i was around 11 but i put it down to a change in the enviroment as i had just recently moved to the Uk. As i adjusted to the enviroment i just got random spost here or there but I wasn't really bothered it as my face was clear. I had a MAJOR habit of picking my spots and constantly touching my face (slowly trying to stop till now) which did me no good. My acne began a lot worse starting college (in 2011) I started breaking out on my chest, back and shoulders in addition :( nightmare!! and i decided to visit the GP and find ways to reduce it. Bare it in mind this was the period of me discovering the fascinating new world of makeup and I loved it and the temporary feeling of a clear FLAWLESS skin...until my face started looking a total greasyball.
My GP started me on topical treatments such as duac,zineryt, benzyol peroxide,differin,panoxyl,quinoderm and more currently isotretonin. I think i have used just about all of the available topical treatments out there.. you name it, been there done that. And then started on oral antibiotics such as tetralysal and recently trimethoprim. I got soo sick of having to change the prescription every time my body decides to get used to a certain treatment. It was like a cycle, new treatment, breakout, acne gone, acne back, breakout over and over again. I was offered accutane around eight months ago, at my first visit to the dermatologist but after reading so much bad rep about accutane "the suicide drug" mostly from newspapers, I thought if i popped one pill, i was going to drop dead. That sounds so stupid now lol of course as everything in life it needs to be done in moderation. After months of research and it seemed like all other methods have failed( even healthy ones.. lemons, honey etc been down that route) accutane was my next/hopefully last resort. I kind of got really lazy with my trimethoprim around 3-4 weeks before my derm appointment and yes my skin is currently at its worst in terms of oil production and breakouts. I can literally scoop the oil of my skin after an hour of washing it. It gets sooo oily as much as i hate it, I am glad that summer is over or else it would be way worse.
The major side effect that I am worried about is dry scalp as my hair gets quite dry already and with me being natural, dry hair is a no-no in terms of retaining length and thickness. Also the breakout period **sigh** i know it's inevitable but i'm hoping it skips me some way or the other lol *fingers crossed* A
What would you recommed to prepare for the dry period and as a face cleanser? I am thinking of using shea butter and/or coconut oil? As i'm sure i read that they are good for skin and they don't clog pores?
Any other advices/recommendation please do not hesistate to comment? Also did you experience and bad joint paints as i tend to excercise/gym/basketball often. Oh and i am on 40mg a day and i forgot how long i would be on it for, i think 4-6 months.
The pictures are before accutane
Replies (4)
November 29, 2014
Hi,
I'm glad you got approved for accutane.
I myself got approved a few weeks ago and I am currently waiting for the blood test and pregnancy test etc.
Seems like we're similar, I live in the UK, I'm african but my acne got worse when I moved here. I'm also 21 and it seems like we might be starting our accuttane 'journey' around the same time.
It might me great if we keep in touch (via here of course), for support cause I've heard pretty bad things about this drug. (Depression, liver issues, even suicide...yikes!)
I'd really appreciate an updated. And I'm hoping to post mins before starting the accuttane xx
December 1, 2014
Heey.. yaay that's great news i'm glad i can find someone on here that's similar to me and i'll be sure to update you! hopefully it all goes well for you too
December 1, 2014
Don't fret! I have two solutions for your dry hair and scalp issue!! I am on my 56th day of accutane, and the only thing i'm personally battling with is the dry scalp - mainly because frankly it's itchy! The best thing i have found for it is called hair & me. It's a hair strengthening treatment made organically here in Australia. All ingredients are natural. Website is It's $19.95 a sachet, and each sachet will prob give you 2-4 ***Removed 3rd Party Link***treatments that you do once a week. I found leaving it in overnight to have the best effect. Pretty sure it's free worldwide shipping too. Secondly, using Babyliss Pro Argan Oil in your hair after every wash. These two things have kept my hair feeling good and not brittle, but the hair&me really REALLY helps my scalp to not itch and dry out :) Good luck!
UPDATED FROM eade
8 days post
Week one
eadeDecember 2, 2014
Hi guys.. first week done and dusted! just a short update. Erm not really that much to say.. not been experiencing any side effects yet but it seems like my skin is becoming less oily already (whoop whooop!) and i've not had a massive breakout yet but then again it's still early days and as i examined my skin this morning i can see some new spots coming out :(
Replies (1)
December 2, 2014
Hey
Glad to hear that you're not experiencing any side effect yet.
Apparently, (from my research) the dry skin kicks in between week two - four and I've been told that %100 Shea butter or coconut oil are a life savior - but hopefully you won't experience it.
Just a quick question - roughly, how long did it take from you being approved to you starting. Cause at the moment, the waiting is driving me mad!! I only did the blood test today And I have not even done the two pregnancy test yet!
December 3, 2014
i made some shea butter and coconut oil mix for my hair before.. slowly running out but i have a lil bit of original shea butter that i plan on using as soon as my skin starts getting dry.. i don't currently really moisturise my face (is that bad?) My hair is really itchy right now lol and i can feel my scalp is quite dry even though i try to moisture it as much as i remember . I think i need to increase my water intake cos i barely drink that much which might have attributed to it. i had my first dermatologist appointment 3rd of november and did my blood test next day nd i was scheduled an appointment(before the results of my blood test) for the 24th of november and i did the pregnacy test of the day and i was prescribed the accutane on the same day so i basically started on the 24th. Why do you have to do two tests?
December 3, 2014
Hi,
Thanks for getting back. Seems like are on it. Mixing the two should def help with any dry skin or scalp. But you should definitely moisturizer your skin, right now it might not be bad but in the future, you may see some extra wrinkles than the avarage jane (yikes! Don't want that).
You're really lucky....Seems like your dermatologist is amazing and really quick. Would you believe that my referall was made in June and got an appointment in November? And my derm is just over the top (think that's why I'm doing two pregnancy test)...I just can't wait to start...I took some pics of my acne at it worst and when I get hold of laptop, I'll start my post.
December 4, 2014
Oh wow and i thought my waiting period was long,, i'll definately start using the sha butter as a moisturiser it's just because before accutane my skin literally oils up 5 mins after applying any cream so i just use any topical treatment instead but i can tell its starting to get a bit dry now and seeing as we are now in winter its pretty much a must
UPDATED FROM eade
18 days post
week two
eadeDecember 12, 2014
hi guys.. it's been two weeks on monday..
not really a lot to update but yes the dry skin is real! like my skin has been drying out like there's no tommorrow especially my lips i don't know why i thought it might skip me a bit lol nope. The major good point so far is i can actually wear my makeup all day without getting oily and i'm actually having to use a sort of moisturiser now compared to before. my skin would get oil as soon as i step out the shower.
The dry scalp is still there :( i'm guessing winter is not doing me any favour really. I'm still currently breaking out. It's not as bad as i expected but i'm hoping it doesn't get worse and starts clearing off.
not really a lot to update but yes the dry skin is real! like my skin has been drying out like there's no tommorrow especially my lips i don't know why i thought it might skip me a bit lol nope. The major good point so far is i can actually wear my makeup all day without getting oily and i'm actually having to use a sort of moisturiser now compared to before. my skin would get oil as soon as i step out the shower.
The dry scalp is still there :( i'm guessing winter is not doing me any favour really. I'm still currently breaking out. It's not as bad as i expected but i'm hoping it doesn't get worse and starts clearing off.
Replies (1)
December 14, 2014
Thanks for the update. What are you using to combat the dry skin and lips?
January 2, 2015
I use 100% shea butter and I love it! It takes a bit to absorb into the skin but it's worth the time as your skin stays soft for hours and feels nourished. Some of the doctors on the site have recommended Dr. Dan's Cortibalm for dry lip therapy, as it's a healing lip balm with hydrocortisone in it. Hope you had a wonderful holiday season - Happy New Year!
I am so glad that you decided to include us on your Accutane journey. It's pretty terrifying to start a drug that is claimed to be a "suicide drug", glad you did your research and made the best decision for you. I thought you might find this video interesting, DR. Jennifer Ahdout speaks to Accutane and the side effects:
View popular Acne Treatment videos