I am an esthetician in a dermatologist and a plastic surgeon’s
office. I became an esthetician because
I had acne all of my life. In my 30’s, I
went on Accutane for my cystic acne. Accutane
is an oral medication to treat severe acne by reducing the amount of oil
released by the skin.
So as a former accutane user, it breaks my heart to read the
posts on instagram from people who are on accutane and describing the bad side
effects from it.
Yes, Accutane has many side effects. I don’t remember any other than having dry
lips. I was busy with my two small children
and just thought about the results I wanted – clear skin. Has anyone not taken an advil or Tylenol before? If you think about all the over the counter
products we ingest, from Tylenol, advil cold medications, and read the
literature on these products, you wouldn’t want to take them either.
Accutane is the last oral medication I like to see my
patients go on. But when nothing else
works, it definitely works. There are
some cases where someone can break out after taking a course of accutane. Accutane is meant for the cystic acne and you
can still get pimples, I do even at age 60.
My suggestion to all of you on accutane or considering it,
is don’t focus on the side effects. I
have seen pictures from people on instagram where they lost big chunks of
hair. That did not happen to me. You can see I have a lot of hair. Perhaps the person is deficient in certain
vitamins. Biotin and silica are great
for the skin and hair.
I would encourage you to be positive especially if you are
posting to the accutane community. Everyday
look for one positive thing on your face that is happening and not the negative
and focus on that. Yes you can break out
more in the beginning when starting Accutane. But if you believe it will help,
then it will.
There have been studies linking dairy products to acne. So eliminate dairy from your diet.
Please, please stop picking!! Ice, ice. Icing brings down inflammation. Always wash with warm water, not hot. Heat inflames and dries the skin. Do not use
any abrasives or chemicals or prescription topical on your face unless prescribed
by your doctor. If you are going to be
in the sun, Accutane will make your whole body sensitive to the sun, not just
your face. Use a UVA, UVB broad spectrum
sunscreen.
Read my blog on Cetaphil
products and ditch them. And,
yes, Galderma representatives leave samples of Cetaphil in the doctor’s
offices. Cetaphil has chemicals in it
and doesn’t clean the face very well.
I want to address post inflammatory hyperpigmentation and
acne scarring. Post inflammatory
hyperpigmentation will subside in time as long as you do not get any sun on
your face. Acne scarring is more
difficult to get rid of, but you can. I
had ice pick scarring . I have had 6
professional SkinPen microneedling
treatments. This has helped more than
anything I have done. This can be done 6
months post Accutane. Do not do the home
microneedling. I believe it can tear the
top layer of the skin and the needles are not going into the dermis like the
professional treatments so it is not going to help the scarring. The needles on the home rollers can become
dull and do more damage.
I have a couple of products by Ayur-Medic skincare on my
website skincaresolutionsadvice.com to help with calming, soothing the skin, reduce
inflammation and help with tissue repair. If you purchase the Calming Crème, I
will send you the 8 oz. Calming Cleanse
for free. I want you to use good
products that will help you through your accutane journey.
I welcome any feedback, comments or questions at danaface12@yahoo.com Follow
me on instagram @skincaresolutionsbydana.
Good luck!
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