Hi guys! (if anyone is still reading this, haha!),
I'm back from vacation, so that hopefully means I'll be back to posting regularly again. I did some great shopping while I was away, especially makeup stuff, so I'll be sharing that soon. Since I passed the two month Accutane mark while away, I wanted to give an update on how it's been working for me.
My dermatologist reduced me from two pills to one for my second month, and I have to say that definitely improved the dryness on my skin and lips. My lips are still dry and chapped, but nowhere near as badly as they were before, and the dry patches on my skin have pretty much disappeared. Yay! Unfortunately, the acne itself is another story. It has gone away drastically on my back, which is great, but it's worse than ever on my face. In the past few days it has cleared up a bit, but I'm still disappointed with that. But it has only been two months, so I've still got a ways to go!
By the way, if anyone is experiencing severely chapped lips, good old Carmex works wonders. This stuff is old news, but I only tried it after someone recommended it in the comments on my last Accutane post. Thanks :)
-Seraphine
Showing posts with label skincare. Show all posts
Showing posts with label skincare. Show all posts
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Sunday, June 17, 2012
My Accutane Experience: One Month In
Hi guys!
Today's post will be about a little skin care drug known as Accutane (Well, actually, that's a lie. Acctune was taken off the market a few years ago and replaced by a few other drugs that do virtually the same thing. Technically, the drug I am taking is Claravis, but since even my dermatologist refers to it as Accutane, I will use the two interchangeably).
To begin, here's some background info on my skin. I have been getting breakouts since I was about 13, and while I have never been happy with my skin, my acne has not been as bad as some. I guess I would consider myself to have moderate acne, on my face, at least. My biggest issue is with acne on my back (totally gross, I know, but it's actually very common). I have tried every prescription pill and cream, and nothing worked for me. Suffice to say, Accutane was a last resort.
The verdict?
So far, I'm not impressed. Not at all. I realize that I shouldn't expect much in terms of results after so little time, but the side-effects make me wish I had never started to begin with. Ok, that's a bit much, but I hate that I have no results, other than ones I don't want.
First and foremost, my skin has dried out to an incredible degree. Not just normal dryness (like I had before),but nasty, flaky bits that no amount of exfoliation or moisturizer can get rid of. My lips are also dry and flaky, and lip balm does nothing (although maybe I'm not using anything strong enough? If you have a heavy-duty lip balm suggestion, please let me know!). Its pretty embarrassing to talk to people knowing that they can see your nasty, cracked lips and the skin flaking off of your chin...
Another issue is that it has made my cheeks and nose very red. I've always had a lot of redness in my skin, but this is unlike anything I've experienced before. Foundation, concealer, and powder together can only manage to cover it for about five minutes, and then I'll notice the redness slowly creep to the surface. It basically just looks like I've gotten a sunburn. I also have just as many breakouts as always, so no improvement there. If anything, it's a little worse (which my dermatoligist warned me about), because now I have a bunch of tiny bumps on my cheeks instead of just red acne spots.
So, all in all, I'm not loving this Accutane business. Obviously, no one should decide whether or not to go on Accutane based on this post, because I'm only one month in, and it'll be a while before I start to see results. Seriously, don't base your judgment on this, I'm still optimistic and hopefully I'll start seeing results soon. Just venting because this first month has done nothing for my skin!
Join my in a month for my next installment of The Accutane Diaries, hopefully with more positive results :)
Have you ever used Accutane? What was your experience, and how were your results?
-Seraphine
Today's post will be about a little skin care drug known as Accutane (Well, actually, that's a lie. Acctune was taken off the market a few years ago and replaced by a few other drugs that do virtually the same thing. Technically, the drug I am taking is Claravis, but since even my dermatologist refers to it as Accutane, I will use the two interchangeably).
To begin, here's some background info on my skin. I have been getting breakouts since I was about 13, and while I have never been happy with my skin, my acne has not been as bad as some. I guess I would consider myself to have moderate acne, on my face, at least. My biggest issue is with acne on my back (totally gross, I know, but it's actually very common). I have tried every prescription pill and cream, and nothing worked for me. Suffice to say, Accutane was a last resort.
The verdict?
So far, I'm not impressed. Not at all. I realize that I shouldn't expect much in terms of results after so little time, but the side-effects make me wish I had never started to begin with. Ok, that's a bit much, but I hate that I have no results, other than ones I don't want.
First and foremost, my skin has dried out to an incredible degree. Not just normal dryness (like I had before),but nasty, flaky bits that no amount of exfoliation or moisturizer can get rid of. My lips are also dry and flaky, and lip balm does nothing (although maybe I'm not using anything strong enough? If you have a heavy-duty lip balm suggestion, please let me know!). Its pretty embarrassing to talk to people knowing that they can see your nasty, cracked lips and the skin flaking off of your chin...
Another issue is that it has made my cheeks and nose very red. I've always had a lot of redness in my skin, but this is unlike anything I've experienced before. Foundation, concealer, and powder together can only manage to cover it for about five minutes, and then I'll notice the redness slowly creep to the surface. It basically just looks like I've gotten a sunburn. I also have just as many breakouts as always, so no improvement there. If anything, it's a little worse (which my dermatoligist warned me about), because now I have a bunch of tiny bumps on my cheeks instead of just red acne spots.
So, all in all, I'm not loving this Accutane business. Obviously, no one should decide whether or not to go on Accutane based on this post, because I'm only one month in, and it'll be a while before I start to see results. Seriously, don't base your judgment on this, I'm still optimistic and hopefully I'll start seeing results soon. Just venting because this first month has done nothing for my skin!
Join my in a month for my next installment of The Accutane Diaries, hopefully with more positive results :)
Have you ever used Accutane? What was your experience, and how were your results?
-Seraphine
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