One month in, woo! These first 30 days literally went by in a blink of an eye.
From this month, all I can say is what a difference. I have seen such major changes in my skin that its actually shocking. I started noticing my face clearing up within the first two weeks or so, which is quite impressive.
I haven't noticed nearly as many active breakouts as I had back in March, and it seems like the time they are on my face is cut in half. Some nights, I'd go to bed with a small pimple, and then wake up with it nearly gone. Most of the marks from pimples that I started with, went away within a few weeks too. I think this is due to the fact that I was putting on so much Vitamin E, which helped speed up the healing process of my skin. I still have quite a few marks and a lot of hyperpigmentation, but that will all fade over time.
Usually during the first month or two while on accutane, your skin goes through a purging stage (which I have been mentally preparing myself since the start). This is a period when your skin pushes out all of the dead skin and debris, which causes you to break out more before it can clear up. I've noticed my pores getting a little bit larger and a little more full, which I'm pretty sure that is its form of extracting all the excess oil and debris. But thankfully, as of now, I really haven't experienced anything worse than what had been going on from the start.
I know I'm only at the beginning and I have a long road to go, but its really crazy to see a difference in my skin from just four weeks. It's gotten to the point where I am starting to feel the slightest bit of confidence not wearing any makeup. It might sound a bit over dramatic, but that sliver of confidence is quite an emotional feeling for me- if you've read my first accutane post, you'll know that I've never felt comfortable in my own skin, so embracing my journey right now has really made a difference and makes me look forward to the end result.
Accutane patients usually have severe symptoms, which are known to make the treatment quite miserable. But overall, this month my symptoms have remained pretty mild throughout (hallelujah). But to give you all a little update of what I noticed, I'll go into short detail of what I have experienced thus far (in the order of when they came about)!
Dryness of Lips: My lips have always craved some type of hydration even before accutane, but within a few days I noticed more intense "chapped lip" burning. Over the duration of the month, it has stayed pretty consistent and hasn't gotten out of hand. Toward the end of the month however, the biggest difference I noticed was my lips starting to peel- which I just take care of by exfoliating with a scrub. I'm very diligent in hydrating my lips constantly (and I'm talking about 15+ times a day) with Aquaphor Healing Ointment. Any time, I notice my lips are getting dry throughout the day, I put on more. At night, to add extra moisture, I sometimes add Vitamin E into my regimen.
Dry Eyes: I wear contacts so it's common for patients to experience a bit of dryness in their eyes. I noticed this during the first week, right when I started to notice my lips getting more dry. It comes on at random times throughout the day, but I usually just reach for moisture eye drops to give them relief.
Headaches: It's not unusual to get headaches while taking accutane, and I've definitely experienced a few during this month. To help with this, I just drink extra water or take an ibuprofen and I'm usually good to go.
Joint Pain: So far, this has been very mild, however in weeks 3 & 4 my lower back and knee joints experienced some stiffness and pain, which is attributed to the accutane. I've noticed it mostly after a workout or right when I wake up in the morning. Thankfully it hasn't been bad enough where I've had to limit my activity.
Dry Skin: If there’s one universal side effect of accutane, it’s dryness. This month however, skin dryness has not been my biggest problem. I didn't notice my skin get dry until around the 4th week. I can tell my skin is a bit tighter than normal, but to my surprise, I haven't experienced much peeling yet. There was a bit of light peeling around my nose at one point, but it was gone within a few days. I have been moisturizing both my body and face multiple times a day to keep it hydrated, which has helped a lot.
Mental Health: Accutane can cause serious mental health issues, so I've been monitoring my emotional state on a daily basis to ensure that I'm in a good headspace. With everything going on in our crazy world right now, it's been a challenge to know what is caused from my medication or from other outside reasons. I've experienced very slight mood changes, trouble sleeping, and changes in my appetite over the past month, however, these aren't of too much concern to me. To combat any mental symptoms, I've been making sure to go out of my way to do things that make me happy and spend time focusing on my overall wellness. This has really made an impact in my overall mental health.
Better Hair: What? Better hair? My thoughts exactly. I’m someone who needs to maintain my hair daily in order to keep it looking fresh. Yet around week 3, I started noticing that it wasn’t getting greasy by the end of my day, nor did it need to be washed daily. I read that this is likely related to the decrease in sebum production on the scalp from the accutane.
For some one month visual progress, here we go..
For your reference, the first two photos were a couple days into accutane and the last two photos were taken on day 30. The rest had been taken throughout the month. But as you can see, there have been major improvements. I am still noticing breakouts, but nothing like I had seen earlier on in the year.
Now for the fun part!
All the products I've been using to get me through my first month.
For my skincare regimen, I basically cut out all of the skincare products that I had been using before, when I was trying to prevent acne myself. I switched my whole routine about a month before I started accutane. I did this so that my skin was prepared and wouldn't go into total shock when I started the treatment- I traded all my harsh, acne-preventing products to some of the most basic and gentle products you can use. This transition before the accutane treatment helped my skin to adapt to all the new products I'd be using for the coming months.
Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser: I use this Cetaphil cleanser two times a day, both morning and night. I love this product because it is so soft and gentle on your skin. It hydrates and doesn't leave your skin feeling dry and tight.
Mario Badescu Facial Spray with Aloe, Cucumber and Green Tea: I use this after I cleanse my face to leave it feeling refreshed. This spray is a great cooling boost of hydration and the green tea provides powerful antioxidant protection.
Neutrogena Hydro Boost Eye Gel-Cream: I use this cream in the morning after I cleanse my face. I love this product because it continuously hydrates skin around the eye area. It has Hyaluronic Acid which helps boost hydration and Olive Extract which protects skin from excessive moisture loss.
Aquaphor Healing Ointment: This here is my RIGHT HAND MAN! I use Aquaphor on my lips all day. It helps moisturize and soothes extremely dry skin throughout the whole day.
CeraVe Daily Moisturizing Lotion For Normal To Dry Skin: I use this moisturizer in the morning and the night. It's lightweight and great for keeping my face restored and hydrated because of the Hyaluronic acid and Ceramides.
Blink Tears: These eye drops help lubricate my dry eyes and provide instant relief. They help deliver moisture to my eyes whenever they feel dry and really are a lifesaver!
MyClarins RE-CHARGE Relaxing Sleep Mask: I use this sleep mask at night about 2-3 times a week. It's a rebalancing night cream and mask that recharges skin with all vegan ingredients, leaving your skin glowing by morning. It contains Fig and Betaine extracts that hydrate the skin which is extremely important in my routine.
Vaseline Intensive Care Cocoa Radiant Lotion: I use this in the morning and night to moisturize my body. This lotion is great for skin hydration. It contains pure cocoa butter to moisturize dry skin which promotes a natural glow and also contains microdroplets of Vaseline Jelly that lock in that moisture.
Vitamin E Oil: Vitamin E oil restores healthy, soft skin which is why I love to use this in my skin care routine. I use this all over any scarring I have from past pimples, on my lips if they are extra dry, and anywhere that needs added moisture.
Didn't see my first post? Catch up on my journey! Here's a link to the beginning
That's all for now, thanks for reading! Stay tuned for Month 2!