Skin Update: Six Weeks on Isotretinoin
I have been posting about skincare and my skin for years online, both on the original version of this blog and my Instagram, and the biggest changes have all taken place since 2020 when I came off the Pill.
Skincare has always been a hugely important part of my every day life, not just for anti-aging and benefits of healthy skin, but to help keep my skin overall in balance. I have always had wide ranging skin allergies that make my skin more sensitive than most as it is much easier to sensitise, I struggled with acne in high school before going on the Pill, and along with the occasional eczema breakout, I started experiencing dermatitis on my face especially when stress is high and my mental health is poor. It can be a real balancing act.
When I came off the Pill it looked like my skin was holding out pretty well, it was and still has remained more of a normal to combination skin type as it finally matured out of the oily skin phase I saw from last high school through until my early twenties. But after a few months the random pimples turned into constant pimples, then pimples and bumps all over my face. Even a few really harsh, sore cystic pimples that were a nightmare to manage but I eventually improved my skin health enough to avoid.
Earlier this year I started seeing a facialist every few months to try and get some extra professional help get on top of these constant breakouts, and I was starting to see a big difference. But after a different skin issue came up on my body I finally went to a dermatologist who also checked out what was going on with my face and ended up prescribing me Isotretinoin, also known as Roaccutane, Oratane, or Accutane depending on where you live in.
I had been hesitant to start using this medication, in high school I took Doxycycline for 2 years to try to manage my acne before going on the Pill and up until two years ago I still burnt like I only stopped taking the medication yesterday after ten minutes in the sun. And Isotretinoin is known for this same side effect while on the medication, along with a whole host of other crazy side effects. Once given more context around the medication and how I would be working with my new Dermatologist to ensure I was taking the right and safe dosage for me, and the fact that it has a 90% chance of curing acne for good I was sold.
So here we are, a six weeks in. Everyone says it will get worse before it gets better, that your skin will dry out, and become more sensitive and oh boy were they right. My lips have never been drier or harder to keep hydrated. My skin gets dry so quickly I have had to reapply both my moisturiser and moisturising sunscreen multiple times a day on top of my normal routines. There was a two week period around weeks two to three where my scalp has never felt more awful, just itchy and oily all the time, even within ten minutes of leaving the shower after washing my hair. And the pimples have come in far faster than normal, and not just small bumps, always to full white heads.
Another element that has been quite hard for me is breaking my habit of picking pimples, quite important as Isotretinoin makes your skin heal slower and with the worsening effect in the beginning you are putting yourself at a much higher chance of gaining more acne scarring and pigmentation. I did well for the first week or so, but by week three I have definitely not been able to hold off completely. Will have to keep working on this.
The dry skin in particular has been a whole body experience which is only aggravated by dry winter days. I am making a really concerted effort to keep on top of maintaining my hydration both internally and externally to help relieve some of the dry but it is a bit of an uphill battle. If I drink slightly less water one day, or don’t moisturise my hands overnight I immediately notice a difference that sometimes takes a few days to improve. And around the 5-6 week mark, I have started experiencing patches of eczema randomly over my arms and hands.
A huge plus so far is that from about Week 4 my skin has become insanely smooth where ever I am not currently experiencing pimples or eczema. After I came off the Pill a lot of the skin on my neck and around my upper chest became visibly textured, but all of this texture has disappeared. You can still see where the texture used to be, but now my skin the smoothest it has ever been.
I am definitely feeling ready to see what improvements lie ahead and whether this is the end of the “it gets worse before it gets better” stage. I know the dryness is not going to end any time soon, so I am still loading on serum and moisturiser to try to stay ahead of the dry as much as I possibly can.
I have been taking weekly pictures and video to document the changes as they happen and have put the photos from each week so far below. You can also see more of these changes in my latest Reel and TikTok.
