products when taking roaccutane

[justjuanmorebeer]

I have just started taking this drug.
Can anyone tell me what skin products they got on well with during treatment please.

Everything I already have is for oily and acne skin so will obviously need things less drying.

Day 5 and the skin on my body is going quite dry now. Face still greasy though.
I have three new painful cyst spots forming on my face which is nice.

The worst thing is I have had a horrendous headache since yesterday morning that will not budge. Wondering if it is the medication.

I had a particularly nasty headache around day 5 too justjuan, thankfully haven't had one since. Fingers crossed it passes soon for you.

Went for my blood test this morning ready for my first review on Tuesday. Really hoping the results come back ok so they can put me on the full dose.

Had another couple of cysts pop up and disappear within the space of about 36 hours. Also had a lovely comment from my mum this morning saying how much better my skin is looking.

I'm on day 11 I think today. I look bloody awful. Skin is awful, hard masses around jaw, proper white headed evil things all around and in between eyebrows. Pea sized spots all over cheeks. But the worst thing is how raw and uncomfortable it all feels and kind of itchy. If anything my body skin is very slightly drier but my face is oily. I was shiny and concealer was sliding off the horrid spots by noon. I feel sore and crap and overwhelmed today. (Need to add that ds has gone abroad with school for a week and Dd is really poorly to add that I may be overreacting a bit! Still hurts tho!!)

Justjuan do you feel they're developing more aggressively. I feel my acne has really ramped up a notch.

Sorry you're having a crap skin day Neena .

It's definitely kicked my acne up a gear, I've more spots at the moment than I've had for a long time. I've even had cysts appear on my shoulders/back which I haven't had for years. It's not easy but I'm trying to look at it as a positive. At least it's showing the drug is working and rather than just slowly dying down only to reoccur in a few weeks time, the spots are actually being dealt with properly now.

I'm treating myself to a trawl around the beauty counters tomorrow. Hoping to get some samples of skin care to try out and definitely need to find a new foundation as my old one is starting to stick to dry flaky bits.

Thank you Lthewife...needed a rant I think.

I think the focus re skincare would need to be very moisturising but not oily if you have oily skin normally. I know clinique do a moisture surge range that I've used before and liked. It feels quite wet but works well. It's quite hard to gauge what's a good idea isn't it. Hope you have some success with getting samples. I've often found it quite hard despite explaining that I have acne and don't want to aggravate it. Have always been shunted straight over to oily skin products that were too drying. Claines are often generous with samples tho when I've really managed to collar someone for an in depth chat.

I used e45 and Vaseline. The skin was so dry it split and cracked all over, horrid. Lips were too dry for even Vaseline, used to have to use an emoilent first. Even if yours is this bad and I hope it's not, it is so worth it, honestly.

These days I have only very occasional spots and swear by la roche posay effaclar. Obviously I hadn't heard of this as a teen but I bet their range for very dry skin would be fab for when taking roaccutane.

Just to say I used Cetaphil while I was on roaccutane and it was great. The cleanser is non-foaming and really gentle and the moisturiser (I had a massive tub and used it as body moisturiser too) is lovely and creamy and sinks in to dry skin well. Took me a while to get my head round having dry skin after so long being oily!

Also loved Aquaphor lip stuff from Eucerin, it was the only thing heavy duty enough to keep my lips soft and stop the cracking.

Yes the acne is sore. I have a massive cyst since this morning on my right shoulder. I don't usually get spots there so that is definitely unusual. Apart from the extra spots coming there is no change. Def no improvement yet.

Went out for pizza and beer. My beer made me feel sick. Not good.

Justjuan how's the shoulder today? Hope it's eased a little?

I think the skin between the spots I have is starting to look a little smoother. Possible or just blind hope?!

I've just ordered some cetaphil moisturiser in the large size. Where did you buy it? Local chemist has very small ones and can't find it in boots etc.

Hmm... Boots online stock Cetaphil, maybe you could order it in to a store near you? Or else Amazon sell it too:

www.amazon.co.uk/Cetaphil-Gentle-Skin-Cleanser-250ml/dp/B0014CQ90I

It is really good and I still use it now post-roaccutane

It sucks that the beer made you feel sick Justjuan. Hopefully it's just because it's early days yet and your body hasn't had a chance to adjust to the chemical assault that is Roac. Fingers crossed.

Thank you for the beauty counter advice Neena. My sampling trip wasn't quite as successful as I'd hoped unfortunately. I went in asking for recommendations for dry, sensitive skin that won't cause breakouts and explained that because I've started taking Roac I need to completely overhaul my skincare regime. Most counters just wanted to sell me their latest and greatest product even if it wasn't suited to my skin.

Clinique was great at recommending the right products (mainly moisture surge), looking up ingredients, letting me try testers for sensitivity etc but don't offer samples. Not as pushy as the other counters either which was great. Completely understood that I had "difficult" skin so needed to patch test before buying.

But as predicted by Neena, Clarins were amazing. Really took their time to listen, asked lots of questions and let me try as many of the testers as needed to make sure they didn't sting. They then gave me handfuls of samples to take home and try with instructions to come back for more if they weren't working for me.

I came home with a bottle of the Clinique moisture surge facial spray, I think it will be great for topping up my moisture levels midday as you can spray it on over make up. Definitely needed as by mid afternoon my skin is starting to feel tight and uncomfortable and I can't wait to get home, take off my make up and slather on more moisturiser.

DH flew out to Shanghai again yesterday and woke me up to facetime me this morning. I've always hated facetime, I get so distracted by the small frame of my face looking greasy, spotty and just generally awful. Well, I honestly thought something was wrong with my eyes this morning. You know those girls (and they're almost always girls in their late teens) who have gorgeously soft, delicate looking, doll like skin that looks like it's in soft focus and just glows? In that tiny facetime frame my skin was glowing just like that! I've not a single lump, bump, cyst or spot anywhere on my face today. Of course I still have plenty of hyperpigmentation, scarring and a fair few raw patches from cysts that split just before starting the roac but at the moment I couldn't care less. Another week of this kind of progress and I'd be happy to go out wearing just a bit of concealer. If this is what roaccutane does to my skin I never want to stop taking it.

How are you both getting on Justjuan, Neena?

I think I spoke too soon. I've had a major breakout over my cheeks and chin the last couple of days and look bloody awful again. Not been this spotty since my teens.

Had my first accutane check up today. Very quick, in and out appointment. Just asked if my mood was ok, if I was suffering any side effects and how I was coping with any dryness. Unfortunately my cholesterol has gone up to 6. They're not too worried at this stage as they've carried on treating patients with a cholesterol level of 7. So they have gone ahead and increased my dose to 55mg a day with a warning that if cholesterol levels keep going up they'll have to drop my dose back down again (and I'm to call them if anything out of the ordinary happens in the meantime). Does mean I'll need another blood test next month which I wouldn't have needed if cholesterol was ok.

TMI alert. I thought going back on the pill/maybe the Roaccutane had given me thrush. Nope, it was just extreme Roaccutane dryness causing major itching and the skin of my vulva to peel off in sheets. They don't warn you about that one!

Day 9. Side effects are kicking my arse :(

Don't really know what to say.

Sore skin, been kissing dp then face raw :(

Can't have a drink as makes me feel sick and instant headache. Feeling quite foggy too.

No improvement on skin. Still a greaseball and having to wash hair every day.

Sorry to hear that Justjuan. What are you using skincare wise now?

Still using my avene wash at the sink and a wash called sebamed that I got the other day in the shower (found cheap in town t'other day, said it was moisturising, thought would give it a go. only used once so far)

Moisturiser have used my vichy one (can't recall name the acne one white tube with lime green) that have been using for ages, it just stung like a bitch still tingling.

on lips using burts bees and carmex, not noticing much worse lips than usual as have dry ones anyway.

Moisturiser wise I'm not familiar with Vichy, but looking on their website they seem to have two Normaderm acne moisturisers. One in a squeezy tube (total mat) which they say is new and another that they say is a best seller in a pump bottle (hydrating care). If it's the latter I'm not surprised your poor skin is so sore. It contains salicylic acid, glycolic acid and LHA, all chemical exfoliants that shouldn't be used whilst on roaccutane. They don't list the ingredients in the total mat version but it wouldn't surprise me if it contains similar.

If you can get to a large boots store tomorrow try and get some La Roche Posay Cicaplast (skin recovery accelerator rather than baume B5 preferably). It's recommended for use after cosmetic peels so is very gentle and full of ingredients that help sooth and heal damaged skin. If you can't get it locally I'd strongly suggest ordering it online asap (escentual have 1/3rd off La Roche Posay at the moment). Also pick up the most gentle moisturiser you can find to keep your skin moisturised without aggravating it further, maybe something like cetaphil.

Having said that, if the Vichy moisturiser does contain chemical exfoliants and your skin is looking/feeling raw I think I would be tempted to call your dermatology dept and ask their advice. It might be the case you need something more medicinal. I'm sure they won't mind, my roaccutane nurse gave me her phone number incase I had any problems or needed advice.

Apart from using lots of lipbalm (I used the small tin vaseline ones) I don't have any product tips sorry but just wanted to say how good I found Roaccutane. I was put on it when I was around 12yo as I had ridiculously bad skin both on my face and back/shoulders and it cleared up almost instantly as soon as I started taking it. I only had to take it for one round of treatment and haven't been back on it (or anything else) since. I do get the occasional spot still now (I'm 22 now) and I've got some bits of scarring that I have had to learn how to cover up with a good concealer but the difference just from that one round has been amazing!

Just as a bit of encouragement justjuan, I didn't start seeing improvements on roaccutane until about 3 weeks to a month - and it did get slightly worse before it got better. Didn't get the clean hair side effect until at least a couple of months in! It will improve though so keep hope. And try not to irritate your skin with strong acne products even though you still have spots, use gentle cleansers and moisturisers and it will all heal. Plus it must be painful if you're drying it out with products in addition to the roaccutane?!

I didn't think about the other ingredients in the moisturiser! Shit you are right, it's the normaderm. I just thought it would be ok.

Explains why my face is beetroot red today ooops. Right off to look for that LRP one as my effarclar one prob has bad stuff in it too. Roll on payday.

Sounds very sore Justjuan, hopefully it's easily solved.

Was anyone else warned about mixing different brands of tablets? Picked up my second lot today, a mix of 10mg and 5mg tablets but the pharmacist has given me three different generic brands. Called the nurse as it's something she warned me about at my first appointment (didn't say why I shouldn't mix brands though) and I can't say I'm very reassured by her response. She basically said she'd spoken to the derm who said if the pharmacist was happy to give me the mix of brands then I should go ahead and take them, but if there are any adverse effects the buck stops with the pharmacist not the Derm. Not sure what to make of that!

Ha not the most reassuring advice L! However pharmacists are very knowledgable and I would trust their judgement - as it sounds like your derm is doing

How's everyone getting on? L did you sort the tablets, have they been ok? Juan hope you've improved too, sounded really sore?

I think I'm starting to see the vaguest start of an improvement!! Lots of the purge type spots have left some big enlarged craters and a lot of redness but I don't have any new spots and haven't for a day or so. I feel pretty crap on the tablets but the improvement, if it continues, is starting to feel worth it.

Glad you're starting to see an improvement Neena.

I sought a second opinion from another pharmacist in the end but they refused to take responsibility for saying they were safe also. Having spoken to two pharmacists, the roac nurse and having the dermatologists opinion I'm going to go ahead and cautiously take them. I figure that although none of them have implicitly said they're safe they all have something of a duty of care so would have spoken up if they knew it to be unsafe.

I haven't had any new spots for almost a week now which is great. Skin is getting really quite dry now though which seems to be having a negative effect on healing of the purge spots. Ordered some Cicaplast to assist with healing which should arrive tomorrow and using Origins Drink Up Intensive mask as night to help with the dryness. Skin is feeling quite rough to the touch at the moment. Thought it was dry skin to start with but on closer examination it appears to be dried out blackheads being slowly pushed out. Yuck. On the plus side my scalp seems to be drying out and I can now go two days between hair washes.

Three more days to go on the 30mg dose then I go up to 55mg. I've read that some people go through a second purge when their dosage is increased. Really hoping to avoid that as my skin still looks such a mess from the first one!