Extremely dry skin recommendations (Accutane skincare routine)

[jjwhite]

Any recommendations out there for moisturisers/skincare products for extremely dry, sensitive skin?

I've just started taking Accutane (oral isotretinoin) for acne which makes your skin extremely dry and sensitive. It also makes your lips peel like crazy and your face flush red. I haven't started getting these side effects yet, but I'm bracing myself for them and starting to adapt my skincare routine in anticipation.

Any suggestions on products/routines etc?

At the moment I'm thinking:
-wash face once a day in the evening (I currently use Elemis tri-enzyme cleanser)
-avoid hot baths/long showers
-moisturise immediately after washing (currently: Eucerin dry skin face moisturiser)
-lip balm (Carmex, Nuxe, Burts Bees on rotation)

I sometimes use Clinique moisture surge spray as a kind of hydrating toner before applying makeup in the morning - concealer seems to stick better to that than bare skin.

My basic mission is to keep my skin as moisturised as possible so that I can still wear makeup without it peeling off/looking horrid.

Any thoughts/recommendations/experiences appreciated :-)

Out of interest JoanDarc have you experienced any of the other side effects? What dose are you on?

Hi all,
Just wanted to say this medication was a life changer for me 6/7 years ago & wanted to wish everyone luck on it :)
The only thing that worked for the very sore dry lips was blistex intensive moisturiser (it has spf) i still use it too. I also had a sore dry nose and ended up with a little infection i think, used naseptin which helped ease that.
I'm sure there were other things but over time i have forgotten. I haven't had spots until recently and that;s only due to pregnancy!!

hope everyone has an easy time with it

Thanks everyone :-) It has been so encouraging hearing from people who've been on accutane and had such positive experiences!

Peoniepink that's so encouraging to hear!

I know this is a bit of a old thread now, but going into my 8th week of treatment and am suffering with really really dry skin on my eyes (eyelids and under eye).
Nothing has touched it so far
I have to be really careful as my eyes are very sensitive.
Any recommendations?
On the plus side, my skin is definitely starting to improve so all worth it.

Hi 2012860363 - have you tried dabbing a little bit of Vaseline on your eyelids and under? I can't see it causing any acne problems in those areas. I took Roaccutane a few years ago and it was life-changing. Good luck!

Hi, I'm using roaccutane at the moment too. It's my second course and I had terribly bad flaky and sore skin on my eyelids first time round and it is just restarting. I used Elizabeth Arden 8 hours cream across my lids overnight which really helped. I found this was the only thing that really helped my lips too.
I've been ok with side effects this time despite being on a slightly higher dose but had a terrible cold two weeks ago which has prompted lots of skin flaking. Not sure how to clear it up as it didn't happen before so if anyone has any suggestions...

Thank you both so much for replying.
I hadn't even thought of Vaseline! Will try that tonight and going to order the Elizabeth Arden cream now.
I so so hope this is the end of years of acne. More than happy to put up with the side effects if it works it's magic long term

Just wanted to say that my dermatologist now says she gets good results with longer courses of smaller doses rather than short courses at maximum dose (max dose is 1mg/kg) so might be worth asking about doing it this way if the side effects aren't manageable on the bigger doses. Good luck!

Hey, OP. I speak to you from the other side of the Roaccutane journey - and it's spot free and fabulous. Try Cetaphil cleanser and moisturiser. Really cheap, super gentle and Jennifer Anniston uses it (for what it's worth) Aquaphor is the best for lips. Get it on Amazon. When they are terrible and cut and bleeding, try Dr Dan Cortibalm. Get it on Ebay. It has cortisone in it. It tastes awful so put it on at night and you will be pleasantly surprised when you wake. Good luck.

I might be too late to this thread but I'm a convert to dermalogica.
I haven't used your medication but did chemotherapy which made my skin so dry i could brush "sand" off my face each morning until I used this one.
Each treatment the Drs and nurses would ask what I was doing to keep my skin so good. It's lasted over 6 months and still seems to have lots left!
The body stuff smells yuck but it does work.

DS had Roaccutane treatment and used a moisturiser called Amlactin. It did not smell good but it was effective. I got some for myself on his recommendation as I have dry skin, especially in central heating season, and it has been great on my legs and arms.

He used a fairly cheap branded body wash that promised to be moisturising and had no complaints.

I have used Philosophy Hope in a Jar around my eyes with no ill effects and plenty of good ones - to the poster who had concerns about the skin around the eyes. I never used it on my eyelids however.

He used Carmex for lips and used vaseline for inside his nostrils.

He drank gallons of water daily..

I know this is an old thread but any advice/thoughts would be welcome.

My 15 year old son started Roccutane last week (just 1 pill a day so far) after finishing his GCSE's. Today his face is bright red - his skin looks much worse than before he started. Is this normal? He has not been out in the sun - we have just gone for walks in the evening this week. He uses Dermol as a moisturiser - I tell him to use it 4 times + a day - he is using it I'm just not sure how much.

He was on Lymecycline before this and it did clear up the cystic lumps but his skin was still irritated and oozy so the derm suggested this. We are going to stick with it - but the derm (NHS) was so rushed we didn't get much info. I know it can look worse before it starts getting better just wondering if the redness is okay? Any tips for a better moisturiser (we have cetraben and cetaphil in the house and vaseline etc)