Beauty Tips For Body Care
I just want to start this off by saying that cohesive writing isn't my forte (neither is English), so I hope you'll understand what I write.I started Accutane on January 29th, 2015 and ended on June 27th, 2015.Background:I'm a 20 year-old male, about 70 kgs, and 180cm tall.My acne became very persistent and annoying when I turned 18. My problem areas were always my cheeks. I'd get the occasional pimple on my T-zone, but it was never too bad.March-May 2014:The acne.org regimen. The benzoyl peroxide gel worked wonders. My acne was beginning to subside significantly and I was loving the results.May 12th, 2014:I went to bed the night before with my usual routine (cleanse, BP gel, moisturize) and woke up the day after with my face looking like a goddamn tomato. It was incredibly red and really, really itchy. I immediately booked an appointment with a dermatologist (first time going to a dermatologist, by the way) and he put me on an anti-inflammatory gel and a round of antibiotics because, apparently, it was an infection of some sorts. The redness cleared up within a week and my face was looking really good, but I couldn't use the BP gel anymore.September, 2014:My acne began coming back and it was pretty harsh. Worst than it had ever been.October 14th, 2014:Finally got an appointment with a pretty good dermatologist around my area. He put me on Retin-A for 2 months. The Retin-A wasn't helping at all. I feel like it just sat on my face, not doing anything.December 17th, 2014:A video about Accutane was recommended to me on YouTube and I watched it because the thumbnail was a before&after picture and it looked pretty fantastic. I fell into a hole of watching/reading everything I could find about this drug, determined that it was the thing that will take care of my situation, and booked an appointment with the same dermatologist from October.January 23rd, 2015:Appointment day. I went into my dermatologist's office, sat down and told him that I want Accutane. He immediately agreed (thankfully) and I did my first blood work that day and received my first set of pills on January 29th.PRODUCTS USED ON ACCUTANE:CeraVe Hydrating Cleanser for Normal to Dry skin. (Started using it with Accutane because I've read good things about it with Accutane users. I've never had a cleanser leave my face feeling moisturized instead of dry and tight. I really like this cleanser and will continue using it post-acctuane.)Rosehip Oil. (The reason I started using Rosehip oil as my daily moisturizer was because I read a lot about it helping with acne scars and PIH. I've been using it for about 2 months now and I am very happy with it.)Cetaphil DailyAdvance Ultra Hydrating Lotion For Dry, Sensitive Skin. (Great face moisturizer. I began using it the day I started Accutane and I didn't have any problems with it. I used it for the first 4 and a half months of my course.Cetaphil Dermacontrol Moisturizer with SPF 30. (Was a newbie to sunscreens at the time, but I liked this a lot.)Jergens Ultra Healing Moisturizer. (I’ve been using this as my daily body moisturizer for years and it’s pretty great. I thought that I’d need a thicker one when I go on Accutane, but I didn’t have any problems with it. The smell isn’t really unpleasant and it goes away 15 minutes after I apply it when I’m done showering.Normal Aquaphor for my lips. (Seemed to get a lot of love on this subreddit. Liked it a lot until I discovered Lanolin.)Lansinoh Lanolin for my lips. (The best thing I have ever put on my lips. Lasts much longer than Aquaphor. Leaves a shinier finish than Aquaphor, but it's very manageable with some tissues.)Head & Shoulders Dry Scalp Care Dandruff Conditioner with Almond Oil. (My hair began thinning a bit and shedding towards the end of the 3rd month. I researched it a bit online and came to the conclusion that Shampoo isn't the best thing to use on Accutane because most Shampoos dry out my hair and that's not something anyone wants to do while on Accutane. I began using conditioner only and I haven't shampooed my hair in about 2 months, which may sound gross but my hair isn't smelly/oily at all. I like the conditioner. I leave it in my hair in the shower while I clean the rest of my body and then rinse it off.)Systane Gel Drops, Anytime Protection. (These are the best eye drops I have ever used. They provide outstanding moisture. My eyes were horrible towards the third month and these were the only eye drops that worked.)Fish oil capsules. (I bought these before going on Accutane because I heard that they’ll help with joint pain and I’m pretty sure they did because I experienced no joint pain during my course.)Triamcinolone Acetonide Cream USP, 0.1% (RX Only). (I was prescribed this by my dermatologist before I began Accutane because I had a few dry, red, irritated patched on my hands and wrists. My dermatologist told me to use this during Accutane too because it’ll help with the dry patches.)Side effects during the entire course:Dry lips.Dry eyes.Dry, red patches (eczema?) on wrists and arms.Minor hair shedding.Month 1Dosage: 60mg/day.Routine:AM:CeraVe Hydrating Cleanser for Normal to Dry skin.Cetaphil Dermacontrol Moisturizer with SPF 30.Aquaphor for my lips.PM:CeraVe Hydrating Cleanser for Normal to Dry skin.Cetaphil Dailyadvance Ultra Hydrating Lotion For Dry Sensitive Skin.Aquaphor for my lips.The first month was kinda normal. I had Aquaphor on my lips 24/7 and I actually thought that my lips were not suffering from dryness at all. That idea was shot down when week 3 hit. It seemed as though my lips became asphalt-like overnight, but all I could do was keep applying Aquaphor. Some dry patches on my hands, but it was all dealt with using the Triamcinolone Acetonide Cream.Month 2:Dosage: 80mg/day.Routine:Same routine.I was kinda hoping that I was going to be one of the few who go through Accutane without an 'initial breakout,' but it seems as though the initial breakout decided to take place on my forehead. As I mentioned before, my T-zone was always relatively clear, but my forehead began getting new breakouts towards week 2 of my 2nd month. My forehead looked the worst it had ever looked and I was not amused, but I knew that it'll all clear up towards the end.Month 3:Dosage: 120mg/day.Routine:Replaced Aquaphor with Lansinoh Lanolin. Everything else was the same.Month 3 was pretty bland. My forehead was doing a bit better than it had been during month 2, but it still looked bad. My cheeks, on the other hand, were looking a lot better. I went from getting a new breakout everyday to getting a new one every 3-4 days.Month 4:Dosage: 120mg/day.Routine:Same routine.My forehead began clearing up at an amazing rate towards week 2 of month 4. Towards the end of month 4, my entire face was looking really good. All of my acne cleared up and all I was left to deal with was the scarring.Month 5:Dosage: 120mg/day.Routine:AM:CeraVe Hydrating Cleanser for Normal to Dry skin.Certified Organic Rosehip Oil.Biore UV Aqua Rich Watery Essence Sunscreen SPF50+ PA++++.PM:CeraVe Hydrating Cleanser for Normal to Dry skin.Certified Organic Rosehip Oil.Month 5 was completely breakout-free! When I went into my appointment for the beginning of month 5 , my dermatologist told me that if I go an entire month with no breakouts, that'd be it. I'd be done with Accutane, and that's exactly what happened. Month 5 was pretty easy. My face was the clearest it had been in YEARS and I was extremely happy with the results.Here are the photos:This is how my face looked like in May, 2014 after I dealt with the incident that happened from the Benzoyl Peroxide gel. My acne was basically non-existent and all I had were some acne scars.This is how my face looked around December, 2014. My acne was at its worse at the time.This is how my face looked during the third month of Accutane.This is how my face looked during the last 3 days of my course (around June 25th)This is how my face looks like today (July 30th, 2015)TL;DR: My course was very difficult, but taking Accutane was one of the best decisions I have ever made.Feel free to ask me anything.1 month post-Accutane update:I'm writing this on July 30th, 2015. I haven't had a single breakout since the end of my course. My lips aren't 100% normal yet, but they're much better than they were on Accutane.
Girls Blog 2015
Submitted by MisterPhalange
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