But first, skin care

Hey I'm Katherine, follow along with me on my clear skin journey using Accutane to treat my acne. Weekly/monthly updates & personal tricks to getting rid of the annoying red demons that like to pop up on your face.  

[katherineturnerr-blog]

Mind ya Business

Something I’ve been getting a lot lately, especially after telling people I’m starting Accutane, is “oh but why? Your skin looks so clear!” First of all don’t speak to me. Yes, my skin does look the best is has ever looked in my life right now but something you can’t see is how disgusting my back looks as it has been breaking out daily the last few weeks. Acne is something that has always been a struggle through out the years for me and I have my good and bad skin days/weeks/months just like everyone else, but it always comes back full force in the end. So yes my skin looks good now but it might not tomorrow, in a couple days or weeks I’m doing this now so I don’t have to worry about it anymore and wondering how I’m going to feel and look next week about my skin.

[katherineturnerr-blog]

First Pill

Tonight I took my first pill, here’s some thoughts:

• I really hope my stomach is not affected by taking the pill

• Wow this pill is very bright and orange

• I wonder if the Cetaphill products will help as much as they were reccomended when my face dries out

• When is my face going to start getting dry?

• I really should have gotten my eyebrows waxed before starting because now I’m going to have a long time before I can get them done

[katherineturnerr-blog]

1 more week until my next dermatologist appointment and hopefully being able to take my first round of pills and all I can say is I am BEYOND ready to get this started.

[katherineturnerr-blog]

With a long list of potential side effects with taking Accutane so far (before taking any of the pills) I think I’m most worried about the joint pain, something I occasionally already get so I’m expecting more with taking the pills. Nose bleeds, oh god I cringed when I heard this and both my mom and I were thinking I’ll definitely be getting a few of those through the process. As someone who dealt with a ton of random nose bleeds through out my childhood I’m not grossed out or scared by blood at all, just annoyed because it really is so inconvenient & I’m crossing my fingers I don’t get one during school. I’m not sure I would necessarily say this is a side effect but the monthly urine tests to get the next round or pills worries me a bit because honestly I can’t pee under pressure. The moment I know I have to pee for some other reason than naturally having to go automatically makes me not have to pee ever again.

[katherineturnerr-blog]

Favorites

I want to share some of my favorite go to products that have helped me recently on my super oily, with a few stubborn dry patches, and acne sensitive skin. Over the years I’ve learned that face products are very confusing, not all the expensive stuff works the best and sometimes the cheap stuff really is just cheap. But here’s a few that work for me:

Really any tea tree oil is going to help clear up acne but it can dry your skin out so make sure you exfoliate and then moisturizer! Plain tea tree oil can also be used to heal acne scars and dark marks, it doesn’t smell the best but it gets the job done!

I find Clinique products to be really good quality products and still gentle on my sensitive skin. While they can get a little pricy I definitely think it’s a good brand to include in a skincare routine.

These are my all time most used yes to tomatoes products. Charcoal is another great choice when trying to get rid of acne because it draws toxins/bacteria out of your skin.

THE BEST THINGS EVER! I can not recommend these face sprays enough, while they don’t have a major contribution to getting rid of acne it’s just nice to have a fresh & light face spray to use through out the day. Depending on if I’m having a super oily/dry face day I use these spray to either set and hide the shine or add some moisture to my face. Individually these can cost from $7-$12 depending on what size you buy. I’m also going to be branching out into the rest of the Mario Badescu line because I have heard awesome things about people with acne using his products.

Finally I have the holy grail of acne fighting products. I know it seems a little weird to use something that is used to treat itchiness (like poison oak, bug bites, etc) but I stumbled across this little hack on an Instagram account and it seriously changed my life. This product applies as a lotion and dries out your zits (I’m not even kidding in a few hours I noticed changes) and reduces the swelling. It also helps with healing scars and reducing dark makes due to the zinc oxide that repairs damaged tissue.

[katherineturnerr-blog]

Day One: Process

Going into the dermatologist I had little to no expectations, before being referred there my usual Doctor made it very clear that my odds of actually being allowed onto to Accutane were very low due to side effects and possible risk of getting pregnant while taking the drug. As a 17 year old I know I did not look very trustworthy but as I had done every other treatment available for acne I ended up leaving there being a ‘potential Accutane candidate’. The only was to describe how I felt when the dermatologist came in, didn’t even look at my face or ask any questions because he was aware I have tried every option, and started talking about this treatment and the process I was flat out shook. I expected to be told I need to try one of the other options that I have already retried multiple times through out the years or just be told there is nothing that can be done. After I finally got it over my dermatologist explained the iPledge program which was essentially a contract to not get pregnant while during the treatment and I had to initial and sign two different forms stating that I was aware about everything, along with my mom signing a few things due to me being a minor. After that I was sent to the lab in order to get my blood drawn and then exactly in 30 days I will go back to the lab again to get a urine (yep this is going to be a glam journey lol) sample because 2 negative pregnancy tests are needed before I can even start the first round/month of pills. And once the whole process starts in Feb I will be required to go back and get another negative sample before being allowed to get the next month of pills, along with me meeting my dermatologist to check on how I am doing and if there is any problems. 

[katherineturnerr-blog]

Day One

First off I want to thank everyone taking the time to read this and follow me on my journey to achieving clear(ish) skin. Today I met with my dermatologist and after years of trying to get my nodular, and at time cystic, acne I was allowed to start the treatment Isotretinion (popularly known as Accutane). In the past I have tried many things to treat my acne including topical creams and face washes, retinoid and benzoyl peroxide, along with a series or oral antibiotics paired with birth control. All of those things have been tried numerous times for the last few years and had little effect on clearing up my skin. 2018 I really tried my best and putting in the time to care for my skin by trying new face masks, face wash, exfoliating & moisturizing daily, and even invested in new beauty tools and higher end quality make up. And still no change. Accutane was my very last hope because no matter how many people told me ‘you’ll grow out of it’ or ‘you just need to have a good skin routine’, nothing was helping to get rid of my biggest insecurity of the last 6+ years.