my accutane journey

start date 01/09/2018 20 years old// (she/her) // hi i’m carrie !! if you have any questions about accutane feel free to dm me :-)// accutane veteran

[myaccutaneupdates]

heyyyy everyone !!

so it’s been a veryyyy long time since I last updated this blog, but I have news aha. tomorrow I start my second course of accutane and I figured I would begin posting daily updates of my progress (again) !

most of you have been following me since my last course, and I just want to say thank you so much for your continued support:-)) it really helped last time and it’s so comforting to know that I am not alone through this !!

so, this is my skin today: July 30, 2020

it’s definitely uhhh, not the best, but much better than what I was working with the last time I did accutane lmaooo.

so yeah ! this is the beginning of another portion of my struggle with acne aha. hopefully this time my skin will stay clear and I won’t have to do a third round, but there are much worse things that could happen!! i’ll give specifics about my dosage, birth control, and products i’m using tomorrow once I get my prescription:-)) thank you all so much again for being here, and I apologize for abandoning you for several months:0

if you have any questions feel free to pm me or comment and I will try my best to answer ! (I work frequently so it might take a few hours:P )

alright, I am truly done now haha, so I hope whoever is reading this has a lovely day/afternoon/night/time ! bye !!<3

[myaccutaneupdates]

Hey!! what works for the majority of people after relapsing off accutane is birth control and Differin gel. Epiduo didn’t help my acne at all and made my skin very red and rashy. If it doesn’t work for you I would definitely ask your dermatologist about differin and birth control before a second round of accutane.

ooh thank you! it’s starting to clear my skin up but it also makes it feel like my face is burning off lmao. i’m hoping it stays clear haha but if not i’ll definitely talk to her about both of those!

[myaccutaneupdates]

02.10.20

hey guys, quick skin update. so as you can see my acne is coming back pretty badly (in my opinion). I went to my dermatologist today and she prescribed epiduo forte so i’m hoping that it will clear my skin up again, otherwise i’m looking at a second round of accutane. it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world but i’m about to start a new job and I really don’t want to go through the initial breakout again. if anyone has tried epiduo let me know if it worked for you!! thanks for reading :-)

[myaccutaneupdates]

How’s your skin doing??

it’s doing really well! I get a couple spots about once a month but they go away within two days of when they appear. so overall it’s stayed pretty consistent since stopped accutane!

[myaccutaneupdates]

8.25.19

hi all! recently i’ve been trying new spot treatments to maintain my clear skin, and oh my god have they worked. this one is amazing. so, i’ve seen a lot of youtubers and influencers use the mario badescu drying lotion but that stuff costs $14 for a super tiny bottle. it didn’t really seem worth it to me because i’ve seen a lot of people have mixed reviews. anyway, i decided to google the ingredients and found that i already owned the two main ingredients, so i made my own haha. i’m sure this has been done before so i don’t take credit for this idea!

here are the ingredients for the spot treatment and a summary of my current skincare routine:

ingredients:

-benzoyl peroxide acne treatment cream (i used the kroger/ralph’s brand)

-calamine lotion

steps:

-i wash my face with a bar of dove sensitive skin soap and then pat it dry

-i then moisturize my skin with the cetaphil moisturizing cream (it comes in a tub)

-after that i apply a pea-sized amount of the benzoyl peroxide cream to my finger and dab it onto any blemishes

-next i put some calamine lotion onto a q-tip and then dot that onto the aforementioned spots and any red areas (example in picture)

-i sleep with the spot treatment on overnight and rinse it off when i wake up

honestly this has done wonders for my skin haha, and i hope it helps someone else!

[myaccutaneupdates]

5.21.19

fuck guys, I really hoped i’d never have to make one of these posts again but I guess I was naive for thinking that my skin would stay perfect forever. ugh I want to scream, I know it’s not nearly as bad as it was but I feel so shitty right now. if any of you have advice i’d really appreciate it :(

[myaccutaneupdates]

this post is horribly organized, so sorry for that. i’m finally done with my accutane journey!! honestly looking back on this is so bittersweet, i never thought that my skin would look the way it does today. i’ve gained so much confidence and i feel like i can be myself. thank you all so so much for your endless support and kind messages. it really means a lot and is what kept me going these past several months. i know i’ve been VERY inactive, and i apologize for that. let me know if you have any suggestions for future posts, or if i should make a video about my journey? i’ll always be here if you need help, tips, or have any questions about accutane. is it too soon to say i love you? haha but really i love you all so much :-) you really make my days better. also happy valentine’s day! <3 that’s all for now, goodbye!!

TLDR: i’m done with accutane! after 9 long months i have the skin of my dreams! thank you all for your support! :-)

1.9.18-2.14.19

[dovekiss]

If you have a minute, donate a free Valentine’s Day card to a sick child, it’s completely free and will make somebody very happy 💕

[myaccutaneupdates]

hi, this isn’t accutane related, but i think it’s a great thing to share!! :-)

[myaccutaneupdates]

Your fringe is so cute you’re making me want to get one too! ( probably a bad idea)

aww thank you so much! i’m currently in the process of growing it out haha but i’d say if you want to, then go for it! hair grows back, and there are always ways to hide bangs if you don’t like them!

[myaccutaneupdates]

1.20.19

hey!! so i thought i’d post a one year transformation! the pictures on the left were all taken on january 20, 2018 and the ones on the right were taken today, january 20, 2019! it’s really bittersweet to look back and see how far my skin has come in just one year. honestly i never thought my skin could be this clear again but accutane really is a miracle drug. thank you all so much for following my accutane journey over the past year, it really means a lot. thanks for continuing to follow me even with my inconsistent updates. anyway, i hope you all are doing well!! bye for now xx.

[myaccutaneupdates]

omg i’m such a flop LMAO

i had every intention to post everyday but life kinda got in the way, i’ll be posting tonight though!

[myaccutaneupdates]

12.12.18

day 194: hey! i’m gonna try to post everyday from now on like i used to hehe, so i hope y’all are still here :-)

symptoms: back pain, suuuuuper dry skin and lips, uhhh that’s all i think?

[myaccutaneupdates]

12.11.18

day 193: hi guys! i totally forgot to post on this account for a while, oof. anyway, here are a few little updates: i got bangs to hide my huge forehead lmao, my skin is finally clear again, and i’m in cosmetology school! (i may have already mentioned the latter.)

symptoms: back pain, dry nose, eczema, dry skin, chapped lips

[myaccutaneupdates]

i’m really interested in starting accutane, because i’ve been struggling with severe stubborn acne for almost 7 years. however, my mom has ulcerative colitis, and when my dermatologist mentioned it when asking us about accutane, she immediately disregarded it as an option. my acne is staring to affect my daily life, and i don’t feel like i can continue living with it. do you think i should take it and try to convince my mom?

hi! sorry i’m just now getting to your ask; i think that if you are willing to take the risk then you should do it. accutane has many scary potential side effects, but they are pretty rare! if your derm is on board and your acne is starting to put a damper your life then i’d say go for it. i love what it has done for my skin and i never thought my skin could be as clear as it is now six months ago. if your mom is really apprehensive about you taking it, i’d suggest talking with your dermatologist about the concerns just to make sure you are all on the same page. sorry that this is fairly long lol, but i hope it helped!!

[myaccutaneupdates]

10.30.18

day 152: i FINALLY started month 6 yesterday and i’m soooo happy!! so the plan is to do three more months of accutane and then hopefully my skin will stay clear lmao. i definitely have had a few flare ups but that’s okay, it’s just skin after all. also, sorry for kind of forgetting about this account for like two months skskskksks i promise i planned to post again i just never got around to it. okayyyyy long caption but i hope everyone is doing amazing and you all have the clear skin that you’ve always dreamed of!!! that’s all, see ya tomorrow :-)

[myaccutaneupdates]

i’ve had a lot of doctors appointments lately

and every time i mention that i’m on accutane they say “wHy aRe YoU oN aCcUtAnE??? yOuR sKiN iS clEaR” like yes that’s what it does lmao

[myaccutaneupdates]

8.23.18

can we just appreciate that this is my bare skin in natural lighting now wow like there’s not even a filter i’m shook, accutane did that