I recently completed a 5 month Accutane treatment to clear up hormonal acne, hopefully for good! While I’m SO happy I went through with it, those side effects were INTENSE. Your skin gets really dry & flaky, your lips will peel like crazy, & the dandruff was annoying as heck. Thankfully it’s not all bad, the good side effects include GREAT hair (I could go 7 days without washing it and didn’t even need to use dry shampoo) and of course, clear skin ALL the time!!
Here are 6 products that I found were absolute lifesavers during my treatment period:
1. CeraVe Moisturizing Cream
Like I mentioned, one of the side effects of Accutane is super dry, flaky skin. For me, most of this dryness was concentrated around my mouth & chin area. CeraVe Moisturizing cream worked WONDERS to keep my skin looking soft & less like lizard skin. It’s also the cheapest of the moisturizers that I tried, which is great since you’ll probably be applying it at least 4x a day. This is dermatologist recommended & I’ll probably continue to use it post-treatment as it works just as well as the higher end moisturizers I tried, but for a fraction of the price!
2. Aquaphor Healing Ointment
When I first started my treatment, I was like “dry lips? No biggie, tinted lip balm to the rescue!” & BOY was I wrong. Literally I could not find any chapstick or lip balm that could keep my lips from drying out and peeling. Finally I caved & decided to give Aquaphor a try. It was the only thing I could find that truly moisturized my lips & worked for hours. Peeling lips no more!! I ended up keeping a tube of it in my purse so I always had it on hand.
I also used Aquaphor on the backs of my hands occasionally when they were really dry & hand cream alone just wasn’t cutting it. It is pretty greasy feeling, so I tried to only use it on my hands before bed so to not accidentally rub it off on other items around my house.
3. Aveeno Positively Radiant Skin Brightening Daily Scrub
I don’t typically use physical exfoliants, but with Accutane I felt that I needed a gentle physical exfoliant to really get the dry skin off every morning so my skin would look less flaky during the day. Thankfully, this Aveeno scrub did the job without drying my skin out completely. I used it every morning in the shower & immediately before putting on any makeup.
4. Nizoral A-D Anti-Dandruff Shampoo
Ok I literally NEVER had dandruff in my life until about a month into my treatment. Accutane will temporarily stop your scalp from producing as much oil as it usually does, causing dandruff and completely eliminating your need for dry shampoo. This is one of the best dandruff shampoos out there, so I started using it every other wash. It worked wonders!! GOODBYE, flaky scalp!!
5. Drunk Elephant Virgin Marula Antioxidant Face Oil
This was my go-to product for when I felt like moisturizing cream just wasn’t keeping my face from drying out as much as I’d like. I used this primarily around my mouth area (this was usually the driest part of my face) a couple nights a week. I’d recommend using it at night before your moisturizer, it does make your skin look oily so I’d avoid using it if you have to leave the house. But it really does help lock in that moisture!! A few drops goes a long way, I got the smallest size Sephora carried at the time & still have some left over.
6. O’KEEFFE’S Working Hands Hand Cream
During my treatment, I got awful eczema on the back of both of my hands. My doctor said this wasn’t a common side effect, but it does happen. I tried so many moisturizing hand creams and lotions & this Working Hands cream by O’KEEFFE’S truly was the holy grail of hand creams! It’s unscented so it won’t cause any additional irritation & completely healed the scaly lizard skin I was getting on my hands.
Honorable mention: SUNSCREEN
This one doesn’t get a ranking, it’s a no-brainer & you should already be doing it!!! Accutane makes your skin SO sensitive to the sun & much more prone to sunburn than usual. I’d recommend using the highest SPF you can find; I used a few different brands, each about 55 SPF. & you should absolutely be doing this every day even if you aren’t on Accutane. Protect that beautiful skin of yours!!
Here’s one that I loved: https://amzn.to/3g9upHZ
I hope this information helps if you’ve started or are thinking about starting an Accutane treatment. I know it seems scary at first but I’m honestly the most confident in my skin that I’ve ever been. Makeup is finally fun for me now that I’m not stressed out about breaking out constantly, I finally don’t have to carry concealer in my purse in case of surprise pimples, & it’s no longer the end of the world if I’m too tired to wash my face after a long night.
Have questions about this experience? Comment them below!!
**Disclaimer: this in no way constitutes medical advice. I am not a dermatologist, I am simply sharing my experiences. Any questions on medication, dosage, and risks should be directed towards your dermatologist.
