r/Accutane

I have had severe acne for over two years. I have been on countless medications and topicals, and I follow all of their instructions to a T. However my skin has shown little to no improvement over the years. My skin is constantly sore, red, in pain, and actively bleeding because of acne. It has destroyed my mental and emotional health to the point where I no longer have the confidence to socialize without pounds of makeup on my skin. When I went to the dermatologist for the first time, she immediately recommended accutane but my mom refused. My mom knows about my mental health struggles but she is afraid it might have severe side effects. I really want to use it even though I know the side effects are bad. I can’t take it anymore. How can I convince her?

hi! I’ve been on isotretinoin for 6 months now, and my face has been the driest it’s ever been (expectedly). Even after using a hydrating face mask before putting on makeup, it still crusts off later in the day, despite using liquid makeup as well. Huhuhu I still have very prominent scarring, so those are things I’d like to cover up. Does anyone have any recommendations on how to keep my makeup from at least crusting off? ty!

Hey guys! I was wondering if anyone has gotten japanese hair straightening right before taking accutane or a week after taking accutane. I'm planning to start taking 10mg dosage next week and have had japanese hair straightening about 2 years ago which did not damage my hair much but I heard on accutane it can make your hair go really dry and possibly fall out... Do you guys think I would be safe if I booked a hair appointment for sayyy this Sunday and then start taking my medication next Friday?

My hair is asian naturally straight/wavy but lots of frizz and thick (pretty strong) so I like to get hair straightening done to make it super silky but right now its like half frizz and half straight hence my desperation lol please lmk if you guys have any advice thanks so much!

I am on lowdose accutane, 30F.

Timeline:
2020 — 7months treatment went well, course ended after 7mos

October 2024 - June 2025— back on accutane because of perioral dermatitis. My dose was between 20mg and 10mg daily around Februray 2025 was on very low dose, only 3-4 times a week 10mg then June 2025 derm said I can get off accutane

August 2025- January 2026 — acne came back, so back on accutane and was on 10mg daily

February 2026-present — I asked my derm to increase my dose so I am on 20mg daily now.

Posting here to ask:

1. Have you have experienced losing a lot of weight from accutane? The people around me said I lost a lot of weight.

2. I know dryness is part of this journey but my 2020 accutane was a smooth experience for me whilst now is different because I just feel really ugly and dull. The purge isnt bad just acne here and there. I think my skin darkened that it makes me look different. Has anyone experienced the same?

3. Because of dryness, my hair is really hard to style. My work needs me to look put together. Any tips?

Thank you so much.

I’ve been struggling with my back acne for so long like around maybe four years, and only recently this year I started booking appointments for it. I’ve been to a dermatologist and they prescribed me isotretinoin pills, I started taking it only a couple weeks ago and I don’t really see a difference but I do know that you won’t see any difference until like after two to three months of consistently taking the pill, but I need results now so what I did was book a green sea peel for my back which is essentially non chemical micro needling for the skin to create a new skin and get rid of acne scars and so on, I’m on day three of post peel and my back is purging which is normal the lady told me while doing my peel but my only concern is that since I’m basically on accutane and I did the peel is my skin going to get fucked up? Will my acne get even worse?

girls pls 😭 I started Accutane a month ago and now my period has decided to pack its bags and disappear??? like hello??? where did she go???
And before anyone says it: NO I’m not pregnant, no I haven’t had sex, baby Jesus is not making a comeback 💀 I’m just genuinely terrified because my cycle is usually normal and now I’m overanalyzing every symptom like it’s a medical mystery episode.
Did Accutane mess with anyone else’s period?? Please tell me your experiences because Google has me planning my funeral at this point.

Hey , im now in my 4th , nearly 5th month on 20mg daily accutane . I’m feeling dizzy all the time since like 2-4 weeks . I’m also forgetting random words and i sometimes struggle to say a straight normal sentence .

Thx ur the answers

I (27F) have had treatment resistant moderate acne for at least 5 years, and I’ve essentially wasted my entire 20s because of it. I don’t go out, do things, date etc because it makes me feel so ugly (I know, therapy etc etc unfortunately, it’s unaffordable with my health insurance).

I just recently tried Yaz and while it made some positive difference, it didn’t touch the more stubborn acne on my chin and forehead. I got off it after 4 months because it was giving me bad anxiety and my sugar cravings were out of control (which exacerbates my acne!). My next step is Accutane. I tried Spironolactone in the past, but unfortunately, it made me so tired that I was sleeping 15+ hours a day, and it was beginning to impact my ability to go to work, exercise, etc.

Obviously, I’m terrified. All I’ve ever heard is that it’s a horrible drug that will ruin my life. I already have mild dry eye disease, which worries me, but I just don’t think I can handle having acne any more. I want to live! Go out! Date! Have fun!

Has anyone been in similar situations to me and have a positive accutane experience to share? Especially if you’re in your late 20s, or already had dry eyes slightly, or were also really afraid and feel positive about it now? None of my IRL friends have done it, so they don’t have experience (but they are super supportive!).

Any positivity or reassurance, really. I’m feeling pretty down about this, but hope there’s light at the end of the tunnel before my 28th birthday!

Im on 4th month of accutane taking 20 mg/day, and my skin is mostly clear now I just want to add azelaic acid on where I have closed comodones which I think will be hard for accutane to treat. Im planning on using it only twice a week and 20% because thats the only dosage they have in my pharmacy for pure azelaic acid. It might be too high of a dosage, but the ones with lower dosage are from brands i dont know or trust, so can I get reccomendations or should I stick to the 20% one?

(Was not sure how to tag this so apologies if it’s the wrong tag)

I’ve been on accurate since November 2025. I just finished my 6th month. My doses went as followed for each month 60mg, 60mg, 40mg, 40mg, 40mg, and 60mg. As well as 100mg Spironolactone the whole time.

Sadly, and also the reason I went down a dose for 3 months, my pancreas seems to not handle Accutane well. They are running some extra tests, but if it seems I have pancreatitis then I have to go off Accutane.

I think the original goal was 8 months? I was never really told a solid answer on that.

For the last 5 months of the 6, my skin has been clear. I’ve loved it.

I’m worried if I go off early that it’s not enough time. That it’ll all come back in a couple weeks.

My doctor did say we may have other options, so maybe my worrying is for nothing. There’s also a chance I may be fine and just need the lower dose again.

I guess I’m just looking to see if anyone also only did Accutane for 6 months and still had good long term results.

Thank you in advance!

Update:

Tests came back in normal range. I am going back to 40mg but that means I need to be on Accutane for another 6-8 months (12-14 months total). Which I kind of hate, because I hate having to take multiple pills a day. But obviously my pancreas health is more important so I’ll stick it out. Only good news is she said since my skin has been completely clear multiple months in a row, there’s a chance I could get off a bit earlier (4-5 months from now).

before accutane i would usually wash my hair daily and then use a sea salt spray to provide some texture. now with accutane, my hair is way too dry and brittle to do this. i am looking for alternatives but idk what. i would like something that adds texture to my hair to create a kind of messy look while also not being overly drying and thus causing damage. does anyone have any suggestions?

hey everyone,

Looking to hear from people who were on Accutane a long time ago and to hear about how their skin coped with side effects, and if they still get side effects.

3 years ago I was on accutane for about 9 months. My acne cleared up but my skin permanently became very dry on my face. That’s normal, I was never that oily. But it seems my skin texture has permanently changed, I am very dry on my face no matter what products I use. I am now someone who has to slather aquaphor on my mouth at night every night because my lips are forever dry too.

Some of the worse side effects of my accutane days have started to reappear now though. Last year and now again this year, I have been suffering with Angular Cheilitis (corner of my mouth sores/cracks by your mouth that open and look like you have some kind of infection - absolute worst thing to have). I only got this from Accutane, I never had it before I went on it, but now seems to be an annual visitor of my life every winter & spring. Now this week again nosebleeds, what I used to get almost daily on accutane.

Has anyone else suffered side effects repeating?

I’m going to go to the doctor and request some blood work as well.