A quick update on week four of going on isotretinoin, colloquially known as Accutane. Good news is, of the somewhat notorious list of symptoms, mine remains only the constant dryness, and a mild blanket tiredness. No suicidal thoughts; the only muscle pain stems from me actually lifting weights, rather than caused by the medication.
The dryness is unavoidable: that’s how you know the medicine is working. As someone who is not fond of the feeling of chapstick on the lips, having to apply every two hours has been rather bothersome. Bad news is I have at least four more months of this before I can go back to having lips au naturel.
It’s not all bad though, the dryness. My oily face and scalp has decreased in sheen dramatically. It’s kind of emotional to now be able touch my face without needing to immediately wash my hands of the grease. My hair is no longer matted down with oil after only a few hours into the day. In fact, the follicles are so dry that I can wash my hair twice a week, instead of every other day.
The constant application of lip balm is so worth it for that.
As far as acne goes - the whole reason for going on Accutane, it hasn’t really subsided just yet. I think my face is still doing its purging of the bad stuff before the new healthy stuff can replace it. The pores on my nose still resembles a strawberry (they are suppose to shrink). At least my original acne isn’t so severe that I can afford to be patient with this.
Flower power.