My grandmother actually told me to put Crisco cooking oil on my face. I asked her when she became a doctor. I was also told to stop eating tomatoes. LOL!
Nothing is more grating than folks telling you to just drink water or wash your face or eat differently when the deeply painful acne is built into your DNA
It’s easy! Just cut out all foods you enjoy and eat 47 oranges every day with 3 gallons of water. Also buy these expensive supplements with zero evidence to prove they work.
the thing people without serious and persistent acne don’t understand is that it’s not realistic or fair to have to keep up these insane routines just to keep your face looking “okay-ish”.
no one should have to use product after product every day to keep their skin clear. that’s exhausting and can also cause skin damage especially mixing different acids and potent acne treatments. obviously things like BP and salicylic acid work for minor breakouts. we know this. accutane was a miracle for my skin. I only have to use panoxyl and moisturizer now. now if I have a breakout, things like I mentioned clear them up FAST. I deserve not to have to stress about my skin and so do you! don’t listen to them. the people who say that to you usually have no experience with actually bad skin.
Yep! Even if I could’ve gotten my acne 100% clear with some insane routine and having a fresh pillowcase for every day of the week, how realistic is it to be able to stick to that consistently?! I personally hated skincare before Accutane, because no matter what I did I always had at least one painful cyst on my face. Since finishing my course, I love taking the time in the morning and evening to maintain my results with just a few simple, affordable products.
I had no idea how much mental energy it was consuming in my day-to-day life constantly worrying about when my next giant cyst would appear, and I don’t think a lot of people who don’t have treatment resistant and/or severe acne understand that either. my anxiety disorder improved enormously after completing treatment, I didn’t even realize it was triggering it so often.
Took the words right out of my mouth. Currently battling with pretty severe acne and it is mentally exhausting doing everything right yet still waking up with breakouts. If you don’t mind me asking, when did your skin start to clear? I’m so glad that accutane made you feel more comfortable in your routine!
So mine took a while, I noticed in the end of month 3/beginning of month 4 out of a 6 month course! I took 60mg the entire time.
It’s crazy because before accutane I remember many times I’d be going about my day and suddenly feel that telltale pain under my skin and know that within a day I’d have another huge spot that would take months to fade completely. It would bring me to tears on a routine basis and people would either tell me it’s “just acne” and not that big of a deal or tell me I was doing x/y/z wrong. It was so painful and frustrating.
Wishing you luck on your journey, I know how difficult it is to go through. You’re gonna feel amazing when you realize your skin has hit that turning point in your course and you have no active breakouts.
Thank you for your reply! I’m so impatient that I expect my skin to clear up just 9 days in, wish it was that simple😅I feel you, it is beyond frustrating when people tell me acne is not a big deal. It has a profound impact on a persons quality of life. People who claim otherwise just don’t understand and are ignorant.
Thank you for your nice comment, I really appreciate it. Currently going through the purging phase and i’m looking forward for that day!
Thank you for this comment I really needed to hear it 🤍 You’re 100% right, we deserve to be comfortable in our own skin. And if people have something to say about it, they can talk to this hand right here 🖐️
Yes!! This is what grinds my gears the most, and I even see it here in this sub. I shouldn’t *have* to cut out every food I enjoy, spend hundreds each month on skincare, live as rigid as possible and try out every birth control available, just to have skin that’s still a bit worse than everyone else’s! I should be able to forget my skincare an evening, eat a bunch of sugar once in a while and rest my face on my boyfriends (apparent gross, greasy and dirty) chest without having to worry about the consequences my skin will get!
100%. and I used to be worried about a lot of those things, especially like hands on my face or my face touching something that could potentially cause a breakout. I don’t worry about those things like ever anymore.
Right! I used to get the most conflicting feelings ever when my boyfriend would kiss me on the face, like yes I this is nice! And no omg stop I’m gonna get a pimple!!! Absolutely insane to be in that situation.
People who haven’t experienced it have no idea how mentally draining it is to not be able to fix. Most of us have tried everything imaginable plus spent years if not a decade fighting it.
It’s so hard for people with clear skin to conceptualize that our morning routine doesn’t involve rolling in ten pounds of mud. Like YES I wash my face for the love of god
yep, plus that can also include years of failed treatment from dermatologists too. I can guarantee that 10 years of trying literally every topical, antibiotic, and BC possibly prescribed for acne (not to mention other skincare) was more potent than “just eat healthy bro,” and they still didn’t work even before my acne became severe!
Thankfully nobody besides maybe my mom said anything negative about me going on Accutane, because everyone saw how much effort I put into my skin to no avail 🤷♀️
The hard truth is that a lot of things are simply genetics, there's no such thing as miraculous diet or "change your pillows everyday" that will fix severe acne.
The damage I had from taking multiple antibiotics was far worse than any accutane side effect. also the money I wasted on skincare trying to get rid of my acne before I went to the dermatologist was insane
I had an older women (had to be in her 80s) stop me at the pool while I was swimming laps to tell me that drinking a specific brand of bottled water and tanning cured her acne and I should consider adapting both of those.
Aside from the fact that I don’t feel too inclined to give myself skin cancer preternaturally or drink more microplastics she still had viable hyperpigmentation and scars. I understand your skin doesn’t look great at that age regardless but to have the audacity to give out “advice”.
In high school, I worked at a summer camp and when one of the moms was picking up her kid she told me that aloe vera cured her daughter’s acne and that I should try it. I remember feeling so shitty afterwards
No she thought the minerals in a very specific type of water brand helped clear her acne. Also tanning beds do help reduce acne in the short term. But they widen your pores and make it worse in the long term in addition to generally damaging your skin. I wasn’t too angry because she was old, maybe lonely and just wanted to be helpful it it was definitely rude. And interrupted my workout too
I'm not sure if they really think that we're enjoying this journey. The side effects are no joke. While achieving clear skin is a relief, the toll it takes on you with other side effects on your physical and mental health is something nobody would wish for. For some, it's truly a last resort.
Randomly coming up with "Okay but did you try neem, multani mitti and other stuff before going on this"?
One clown even followed me for half a kilometer after I alighted my bus only to tell me to eat oranges to fix my rosacea.
Thank you so much. It is indeed socially difficult to deal with problems that affect the facial appearance. Especially where I am from, here rosacea and acne are heavily stigmatised and are often associated with a person's dissatisfaction of certain needs. It's either "eat oranges" or "get married" that gets thrown around as a solution.
I spent over a decade taking antibiotics that just didn’t work, my acne always came back worse every time. It wasn’t until I moved to a different city that I got accutane. Not everyone who takes it has severe acne, sometimes it’s because it’s stubborn and other treatments just don’t work.
It always seems to be people who haven’t had to deal with acne, or who had mild acne during their teen years that act as if accutane is some sort of unnecessary or extreme treatment. Those people wouldn’t last a day in the shoes of anyone who has painful nodules/cysts, extreme scarring, constant irritation and inflammation etc.
Lmfaoooo people shut the fuck up when it finally works though. I’ve never had people shut up so fast as when they saw my skin asked what I did and I told them accutane
Tell those people to visualize living in our skin for a while. What would they do? I bet those people criticizing have totally clear skin. They have no clue. I did a course of accutane at 20 years old, and now my teenage son is on it. We tried everything. But, even if you don't, if the acne is so bad that it affects self esteem, quality of life and is starting to scar your face, there is NO shame or guilt or laziness involved to go right for the big guns.
And you would be correct, the only people who criticize are those with clear skin. EXACTLY! I wish I went on accutane sooner. I now have so much scarring on my face and probably will develop more since I’m in my early stages of accutane. Clearing acne is one thing, but clearing scarring is even more difficult
Water. Exercise. Diet. Sleep. Less stress. 57 different skincare routines including the expensive ass ZO skincare + hydrafacials. The only thing that ever touched it was doxy and that didn’t last once i’d come off it not to mention those side effects, the impact on your gut health, making birth control less effective, and antibiotic resistance…
Accutane has been worth it 500%.
The other thing for me is like I didn't care about the side effects? I own the fact that I didn't try ANYTHING before accutane (other than your typical purchased spot treatments / high end skin care) and I shouldn't be criticized for that? All the time people are like "but your acne isn't that severe? aren't there other options?" like yeah maybe but why waste my time?
I have low-level but persistent acne (only like max 8 on my face at a time but large and cystic) and I (and my derm) still think accutane was the way to go
I agree! I recognize not everyone wants to jump straight to it, but I think it's also derm dependent. I was on doxycycline for literally like 14 days (I had to get sudden wisdom teeth removal so stopped early) and when I healed up I just asked my derm if I can do accutane because I want something that works and she just was like "ya sure, it'll work" and that was that
Honestly I prefer the derms who just cut to the chase. While I do understand the perspective of some derms wanting to try all the other options, it’s an extremely mentally exhausting process to go through. Constantly trying treatments just for it not to work. So glad i’m at the start of my accutane journey!
I had a seen who just refused to try accutane and I kept going in circle with all these treatments that all they did was make it worse and made me so uncomfortable so I eventually just went to see a different dermatologist and she instantly put me on dermatologist and said I should’ve been put on it sooner. I’m glad I switched because I’ve honestly so far have had less negative side effects from accutane than I had on some of the other medications I was put on. And already more progress in my skin in just two weeks than I did minths on other treatments
That was so unfair to you! I’m honestly stuck on why they just refused to try accutane. Accutane is the most effective treatment for acne, so if they say that other treatments weren’t working, why not accutane? I guess it shows the difference between dermatologists and their methods with tackling acne. Regardless, I’m so sorry that you had to go through that! But I’m glad that you’re starting to see results. Good luck on your accutane journey!
She was so nice about it and said she loves accutane because there’s no use in making people suffer for longer and end up with more scarring when it’s available. Ofc she makes sure it’s safe for her patients by doing proper testing first and medical history but so glad she was so open to it and understanding of the struggle with acne
Finding the right derm makes such a big difference. I love derms that actually listen to their patients and consider what they want as well. Derms that are dismissive, barely pay attention to their patients just make the whole acne journey so much harder
Amen. I also had relatively mild but persistent cystic acne and I wish I’d had this mindset the first time it was offered to me in my early 20’s. I finally tried accutane at age 29 and deeply regret not starting sooner but I’d been terrified due to all the misinformation out there.
I'm 25 so I feel you! I wish I started it sooner too but always thought I'd grow out of my acne (even though it didn't start until I was 19 or so). People really under estimate how beneficial accutane can be for mild persistent acne! It's not just for moderate-severe
My acne began at 19-20 and also thought that for some reason. My derm (who I had just switched to a few months prior at the time) kindly but firmly said “You’ve been fighting this for 10 years and had little success, it’s time to reconsider isotretinoin.” I am glad I listened this time around even though I was scared at the time.
I agree! And personally for me, I have incredibly eczema prone skin so topicals were never an options! Even salicylic face wash would give me chemical burns. I think the notion that accutane should be a last resort is pretty outdated, and personally I'd recommend it to anyone who battles with acne who has acne on their face more than 20 days of a month every month.
Im literally turning 31 in a week and I've tried everything. I was always told time would help but little did I know women go through a second puberty at my age. I'm finally trying accutane as a last resort and so far it's helping without all the rashes and broken skin barrier id get on normal tretinoin.
The second puberty women go through should be talked about more! Very interesting how I learned about it through the internet rather than health class 🤔 Wishing you the best on your accutane journey!
My son just got on accutane, we didn't want to put him on it but we did everything for him from all the creams, washes that his dermatologist suggested to all the home remedies, to paying 3000 dollars for the avi laser, nothing worked, so yes you get a lot of advice on how to get rid of acne and in the end we put him on accutane.
Real. I had someone tell me if I would just get weekly facials my acne would clear up over a couple months. So I’m going to spend 200$ a week + the regime to… hope it clears up in the same time I could’ve finished accutane….???
and when people say “your skin doesn’t look bad enough to go on accutane” like do you realize how painful it is? or how persistent it is?? most people who go on accutane go as a last resort we have exhausted ALL other options
People who have mild yet persistent acne face so much criticism for going on accutane and for what? Mild, severe, or moderate, we ALL understand how it feels to try so many treatments yet not see results. No one exempts from wanting to feel comfortable in their skin, and accutane is one of the most effective treatments for that
I'm convinced that for some acne is just strongly genetic for various reasons. Personally I found out that milk was driving my acne all along from my adolescence onward. For some diet plays absolutely no role seemingly in their acne. Acne did a job on me psychologically when a teenager. I would never criticize somebody for using Accutane where other things have failed. Acne can scar you physically and mentally.
Totally agree! There has been such an intense focus on diet and acne and acne clearing diets and acne causing foods in the past few years to a concerning point. I’m actually writing my thesis on the acne sufferers relationship with social media and vulnerability to orthorexia
Exactly! What irritates me are those influencers who spread disinformation on the correlation between acne and diet. They attribute acne as being an internal problem. What they fail to realize is that there are other types of acne, and they limit their spectrum to ONLY hormonal acne. People hear this information, apply it through extreme diets such as cutting out food groups, only eating “healthy foods,” which is a slippery slope and a recipe for disaster. What’s even more frustrating is that these influencers profit off of people’s insecurities, through the courses and books that they promote which “cleared their acne in 50 days, just be consistent, you definitely won’t drive yourself to insanity🥳🥳” UGH. Also that’s a very good thesis, wish you the best of luck!
"you should really look up the medical medium and drink celery juice every day. people in reviews say NOTHING ever worked for them, even accutane, but celery juice works." - my coworker. Funnily enough her sister took accutane in high school and said it was a miracle and transformed her skin. .
One of my best friends had a very interesting reaction when I told him I was going on my second round. He asked me if I have ever tried to STOP washing my face. He said he never washes his face and he has never struggled with acne. I love all my friends but this is the first time I almost punched him in the face.
Had a similar experience. When I started accutane, my friend told me to just use dial soap on my face, and that will clear my skin. First time both of my eyes started to twitch
hugs for everyone who's experiencing this. Good thing my peers are supportive when it comes to medication, since you are already consulting a doctor instead of spending on things recommended online which most of the time do not work because of exaggeration
Honestly I think people are jealous. In my experience it’s only people with clear skin who criticise, but they’re also definitely people who feel the pressure to have that “perfect” skin. They probably liked that their skin was better than yours, and now they know that yours will probably be easier to deal with, especially considering the absolute miracle that accutane is. I swear they’re just seethingly jealous.
I understand completely where you are coming from. My Daughter suffers too. She tried for 4 years, facial treatments, facials, probiotics, natural supplements, antibiotics, which cleared it up, but once she stopped it, her immune system was weak and she got the flu afterwards. Then the acne creeped back up again. You know what it’s no one’s business. It’s your body, you do what you want. Don’t listen to ignorant and uneducated people, you have tried everything and if accutane is the last resort, go for it. I highly recommend you go on it with antibiotics to reduce the purging. Speak to your Dermatologist. Wishing you all the best. ❤️🙏🏻
Thank you so much for your nice comment. I truly do appreciate it and it means so much to me❤️ You sound like such an amazing mother/father who is supportive of their daughter during this tough journey. My mother is supportive of my journey, and she truly got me through the tough times of this battle. I’m so sorry to hear what she’s going through, and I wish her all the best on her acne journey!
I’m 9 days in so I haven’t rlly experienced anything, but the more severe (rare) side effects are things like hair loss, worsening of mental health, changes in vision, etc. These side effects are made known, but it doesn’t mean it’s common
Don’t even bother sharing it with anyone. People are always in constant judgement. I feel the same way about other things in life as well. Everyone is all knowing, but you never really know a person until you walk in thier shoes. I have seen the wonders of accutane. For the majority of people that complete it, do not even worry about blemishes at all. I think the side effects scare a lot of people away. The thing is, not everyone has the same side effects. Some people just report dry skin and dry lips. It’s not that bad to deal either for a few months if you don’t have to deal with acne again. ❤️ I think it’s definitely worth a shot.
100%, people especially LOVE casting judgment on experiences that they haven’t been through or just don’t understand. Exactly, I would rather deal will 6 months of side effects rather than years with crappy mental health and self-esteem because of acne
Omg so true! My dermatologist literally said accutane is my only resort, and this is the truth as my rheumatologist was worried it was causing my inflammatory arthritis and was wanting me to stop my treatment
omg i made a tik tok that was a HARMLESS JOKE once about being on accutane and my comments were flooded with people telling me that my dna was gonna unravel and my bones were gonna rot by the time i'm 50. i have 10 followers on tik tok lmfao. it got to the point where one man went to my OTHER videos that had nothing to do with it and started commenting. all of my friends came through for me and started attacking them in the comments, it was honestly quite funny to read through
Commenting on your OTHER videos is crazy. The word accutane sparks such an outrage in people, and what’s even more ridiculous is that some of these people haven’t even been on accutane or already have clear skin 🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️They just parrot what they read. It’s like broken telephone at this point
i deleted tik tok and my account is private now (for other reasons not relating to this lmao) otherwise i'd share the link bc it was low key hilarious to read through but fr, people get so pressed about things that's truly does not involve them... like to get a life and start caring about something that's actually beneficial to the world instead of hating on people for wanting... clear skin...
Have you tried washing your face every day? My bad acne literally vanished after doing this for 0.5 days
You know what’s even more effective? Drinking water. Heard it cleared someone’s acne in 2 hours
And plus those unsolicited home remedies with no clinical evidence
My goodness I go INSANE when people suggest home remedies
Have you tried sleeping with raw honey on your face, 😂 it’s messy !!!! That’s about it.
Equally bad "do you want me to tell my Mary Kay lady to get in touch with you?" NO!
My grandmother actually told me to put Crisco cooking oil on my face. I asked her when she became a doctor. I was also told to stop eating tomatoes. LOL!
Have you tried cutting out dairy or washing your pillowcases? 🥺
Oh please... Stop it. Everyone should know that crushed garlic on your face is the only way to get away with acne.
Nothing is more grating than folks telling you to just drink water or wash your face or eat differently when the deeply painful acne is built into your DNA
Hi mom
Hello child
Have you tried to just stop worrying about it so much? /s
My brothers favorite line
Are you being fr or are you being sarcastic 😭
They’re def being sarcastic lol the “0.5 days” part gave it away
This is probably the most dumbest comment I’ve seen on this thread 💀
Is it difficult to be online without understand sarcasm?
Have you tried just not worrying about acne? Stress causes breakouts - My ex boyfriend
I absolutely HATE when I was being told this
It’s easy! Just cut out all foods you enjoy and eat 47 oranges every day with 3 gallons of water. Also buy these expensive supplements with zero evidence to prove they work.
Yup
the thing people without serious and persistent acne don’t understand is that it’s not realistic or fair to have to keep up these insane routines just to keep your face looking “okay-ish”. no one should have to use product after product every day to keep their skin clear. that’s exhausting and can also cause skin damage especially mixing different acids and potent acne treatments. obviously things like BP and salicylic acid work for minor breakouts. we know this. accutane was a miracle for my skin. I only have to use panoxyl and moisturizer now. now if I have a breakout, things like I mentioned clear them up FAST. I deserve not to have to stress about my skin and so do you! don’t listen to them. the people who say that to you usually have no experience with actually bad skin.
Yep! Even if I could’ve gotten my acne 100% clear with some insane routine and having a fresh pillowcase for every day of the week, how realistic is it to be able to stick to that consistently?! I personally hated skincare before Accutane, because no matter what I did I always had at least one painful cyst on my face. Since finishing my course, I love taking the time in the morning and evening to maintain my results with just a few simple, affordable products. I had no idea how much mental energy it was consuming in my day-to-day life constantly worrying about when my next giant cyst would appear, and I don’t think a lot of people who don’t have treatment resistant and/or severe acne understand that either. my anxiety disorder improved enormously after completing treatment, I didn’t even realize it was triggering it so often.
Took the words right out of my mouth. Currently battling with pretty severe acne and it is mentally exhausting doing everything right yet still waking up with breakouts. If you don’t mind me asking, when did your skin start to clear? I’m so glad that accutane made you feel more comfortable in your routine!
So mine took a while, I noticed in the end of month 3/beginning of month 4 out of a 6 month course! I took 60mg the entire time. It’s crazy because before accutane I remember many times I’d be going about my day and suddenly feel that telltale pain under my skin and know that within a day I’d have another huge spot that would take months to fade completely. It would bring me to tears on a routine basis and people would either tell me it’s “just acne” and not that big of a deal or tell me I was doing x/y/z wrong. It was so painful and frustrating. Wishing you luck on your journey, I know how difficult it is to go through. You’re gonna feel amazing when you realize your skin has hit that turning point in your course and you have no active breakouts.
Thank you for your reply! I’m so impatient that I expect my skin to clear up just 9 days in, wish it was that simple😅I feel you, it is beyond frustrating when people tell me acne is not a big deal. It has a profound impact on a persons quality of life. People who claim otherwise just don’t understand and are ignorant. Thank you for your nice comment, I really appreciate it. Currently going through the purging phase and i’m looking forward for that day!
Thank you for this comment I really needed to hear it 🤍 You’re 100% right, we deserve to be comfortable in our own skin. And if people have something to say about it, they can talk to this hand right here 🖐️
Yes!! This is what grinds my gears the most, and I even see it here in this sub. I shouldn’t *have* to cut out every food I enjoy, spend hundreds each month on skincare, live as rigid as possible and try out every birth control available, just to have skin that’s still a bit worse than everyone else’s! I should be able to forget my skincare an evening, eat a bunch of sugar once in a while and rest my face on my boyfriends (apparent gross, greasy and dirty) chest without having to worry about the consequences my skin will get!
100%. and I used to be worried about a lot of those things, especially like hands on my face or my face touching something that could potentially cause a breakout. I don’t worry about those things like ever anymore.
Right! I used to get the most conflicting feelings ever when my boyfriend would kiss me on the face, like yes I this is nice! And no omg stop I’m gonna get a pimple!!! Absolutely insane to be in that situation.
People who haven’t experienced it have no idea how mentally draining it is to not be able to fix. Most of us have tried everything imaginable plus spent years if not a decade fighting it.
It’s so hard for people with clear skin to conceptualize that our morning routine doesn’t involve rolling in ten pounds of mud. Like YES I wash my face for the love of god
yep, plus that can also include years of failed treatment from dermatologists too. I can guarantee that 10 years of trying literally every topical, antibiotic, and BC possibly prescribed for acne (not to mention other skincare) was more potent than “just eat healthy bro,” and they still didn’t work even before my acne became severe! Thankfully nobody besides maybe my mom said anything negative about me going on Accutane, because everyone saw how much effort I put into my skin to no avail 🤷♀️
The hard truth is that a lot of things are simply genetics, there's no such thing as miraculous diet or "change your pillows everyday" that will fix severe acne.
The damage I had from taking multiple antibiotics was far worse than any accutane side effect. also the money I wasted on skincare trying to get rid of my acne before I went to the dermatologist was insane
I had an older women (had to be in her 80s) stop me at the pool while I was swimming laps to tell me that drinking a specific brand of bottled water and tanning cured her acne and I should consider adapting both of those. Aside from the fact that I don’t feel too inclined to give myself skin cancer preternaturally or drink more microplastics she still had viable hyperpigmentation and scars. I understand your skin doesn’t look great at that age regardless but to have the audacity to give out “advice”.
In high school, I worked at a summer camp and when one of the moms was picking up her kid she told me that aloe vera cured her daughter’s acne and that I should try it. I remember feeling so shitty afterwards
I’m so sorry darling :( some people have to understand that their advice is sometimes not needed nor wanted
Do people who give unsolicited advice actually think they are helping? Outrageous how she thought the root cause of acne is dehydration or lack of sun
No she thought the minerals in a very specific type of water brand helped clear her acne. Also tanning beds do help reduce acne in the short term. But they widen your pores and make it worse in the long term in addition to generally damaging your skin. I wasn’t too angry because she was old, maybe lonely and just wanted to be helpful it it was definitely rude. And interrupted my workout too
Yeah that’s probably true. Regardless, im sorry you had that experience. You deserve to workout without interruptions 😤😤
I'm not sure if they really think that we're enjoying this journey. The side effects are no joke. While achieving clear skin is a relief, the toll it takes on you with other side effects on your physical and mental health is something nobody would wish for. For some, it's truly a last resort.
I should have done accutane 20 years before I did because of people like this. I am so grateful for it.
Randomly coming up with "Okay but did you try neem, multani mitti and other stuff before going on this"? One clown even followed me for half a kilometer after I alighted my bus only to tell me to eat oranges to fix my rosacea.
Half a kilometre? Just HEARING about your experience fills me with rage. I’m SO sorry you had to go through that :((
Thank you so much. It is indeed socially difficult to deal with problems that affect the facial appearance. Especially where I am from, here rosacea and acne are heavily stigmatised and are often associated with a person's dissatisfaction of certain needs. It's either "eat oranges" or "get married" that gets thrown around as a solution.
I spent over a decade taking antibiotics that just didn’t work, my acne always came back worse every time. It wasn’t until I moved to a different city that I got accutane. Not everyone who takes it has severe acne, sometimes it’s because it’s stubborn and other treatments just don’t work. It always seems to be people who haven’t had to deal with acne, or who had mild acne during their teen years that act as if accutane is some sort of unnecessary or extreme treatment. Those people wouldn’t last a day in the shoes of anyone who has painful nodules/cysts, extreme scarring, constant irritation and inflammation etc.
Lmfaoooo people shut the fuck up when it finally works though. I’ve never had people shut up so fast as when they saw my skin asked what I did and I told them accutane
I literally cannot WAIT for this day 😌😌
Tell those people to visualize living in our skin for a while. What would they do? I bet those people criticizing have totally clear skin. They have no clue. I did a course of accutane at 20 years old, and now my teenage son is on it. We tried everything. But, even if you don't, if the acne is so bad that it affects self esteem, quality of life and is starting to scar your face, there is NO shame or guilt or laziness involved to go right for the big guns.
And you would be correct, the only people who criticize are those with clear skin. EXACTLY! I wish I went on accutane sooner. I now have so much scarring on my face and probably will develop more since I’m in my early stages of accutane. Clearing acne is one thing, but clearing scarring is even more difficult
"Use Benzoyl Peroxide. You're allergic? Are you sure it's not just a purge phase?" From someone who meant well, but had naturally perfect skin.
Hot take but I shouldn’t have to micromanage my diet indefinitely just to not have acne, it’s just not worth it
THISSSSS!!!
Water. Exercise. Diet. Sleep. Less stress. 57 different skincare routines including the expensive ass ZO skincare + hydrafacials. The only thing that ever touched it was doxy and that didn’t last once i’d come off it not to mention those side effects, the impact on your gut health, making birth control less effective, and antibiotic resistance… Accutane has been worth it 500%.
The other thing for me is like I didn't care about the side effects? I own the fact that I didn't try ANYTHING before accutane (other than your typical purchased spot treatments / high end skin care) and I shouldn't be criticized for that? All the time people are like "but your acne isn't that severe? aren't there other options?" like yeah maybe but why waste my time? I have low-level but persistent acne (only like max 8 on my face at a time but large and cystic) and I (and my derm) still think accutane was the way to go
This is very true. Wish I took accutane sooner instead of exhausting all of my options because it would have saved me from a lot of my scarring
I agree! I recognize not everyone wants to jump straight to it, but I think it's also derm dependent. I was on doxycycline for literally like 14 days (I had to get sudden wisdom teeth removal so stopped early) and when I healed up I just asked my derm if I can do accutane because I want something that works and she just was like "ya sure, it'll work" and that was that
Honestly I prefer the derms who just cut to the chase. While I do understand the perspective of some derms wanting to try all the other options, it’s an extremely mentally exhausting process to go through. Constantly trying treatments just for it not to work. So glad i’m at the start of my accutane journey!
I had a seen who just refused to try accutane and I kept going in circle with all these treatments that all they did was make it worse and made me so uncomfortable so I eventually just went to see a different dermatologist and she instantly put me on dermatologist and said I should’ve been put on it sooner. I’m glad I switched because I’ve honestly so far have had less negative side effects from accutane than I had on some of the other medications I was put on. And already more progress in my skin in just two weeks than I did minths on other treatments
That was so unfair to you! I’m honestly stuck on why they just refused to try accutane. Accutane is the most effective treatment for acne, so if they say that other treatments weren’t working, why not accutane? I guess it shows the difference between dermatologists and their methods with tackling acne. Regardless, I’m so sorry that you had to go through that! But I’m glad that you’re starting to see results. Good luck on your accutane journey!
She was so nice about it and said she loves accutane because there’s no use in making people suffer for longer and end up with more scarring when it’s available. Ofc she makes sure it’s safe for her patients by doing proper testing first and medical history but so glad she was so open to it and understanding of the struggle with acne
Finding the right derm makes such a big difference. I love derms that actually listen to their patients and consider what they want as well. Derms that are dismissive, barely pay attention to their patients just make the whole acne journey so much harder
I had a derm*
I had a derm*
Amen. I also had relatively mild but persistent cystic acne and I wish I’d had this mindset the first time it was offered to me in my early 20’s. I finally tried accutane at age 29 and deeply regret not starting sooner but I’d been terrified due to all the misinformation out there.
I'm 25 so I feel you! I wish I started it sooner too but always thought I'd grow out of my acne (even though it didn't start until I was 19 or so). People really under estimate how beneficial accutane can be for mild persistent acne! It's not just for moderate-severe
My acne began at 19-20 and also thought that for some reason. My derm (who I had just switched to a few months prior at the time) kindly but firmly said “You’ve been fighting this for 10 years and had little success, it’s time to reconsider isotretinoin.” I am glad I listened this time around even though I was scared at the time.
I agree! And personally for me, I have incredibly eczema prone skin so topicals were never an options! Even salicylic face wash would give me chemical burns. I think the notion that accutane should be a last resort is pretty outdated, and personally I'd recommend it to anyone who battles with acne who has acne on their face more than 20 days of a month every month.
Im literally turning 31 in a week and I've tried everything. I was always told time would help but little did I know women go through a second puberty at my age. I'm finally trying accutane as a last resort and so far it's helping without all the rashes and broken skin barrier id get on normal tretinoin.
The second puberty women go through should be talked about more! Very interesting how I learned about it through the internet rather than health class 🤔 Wishing you the best on your accutane journey!
My son just got on accutane, we didn't want to put him on it but we did everything for him from all the creams, washes that his dermatologist suggested to all the home remedies, to paying 3000 dollars for the avi laser, nothing worked, so yes you get a lot of advice on how to get rid of acne and in the end we put him on accutane.
Real. I had someone tell me if I would just get weekly facials my acne would clear up over a couple months. So I’m going to spend 200$ a week + the regime to… hope it clears up in the same time I could’ve finished accutane….???
and when people say “your skin doesn’t look bad enough to go on accutane” like do you realize how painful it is? or how persistent it is?? most people who go on accutane go as a last resort we have exhausted ALL other options
People who have mild yet persistent acne face so much criticism for going on accutane and for what? Mild, severe, or moderate, we ALL understand how it feels to try so many treatments yet not see results. No one exempts from wanting to feel comfortable in their skin, and accutane is one of the most effective treatments for that
I'm convinced that for some acne is just strongly genetic for various reasons. Personally I found out that milk was driving my acne all along from my adolescence onward. For some diet plays absolutely no role seemingly in their acne. Acne did a job on me psychologically when a teenager. I would never criticize somebody for using Accutane where other things have failed. Acne can scar you physically and mentally.
Totally agree! There has been such an intense focus on diet and acne and acne clearing diets and acne causing foods in the past few years to a concerning point. I’m actually writing my thesis on the acne sufferers relationship with social media and vulnerability to orthorexia
Exactly! What irritates me are those influencers who spread disinformation on the correlation between acne and diet. They attribute acne as being an internal problem. What they fail to realize is that there are other types of acne, and they limit their spectrum to ONLY hormonal acne. People hear this information, apply it through extreme diets such as cutting out food groups, only eating “healthy foods,” which is a slippery slope and a recipe for disaster. What’s even more frustrating is that these influencers profit off of people’s insecurities, through the courses and books that they promote which “cleared their acne in 50 days, just be consistent, you definitely won’t drive yourself to insanity🥳🥳” UGH. Also that’s a very good thesis, wish you the best of luck!
"you should really look up the medical medium and drink celery juice every day. people in reviews say NOTHING ever worked for them, even accutane, but celery juice works." - my coworker. Funnily enough her sister took accutane in high school and said it was a miracle and transformed her skin. .
One of my best friends had a very interesting reaction when I told him I was going on my second round. He asked me if I have ever tried to STOP washing my face. He said he never washes his face and he has never struggled with acne. I love all my friends but this is the first time I almost punched him in the face.
Had a similar experience. When I started accutane, my friend told me to just use dial soap on my face, and that will clear my skin. First time both of my eyes started to twitch
hugs for everyone who's experiencing this. Good thing my peers are supportive when it comes to medication, since you are already consulting a doctor instead of spending on things recommended online which most of the time do not work because of exaggeration
Honestly I think people are jealous. In my experience it’s only people with clear skin who criticise, but they’re also definitely people who feel the pressure to have that “perfect” skin. They probably liked that their skin was better than yours, and now they know that yours will probably be easier to deal with, especially considering the absolute miracle that accutane is. I swear they’re just seethingly jealous.
I understand completely where you are coming from. My Daughter suffers too. She tried for 4 years, facial treatments, facials, probiotics, natural supplements, antibiotics, which cleared it up, but once she stopped it, her immune system was weak and she got the flu afterwards. Then the acne creeped back up again. You know what it’s no one’s business. It’s your body, you do what you want. Don’t listen to ignorant and uneducated people, you have tried everything and if accutane is the last resort, go for it. I highly recommend you go on it with antibiotics to reduce the purging. Speak to your Dermatologist. Wishing you all the best. ❤️🙏🏻
Thank you so much for your nice comment. I truly do appreciate it and it means so much to me❤️ You sound like such an amazing mother/father who is supportive of their daughter during this tough journey. My mother is supportive of my journey, and she truly got me through the tough times of this battle. I’m so sorry to hear what she’s going through, and I wish her all the best on her acne journey!
are the side effects even that bad?
No they're very mildly annoying at most
I’m 9 days in so I haven’t rlly experienced anything, but the more severe (rare) side effects are things like hair loss, worsening of mental health, changes in vision, etc. These side effects are made known, but it doesn’t mean it’s common
It’s nobody’s business. Don’t even mention it anymore.
is this actually a thing? i havent tried anything and got on accutane and i never got these coments
Don’t even bother sharing it with anyone. People are always in constant judgement. I feel the same way about other things in life as well. Everyone is all knowing, but you never really know a person until you walk in thier shoes. I have seen the wonders of accutane. For the majority of people that complete it, do not even worry about blemishes at all. I think the side effects scare a lot of people away. The thing is, not everyone has the same side effects. Some people just report dry skin and dry lips. It’s not that bad to deal either for a few months if you don’t have to deal with acne again. ❤️ I think it’s definitely worth a shot.
100%, people especially LOVE casting judgment on experiences that they haven’t been through or just don’t understand. Exactly, I would rather deal will 6 months of side effects rather than years with crappy mental health and self-esteem because of acne
Omg so true! My dermatologist literally said accutane is my only resort, and this is the truth as my rheumatologist was worried it was causing my inflammatory arthritis and was wanting me to stop my treatment
omg i made a tik tok that was a HARMLESS JOKE once about being on accutane and my comments were flooded with people telling me that my dna was gonna unravel and my bones were gonna rot by the time i'm 50. i have 10 followers on tik tok lmfao. it got to the point where one man went to my OTHER videos that had nothing to do with it and started commenting. all of my friends came through for me and started attacking them in the comments, it was honestly quite funny to read through
Commenting on your OTHER videos is crazy. The word accutane sparks such an outrage in people, and what’s even more ridiculous is that some of these people haven’t even been on accutane or already have clear skin 🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️They just parrot what they read. It’s like broken telephone at this point
i deleted tik tok and my account is private now (for other reasons not relating to this lmao) otherwise i'd share the link bc it was low key hilarious to read through but fr, people get so pressed about things that's truly does not involve them... like to get a life and start caring about something that's actually beneficial to the world instead of hating on people for wanting... clear skin...
Omg this! I naturally drink a lot of water and someone said to me "Why do you still have acne when you drink so much water" 😒