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DAY 168 - WEEK 24 DOOMS DAY!I took my last accutane pill this morning.
I'm not going to go into how incredibly nervous I am bc I already fee kind of ill about the whole thing. I'm trying not to think about it as much as I ca. I feel like I'm going to get the biggest zit of my life tomorrow for just thinking about this being all over... ugh knocking on wood!
So here are my pics from this morning. With and without makeup 🙂 so you know I don't always look like hell 🙂 and I can cover those red scars pretty well 🙂
and here's the link to my new fancy pants photobucket album 🙂 It has all the pics from beginning to date...
password is : accutane
Pics:
what kind of makeup do you use?
Day 169 aka Day 1 Post Tane
So skin is holding in there so far. I have this little bump under the surface of the skin on my chin that feels like a clogged pore. I'm hoping if I keep my hands off it will go away with some extra water consumption and maybe a touch of sacylic acid...
Scars aren't looking too bad either, I'm trying to use the kinerase scar therapy gell religiously bc it really does make a huge difference. I can just itch sometimes when my skin is too dry but that should improve now I guess.
headtrip_honey - THANKS! I'm slowly accepting that this is a major improvement. I still feel like I've only gone about 85% of the way and I still need to go the last 15% to feel like the accutane was successful. Plus there's the wedding .... 
omg I better stay clear for the wedding 
then I will consider the accutane 100% successful 
Only a few months to go !
brandish - I have exactly two indents from having two cysts injected. They aren't huge and you can't see them unless the light catches them the right way but I know they're there... I know it's stupid. I know the redmarks should improve on their own but the rush is for my engagement pictures on June 18th. My derm's plan is to have me completely clear, sans- scars so makeup is simple on that day. That's why he's going to fill the two indents I have to. In certain photography lights or effects (like black and white) there's more contrast and the difference in texture on my skin will show at those spots.
The laser I haven't asked him which it is yet but I've had treatments for scars done before and I suspect it will be similar to that. That laser was a Candela V-beam laser for scaring. I had treatments in conjunction with the Candela Smooth beam. It worked fantastic the first time I did it but about a year later (and off the bcp) it didn't stop the acne anymore it just treated the scars.
Jbean1124 - I use L'oreal True Match super-blendable makeup in C3. It has an spf and it goes on really fast and easy with great coverage without being gucky or oily or thick. My only concern about this makeup is that I don't know if it's non-acneogenic or non-comenogenic. I've used it in the past for almost five years and I never really notice a difference in my acne when I switched on or off the makeup. So I suspect it's alright. I'm trying to use it only when I want good coverage otherwise I'm just using tinted moisturizer from Clinique.
take care everyone!
.. I cant seem to find a make up i like. I have been using bare essentials for years and lately it just does not cover at all. And i noticed if i use any other make up it seeems to change color as the day goes on! Has anyone noticed that before? I think its bizarre lol-
I re started my accutane after my 10day break and well here came the break outs. The beginning months of accutane are really lousey.... Im not a patient person to begin with, so this kind of sucks. I hope after another two weeks ill start to see improvment.
good luck everyone!
.. I cant seem to find a make up i like. I have been using bare essentials for years and lately it just does not cover at all. And i noticed if i use any other make up it seeems to change color as the day goes on! Has anyone noticed that before? I think its bizarre lol-I re started my accutane after my 10day break and well here came the break outs. The beginning months of accutane are really lousey.... Im not a patient person to begin with, so this kind of sucks. I hope after another two weeks ill start to see improvment.
good luck everyone!
I've had good luck with Everyday Minerals for powder makeup, and Paula's Choice's tinted moisturizer, and Maybelline's Pure.Makeup for plain old liquid foundation.
The color change is a chemical interaction between the oil on your skin and one of the ingredients (I forget which) in many foundations. I haven't experienced that effect with any of the above foundations.
Day 173 - aka Day 5 Post - Tane
I just had the most perfect weekend! honestly it was sunny and warm and I had no plans! which sounds dull but I always have a thousand things to do ! and for once I got to get up and say hmm what would I like to do today! It was awesome!
So Skin so far off the tane - not too shabby yet. I've had a few teany tiny spots of dermatitis, just little peely dry spots even though my whole face is not really dry. The two spots on my chin went away without becoming a big deal but ther's a spot on my cheek bone that was a pimple and now just wants to be a stupid stubborn dry spot that won't peel off so it's looking a little red like a clogged pore even though it's not.
Otherwise my scars seem to be going from red spots to diffused red patches. Like the blood that was in the tiny spot is spreading out so it can re-absorb and go away. But it's leaving my cheeks looking a bit pink. It's a small price to pay for less scars to I'll take it.
I also got a stupid mosquito bite on my cheek. I woke up this morning and though it was a pimple and I was horrified ! but as soon as I touched it, it's started to itch like crazy and it sounds ridiculous but I was soooo relieved! So hopefully that goes away soon!
Life wise - I'm off to California tomorrow morning for work and to get my wedding dress. I'm so nervous I can barely sit still and I'm having a really hard time sleeping too On top of that my fiance is going to Austrailia for three weeks tomorrow and we've never been part this long. I'm really upset about it but I'm trying to make sure he can't tell. I really want him to go and have an amazing time. It's just so hard to think of how down I've been lately and how he always pulls me up... and now he'll be gone for three weeks ugh I'm such a baby I'll live I'm sure lol
Hope everyone else is going great!
fel_han - I promise I'm going to keep up with my pics and updates until the wedding! I think you'll get sick of me by then lol but I think it's important to show my whole progress and for me to see it too! I'll put up pics after my laster and filler treatments as well as engagment and wedding pics too! Promise!
Jbean1124 - I may take a bit of time but you will see an improvement so hang in there! As for the makeup, someone suggested to me to go to buy my makeup at the end of the day or after the gym or something when you have some oil on your face. That way you can see the true color of the makeup faster. OR even better get one that doesn't react... I didn't even know you could but headtrip_honey made a great suggestion!
take care everyone!
Day 173 - aka Day 5 Post - TaneI just had the most perfect weekend! honestly it was sunny and warm and I had no plans! which sounds dull but I always have a thousand things to do ! and for once I got to get up and say hmm what would I like to do today! It was awesome!
So Skin so far off the tane - not too shabby yet. I've had a few teany tiny spots of dermatitis, just little peely dry spots even though my whole face is not really dry. The two spots on my chin went away without becoming a big deal but ther's a spot on my cheek bone that was a pimple and now just wants to be a stupid stubborn dry spot that won't peel off so it's looking a little red like a clogged pore even though it's not.
Otherwise my scars seem to be going from red spots to diffused red patches. Like the blood that was in the tiny spot is spreading out so it can re-absorb and go away. But it's leaving my cheeks looking a bit pink. It's a small price to pay for less scars to I'll take it.
I also got a stupid mosquito bite on my cheek. I woke up this morning and though it was a pimple and I was horrified ! but as soon as I touched it, it's started to itch like crazy and it sounds ridiculous but I was soooo relieved! So hopefully that goes away soon!
Life wise - I'm off to California tomorrow morning for work and to get my wedding dress. I'm so nervous I can barely sit still and I'm having a really hard time sleeping too 😛 On top of that my fiance is going to Austrailia for three weeks tomorrow and we've never been part this long. I'm really upset about it but I'm trying to make sure he can't tell. I really want him to go and have an amazing time. It's just so hard to think of how down I've been lately and how he always pulls me up... and now he'll be gone for three weeks 😛 ugh I'm such a baby 😛 I'll live I'm sure lol
Hope everyone else is going great!
fel_han - I promise I'm going to keep up with my pics and updates until the wedding! I think you'll get sick of me by then lol but I think it's important to show my whole progress and for me to see it too! I'll put up pics after my laster and filler treatments as well as engagment and wedding pics too! Promise!
Jbean1124 - I may take a bit of time but you will see an improvement so hang in there! As for the makeup, someone suggested to me to go to buy my makeup at the end of the day or after the gym or something when you have some oil on your face. That way you can see the true color of the makeup faster. OR even better get one that doesn't react... I didn't even know you could but headtrip_honey made a great suggestion!
take care everyone!
good luck with the wedding dress.. your going to look beautiful im sure!
I still cant seem to figure out this make up situation, i guess ill just be patient and wait until i start to clear and wear less and less as i go along- ive been back on the tane a little over a week now n i dont want to jinx it but i didnt have an initial break out like i did my 1st few weeks of my 1st month on accutane well not as bad .... SO we'll see... i want to post pictures but for some reason i cannot figure out how to even put my mail photo up with my user name LOL
..take care!!
.. I cant seem to find a make up i like. I have been using bare essentials for years and lately it just does not cover at all. And i noticed if i use any other make up it seeems to change color as the day goes on! Has anyone noticed that before? I think its bizarre lol-I re started my accutane after my 10day break and well here came the break outs. The beginning months of accutane are really lousey.... Im not a patient person to begin with, so this kind of sucks. I hope after another two weeks ill start to see improvment.
good luck everyone!
I've had good luck with Everyday Minerals for powder makeup, and Paula's Choice's tinted moisturizer, and Maybelline's Pure.Makeup for plain old liquid foundation.
The color change is a chemical interaction between the oil on your skin and one of the ingredients (I forget which) in many foundations. I haven't experienced that effect with any of the above foundations.
thank you for the advice, ill look into your suggestions... i swear every day its something new with my skin so im not going to try anything new for a little... im trying my best to be patient and let this stuff work.... thanks again!!
Day 179 - Almost week 2 post tane
Hello everyone,
sorry for the radio silence
I spent the last five days in California working and shopping and generally just being sad about my fiance leaving for austrailia... so I was really in no mood for anything but some good ol' moping around.
But I'm home now! still working and feeling like crap and missing my guy it's hard to come home to an empty house and have him be so far away. It would be easier if he wasn't there with just jerky friends. They're usually pretty nice but I think his best friend is having some seperation anxiety about loosin my man to married life. So he is trying to rubbing how much I miss him and bragging about their awesome hangouts jerk... he's so going to get fired as best man
Anyways sorry skin!
So far so good... I think. I'm a little confused by my skin right now. I had a mosquito bite on my cheek that's healing nicely but did manage to give the apparence of a nice ripe pimple during my buisiness meeting last thursday. the clogged pore on my opposite cheek was a little scabby from my touching it but now that's healing nicelyt oo.
my only concern is that since last week I've aquired three new "clogged pores" Super crazy almost non-existent clogged pores but they are still there... I can feel them when I run my fingers along my skin. I started using a cleanser every otherday in the morning that has sacylic acid in it and i'll see if that helps. I also picked up a very mild spot treatment in case anything does decide to surface.
My red spots are still pretty blotchy and my face is SOOOO WHITE!!! This for me is ghostly! and because I'm pre-disposed to dark circles under my eyes I look aweful without makeup on...at last under eye concealer! You can see in my pics... my undereyes are starting to look blue and purple... ugh so unattractive
So my plan is to hear from my derm, get my laser treatment, get my fillers done and have a lovely organic spray tan done the week of my engagement pics 
I think the plan is perfect! Although I would much prefer to bake outside in the GORGEOUSLY HOT weather we are having... you know it was actaully warmer in Toronto this weekend then L.A. lol oh well I'm home now and it's still HOT!
I posted my last Thursday pics (technically week 25 of the accutane pics) on my photobucket so feel free to check them out!
Pics:
My Accutane Pictures - passwod: accutane
Take care everyone!
Day 181
life sucks just a little.
I got my hair colored yesterday, it was suppose to be golden blond... it's orange... it sucks
and two majo appliance in my condo broke down yesterday, my freezer flooded my kitchen, and I now have to pay to have them fixed....
oh and my nose pores are filling up and feel all clogged like a breakout is imminent, I'm using a spot treatment on my nose but that means all I can smell is suflur ... and that is sooooo not a nice smell to have right in your nose ALL DAY
my derm was suppose to do a laser treatment Monday but never got back to me to schedule it and I'm pretty sure he forgot and now I can't get hold of him ...
i'm quite red and spotty and WHITE! I was hoping to get the laser treatment out of the way and get a little color before my engagment pics... my fiance is going to be fresh of the plane from austrailia and TAN TAN TAN which will just make me look all the more white....
So I'm white, I have orange hair, and my nose has become a minefield of inevitable zits....
not having a good day so far... fingers crossed that my nose zits hold out and my derm gets back to me.
Day 182 - 2 Weeks Post Tane
Hello Everyone,
Slightly more chipper today. My head is still orange but it will be made less orange tonight after work so yay!
My nose pores are still cloggd all to hell but they aren't breaking out so far (knock on wood), the rest of my face is doing pretty ok. I started using a face cleanser with some sacylic acid in it once a day to every other day to just help along the keeping my face clear plan. so far so good. I've gotten cloggd pores twice and they've been so tiny they weren't even visible, but I squeezed the junk out of them just to be on the safe side. And they went away without a red mark or problem! All the clogged pores seem to have really think hard gunk in them rather than oil or puss like before the tane. So I can feel the pore when it first fills up and it's really easy to empty it because the clog is so hard.... such a weird few sentences... lol
My scars are going away nicely too. I'm still pink and splotchy with some red spots but that's way better then red and splotchy with a ton of red polka dots I'm still using the Kinerase scar therapy twice a day and it's working great.
I talked to my derm finally and he's scheduled my laser treatment for next monday June 7th. Of course he picked the one day that I am actually doing something. I'm having a big bridesmaids dinner to catch up with all my girls and get some wedding help.Thats at 7 and my laser treatment is at 5 ... So I'm going to look aweful I'm sure. He insists that I'll just look "rosey". Either way I'd rather have the treatment done so I can heal a bit and look nice for my pics. My girls have seen me soooo much worse, a little redness will be nothing.
So that's all... new pics up too!
Pics:
http://s1017.photobucket.com/albums/af299/michellemac_01/Accutane%20Log /" rel="external nofollow">Accutane Pics - password: accutane
I'm no doctor, but I'm nervous to hear your going to be having laser treatments so soon after going off accutane. I met with my dermatologist yesterday, she told me I could stop taking my amnesteen (yay!), but that my skin will still be sensitive for the next few months so I need to be careful in the sun. She also told me I would have to wait 6 to 12 months before having any scar treatments.
Looks like a lot of sites on the web give the same advice as my derm:
http://www.realself.com/question/can-have-...taking-accutane
http://www.acnescars.com/treatment.aspx
Please do some more research and perhaps get a second opinion before having laser treatment so soon....
Day 183
squarielariel thank you for your msg! I am going to do a little more research but I'm not concerned really. I was very very concerned when my derm first told me that but I discussed it with him and he was very reasuring and gave me plenty of scientific back up. He will be using the mildest level that you can with the laser and he has done it before and had picture documention to show me what to expect. I'm also going to ask him to do a test patch before doing the treatment just to be sure that I'm not some exception to the success he has had in the past. I'll put up pictures and make sure to tell you all about it too. Congrats on being done though! how are you feeling about it? I was a bit scared at first and I am still a little but things are looking pretty good so far for me.
My skin has really never looked better. My skin is super light which I'm not a fan of but at least it's smooth, still pinky splotchy... but very smooth! The clogged pores on my nose seem tobe a little better today. I can still feel them but the sulfer spot treatment must be helping a bit.
I'm thinking maybe I should try some tea tree oil too but I'm not sure if it will be too drying. Does anyone have any suggestions? I just need to get those pores cleared out. Maybe I just need to be patient.
I also managed to go and get my hair un-orange it now looks kind of awesome and summery blond my stylist actually mentioned that alot of women who are one strong drugs such as accutane have issues with coloring their hair. He said your hair is pretty much a blue print of the chemicals you put in your body and so the chemical composition of my hair right now didn't react the same with the dye as it would have 6 months ago. makes sense to me but has anyone else hard of this? He said thats why preggo women dont' really color their hair either, bc the extra estrogen is in the hair and reacts with the dye often tinging the color orange or slightly greenish.
Interesting I'm happy I didn't color my hair while I was on the accutane in anycase.
take care everyone !
Day 186 - Almost 3 weeks post tane
Still doing great. My scars are acting weird they seem better one day and worse the next??? Honestly I don't really understand it. especially since they seem to like getting bad just as I have somewhere t be or an event to go to. Just my luck I guess
oh well they still aren't as bad as having the acne that preluded them.
So I'm going for my laser treatment tonight.... I'm absolutely terrified and I'm not sure yet if I'm going to go through with it. My plan is to see my derm, show him my face and see what he has to say about it. I'm going to tell him what my research has told me and ask him what to expect in the worse case scenario. And if I'm still scared afterward, I'm not doing it. I would rather wear a ton of cocealer for my engagment pics and be clear for the wedding then to scar my face permanently.
If I'm on the fence then I may get him to try a test patch to see what it's like and how I feel about it. I've looked into the expected power levels and I also want to make sure he's sticking to the lowest possible levels of the laser that he can. I know I'll be able to make up my mind when I see him I just hope I'm not impatiente and go for the treatment just to be clear a few months sooner...... I don't think I will, but it's just so enticing to be clear NOW!
headtrip_honey - I didn't actually know the BHA was sacylic acid. I used a sacylic acid spot treatment on my nose all weekend and now it feels completely clear again. Do you know what the difference is between BHA and Sacylic Acid? I'll look into the paula's choice products you recommended and see what I think! Thanks! How goes your wedding plans!
take care everyone!
headtrip_honey - I didn't actually know the BHA was sacylic acid. I used a sacylic acid spot treatment on my nose all weekend and now it feels completely clear again. Do you know what the difference is between BHA and Sacylic Acid? I'll look into the paula's choice products you recommended and see what I think! Thanks! How goes your wedding plans! 🙂take care everyone!
No difference. 🙂 One and the same. Salicylic acid is a beta hydroxy acid (there are more than just SA, but in cosmetics BHA = salicylic acid)
Paula's Choice BHAs are meant to be used every day, and they keep your pores clearer, and your face smooth, cause they ramp up exfoliation both inside and outside the pore.
Alpha hydroxy acids (unlike BHAs, in cosmetics there are many different AHAs to choose from), on the other hand, cannot penetrate into the pore like BHAs, so they are used mainly to smooth your skin...they're good for evening skin tone, reducing scar appearance, etc.
Some people use a combo of both - BHA in the morning, AHA at night, or vice versa.
Wedding plans are going well. We chose our officiant this weekend. So now onto the details like decor, dresses, etc.
Day 187 - Day after Laser Treatment.
So I had the laser treatment yesterday.
My doctor spent about half an hour assuring me and throwing all kinds of scientific facts at me including his picture book of before and afters.... so I went ahead with it. He used a Condella V-Beam at it's lowest possible setting. I've actually had this laser done on me before at a different clinic before I tried accutane. It's a great treatment for scaring and when I had it combined with the Condella Smooth beam it worked great as long as I was on bcp. But the laser treatments were no match for my homornal imbalances:) hence the accutane.
So ... omg it hurt. Not at first, it just feels like the snapping of an elastic on your face. But after five minutes of snapping your skin feels sore and your still snapping away. But it wasn't unbearable just uncomfortable for the last few min. The whole thing took a total of 10 minutes and then I was fine to just go home! I wasn't going to put on makeup .... but then I saw my face right after (there are pics below) ... and I decided that riding the subway like that was not a good idea.
But by an hour or so later all the redness under the makeup was completely gone and by this morning a lot of the scars have diminished already! He said it will take up to two weeks to see the entire effect though. But I'm happy so far!
Still no actives (silently praying) and the scaring is now very very minimal, it will be super easy to cover at my pics. And I'm considering getting an organic spray on tan before the pics too, just for a little more cover and to match my fiance's aussie tan
Let me know your thoughts!
Take care everyone!
Pics:
headtrip_honey - I'll try the Paula's choice and let you know how it goes! I've heard a lot of ppl recommend it here.
Day 188 - Day after I had my scars filled
So I had my appointment with my derm yesterday to address my divet type scars. Although I didn't have a lot my derm seems to be a bit of a perfectionist (which I love) and wanted to make sure I'm perfect and ready for my pics next week.
He ended up filling a few sunken spots around my mouth and cheeks with Juvederm injections. Although it looks and feels awesome now OMG did it ever hurt when he did it!
I think it might have been worse because of the sensitivity from the laser treatment but omg I just can't handle needles in my face very well. But it's done and for the most part I think it looks good. I tried to find comparable pics so you can see the change.
headtrip_honey - THANK YOU!!!
Take care everyone!
Pics:
Hey!
I asked my doctor about that specifically actually because I never really heard much about Juvederm before.
So it is not like botox, botox is a bacterial injection that causes paralysis of the facial muscles causing them to relax and smooth out.
This is more like a Restalyn product (it's a bit more popular I guess). It's a gel that is made from a synthetic version of the Hyaluronic Acid (HA) that naturally occurs in your face and keeps it "plump". As your skin ages you actually stop producing as much HA as you did when you were younger and as a result that plump tightness reduces and you get wrinkles etc. Well a similar pattern can happen with acne. If an active is large enough, it can create a "hole" in your collagen and although it will build back up overtime, HA production is slowed because of the accutane... sooooo the juvederm replaced what my body would have replaced in 6 months to a year.
The Juvederm is suppose to last up to a year. And the cool part is, my derm said that the juvederm will actually break down slowly over the next year and as it breaks down because my skin is still young it will fill in that empty spot with it's own collagen. So within a year the filler gel may be gone BUT my skin will fill in the spots naturally! So I really won't even notice when it wears off! lol I sound like a walking advertisement... but I really am happy with the results!
The only drawbacks, it was bloody expensive. AND it hurt REALLY badly. Like bee's stining my face repeatedly kind of badly. But as long as you aren't a big baby like me, it's great!
You're looking great
Does vbeam help indents or is it just redmarks? Unluckily for me my derm seems to be the opposite of a perfectionist When i finished accutane 2months back my derm was like 'i think you'll be happy with the results in a few months time' when i asked about scaring, yet i've got indents everywhere, indents cant fade...
Day 189 - 3 Weeks Post Accutane
Skin still clear. I'll put up pics tomorrow morning!
I'm trying out an organic airbrush tan today so I can potentially have one done before my engagement pics next week. I'll let you know how that goes
Brandish - the v-beam i've been told deals mostly with red scaring but it can stimulate and increase collagen production in your skin. THAT should help your scars start to fill in by getting your skin to heal faster. BUT I had the juvederm filler done specifically to get rid of those deep scars immediately and it worked AMAZING!
hope that helps
take care everyone!
Pics pics pics!
Hey speaking of pics, what are your opinions of these dresses? Since you work in bridal and all.
These are pretty much my "top 5" so far. I've yet to actually get out and try anything, though.
http://www.demetriosbride.com/us/index.php...mp;styleID=2293
http://www.brides.com/fashion/dresses/gall...93&offset=3
http://sophiatolli.com/item/?i=Y1929&c...li%20-%20Bridal
http://www.maggiesottero.com/dress.aspx?pa...amp;style=R1084