It’s been a little over two months since I ended my (first and hopefully only) round of Accutane medication. I am happy to report that my face is remains pimple free. That’s the main fear, you know? That soon as I hop off the drug, the persistent acne that so plagued me since puberty will return with a vengeance. Irrational, probably, though it’s not exactly uncommon for chronic acne sufferers to need multiple rounds of treatment.
The other fear is for the oiliness to return. One of the only good things about being on Accutane is that my face and scalp were bone dry all the time. It was so nice to touch my face and not be repulsed at the oil slick on my fingers. My hair was no longer matted down with oil the next day after shampooing. While on Accutane, I could have gone a whole week without washing my hair.
In this regard, some of the moisture has indeed come back to the face. It makes sense, because otherwise my lips would still be chapped all the time. You can’t expect to have selective dryness! That’s just not how the body works.
But I glad to say the intense oiliness seems to be a thing of the past. I hope two whole months post treatment isn’t still too early to determine. What’s the half-life of Accutane in the body anyways? (ChatGPT says about five days.) You’re apparently okay to make a baby - something you’re explicitly warned to not do while on the medication - one month after stopping.
Overall I am very happy with the results. The seven months of insular and antisocial behavior - due to needing to avoid being outside during the daytime - was worth it. Having lived with chronic acne for so long before, it’s difficult to believe that this acne-free condition will stick. I don’t think the anxiety of thinking every new odd sensation on the face is an oncoming breakout ever goes away.
So far so good, though.
You drop this, King.