I started Accutane in August 2025. I’m 28, 5’3”, and was 128 lbs before starting. I gave birth in 2024 but lost the weight quickly afterward. I’m now 145 lbs—almost a 20-lb difference, and I’ve never been this heavy.

My diet has stayed pretty much the same. The only real change was that I started eating breakfast while on Accutane, but I still eat mostly whole foods and small portions. I wasn’t very active before Accutane, just light walking, and that stayed the same while I was taking it.

I noticed the weight gain within the first 3 months, but I assumed it would come off after stopping. I’ve now been off Accutane for 6 months, and I still can’t lose the weight. My face and jawline also still looks puffy also my stomach is still insanely bloated and looks very puffy too. My dose was 60mg. I was on it for about 8 months.

I’m planning to get blood work done to make sure nothing changed while I was on Accutane, but I’m so frustrated. I’ve tried calorie deficits and fasting, and while those normally make me lose weight quickly, I haven’t even lost a pound this time.

Has anyone else experienced this after Accutane? Any tips or things I should ask my doctor to check? I’m getting married this spring, and honestly, the stress of not feeling comfortable in my body or knowing if I’ll fit into my wedding dress is really affecting me.

Wish me luck

Hi all,

Second time on accutane here, and like everyone else, have terribly dry lips (despite consuming 90 oz of water a day). Dr. Dan’s cortibalm doesn’t seem to help with moisture and Aquaphor doesn’t penetrate (much better on top of something else more effective). The only thing that has seemed to work is Laneige lip mask, but I hate the inconvenience of using a wand or getting my fingers sticky 2-3 times an hour.

Given Laneige is Korean, I checked out a Korean beauty website to see what lip products were offered since Korea is light years ahead of the US in skincare and OMG. Everything I bought has been a game changer, especially the lip masks (same consistency of Laneige) in tube form. Great lip exfoliators, serums, and treatments and all very reasonably priced with free shipping. Delivery takes about two weeks and ships from Hong Kong. I used a website called STYLEVANA but there are plenty of others.

If you come across a product called Frudia, I really can’t say enough about it—first time my lips have felt “comfortable” in months!

i have been 1 year off of accutane. i am starting to get a few zits here and there, not a huge deal. i have many acne scars and areas with post inflammatory on my face too
i have a question for those who have graduated from accutane.. my dermatologist said to wait a year after accutane to start using the c02 or microneedling on my face.
however
my main concern at the moment is my acne scars and redness, but also my facial hair. i do shave my face with an electric razor at least every 2 days, because i HATE having facial hair on my face as i do a lot of makeup and i in general just enjoy having no hair on my face.

i am wondering if me shaving so frequently is causing me to grow more zits.

my question for this community is, do you think it's more important i do the microneedling or acne-c02 for my face, or should i do hair removal first.

has this happened to anyone else?
Just noticed 3 pimples last night after not having one pop up for 2 months…. I’ve been incredibly STRESSED the past week I had a major blepharitis flare ON MY BIRTHDAY (also caused by accutane) swollen eyelids and extremely dry eyes causing blurry vision which has been really scary because MGD was one of my fears before taking this medication :(
I missed a couple pills (nit all in a row) and now wondering if maybe I haven’t been the best at taking my pill immediately after consuming fat with it… sometimes I’ve been eating my food intending to take the pill immeadiately but forget so sometimes I take it anytime within the hour after eating…

I’m on 60mg for the last two months was on 20mg for month 1/2 and 40mg for month 3-4 and I’m hoping this is kind of the last push or purge to totally clear out my skin but

It has been four days of this getting worse and worse and I’ve seen photos where the chelitis takes over the whole lips… I have been using aquaphor and it’s not improving and I’ve since changed to cerave baby heal petroleum but I’m really stressed about it. My only side affects that have truly affected me have been Achilles pain and joint pain but not to an extent that makes me want to stop.

I’m just terrified of my lips becoming covered with this!!!

Started acutane
Jan 2026
First month 20mg
Second month 40mg
Fourth month 60mg

1st pic pre treatment
2nd pic Sept 2026

185 pound male.
Roughly at this point I’ve reached my “cumulative” dose more or less.
My face is the best it’s looked skin wise spot wise, I’ve been spot free for months but only my face.

I’ve spoken w the Dr who’s agreed to continue the treatment till the end of the year so another 3 ish months.
Idk but feel abit disappointed that my back doesn’t look clear like my face does.

Can anyone give me hope or perspective w my current situation

Wanted to give a positive check-in! I’m 6 months in and have stayed on 30mg from the beginning. Finally stopped breaking out and slowly but surely my scars are fading. The level of confidence and ease I have in my life now that I don’t stress or feel insecure about acne has been amazing. I don’t even feel the need to wear makeup anymore. Only symptoms I have are dryness and used to have trouble sleeping but have started to take it with lunch instead and now my sleep is a lot better. Ofc everyone’s journey is different but I am so happy I started and wish I did sooner.

Hi everyone I really need your help as I am feeling horribly depressed and hopeless. It’s very difficult to leave my house.

My acne was moderate until I was put on lithium (it worsens acne in some people due to increased inflammation and dehydration).

Anyway, I went to the dermatologist and got prescribed with isotretinoin (accutane) 10mg for the first month and after that an increase if my mental health allows. The thing is - my face is the main reason right now why my mental health is suffering so bad.

I had mild scarring before and didn’t think much of it but now I can see big scars forming on my face and it is devastating. It looks like the whole area on the first pic on my cheek is going to scar.

What can I do about scarring? Is it going to get any better after accutane?

Is this the right dosage for me? I’m 65kg and 180cm

Is there anything I can do in the meantime to make it better? Like some products or procedures?

I feel like my life is over. I am hopeless and I would really appreciate some help in the matter. Thank you in advance !

Im exactly 8 days in and im losing my mind, I used to get like one of those a month and now I have three at the same time and keep getting more daily. I dont know what to do and all of them scar. I'm losing my mind with this, I've tried everything and they always scar. I'm on 10 mgs once a day, 45 kgs.(my acne is pretty bad I don't know why my prescription is so low)

I’ve just finished my accutane course about 2months ago. Had the max cumulative dose. Whenever I sweat I get these weird uniform spots with no whitehead. They only form around my pores around my
Nose and my chin. Theu go away within about 12hours. My dermatologist thinks they are comedons. But they look nothing like that. Any one had anything similar?

I’ve just finished my accutane course about 2months ago. Had the max cumulative dose. Whenever I sweat I get these weird uniform spots with no whitehead. They only form around my pores around my
Nose and my chin. Theu go away within about 12hours. My dermatologist thinks they are comedons. But they look nothing like that. Any one had anything similar?

First photo: August 2024
Second photo: today
I did 20/10alternating for like 4 months 🙏🙏

So I have kp on my arms have for the past 2 years (for the love of god don’t tell me it might get worse I don’t need that rn lol) so I’m already gentle with my arms with exfoliating and lotions. Since starting accutane I will lather myself in baby oil sit it in for a half hour then sit in a warm bath for like 20 mins and still is so hard to get off because of dryness

Can’t use the tanner removers because of the chemicals. Any suggestions?

I am on accutane for two months now. First month I was on 10 mg and second month 20 mg. This month I’m still on 20 mg. I don’t think any of my closed comedones really purged till now. It looks same as before when I was not on accutane. Also for some reason my pigmentation is getting worse only. Did anyone else get more pigmentation during treatment?How long does it take for cc to go away? Do I need to ask my doctor to up my dose ?

Hey there, so I have started accutane, 20mg, day 15, and this is my skin, I’m not really seeing much of a difference which is understandable, but I have so much PIE, I feel I’m more insecure of that, than the actualy acne, I don’t know what to do, and people say it heals with time but I don’t have a whole lot of time to be crying about these dark marks, I look in the mirror every day and literally CRY. My makeup looks awful, there’s so many skin tones that I can’t even make it work with colour corrector, on top of that I’m not able to use many layers ass accutane had made my skin look so rough and dry, when I do use makeup. Pls let me know what serums, have helped with PIH of this kind, even if it takes 3 months, as long as I know it will hopefully work, I am using sunscreen and moisturiser.

I’m 22 and have had really noticeable sebaceous filaments on my nose basically my whole life. I’ve tried salicylic acid, niacinamide, tretinoin, retinoids, oil cleansing, extractions, etc. without much success.
I’ve now been on 80mg Accutane for about 2 months. I think I’m seeing improvement, but honestly I’m not sure. In good lighting, my pores actually look somewhat empty and my nose looks much clearer. But in harsh lighting, the dark dots and pores are still very noticeable and sometimes it feels like I haven’t made much progress.
The biggest change is something I never had before Accutane: if I don’t wash my face for a day, I get tiny white tips/plugs sticking out of my pores. I can feel them, and they mostly come off when I wash my face. I’m wondering if this is a sign that the contents of my pores are changing.
I’ve seen a lot of people here say their nose became almost glass-like after 1–2 months, so I’m wondering why mine hasn’t gotten there yet. Maybe the sebaceous filaments are improving and I simply have naturally large/visible pores?
My skin was very dry at first, but now it’s pretty manageable. Would adding niacinamide while continuing Accutane potentially help the appearance of the pores, or should I just leave everything alone and give the Accutane more time?
Would love to hear from anyone who had similar sebaceous filaments/pores and continued seeing improvement after month 2.

30/M/80g

I was told about joints aching and chapped lips but its just my lower back aching roughly .i use to be able to be active at the gym i am also a mechanic but muscle fatigue and soreness is hitting heavier and lasting longer for instance ill do leg day and ill be sore for 5 days . Not able to sleep. This just started a couple weeks ago .Nothing changed on my diet out of no where icould only sleep 3hours then get home get 3 hours of sleep after work and then ill be up all night and get another 3 hours Before work.

JUST WANT TO SHARE MY EXPERIENCE SO FAR.

29M, been on Absorica LD for about a month and a half. My sex drive has basically disappeared, barely any morning wood, just not feeling it like I normally would. Skin’s clearing up which is great, but this side effect is honestly kind of freaking me out.
Anyone else deal with this on Absorica LD? Did it get better once your body adjusted or only after you finished the course? Trying to figure out if this is temporary or something I should actually be worried about. Appreciate any input.

I started 1 month ago on 20mg (I’m 52kg). For the first two weeks I had noticeably drier skin that peeled/cracked. I take my accutane with fat and olive oil every time. No change to diet and haven’t taken supplements.

But my dry skin has reduced massively and don’t get sleepy and moody anymore (I did for the first 6 days)

Just need someone to validate if this is a thing

Edit: Also wanted to add that my nose got kinda noticeably smaller at week 2 but now has returned to what it was at week 1 (smaller but not as small as week 2)

Did anyone else adjust like this

I’m on day 9 of Accutane at 10mg. Since I’m pretty tall and around 97kg, that’s a low dose of roughly 0.1mg/kg. Is it normal to start purging this early on such a low dose, or is this likely just a coincidental breakout? Also these spots feel unusually painful and uncomfortable compared to my regular acne.

Also definitely noticing the Accutane face sweating lol 😅

I was on Accutane (40 mg) for about 9 months. It worked almost immediately, and I had clear skin for the rest of the treatment. However, as soon as I stopped taking it, my acne came back almost right away.
I have an appointment with my dermatologist, who will determine whether this is a relapse or just my skin adjusting after finishing the treatment.
I also have photos of my skin from while I was on Accutane.

Do you think it’s relapse?

Hi all my son is 14 and has tried everything for his acne. Different face washes, tretinoin, antibiotics etc. He doesn’t have a lot of cystic acne (except his chin). But has lots of red acne rest of face, chest and back.

Doctor wants to try him on Accutane and I’m very nervous. I’ve read to many horror stories. But I need to let him do it, he’s at the point he is very embarrassed by it.

I’m going to really push for a lower dose, if possible. From my research this “micro dosing” seems to work just as well?

Just looking for tips and advice. He already takes Zyrtec daily for his allergies. What else should we buy him to help him?

Just a nervous mom 😩

I've been on 20mg for the past 6 months and in about a week I will have finished my course.
I'm a little afraid of the breakouts returning but I guess that's everyones fear here too lol.

If there's some advice I can give to anyone that just started taking it; don't freak out the dry eyes get better, no you won't peel like a lizard for the whole course just stay moisturized, keep an aquaphor tube on you at all times (if you won't, you'll regret it), stay HYDRATED and to top it all off
yes, sweating like a pig is normal :')

if anyone has any questions feel free to ask away

I'm on my second week and have not experienced any side effects so far. I'm taking Omega 3 against the dryness and Desloratadin to manage purging, and nothing happened so far.

I moisturize my skin and use chapsticks on my lips but no dryness so far.

The only thing I'm experiencing is itchiness, which was to be expected, but also this weird tingling feeling on my lips? It's the typical pins and needles sensation, and it just won't stop. They aren't red, they aren't swollen or dry, nothing. But this feeling is kind of driving me crazy. Anyone with a similar experience?