Changes to my Skin
My skin is still oily everyday and I continue to blot with oil absorbing sheets once or twice a day to reduce shine. I use either MAC Studio Fix Liquid or Bare Minerals Powder Foundation, neither of which cover everything but improve my overall skin tone. In the first few days, I started noticing small white heads popping up here and there, and on day 7 I broke out with several HUGE pustules and papules, mainly on my cheeks and jawline. Over the past few days, I've had 5 new large pustules on my left cheek, 3 on my right cheek, and 2-3 beneath my jawline, in addition some little ones here and there. Very embarrassing...I hate going to work and hanging out with friends knowing they are staring at my even-more-horrible-than-usual skin, but they seem to be resolving themselves quicker than usual so I'm trying not to worry too much. My skin is very soft and smooth everywhere else though, especially on my upper cheeks. No changes in my hyper-pigmentation.
Side effects
My side effects have been mild thus far, and let's just hope they stay that way:
Dry ass lips
Let me first say that my biggest pet peeve in life is dry, crusty, ashy ass lips. I can't stand them on myself or others. I just won't have it! So I've been really proactive in moisturizing my lips even more than usual (I'm addicted to lip balm as it is). On day 7, my normal Kiehls #1 Lip Balm was not cutting it anymore. My lips didn't LOOK ashy, but they FELT paper dry. I got some Aquaphor Healing Ointment and started using that every 30 mins or so. When I say that's the best lip balm ever, I'm not exaggerating. It's smooth, thin, and lasts forever. I love it and I'm totally hooked. It's really kept my lips from even THINKING about cracking or peeling.
p.s. I thank my black girl-ness for being totally prepared to lip gloss it up for the next 6 months! I've been training for this for years!
Dry/Sensitive Scalp
I have long, thick locs and have done my own hair for years. I washed my hair last weekend (Day 6) and noticed that my hair was sensitive to the hot water; I had to use much cooler water than usual. When I was twisting and corn-rowing my hair, it felt like I was tugging and yanking with all my might, and I really wasn't. In the last day or two, my scalp has been itching like crazy and last night I realized that....I have dandruff! I have never EVER had a flaky scalp so this is totally new. Putting some oil on my scalp has helped so far so I'll probably just have to do that more often than usual. I'm guessing that people who report hair thinning or loss were experiencing breakage from dryness...and I'm also guessing this would be more of an issue for people with chemically treated hair. As a natural girl who LOVES my hair, I'm crossing my fingers.
Dry eyes
I don't wear contacts, but my eyes have been mildly itchy and dry, especially in the evenings. I find myself rubbing the crap out of them at times. So, I've started using regular ole eye drops a few times a day - one drop in each eye - to moisturize my eye balls and keep my lids from itching. Seems to be working so far.
Fatigue
I've been pretty sleepy in the evenings, especially when I didn't get at least 8 hours of sleep the night before. So I've been falling asleep around 9:30pm - way early for a night-owl like me. I've been okay going through my regular routine with only a typical amount of soreness after the gym, so it's not serious.
Nausea
The first few days I took my pill with dinner but only swallowed it with a sip of juice or water. I felt nauseated for hours afterward. Then I learned you should take it with dinner AND an entire glass of water. Now that I've been doing that I've been okay.
So that's about it! I've continued to wash my face twice daily with Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser. I moisturize in the morning with Neutrogena Oil-Free Moisture with SPF 15, and at night with Cetaphil Moisturizing Cream (I want to address the dry peeling before it even starts). I've been thirsty and dry-lipped enough to drink 8 or more cups of water a day so staying hydrated hasn't been too hard.
Check me out below! It's the end of the day so my skin is super gross and extra shiny. Plus my photos kinda suck...but as you can see, things are getting worse...
Day 6
Day 10
UPDATE: Last night I discovered that I have two pimples on my leg! Yes, my leg, people. They don't seem at all like bug bites or ingrown hairs. They are straight up white heads. Aside from being slightly grossed out, I am also quite fascinated...my leg though? I've never had significant body acne, and certainly not calf acne, so where those clogged pores are coming from I don't know. But I guess the Accutane really does force all the oil and bacteria out of your body no matter how obscure.
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