Disclaimer: This post shares my personal experience with Accutane (isotretinoin). Everyone’s skin, health history, and treatment plan are different, so your experience may not be the same. This isn’t medical advice, just my honest experience. If you’re considering Accutane, be sure to talk with your dermatologist about whether it’s the right option for you.

Affiliate Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products I’ve personally used and genuinely loved.

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If you had told me when I was a teenager that I’d still be dealing with acne at 40, I would’ve laughed.

But here we are.

I wasn’t getting lots of little pimples. Instead, I’d get those deep cysts that seemed to live under my skin forever. They were painful, impossible to cover with makeup, and some of them would stick around for months before finally going away. Then, just when one would disappear, another would pop up somewhere else.

After years of trying different products and prescriptions, I finally decided to start Accutane.

Like most people, I spent way too much time reading horror stories online before I started. I almost talked myself out of it more than once.

Looking back now…

I’m so glad I didn’t.

My Treatment

My dermatologist started me on 40 mg, and I stayed there for five months. During my last month, we increased it to 60 mg to finish treatment.

Honestly, moving up to 60 mg wasn’t a huge change for me. Most of my side effects had already shown up during those first few months.

The Side Effects I Had

Everyone reacts differently, but here’s what I personally dealt with.

Dry lips

This one deserves to be first because it never really let up.

I don’t think I left the house once without some kind of lip balm in my pocket or purse. There were even runs where I’d have to reapply because my lips felt so dry.

The Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask became my holy grail. I used it every night before bed and usually put it on again while I was getting ready in the morning. If you’re starting Accutane, buy this before you take your first pill.

You’ll thank me later.

Dry skin

Within the first month, my skin changed completely.

Instead of trying every moisturizing product I could find, I kept my routine really simple.

I washed my face with Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser, applied snail mucin serum for extra hydration, and sealed everything in with CeraVe Moisturizing Lotion morning and night.

One thing my dermatologist stressed was protecting my skin barrier. That meant putting away my retinol and skipping exfoliating acids, scrubs, and anything else that could make my skin even more irritated.

At first it felt strange because I’d always thought more products meant better skin. Accutane taught me the opposite. My skin was happiest when I left it alone and focused on keeping it hydrated.

One thing I did continue using was my red light mask. Since so many of my usual anti-aging products were off limits during treatment, it felt good to still have something gentle that fit into my routine.

Headaches

During the first couple of months, I noticed more headaches than usual.

Nothing unbearable, just enough that I noticed them. They eventually became less frequent as treatment went on.

Tingling in my head

This was probably the strangest side effect.

Around month two, I’d get this weird tingling feeling in my scalp. It wasn’t painful, but it definitely got my attention.

Thankfully, it slowly faded away and was completely gone after month three.

Hair and scalp sensitivity

My scalp also became much more sensitive while I was on Accutane.

Washing my hair or brushing it sometimes made my scalp feel tender, and I noticed more hair shedding than usual for a while. That was probably the side effect that worried me the most.

Thankfully, it wasn’t permanent.

Joint pain

I expected dry lips.

I expected dry skin.

I did not expect my joints to hurt more after running.

Running and strength training have become one of my favorite ways to stay healthy, and during treatment I definitely noticed that my knees and other joints felt more sore after runs than they normally would. It wasn’t enough to make me stop running, but I learned pretty quickly that recovery mattered even more.

Some days I simply had to listen to my body and take it a little easier.

Sun sensitivity

This is one I don’t think gets talked about enough.

Your skin burns much more easily while you’re on Accutane.

Sunscreen became something I refused to skip—even if I was just heading out for a run, sitting through a soccer game, or working in the garden for a little while.

I also found myself wearing hats much more often than I used to.

If you’re starting Accutane, don’t wait until after your first sunburn to make sunscreen a habit. Put it on every single day.

Easy bruising

I also bruised much more easily than normal.

I’d look down at my legs and have no idea where some of the bruises came from. One time I even found bruising on my back from my bra I earned during a few sets of sit-ups.

It wasn’t anything serious, but it was another one of those little surprises that came along with treatment.

The Products That Helped Me

I didn’t have a complicated skincare routine.

Actually, it was probably the simplest my routine has ever been.

These are the products I reached for every single day:

• Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser
• Snail Mucin Serum
• CeraVe Moisturizing Lotion
• Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask
• A good broad-spectrum sunscreen (every single morning)
• My red light mask

That’s really it.

No retinol.

No exfoliating acids.

No scrubs.

Just gentle products that helped keep my skin comfortable while Accutane did the hard work.

Was It Worth It?

Without hesitation…

Yes.

Were my lips dry?

Absolutely.

Did I deal with headaches?

Yes.

Did I have a few months of weird scalp tingling?

Yep.

Did my joints complain a little more after runs?

Definitely.

Would I choose all of that again over months-long cystic acne?

In a heartbeat.

Looking back, six months really wasn’t that long. At the time it felt like forever, but now that it’s over, I’d do it again if it meant never dealing with those deep, painful cysts again.

The biggest thing I noticed wasn’t just that my skin looked better.

It was that I stopped thinking about it.

I wasn’t checking the mirror every morning wondering what new breakout had shown up overnight.

I wasn’t feeling around my face at bedtime to see if another painful cyst was starting.

For the first time in years, my skin felt…quiet.

And honestly, that’s something I didn’t realize I was missing.

My Progress

I’ve included photos from each stage of treatment because I know those were the posts I searched for before I started.

• Before Accutane – Lots of pimples and cysts, especially along my jawline.

• One month – It gets worse before it gets better.

• Four months – A few small pimples every couple of days but gone by the next day.

• Six months (now) – No new pimples in weeks, Still have scarring from past issues, but I don’t even wear foundation anymore – just a tinted moisturizer.

If you’re wondering whether you’re “too old” to start Accutane, you’re not.

I only wish I’d done it sooner.

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I’d love to hear from you in the comments. Have you taken Accutane as an adult, or are you thinking about starting? I’d be happy to answer questions and share anything I learned along the way.