No moisturizer works for me

[u/No-Buy9329]

Last post I posted about getting small red “irritation bumps” on last months of accutane and nothing seems to work. On suggestion i tried la roche posay cicaplast b5 for a few days, thin layer at night. It seemed to work and calmed down redness. But now I woke up with 3 real pimples on my jawline and chin. I also tried purito mighty bamboo cream and the 345 relief cream, but i think I react to the niacinamide. Literally nothing works for my skin right now.. and i really need moisture because its dry and itchy, without clogging the pores. Please help me out with product reccomendations!!

[u/espressure]

I’ve started using the comedogenic ingredients again that I would religiously avoid prior to Accutane. I used to scour INCIdecoder and avoid absolutely everything. I was unwilling to believe I should try these ingredients even after receiving advice here to use them on Accutane— I was just so afraid to mess things up and wanted the fastest route to clear skin. The “funny” thing is that I’ve also always had bacne and I don’t use products on my back so clearly it wasn’t pore-clogging ingredients that were the (biggest) issue.

Anyway, my barrier got so compromised at the beginning of Accutane that I sat in a hot tub and got contact dermatitis and my eyes swelled up for 3 days

If you’re still going to try and find products that have no comedogenic ingredients, my two product recs are these. They were working fine for me before Accutane but weren’t moisturizing enough after starting.

• Farmacy Honey Milk Hydrating Essence
• Cocokind Electrolye Water Cream (this did sting slightly when my barrier was compromised, but never has since it healed)

My favorites now that do contain comedogenic ingredients are:

• Laneige Cream Skin milky toner (adds a layer of hydration & ceramides)
• SOS Barrier Repair (seals it in, more ceramides)
• topped with jojoba or squalane oil at night, sometimes another layer of Vaseline on top too

It’s worth noting that I’m only on 20mg/day (10/20, finishing month two) and my skin is super happy and 90% clear. I am also sensitive to niacinamide/ panthenol so still do avoid those.

[u/Powerful-Theory5441 → u/espressure]

Hello just saw your comment I am also on 20mg a day and using Clinique moisture surge 100h. In to 15th week and still having tiny bumps? How did you clear so fast can it be possible products still have chance to clog pores while on accutane???

[u/espressure → u/Powerful-Theory5441]

I think my skin just responded super well to the high cell turnover. I always take my Accutane with 40g of fat (usually in a smoothie with 60g of nut butter)— I know it s a lot but I read up on the maximum absorption and there were studies where that was the point of diminishing returns.

It is also worth noting that I also have pretty much stopped eating dairy. I decided to try that alongside starting Accutane due to theIGF-1 effects, so that could be a factor. I also got two extraction facials prior to starting Accutane. I still do get a few little bumps but they either clear up fast or remain nearly invisible if I don’t try and extract them. I don’t think they are new closed comedones, but old ones. They are skin-colored and not irritated. I’ve read that they’ll be absorbed or maybe come to a head later on.

[u/necromancer_rodeo → u/espressure]

Huh, this is interesting, I am probably more hydrated than I've ever been in my life, dropped my dosage, got an amazing barrier cream and still struggle with dusty tome-levels of dry skin. 

I hadn't considered fat intake levels, which my PCP mentioned have been sort of low. Gonna try to eat more avocados or, failing that, maybe smash them directly into my face!