Roaccutane | Drink Up & Oil Up!

In my pervious blog about my Roaccutane journey, I promised a follow up with information on the products I’ve used to help curb some of the side effects. When I was first researching Roaccutane, there wasn’t much in the way of recommended products so hopefully this will help someone.

I was using some of these products in isolation before I was on Roaccutane but have found that the combination has kept the dryness under control on a day-to-day basis. If I skip a day, the dryness is back. This is just the reality of Roaccutane! You must think about the moisturising.

To clarify, this is my personal routine and some of this may not work for you. I am all about experimenting so don’t take the below as gospel!

Morning Routine

Let’s start with morning moisturising with Ultrabase! This was a recommendation from good friend of mine who suggested I use a more “medicated” moisturiser because of my skins propensity to react badly to perfumed skin products. I usually don’t wash my face in the morning because it’s so dry and I don’t want to end up with a flaky face throughout the day. I literally wake up, dab my face with a cold wet towel and then put the Ultrabase all over my face and neck, let it dry a little and then put my make up on.

Things I love about Ultrabase are; it absorbs well, it’s not greasy, it doesn’t have too much of a weird medicated smell and it’s super cheap! You can get it over the counter at your pharmacist for about £12 for a 500g pump or get a prescription from your GP.

I also use the Ultrabase for my body. It is gentle enough for your face, but also strong enough for your body.

Daily and Hourly Lip Saviour

Now, if you are taking, or thinking of taking, Roaccutane, your lips are going to die daily. They will be so dry that you won’t be able to keep up with them. To help with the dryness I have been using another product recommended to me by a friend, Blistex Daily Lip Conditioner. Even if you aren’t taking Roaccutane, you should use this. I apply this pretty much every hour and it has been brilliant. I was using Elizabeth Arden’s 8-hour lip balm, but it doesn’t heal them the way that Blistex does and is about £25(!!!). Blistex is also another cheap product for only £2.69.

I love everything about it, I just wish they did it in chap stick form instead of a pot.

Make-Up Removal

I try to work out most days, and if I am going to sweat I will ALWAYS take my make up off beforehand. This is a personal preference because the idea of wearing make up whilst I sweat just doesn’t sit well with me, especially when I am trying to fix the acne. But if you don’t care, neither do I!

Don’t freak out, but to take my make up off I use oil, specifically No.7 Beautiful Skin Cleaning Oil …That’s right, OIL! I started using this about a year ago after reading an article on BuzzFeed about how someone got rid of their acne using an oil cleanser. It didn’t cure my acne, but it stopped the feeling of stripping the skin that you sometimes get with products that contain acids such Salicylic Acid.

Things I love about No.7 Beautiful Skin Cleaning Oil are; that it smells good naturally rather than perfumed, it doesn’t leave a residue, it dissolves every bit of makeup, and is also a great price! It’s £11 for 150ml which will last about 2 months because you only need a pump or two of oil. AND Boots always have the vouchers in store to get money off their skincare range! While I have been using Roaccutane this has been a great added moisture boost for my skin. The strapline says “helps dry skin behave like normal skin”.

To use this, I put a couple of pumps into the palm of my hand and then rub it all over my face and then wipe off with a drenched flannel.

I then follow this with using my Epaderm, which you can read about here . If I haven’t worn make up that day I just use Epaderm.

Evening Routine

Overnight I will use yet more oil. I cover my face in Vitamin E Overnight Serum-In-Oil from the Body Shop and then sleep with my hair tied up so it doesn’t get stuck to my face! This is the higher price point of the products at £16. If you can’t bring yourself to spend that, just use the Ultrabase as a nightly moisturizer, it works just as well, you just need to let in sink in for longer than the oil.

I find the Vitamin E oil brings down the redness of my skin and blemishes by the morning and sinks into the skin quickly. You don’t feel like you have oil on your face. On some occasions when my skin has been especially dry I have put two layers on oil on.

Using oil didn’t cause me any breakouts of further acne, but that is not to say it may do for you.

Oil Up & Drink Up!

Ultimately, you need to do as much research as possible to workout if you can cope with side effects. If you do get put on Roaccutane you will need to experiment with products to help curb the dryness. Your dermatologist may offer their own advice.

My one piece of personal advice is that you cannot leave the dryness to heal itself, because it won’t. As I said, if I skip moisturizing for one day, the dryness is instantly back.

Drink plenty of water and oil up!