My Roaccutane/isotretinoin journey has been something that, before I embarked on it, seemed like a forever, on going, cycle of getting lost in the system of GPs and referrals. It was my last resort after exhausting almost every other avenue of medication, no medication, diet changes and expensive, face washes. So it’s crazy to believe that now, I’ve been off of it for well over a year (I stopped taking roaccutane in April 2018) If you’re intrigued about my acne and skin journey so far, or want to see some further progress images, head over to my blog post when I was 2 months in!)

For those of you reading this that are currently on their roaccutane journey, I’m always over on Instagram if you want a chat, any advice or just want to ask away any questions – it’s a topic I love discussing with you guys over there!) Or if you’re feeling the dryness of the side effects, I also have my top, gentle and hydrating recommendations if you’re on roaccutane or have no idea what skincare to use whilst on it! But for now – let’s discuss! How have I been since coming off of acne medication, and how has my skin held up, over a year on?

I half expected the process of coming off of roaccutane to be instant, but it was a rather slow and natural process. It takes a good several months to leave your system, hence why you can’t wax or have facial peels until you’ve been off of it for at aleast 6 months I believe. You skin is too delicate to do any of of this. It wasn’t the nightmare I imagined by having my oily skin return, but rather, a new skin type has gradually been born. When you take roaccutane, it’s like being given a new face and skin, and then when you come off of it, you go through this process again – what your skin likes, what it doesn’t and what works well.

Has my skin slowly gone back to how it was before? Absolutely not. My skin is less dry than when on the medication; the oil has started to produce again but nothing near the crazy, oily, mess it was before (it was so hard to keep makeup on my face!) For me, roaccutane began working from day 1 and I was without ANY new spots for months. (as you can see from the photos below) Over the last year or so, I’d say I have a ‘normal’ skin type now, however over the last month I’ve discovered it may be sensitive, as I had a breakout due to some stage makeup. I’m certainly going to be more cautious about what I put on my skin, but a ‘breakout’ now is a mere couple of tiny pimples, nothing of the magnitude before roaccutane.