Reclaim Your Skin

Hello, just wanted to share a lip balm discovery. I’ve been on Roaccutane for a month and was really suffering with dry lips. Was sick of the nipple cream which wasn’t really effective and was incredibly greasy, making me look liked i’d been greedily tucking into a bucket of KFC. I have just discovered something called EUCERIN LIP BALM and EUCERIN INTENSIVE 10% TREATMENT CREAM. For all of you who have heard about Aquaphor in the US, it’s made by the same people that make Eucerin so am sure it’s essentially the same thing. The only slighly gross thing is that the active ingredient in this is UREA but the Eucerin lip balm has been fantastic. Since i’ve started using it my lips are almost like normal: not at all dry!!!

P.S. Thanks for this site. It’s been a so helpful.

October 18th, 2007 at 11:47 am

hi there, i just started on roaccutane two days ago for my rosacea. so i am on only 20mg/day, which is a lower dose that i guess works for rosacea sufferers. to be honest, i have had bad skin, acne of some form or another, since i was 12. Now I am nearly 30 and FINALLY I get to try roaccutane after being on oral and topical antibiotics for the past YEAR with no change at all. (I had gone on antibiotics once before when I was 20, for quite a few months, also with no results.)

ANYWAY, I was happy to find this diary thing as it helps me settle down a bit after reading about all the insane side effects.

As for Aquaphor — I am in the UK now, but am originally from the US. My friend there went on roaccutane something like eight years ago and swore by aquaphor and cetaphil lotion. I looked high and low for aquaphor here, to no avail. I tried ordering it from amazon.com, but they would not ship it to the UK. This is quite perplexing, as it is made my Eucirin — a German company, no less — and they carry Eucirin products at Boots. So where’s the Aquaphor?

My sister gets nosebleeds from a medication that she’s on for arthritis, and she recommends Neosporin to put in your nostrils and also on your lips. Unfortunately, I can’t find that here either. I think it is time to ask my mom for a care package!

Anyway, I’m not yet experiencing any side effects, but then again I’ll only be taking my third pill tonight. Hair loss was a scary one that the doctor mentioned. I am hoping that since I’m on a lower dose the side effects will be less severe…

Thanks for this, and I’ll keep checking back to see what’s in store for me! xo Diana

October 18th, 2007 at 8:49 pm

You can get Aquaphor on ebay!

October 18th, 2007 at 9:12 pm

Thanks guys for all your suggestions - I’ve already got 8 hour cream and Neosporin on order from SkinStore.com so was pleased to hear they have good reports! I’ll let you know how I get on with them. As for the drinking water thing…I’m a bit sceptical as I’ve never found it affects my skin at all (haven’t we all heard the ‘drink loads of water and your skin will be clear’ comment before? And we tried it didn’t we? Did it work? Er, no. Bring on the hard drugs, please!) so I’m unsure that it would affect my reptilian lips that much. Worth a try though I guess. Best of luck to all of you, and any other tips will be very welcome as currently my lips resemble those of a sun-worshipping tortoise!

October 19th, 2007 at 4:17 pm

Hmm, that’s a difficult one Amber…for me personally, I am that bad at remembering to take tablets if I have to take them more than once a day that I would be inclined to take the lot at once, but of course you might be more organised than me! I doubt it would make a great deal of difference because you’re getting the same overall amount of the stuff inside you by the end of the day. I’ll be in the same situation soon - should be doubling to 60mg next Monday, and I think I’ll take it all at once, even though my lips are a right old state. Best of luck whatever you decide!

October 21st, 2007 at 10:09 am