Isotretinoin and Hair Loss: What Users Say

• Tha...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 10, 2020

Isotretinoin for Acne "I find that Accutane is one of the most life-changing experiences. Started to notice a huge difference in my skin on month 2. Treatment is very harsh with many side effects. Dry and thin skin, breakouts now and then, very dry eyes. I tried all types of Blistex lip balms, which did not help. Baseline Blue Seal works wonders on the lips and even on dry areas of the skin. I apply sunscreen every day with Nutraderm lotion to hydrate my skin. I also find that it really helps to have at least 3 liters of water every day. I'm currently in the middle of month 3 of treatment, and the past few weeks have been the hardest. Skin and lips are drier than ever, and there is a loss of hair. Some days depression kicks in, so it is important to keep your loved ones around you just to have some positivity. This treatment is quite costly, but it is all worth it in the end. A few months of side effects and paying the price for lifelong great skin and confidence."

• ter...
• April 7, 2020

Isotretinoin for Acne "This drug is poison. Please care for yourself. Accutane ruined my life. I took 80 mg of Accutane for 9 months at 18 years old. I had cystic acne on my back and face. I tried birth control, antibiotics, and topical creams. So my dermatologist recommended this. Side effects: dry skin all over, chapped lips, eczema, brittle nails. Vision problems, waking up in the morning with my eyes sealed shut with pus, and dry eyes. Lips were a huge scab. Normal and monthly checkups/blood tests. I had dime-sized blisters on my body from a sunburn. Six months: body aches that made it difficult to sleep, poor digestion, hemorrhoids, bloody stools, and sad. Months 7-9: my hair fell out! I lost 80% of my hair, in pain and depressed. Nine months: finished treatment, I was 'cured' of my acne. I was bald, poor vision, and in pain mentally and physically. Three months later, my acne came back worse. My dermatologist said to do round 2 of Accutane, and I told her never to recommend it to anyone. It is so toxic for your body. Please do not take this drug."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 18, 2020

Isotretinoin for Acne "I took this poison for 6 months, and it completely ruined my hair for life. It changed my hair texture. I have thinning hair, and it won’t grow long anymore. I have an itchy sensation on my scalp due to hair loss, and it torments me every day. I can’t even look at myself in the mirror anymore, trust me, I’d rather have acne than lose my hair. Now it’s made me more insecure. You're rolling the dice because not everyone gets these side effects. If only I would have known this medication could potentially cause balding, I would never have taken it."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 18, 2020

Isotretinoin for Acne "I took this poison for 6 months, and it completely ruined my hair for life. It changed my hair texture. I have thinning hair, and it won’t grow long anymore. I have an itchy sensation on my scalp due to hair loss, and it torments me every day. I can’t even look at myself in the mirror anymore, trust me, I’d rather have acne than lose my hair. Now it’s made me more insecure. You're rolling the dice because not everyone gets these side effects. If only I would have known this medication could potentially cause balding, I would never have taken it."

• the...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 5, 2015

Isotretinoin for Rosacea "Just hitting one month on Accutane. Don't forget, this is a review for rosacea, not acne. I gave it a 9/10 for acne, and on rosacea, I will give it an 8/10 so far. I will update the review over time. I was so hesitant to try Accutane with the horror stories, but you have to remember it is for less than 1% of the people that take it. I struggled with depression and have had ZERO depression episodes. Dry eyes and dry lips. Hair thinning a bit, but I am not losing any whatsoever. Vivid dreams. That is all. I only had two headaches (minor). This and CeraVe Cleanser, CeraVe Moisturizer has made my rosacea go COMPLETELY away. The redness on my face is gone. It is amazing to me. Good luck to all who go down the Accutane road! Everyone is different."

• aut...
• February 13, 2019

Isotretinoin for Acne "Before starting this medication, I had struggled with acne for years, had a history of depression in my teens, had no back pain or joint pain, and I had a full head of hair. Month 1: dry lips, and my acne got much worse. By month 3, the body/joint pain started. Month 5: I was taking Tylenol 4 times a day, every day for back pain, and every joint in my body was popping and crunching. Acne never fully cleared. Month 2 off of it, and my acne started coming back, and my hair started falling out. I'm 5 months off now. My hair is STILL falling out, and none of my doctors can tell me if/when it will stop or if it will grow back. My back still hurts, every joint in my body pops and is sore, and my knees and shoulders crunch with minimal movement. I haven't been myself in 8 months, always angry and depressed. If I had known in order to have mostly clear skin all I had to sacrifice was half the hair on my head, my personality, and my back and joints, I would not have done it."

• HHa...
• January 30, 2020

Isotretinoin for Acne "I have struggled with acne my entire life, tried countless drugs and products to clear my skin, and had no luck. When I was on Accutane, I had clear skin aside from a few cystic pimples throughout the two-year period. In addition to this amazing feeling, my skin was constantly dry, my lips were constantly chapped, and I had to drink many cups of water a day to even feel semi-hydrated. When I stopped taking the drug, I suffered from hardcore anxiety and had a few full-blown anxiety attacks, something I have never been affected by before I started taking this medication. After about a month or two, this anxiety calmed, but I still suffer from it. Now, almost four years after I finished taking the medication, my acne is back and the same as before, my lips are still constantly chapped, I still wake up in the middle of the night to very dry skin, and my hair is way thinner than it used to be. This harmful drug is NOT WORTH IT."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• January 15, 2016

Isotretinoin for Acne "I was on Accutane (Claravis) the first 2 months, my acne actually got worse, but after that, my face started clearing up. The reason I'm not giving this a full 10 is because I had more negative effects than I did good. Granted, my acne did go away, but only for it to come back 2 months after I was done. I didn't experience a dry face, which is a very common side effect, but I did get horribly dry lips. My hair would fall out in clumps throughout the day. I gained 20 pounds while on this medication, made my heart get irregular palpitations, and I also experienced shortness of breath. My cholesterol levels were also all whacked out. Horrible joint pain! All of this for my acne to end up coming back. Think twice before putting your body through this."

• Cel...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 22, 2015

Isotretinoin for Acne "I just started Accutane two weeks ago, 10 mg a day, and this is a miracle in a pill!! I had large, painful, inflamed acne along my jawline. After the first day, the inflammation was GONE! The second day, my acne basically fell out of my pores. I do experience dry lips, itchy skin, dry eyes, and hair loss, but it's worth it. Also, it is giving my skin a chance to heal, and I don't know why, but some report SCARRING, but for me, it made my scars and even stretch marks diminish. I think I'm the perfect candidate for the drug. If one has inflammatory acne, this is the drug to take."

• Dar...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 13, 2018

Isotretinoin for Acne "Please, before you take Accutane, really consider the side effects. Some of these reviews kind of downplay them, but some are actually very serious. I have been on Accutane for one month, and I started to lose hair on my temples (like my hairline is receding), and I’m only 18. I’m really scared that it may not grow back, and from what I’ve read, that might be a possibility. I’m telling you, don’t go on this drug unless you have extremely severe acne. If it is moderate like mine, just try to accept it, the risk is not worth it."

• Gaw...
• May 30, 2018

Isotretinoin for Acne "I went on Accutane in 1982. I had chronic acne on my shoulders and back. My lips and nose immediately dried up, cracked, and bled. My eyes got so dry I constantly had to use drops. My joints started to ache constantly. My thick hair and eyelashes started falling out. My arm hair, underarms, and legs stopped growing. My eyebrows decided to almost disappear. My hair on my head never returned to its original thickness, nor did my eyelashes or eyebrows. The hair on my arms, legs, and underarms all but disappeared. I got extremely tired for a full year. It did clear up my acne issues. My biggest complaint is joint pain! I still have it 36 years later. I would joke that I felt like a cancer patient going through chemo, so tired, losing hair. I never knew it was originally for chemotherapy treatments until 2016. I discovered others were having joint pain 20 to 30 years later also. Wish there would have been some kind of recognition that joint pain is a permanent side effect from Accutane."

• Jen...
• June 25, 2016

Isotretinoin for Acne "This has worked wonders for me when I was 24. After years of severe adult acne, this was the only thing that helped. Fast forward to my 40s, I tried 2 courses of Accutane for severely oily skin. When you have skin this oily and finally your makeup looks like velvet matte perfection, it's almost too good to be true. I developed 2 bad side effects that were not listed in my booklet: hair loss and severe dark under-eye circles. Nothing else was different in my life except the Accutane. I feel like I traded one issue (and it's only temporary, oil comes back) for two worse issues. I'm devastated. Had I been told this was even a small possibility, I would never have done this. I was a super fan but not so much now."

• Ale...
• June 13, 2017

Isotretinoin for Acne "I took the max dosage for this drug for 6 months (I had bad cystic acne.) The main side effect I had was dryness. Everything was so dry (lips, mouth, nose) and light nosebleeds. However, it was very minimal. I did experience a lot of hair loss, and it's continuing. One thing that surprised me: I had a history of depression and was worried about it bringing it back. However, I actually noticed an improved mood. I wonder if this is because I had a vitamin A deficiency, which Zenatane is derived from. Overall, great experience. Acne-free except for occasional ones that dry up fast. Keep in mind some things: your acne might get worse before it gets better, and keep your doctor updated with side effects."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• September 9, 2016

Isotretinoin for Acne "I will just say, I had horrible acne. And it didn't make it any better that I was super sensitive to fake hormones: birth control. I couldn't and still can't take it because I have a rare side effect to it that causes cystic acne. I didn't figure this out until after the damage was done, unfortunately. I was extremely desperate because I tried everything known to mankind before birth control. I even tried four different antibiotics, and only one worked, but I ended up relapsing before my year time frame was up. I was in a huge and, not to mention, horrible predicament. So, my last resort, being Accutane, was the best decision I ever made. The only thing I will harshly complain about is around the fifth month I started having hair thinning."

• pop...
• August 14, 2018

Isotretinoin for Acne "Accutane does do the job, it does clear your acne. However, it does take a while to do so, especially if you’re put on a low dose like I was. As well as this, although I am so happy I don’t have acne anymore, as it was ruining my life and my self-confidence, the side effects of Accutane were horrendous for me. My skin started going scaly because it was so dry, literally everywhere. My hair stopped growing and got so dry, damaged, and thin to the point where I’ve had to pay a lot of money to get it fixed, and it also made my mood change quite a lot too. A few months later, I did notice that I was getting spots again, not as bad as my acne before, but still. I’ve started using Cepton skin wash, and that works amazingly. I guess you have to weigh up the side effects versus how bad your acne is. If you’ve tried everything else and nothing works and your acne gets you down, then I think Accutane is for you. The main thing is that it does work, but the side effects do have to be considered!"

• Bel...
• May 27, 2021

Isotretinoin for Acne "I know if you’re reading this you are reluctant to take this pill. You are asking yourself, will I have all these terrible side effects? I had no underlying conditions, and I took Accutane for 10 months, 20 mg dose & 30 mg dose - I took Accutane about 5 years ago now. My brother just got on it now too. My acne was pretty bad, I wish I still had the pictures, but now I’m clear, just some acne scars now, but my acne is good - I don't have any! My side effects were very dry skin and lips, especially the corners, they would hurt if I didn’t moisturize!!! So always keep chapstick. Another weird thing: my hair was shedding A LOT. I mean, I have naturally thick hair, so for me it wasn’t bad, but yeah, it would shed a lot, and with the straightening I would do back then... imagine. Eat with your pills!! I wasn’t getting the results I should have been the first 2 months, and it was because I was not eating the proper foods with it or drinking enough water. Not eating with them also makes you super tired."

• Kjb...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 26, 2016

Isotretinoin for Acne "OMG, I love Accutane. Best thing that ever happened to me. I have 2 months left of this medication, and I don't want it to end. Right now, my face looks so perfect and flawless, occasionally, a zit or two, nothing major at all! I'm so sad that I won't be on it and that my acne will come back! I didn't have awful acne before, 1-10, it was like a 4 or 5 (10 being the worst), but I suffered from awful blackheads. Not anymore, my nose looks perfect. I did get huge cystic acne as soon as I started the medication, and I had almost every side effect, from 20 nosebleeds a day to chapped lips to my hair literally coming out in huge chunks and extreme joint pain. But it was so, so, so worth it."

• Alm...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 21, 2017

Isotretinoin for Acne "Started off 20 mg for the first two months, not on 40 mg, still having breakouts, but acne has been less cystic. Side effects so far are dry lips, hair loss, dry scabby skin on top of hands, and some mild mood swings. I still work out 5 days a week and have not lost my energy. I rated the medication at an 8 because it is working but not fully. I am just being patient, but I can see results occurring. I used pure coconut oil on my face, and I love it. I usually reapply twice a day because my skin soaks it up for being drier than usual and Aquaphor for lips/hands."

• Nic...
• October 23, 2013

Isotretinoin for Acne "I've been on Claravis 60 mg a day (30 mg twice daily) for almost 3 months now. I've seen some great improvement, but I really expected to be completely clear by now. However, I just read that you're supposed to take this pill with food, and I haven't been doing that. Symptoms are horrible. Worst muscle aches I've ever had in my life, and my lips are so dry putting on Carmex every 10 seconds still barely helps. I used to have beautiful, long, shiny hair, and now my hair is extremely stringy and brittle, and I can only wash it once a week. I always feel sick and dehydrated, and no amount of water I drink helps. Also, my skin is a really weird texture. Headaches so bad sometimes I can't even see straight. I'm trying so hard to stick it out, but we'll see."

• Ano...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• June 6, 2023

Isotretinoin for Acne "I used to not be able to leave the house without covering up scabs on my face with makeup. My acne was never super cystic, but it was bad enough to the point I was embarrassed by it and only made it worse by picking at it. I had tried multiple face washes, moisturizers, doxycycline, clindamycin, and tretinoin, but I never noticed huge changes. I was on Accutane for 8 months, and I now LOVE my face. I take selfies (unedited ones!), leave the house without makeup, and just feel so much more confident. Highly, highly recommend. I didn’t really have multiple side effects (maybe some moodiness and hair loss, but this could also be from stress). 11/10 recommend."

• Tr0...
• February 3, 2017

Isotretinoin for Acne "I took 60 mg of Accutane for almost 6 months, and I had moderate to severe acne. It did help my acne tremendously, and though once in a while I still get a little pimple here and there, it is not to the severity of before taking the medication. However, the side effects were brutal: very dry skin, nosebleeds, and a lot of hair shedding. I say the hair shedding was the worst side effect of the medication because I was shedding hair during the medication and even after I stopped taking Accutane, I developed telogen effluvium, which caused more shedding for three more months. Eventually, the shedding stopped and everything went back to normal. Yes, this medication is effective for treating acne, but be cautious of side effects."

• Toa...
• April 23, 2021

Isotretinoin for Acne "For background, I am a female in my mid-20s. I took 40 mg of Accutane for 8 months (on and off, since I sometimes had to stop to take antibiotics). I had no other health problems other than depression and anxiety prior to taking Accutane. Neither of these conditions worsened or improved for me while on the drug. This drug does what it says it will do. The acne on my chest and back has completely cleared and not come back. I only get hormonal breakouts before my period now. The prominent side effects that I experienced were hair loss, weight gain (not due to the medication, but having to take Accutane with a high-fat meal, feeling more tired on the drug, etc.), and body aches. I am still coping with hair loss, but my dermatologist has said it is temporary. And joint pain from the medication. If I do not drink a lot of water throughout the day, then my joints start to feel really stiff. But other than that, I did not experience any other lasting side effects."

• Bam...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 9, 2018

For Acne "I have been taking Claravis (isotretinoin) 60 mg a day for a little over 2 months. It's actually been going really well and other than a little fatigue and tiredness, I feel great! I'm excited that my skin feels like butter. Other mild side effects I've experienced are crazy dreams, light muscle soreness, hair shedding in the beginning, and sensitive flushed skin when exposed to the sun, caffeine, or alcohol. Dry lips and flaking skin, but with the help of CeraVe moisturizer and jojoba oil, my skin looks immediately fresh and hydrated. Blistex medicated lip ointment is a lip saver! Moisturizing eye drops are nice too. I stepped up my vitamin intake and that includes biotin, collagen peptides, fish oil, vitamin E, B-12, and vitamin D3. Drinking plenty of water also! I only shower and wash my hair once a week with a deep moisturizer treatment. If you take care of yourself, you can eliminate or make these side effects definitely tolerable. Moisturize, hydrate, stretch, stay positive."

• Ale...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 28, 2016

Isotretinoin for Acne "I am 24 and have had moderate-level acne on my face for many years, and more recently on my shoulders. I started Accutane in March 2016 at 20 mg. In April, 30 mg, and next week - May, 40 mg. Symptoms in March: chapped lips, dry face, body aches, blurry vision, new oil pimples. In April, my symptoms changed to: eyes sensitive to sunlight, heartburn with greasy foods, body aches, dryness, dry hair/split ends/thinner hair, and my skin has a slower healing process now, so any pimples I have touched will stay for weeks. Also, I have noticed that on the days I do drink one gallon of water or more, my symptoms go away. I also eat healthy, and I try to take daily vitamins. Choose a reputable dermatologist!"

• Pri...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 21, 2018

For Acne "This drug has changed my life. I’ve had acne for 8 years. My skin was extremely sensitive to pretty much everything. It’s been 2 months I’ve been on prescription for this drug, and my skin is improving unbelievably well. I have literally no acne on my face, just spots. Just a suggestion: eat ghee or olive oil while taking this medicine, and it’ll calm the side effects. Also, personally, I have not experienced patchy skin, hair loss, or depression, just really badly dry lips."