hair loss

thinning hair and dry hair are effects, a month to 6 weeks in i was losing a lot of hair, scary. it's gotten less, thankfully, but the hair loss is permanent. i heard rogaine shampoo will help (not grow hiar back, but prevent more from falling out)

Jean... Just curious where you heard that the hair loss is permanent? I naturally have problems with thinning hair but have not yet noticed anything more than normal, & I've been on Accutance for almost 8 weeks... My hair is definitely dryer... Good luck!:)

hi angie, my doctor told me that it's not a common effect, but it is permanent, so she told me to keep an eye on it. thanks, good luck to you too!

My doctor told me that it IS common and it's NOT permenant... strange. specifically, what he said was that its going to be like a bunny molting. does that sound accurate at all?

jean wrote:

thinning hair and dry hair are effects, a month to 6 weeks in i was losing a lot of hair, scary. it's gotten less, thankfully, but the hair loss is permanent. i heard rogaine shampoo will help (not grow hiar back, but prevent more from falling out)

I've just completed a five month course of Accutane... I'm done... So glad it's over with... Really struggling with the hair loss... Hoping it is not permanent & will come back... I'm really distraught over this...:( Acne was/is hard enough.

what about eye lash shedding? im using an eyelash conditioner from sephora from TALIKA but i feel like im loosing more lashes! grrr accutane! almost seems unworthy

jean wrote:

thinning hair and dry hair are effects, a month to 6 weeks in i was losing a lot of hair, scary. it's gotten less, thankfully, but the hair loss is permanent. i heard rogaine shampoo will help (not grow hiar back, but prevent more from falling out)

.
I finished my course of accutane 20 months ago. My hair did fall out and I was horrified. My hair got so thin it was almost hard to put in a pony tail. BUT...good news is that it DID grow back. Almost as soon as I stopped taking accutane I got these little spiky hairs that started popping up all over my scalp. It looked silly for about six months but it is now full length and healthy again. They dryness went away with some major conditioner tretment. Of course my hair is not super thick but it never has been, but my hair definitely did reproduce what was lost. Just some encouragement b/c I know how traumatizing acne can be, ACCUTANE WORKS! I tried EVERYTHING on the market b/c I DID NOT want to get on this medication. I heard horror stories about it. So far, I don't have any long term probelms besides dry lips! I still put on Aquaphor lip treatment every night before bed and apply chap stick several times a day. Dry eyes lasted for about a year, putting in drops just at night before bed but now I don't even have to do that. I dare not complain about dry lips though, b/c I'd much rather have dry lips than an ugly acne face. Be patient and always take the pill on a full stomach because it is more absorbed into the body that way (that's what my doc told me). Also taking it the same time everyday is suppose to help too.

awesome advice. thanx! so much more relieved! i never had thick, full hair to begin with...so when my hair and lashes started shedding..i was horrified! i hope ur results were permanent because i hear from some pple on this forum that accutane does not produce long term permanent results..which makes me wonder if its worth it.

the dry lips is getting to me..really sucks..everyone keeps mentioning auquaphor lip balm but i looked everywhere and cnt find it! where can i purchase aquaphor because nothing else seems to be working.

so i saw my derm today and he said that hair loss is temporary...that the reason why tane patients experience hair loss is because the scalp is dry leading to weak brittle hair...but once the tane course is over it, within a few months, everything should be back to normal.

very relieving!

I honestly want to warn anyone who's thinking about taking this drug... you don't even know what it can change in your body. I remember thinking "The really bad side effects only happen to like .001% of users, i'll be fine." Accutane has permantently eliminated my libido, and i don't recall ever being warned about that beforehand. Be very careful.

sean wrote:

I honestly want to warn anyone who's thinking about taking this drug... you don't even know what it can change in your body. I remember thinking "The really bad side effects only happen to like .001% of users, i'll be fine." Accutane has permantently eliminated my libido, and i don't recall ever being warned about that beforehand. Be very careful.

that never happened to me - did you have one?

that never happened to me - did you have one?

Well during my 4 mths treatment on 40mg of accutane i only noticed alot of hairs on the pillow the first 2 mths and then it stopped next 2mths when i was still on the medication. So i believe what my derm said is rite, anyways he said that the hair that falls out are the ones that are loose anyways. When we stop taking the medication the hair will eventually grow back also with the oily hair that we are so used to havin. anyways my suggestion is to not go over 40mg and be patient. but be prepared of hvin a dry lips, short term hair loss and red face. Thats the only side effects i had, i didnt hv any form of back pain or any pains. Basically it worked excellent for me, i jus wash my face everyday usin whatever face wash i can find (not the ones with specks in them) and no moisturiser needed, it's perfect. Anyway gl to u guys

my skin looks very red and inflammed! will this go away after treatment? im on 60 mg now and im a little concerned because i too hve been losing hair...alot of hair...almost absurd. i dnt use moisturizer either..my doc advised me to but its just not necessary.

I am in first month of accutane. My acne is clearing up. But now I am seeing hair loss. I do have hair loss before starting accutane, but I believe it was due to oily hair. My hair is no longer oily. But still seeing hair loss and it is increase than before. Anyone, please tell me when can be stopped?

I am in first month of accutane. My acne is clearing up. But now I am seeing hair loss. I do have hair loss before starting accutane, but I believe it was due to oily hair. My hair is no longer oily now. But still seeing hair loss and it is increase than before. Anyone, please tell me when can it be stopped? I am on 40mg/day dose.

i asked my derm if he can prescribe me shampoo or treatment for hairloss but he said that such a thing dsnt exist. that aparently, once u stop accutane, u hair will start to grow again..and that the hairloss is due to ur dry scalp. try nioxin? i think. that might help..u can get it from costco.and i dnt 40mg is not strong enough to cause hairloss within a month...it might even persist after treatment..i dnt know im no doc...just try a few things and see what works..im experiencing the same thing.

my dermatologist recommended me to start using the men's rogaine 5% because of my hair loss from accutane. i'm using the rogaine foam that i rub into the thinning areas on my scalp twice a day. i've only been on it for about 10 days... too soon to notice any changes yet. will keep you posted... my derm told me the hair loss is temporary. i guess accutane effects everyone in different ways. got my hair cut shorter to give it more body... the longer it got, the worse it looked. he's having me get some lab work done to rule out that the hair loss is from accutane & not hormone-related, iron deficiency or thyroid. hang in there guys... i'm right here with ya!

It was a relief to hear that other people have also experienced significant hair loss. I have been on accutane on and off for 2 years now. At first I was taking 10mg, which cleared it, but did not cure it. I've just finished 5 months of 40mg treatment and within a month I'm starting to have breakouts and oily skin again. I took a course of accutane was I was younger and it cured it for several years and I didn't experience hair loss. This time around I would say I've lost overall 50-60% of my hair volume. It is completely devastating considering I always had long hair and have had to cut it shorter. I've decided to stop the medication for the sake of my hair and just hope it grows back! I'm going to try accupuncture for my skin. Best of luck to everyone.

I didn't hear anything about hair loss.
Does it seem like it's only a selected few, or is everyone hit with the horrid hair loss? Also, anyone taking Omega 3's? Cause I heard it was a good idea.

thanks.