Acne prone skin occurs when the oil glands over-react to normal stimulli. I advise a few cardinal rules to follow before starting them on isotretinoin.
Your diet can influence how much your acne flares up. Caffeine (in coffee and tea) stimulates your oil glands. The more caffeine you take, the worse your flare-ups will be.
Exposure to extreme hot or cold environments means that blood flow to the skin increases. This will also cause your acne to flare up.
Taking excessively hot or spicy food or drinking alcohol, again, increases blood flow to the skin and can lead to flare ups.
Smoking impairs your healing and prolongs your recovery time post-acne flare-up.
You can consider taking isotretnoin orally as a way to permanently re-programme your oil glands. The cumulative lifetime dose is usually based on your weight. Expect to take this for about 6 to 9 months. Should you decide on this, understand there are side-effects including dry and peeling lips. Using a lip balm helps greatly.
