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"For many teens, living with acne is a serious problem. &amp;quot;There is a real and direct link between your skin and emotions,&amp;quot; says dermatologist Patricia Wechsler. &amp;quot;Taking care of acne can help on more levels than just the physical appearance or comfort of your skin.&amp;quot;\n\n The most frustrating thing about breakouts, though? &amp;quot;There&amp;#39;s no real cure,&amp;quot; says celebrity esthetician Ren\u00E9e Rouleau. &amp;quot;If there were, we&amp;#39;d all know about it and we&amp;#39;d never, ever have a zit again.&amp;quot;\n\n For most of us, acne is an occasional pimple or cyst, or even a recurring breakout. But for some, it&amp;#39;s a condition that we can&amp;#39;t seem to get under control. And since it affects our faces, and thus, our confidence, it can seem like it&amp;#39;s worth doing anything just to get it to go away.\n\n Enter Accutane, the most buzzed-about acne medication on the market. Funnily enough, Accutane is actually the brand name for the drug\u2014it&amp;#39;s technically called &amp;quot;isotretinoin,&amp;quot; and Accutane no longer exists! But still, the chances are, you probably know someone who&amp;#39;s currently taking isotretinoin. (Or, you&amp;#39;ve even taken it yourself.) In fact, it&amp;#39;s becoming standard procedure for lots of teens and young adults.\n\n But is that a good thing, necessarily? We chatted with some top skin experts to weigh the pros and cons of the drug. Let us know your thoughts or your experiences with it in the comments below.\n\n The Pros:\n\n Well, for one thing, it works. &amp;quot;Isotretinoin is a pill derived from a high-strength Vitamin A that is thought to work by inducing cell death in the sebaceous (oil) glands of the skin, and also erts antimicrobial effects. The oil glands are typically hyperactive in acne-prone patients, and oil obviously harbors bacteria. Decreasing the oil, therefore, clears blemishes,&amp;quot; explains Dr. David Colbert, MD. &amp;quot;I&amp;#39;ve had many positive experiences with it.&amp;quot; adds Dr. Wechsler. &amp;quot;It&amp;#39;s helped the vast majority of my patients, and in many cases, it has transformed and improved both their skin and self-esteem.&amp;quot;\n\n For another, the results last. &amp;quot;Basically, the sebaceous glands shrink when someone is on isotretinoin, and once treatment is completed, they rarely become as large as they were before the treatment,&amp;quot; Rouleau explains. &amp;quot;That means your oil glands are altered in a semi-permanent way.&amp;quot; So once you&amp;#39;ve finished your treatment, you might be kissing both acne and visible pores (also caused by oil!) goodbye\u2014for good.\n\n Finally, it&amp;#39;s pretty much the only option for what Dr. Colbert calls &amp;quot;severe nodulocystic and scarring acne.&amp;quot; (That&amp;#39;s fancy speak for majorly difficult and impossible-to-treat cysts.) If you think that you may be suffering from this condition, consult a dermatologist to see what your options are.\n\n The Cons:\n\n First of all, it&amp;#39;s a commitment. One cycle of isotretinoin can take from eight to 10 months, and you have to take one pill per day. During this time, girls must be on birth control (or pledge abstinence) since the drug has been linked to severe birth defects. &amp;quot;All patients must be registered with iPledge, an online risk evaluation and mitigation strategy program, to minimize side effects and maximize patient compliance,&amp;quot; Dr. Colbert says. &amp;quot;You also have to take a monthly blood test so the doctor can make sure the drug isn&amp;#39;t causing internal damage to the liver or kidneys,&amp;quot; Rouleau explains.\n\n Secondly, the drug&amp;#39;s mild side effects include overall dryness and an increased sensitivity to the sun, but these symptoms are mostly easy to treat. You can up your moisture intake by drinking more water and soothe chapped skin by adapating a facial oil into your routine. You should also find an oil-free SPF that you can use on a daily basis without exacerbating your acne.\n\n More importantly, though, our derms suggest that Accutane is often too readily prescribed, when really, it should be looked into as a last resort. &amp;quot;It&amp;#39;s a serious medication with potential side effects,&amp;quot; says Dr. Colbert. &amp;quot;But with appropriate guidance and close monitoring, it can be very helpful for the right candidate. But the patient and dermatologist together should determine eligibility.&amp;quot; Rouleau adds that acne-prone patients tend to visit the derm first, but prescriptions can often be a quick fix that mask\u2014and don&amp;#39;t properly address\u2014the problem. &amp;quot;I think teens especially should start natural with an esthetician who can develop a more holistic approach that includes product, lifestyle, and diet,&amp;quot; she says. &amp;quot;If I don&amp;#39;t see an improvement after three months, I will send my client to the dermatologist.&amp;quot;\n\n Finally, the drug doesn&amp;#39;t exactly have a squeaky-clean past. Remember before, when we mentioned that &amp;quot;Accutane&amp;quot; as a brand name no longer exists? Some attribute that to the brand&amp;#39;s parent company, Hoffman-LaRoche Inc., having to pay millions of dollars in lawsuits filed by former patients. Most of these suits claimed that Accutane could induce gastrointestinal disease, like ulcerative colitis. (But the chances are your doctor will investigate your family&amp;#39;s history for such diseases, and will also be able to take you off the drug if s/he detects an irregularity in your blood test.) There have been some news reports that the drug is also linked to suicide among teenagers, but no studies have been able to substantiate those claims. Either way, your dermatologist may ask your parents to monitor your behavior and make sure you smoothly adjust to the medication.\n\n In short, Accutane (or Isotretinoin), has proven to be an effective treatment against severe acne. Although, if your facialist or your derm seems to think other options (like spironolactone or retinoids) could work, you should consider those first. Given how serious the medication is and how much of a commitment it can be, it&amp;#39;s best to save it for last. And, who knows? By then, maybe your acne will have cleared up on its own."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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