Kari
I wish I had an answer to that question. I really don't know. After seven years of considering accutane I am on my third day. After reading about all of these people who have gotten acne back I almost feel like stopping. I can understand where you are coming from completely. I have lived with acne long enough and kept thinking I'd outgrow it. Now my skin has little holes in it and scars. I am disappointed to hear that accutane is only temporary although I thought it would be some miracle cure. In my seven years though, I've put some terrible stuff on my face and spent hundreds of dollars on products. I've found that Biore products for blemished skin work well for keeping acne under control. I've also found that lemon juice (fresh or bottled) helped. I'm no doctor so I don't know if this is the best thing to do. I'm warning you though if you have active pimples or sensitive skin It burns!!! It is an alpha hydroxy acid and seems to be a strong one at that. It smoothed out my skin and dried up current pimples, but like I said I can't stress it enough it does burn if you have some breakouts already. Please let me know if I helped you at all. I will stay in touch with you for emotional support. I'm sorry I couldn't help you more. I wish I knew the answer. Kari