Understanding your skin

2026.10.19·Jangju Kim·20 min read

Men on Isotretinoin: When to Book Beard Laser or Lifting

If a laser leaves the skin surface intact, like laser hair removal, there isn't enough evidence to say you must postpone it while you're on isotretinoin. Procedures that strip away the whole top layer of skin are a different story: fully ablative laser resurfacing and mechanical dermabrasion aren't recommended during treatment. The drug label still says to wait at least 6 months after stopping, while newer expert consensus doesn't, so the useful question is how deeply your planned procedure injures the skin. Will a Laser Leave Scars If You're on Isotretinoin? For lasers that don't remove the skin surface, the evidence for extra scarring is thin. The familiar advice to wait 6 to 12 months comes from 3 small case series published in the mid-1980s. In one of them, 6 people who had mechanical dermabrasion while on isotretinoin, or soon after stopping, developed keloids (raised, firm scars that grow beyond the original wound) in unusual places. Isotretinoin is an oral acne medicine that cuts oil production and shrinks the oil glands. Because it changes the skin so much, the early reports made doctors cautious for decades. In 2017, two U.S. expert groups looked at the question again. One