I used Carac for 21 straight days, I agree it's pretty unpleasant,
and the only cream I used (waiting until the Carac was on for at
least 2 hours) was some Cetaphil. Once I discontinued the Carac,
I was put on antibiotic cream (Bactroban) and a steroid cream.
The steroid cream kind of irritated my skin, so I mostly used the
Bactroban. Let me tell you, my face looks way better than before.
It's like I had a chemical peel, and I don't think my AKs were that
bad, but the ultimte overall effect is great. Good luck.