Nature's Way : Vitamin A

I struggled with adult cystic acne for the past 4 years all along my jawline and cheeks. I spent thousands on dermatologists, tried at least 100 skin products, and took everything from antibiotics to home remedies. I even kept breaking out after using the Acne.org Regimen for 5 months. A diet change helped somewhat. But nothing seemed to stop new breakouts and extremely painful cysts from forming, one on top of the other. I would hide in the morning from my husband until I could put makeup on. I stopped wanting to go anywhere, disgusted with my face. I heard all sorts of advice, none of which helped. After reading that Accutane was similar to toxic doses of Vitamin A, I wondered if a small dose of Vitamin A would help. I started taking just IU10,000 every day. I am SHOCKED with the results. In 2 weeks, everything was level and calm. I still have scars, but NO new breakouts, and the scars are fading. If your problems sound like mine, I highly recommend Vitamin A!!

I had to write about this because I've been having a difficult time with acne for years and I finally found something that has worked great for me. I have had moderate acne so I basically had acne just about all the time, but only 1-3 pimples at a time. Really frustrating because your skin cannot heal when it's always breaking out with new pimples! My husband bought me a bottle of vitamin A 10,000 IU after having mentioned that Accutane was my next attempt to try to get rid of my acne. After taking two pills a day for two weeks I noticed that I had no new breakouts since the begining of this treatment and what I had on my face had cleared up! I dropped down to one pill a day which was fine until the week prior to my period. Then I got a couple of breakouts, but after that week they cleared up again. I'm still acne free. My scars are still there, but they are fading slowly, but surely. I asked my doctor about taking Vitamin A daily and she said I would be ok to do so as long as I don't take 3 or more pills a day. She also mentioned that I'd have to stop taking the pill completely if I found myself to be pregnant. Hope this helps someone else as much as it did me :)

Hello, I just wanted to say I'm a 31 year old female who has suffered from cystic acne for about 10 years now. I work in a spa and have tried many laser treatments, chemical peels, detoxes, drinking clay..... and oh the list goes on and on. I'm sure most of you can relate! The ONLY thing that has helped has been Vitamin A. My homeopathic doctor put me on a daily dose of 100,000IU's of vitamin A and my skin is acne free! I was worried about such a high amount building up in my system since Vitamin A is not water soluble but my doctor said it was fine. If you get headaches you should cut back to 75,000IU's or lower. I'm not a doctor so I would suggest meeting with yours before going out and trying this but it has absolutely been a miracle for me. I also drink about 100 oz's of water a day, follow a clean diet, and start my day with a green smoothie that has ginger and turmeric in it to help clean toxins from my liver and reduce inflammation in my face. Once in awhile I do a two week cleanse with a liver detox. Good Luck!

From the time I was 13, I have suffered from severe acne. When I say severe, I mean I had acne all over my face and back coupled with painful cysts which would grow under my skin. It destroyed my confidence. At the age of 19, I tried Accutane for the first time and I'm happy to say it permanently eliminated the back acne, but two years later, my face acne returned and I had to go on a second round of accutane. Again, I saw success, but only for a couple of years after treatment. The acne has persisted well into my thirties, and I have tried every treatment known to man: astringents, creams, soaps, diets, drinking Apple Cider Vinegar (oh god, I will never touch that stuff again), herbs, vitamins. Accutane is expensive and is extremely difficult to obtain for a woman, and sometimes it can take months to actually start treatment if you can't get in to see a dermatologist soon and have to go through the tedium of proving you aren't pregnant, on two forms of birth control, etc. So I have been taking 27,000 I.U of vitamin A (The kind that is Retinol-derived) daily for the past few months. It takes a bit to see results, but my skin looks wonderful. No more cysts, no more zits. I look great for the first time ever.

I tried this vitamin because I figured it was the only vitamin I hadn't tried for my acne. I had been taking zinc 50mg every now and then (and noticed that it also seemed to help) alongside a multivitamin (which contains about 530 mg vitamin A). The only big thing left to supplement that was known to help acne was vitamin A. I had been apprehensive since there are toxicity issues with this vitamin because it is fat soluble. I researched how much I could take without toxicity, and figured I wouldn't end up taking it all the time or in large amounts once my skin clears. I've been taking 2 (10,000IU) pills a day (spaced out), or one pill a day (depending if I remembered the second or if I ate something I knew had alot of beta-carotene or natural vitamin A in it). My scars and hyper-pigmentation are calming down. I haven't had any knew breakouts. I wish I had tried this sooner. I think this vitamin A is increasing the efficacy of my external skin care regime because my skin is obviously healing faster since using both the vitamin A and the Murad acne system. I read that taking zinc and vitamin C help to minimize the toxicity effects of vitamin A, so I have been taking both on an irregular basis alongside the vitamin A. I also read that taking vitamin A with fat increases absorption, so I take it alongside my fish oil supplements. I think my combination seems to be working =)

This stuff is great. I use ~25,000iu per day (hoping to cut this to ~16,000 over time or less) and occasionally take zinc as well. I spread the doses out to avoid headaches (havent gotten one yet..). My acne history has been long: 2 accutane doses, both times the zits came back (on my face - not on my back where I used to have). I'm writing this review to help people: try the vitamin A supplement (but please be VERY careful if you're a girl!) as it mimics some of the effects of accutane, even at low doses (including the bad ones, like birth defects). Health & safety first, beauty second. I only get zits now after I go out drinking, which to be fair is pretty often ;) but they're much milder and clear up in a day. Definitely happy to have finally found a solution that works - what a relief. My total routine is (1) asprin mask (3x/wk); (2) vitamin A + occasional zinc; (3) honey mask 1x/wk.

This stuff seems to really work. After just a few days my moderate acne really cleared up. Although I don't yet know the long term implications of the regimen, so far it seems to be great. I started taking 90,000 IU for two days, then went to 20,000 IU from that point on.

I don't know if it's pure coincidence or what, but in the middle of a sudden, HORRIBLE break out, I went out and bought Vit. A supplements and I noticed a complete halt in my break outs. ... As of right now, this stuff is my best friend.

I started applying this directly to my face to help combat signs of aging. (I'm 23 but I'm into preventative methods. An ounce of prevention...) I noticed that the acne that I did have on my chin started to shrink up over night. Pimples that were large and inflammed turned into small dots with one application. I was shocked and started taking it orally as well (16,000 IU a day). I also began to pop the Vitamin A pills and apply the oil onto pimples that had popped up. After about 3 months of using both internally and topically, I saw a huge improvement. At the moment I am completely acne free and have only had one breakout since then. The only problem is that if applied topically, your skin will become red and flake. And as with any treatment you need to make sure to use more sunscreen.

Hello all, So I'm doing a lot of things to control my horrible onset of cystic hormonal acne. I mistakenly went off of birth control after having been on it for 12 years and my skin went crazy. I'm almost at the end of my second pack and things finally seem to be under control. I now mostly have hyperpigmentation. Up until recently, my skin was awful and I'm pretty sure starting this birth control made things way worse. SO...In addition to birth control, this is what seems to have worked for me. And trust me I have tried EVERYTHING and spent countless hours researching this. I'm also a nurse and doing a research PhD so I am providing you all with what I believe to be the best information and tips I've come across. I've listed many things but if you're only interested in vitamins go to point 9. Good luck! 1) I'm on my 6th week of Doxycycline 2) ICE! Every morning I ice my spots. This really helps reduce size and inflammation and there are no risks 3) Green tea (loose leaf organic. I drink it and apply the leafs to my face 5 days a week), I also take ECGC green tea extract pills. Clinical studies prove that this works for acne. So if you're going the green tea route check that the ECGC content is high. It's typically higher in loose leaf teas. Otherwise just buy the extract pills. 4) NO DAIRY, SOY, GLUTEN, or OILS (except coconut oil). I also started a VEGAN DIET 5) CETAPHIL products- I stopped washing with water and only wash with the foam cleanser, it seems weird but I find that it significantly reduces redness. I also only wash once per day if I'm not wearing make up. I moisturize once per day with the day SPF moisturizer. 6) MAKE UP: Physicians formula non-talc liquid mineral make up. I researched every ingredient in several products and this was the best product I found. I had to import it from the US (I'm living in Australia at the moment). I also have not worn any make up on my skin for 2 weeks. I am on a school break and had 2 weeks off of work because I was supposed to go on vacation but had to cancel because my skin got so bad. Sad I know but things are finally clearing and I've been able to work on my PhD thesis from home...I also learned to cook. So if you also plan to isolate yourself, MAKE THE MOST OF IT!! There is light at the end of the tunnel. 7) 2.5 % BENZOYL PEROXIDE: I had given up on harsh topicals because my skin is so freakin sensitive and I found that Differin, Retin A, and anything over 2.5% BP made my skin look so much worse. However, 2.5% is PERFECT! it even reduces the look of the redness when it's applied. If I have to go out I have it on my pimples and I honestly don't care. It's probably only noticeable up close. 8) LOWER YOUR STRESS: Seriously ladies this is so important. Especially if your acne is hormonal. One night i was freaking out because I was supposed to go on vacation to visit a beautiful Greek boy I know and woke up with 4 new spots. Three of them were cystic. I've found that since cancelling and relaxing at home my acne is much better. 9) VITAMINS: Ok so I'm a little ridiculous when it comes to this and I now have a pharmacy in my room. But these are the best vitamins and supplements for acne. As a disclaimer, I wouldn't recommend always taking the Vitamin A like I have been doing because it can cause liver damage. So on that note: 1) Vitamin A- Retinyl Palmitate: I am mega dosing on these. So for the past three weeks I've been taking 10 a day. I realize there are risks with this but I've been getting my liver enzymes checked and I am fully aware of the signs of vitamin A toxicity. You could just try taking 1-2 per day. The logic behind this is that Accutane is a derivative of vitamin A in huge quantities. Mega dosing can really help some people. 2) Vitamin B3 (Niacinamide): this is the active ingredient is most expensive skin brightening/hyperpigmentation creams. I also break the caps and rub them right on my acne scars 3) Vitamin C: I mega dose with this as well. It tastes delicious and there are no risks with toxicity. I also have this in powder form (Skinstitute brand) and put directly on acne scars 4) Vitamin E. 4) Saw Palmetto (also great for hair) 5) Liquid Silica (also great for hair) 5) Omega 3 fish oil (also great for hair) 6) Zinc Ok my friends this is all of the advice I have. If I had to pick and choose from this list I would prioritize antibiotics to help you get through the initial break out phase on this birth control, Ice, green tea extract or loose leaf organic tea, and Vitamin A Retinyl Palmitate. Feel free to e mail me with any questions: [Removed] (John is the beginning of my last name. My name is Shev). Cheers!