21 replies to this topic

[Idolator]

So, I'm a 19 year old male and am currently dealing with a little bit of acne and a face covered with hideous red marks as a result of using Benzoyl Peroxide.

My current regimen in an attempt to kill both the acne and red marks is this:

-Facial Regimen: Wash face with Basis Sensitive Skin Bar, Apply Apple Cider Vinegar to face, & Apply Cetaphil Moisterizer to face (2x a day)
-Take Erythromycin (250mg: 3x a day)
-Take Apple Cider Vinegar tablets (600mg: 2x a day)
-Take Fish Oil (x3), Performance Multivitamin (x1), Calcium Citrate (x2), and Glucosamine (x2)

Could anyone tell me if any of those vitamins can help in killing acne or red marks? I've heard good things about fish oil, but don't know about the others.

I'm thinking about going off the Erythromycin, as I don't know if it is actually doing anything, since it seems like I've been getting the same amount of acne, no matter what antibiotic I've been taking.

So in place of Erythromycin, I thought I could maybe start taking Vitamin-B or something along those lines instead.

Any suggestions?

[Idolator]

Anyone?

[acnefree24]

i guess i would suggest taking a multivitamin

[Sandman21]

i guess i would suggest taking a multivitamin

I would be VERY careful if you decide to do that. I'm dealing with a large cyst and another smaller one as a result of using a Centrum multivitamin for the last 4 days. I don't know if it's the iodine or what, but these things have absolutely screwed up my skin.

[X3Kell3X]

vitamin E helps with redmarks. zinc helps with acne. vitamin c and d help with the qaulity of ur skin.

[Idolator]

Ok thanks for the help. Is it ok to take them all at once? And how many mg should I take?

[Idolator]

I decided to completely stop taking the Erythromycin, as it just seems like another random antibiotic prescribed by a doctor that does nothing. I've taken it for almost 2 months and haven't seen any difference in my acne, it's only caused me more stress because I have to take it 3 times a day, every 6-8 hours, and have to make notes on when I last took it to make sure I don't overdose, it's ridiculous. Then when I'm hanging out with a friend, I have to make an excuse to "go to the bathroom" so I can take my pill without them knowing. Because of course my friends would question what the pill is, and I just hate awkward situations like that. Just ridiculous.

So right now I'm relying on vitamins to solve my acne for me.

Some good news is, ever since I stopped taking the antibiotic, my acne hasn't really changed, if anything, it's gotten better. Usually when I get acne it's medium-sized white heads (Don't know the technical term), sometimes they are easy to pop and sometimes they aren't because the head isn't all the way up to the surface of the skin, so I have to wait it out.

Anyway, the past two days that I haven't been taking my antibiotic, I've only had small white heads which when popped with a needle, didn't leave any redness or a mark on my skin. The first day I woke up with 4 white heads above my upper lip. Then today I woke up with two on my cheek and a couple on my forehead. If I didn't have red marks that made me look hideous, I'd be the happiest person in the world right now.

Is that ratio of small white heads bad? Or is that an improvement?

Edited by Symmetry, 16 November 2010 - 08:24 PM.

[X3Kell3X]

u gotta give antibotics 3 or more months to see improvement. 2 months isn't really enough. but i understand why u stopped, i hate antibotics too.

but for the vitamins i take them all at once. but make sure u take them right after eating a big meal. if u only eat a little or nothing at all and take them u will feel really sick to ur stomach.

i take D3 (1,000 IU)
fish oil (1000mg each but i take two so 2,000 mg)
E (1,000 IU)
C (500mg)
zinc (50mg) *** if u take zinc DONT take more than 100mg or else its toxic. i suggest taking 50mg and nothing more.

[Idolator]

Thanks for the help! I'll look into getting some of those. What is the difference between D and D3?

[Idolator]

So, I've narrowed it down to taking any of the following (If not all):

-Zinc
-Vitamin A
-Vitamin B5
-Vitamin C
-Vitamin D3
-Vitamin E

How's it look? Any recommendations?

[Sandman21]

So, I've narrowed it down to taking any of the following (If not all):

-Zinc
-Vitamin A
-Vitamin B5
-Vitamin C
-Vitamin D3
-Vitamin E

How's it look? Any recommendations?

I would recommend eating something high in beta-carotene (carrots, yams, etc.) on a regular basis instead of taking a Vitamin A supplement. Beta-carotene is the precursor to Vitamin A, so your body will convert beta-carotene to Vitamin A to meet whatever needs it has. Vitamin A, taken in pill form, can be toxic and can be overdosed, so I'd think carefully about taking a supplement for that particular vitamin.

You can also easily and naturally pick up Vitamin D from sunlight, if you spend a fair amount of time outside, you can almost certainly skip that one, too. Natural sources of vitamins (carrots, sunlight, etc.) seem like a safer bet to me than relying on supplements of unknown origin.

Good luck!

[Idolator]

So, I've narrowed it down to taking any of the following (If not all):

-Zinc
-Vitamin A
-Vitamin B5
-Vitamin C
-Vitamin D3
-Vitamin E

How's it look? Any recommendations?

I would recommend eating something high in beta-carotene (carrots, yams, etc.) on a regular basis instead of taking a Vitamin A supplement. Beta-carotene is the precursor to Vitamin A, so your body will convert beta-carotene to Vitamin A to meet whatever needs it has. Vitamin A, taken in pill form, can be toxic and can be overdosed, so I'd think carefully about taking a supplement for that particular vitamin.

You can also easily and naturally pick up Vitamin D from sunlight, if you spend a fair amount of time outside, you can almost certainly skip that one, too. Natural sources of vitamins (carrots, sunlight, etc.) seem like a safer bet to me than relying on supplements of unknown origin.

Good luck!

Thanks a lot for the reply! As for eating foods with beta-carotene, what other foods are there? I'm not really vegetable guy and have always despised every vegetable other than corn, so are there any non-vegetable foods I could eat that contain that? I know it sounds like a lame excuse, haha, but I just can't get my body to like vegetables without me wanting to puke.

So is it really safe to skip out on Vitamin D then? Because I've heard a lot of stories of people taking Vitamin D and it really helping their acne.

[Boss01]

Centrum multivitamin. it's the iodine these things have absolutely screwed up my skin.

Took that and it f*cked my skin too. I think it was the iodine that did it.

Zinc and Vitiman C are good for your skin.

[Idolator]

I really want to try some Zinc, since a lot of people have recommend it, but from the sounds of it, it's so easy to overdose on it.

How can I go about getting Vitamin D from the sun while wearing sun screen? Is it possible? Because since I have hideous red marks on my face, I can't go out into the sun without sun screen or my marks will worsen.

[vanillacupcake]

I really want to try some Zinc, since a lot of people have recommend it, but from the sounds of it, it's so easy to overdose on it.

How can I go about getting Vitamin D from the sun while wearing sun screen? Is it possible? Because since I have hideous red marks on my face, I can't go out into the sun without sun screen or my marks will worsen.

yes you can still get vitamin d while wearing sunscreen, but i'd recommend a supplement, in a low dose.
i actually took zinc for awhile, and i have very mild acne and it didn't really help. i had a lot more luck with fish oil pills and vitamin e. but you have to try it because it works really well for some people and as long as you're under 100mg a day you should be fine. the recommended dose is 50mg. i broke them in half when i took them, so i was only taking 25mg a day

[Idolator]

Ugh, I don't really feel comfortable taking six different vitamins (Vitamin A-E and Zinc), that's a lot to me. So I wish I knew what ones exactly helped my acne, so I wasn't wasting time or money on them (Or possibly getting hair loss and/or overdosing).

I'm currently taking Calcium Citrate, is that a good substitute for Vitamin D since it has Vitamin D in it? I take two pills a day, which comes out to a total of 500mg of Vitamin D.

[vanillacupcake]

Ugh, I don't really feel comfortable taking six different vitamins (Vitamin A-E and Zinc), that's a lot to me. So I wish I knew what ones exactly helped my acne, so I wasn't wasting time or money on them (Or possibly getting hair loss and/or overdosing).

I'm currently taking Calcium Citrate, is that a good substitute for Vitamin D since it has Vitamin D in it? I take two pills a day, which comes out to a total of 500mg of Vitamin D.

Well if you want something you know will help your acne I would try something that is actually proven to be linked with acne. Higher levels of vitamin A are significantly linked to those who do not suffer from acne. And zinc gluconate is proven to improve acne. dont know why it didnt work for me, maybe i didn't give it enough of a chance. both vitamin a and zinc are fat-soluble so stick with the reccommended dosage. And im sorry, but i don't know much about calcium citrate

[Idolator]

Thanks for the help and the replies, Vanillacupcake! I might have to give Zinc a try, I've heard a lot of good things about it.

I ended up picking up the following vitamins today:

Vitamin A (10,000)
Vitamin C (500)
Vitamin D3 (1000)
Vitamin E (400)

How many should I take a day of each, and what ones can I take together?

Just to give it a shot, I took one of each all together with some Fish Oil, hopefully none of these vitamins being taken at once will cancel another one out.

[vanillacupcake]

Thanks for the help and the replies, Vanillacupcake! I might have to give Zinc a try, I've heard a lot of good things about it.

I ended up picking up the following vitamins today:

Vitamin A (10,000)
Vitamin C (500)
Vitamin D3 (1000)
Vitamin E (400)

How many should I take a day of each, and what ones can I take together?

Just to give it a shot, I took one of each all together with some Fish Oil, hopefully none of these vitamins being taken at once will cancel another one out.

sorry for the late reply. only take 10,000IU of the vitamin a because it's fat soluble and is not good in high doses. the vitamin a will probably make your skin dry. not sure about the vitamin c, i would take what the bottle reccommends. vitamin e is water soluble so you can take 2-3 per day. i take d and not d3 and i take 400 IU per day, not sure how similar they are but just take whats on the bottle or look up the safe amounts online set up but the FDA.

[Idolator]

Thanks for the help! What ones can I take together? Today I tried taking Vitamin A, E, and Fish Oil in the morning, Vitamin C in the afternoon, and Vitamin D3, Fish Oil, and an ACV tablet at night.