4 replies to this topic

[Xelb]

Salutations, this is Xelb.

I'm on a new acne regimen, and a friend recently gave me a tip about taking Vitamin A and Zinc supplements in order to help heal my skin. For somebody that his moderate to mild acne, would taking these supplements (along with continuing my regimen, found here: My other thread) help with clearing my acne just a little bit faster? My current regimen uses Retin-A, a known acne medication with certain concentrations of Vitamin A, which is mainly why I am asking if this would be a good idea in the first place.

-A big thank you towards whomever decides to read this.

Edited by Xelb, 13 March 2011 - 04:45 PM.

[g_bye]

Salutations, this is Xelb.

I'm on a new acne regimen, and a friend recently gave me a tip about taking Vitamin A and Zinc supplements in order to help heal my skin. For somebody that his moderate to mild acne, would taking these supplements (along with continuing my regimen, found here: ) help with clearing my acne just a little bit faster? My current regimen uses Retin-A, a known acne medication with certain concentrations of Vitamin A, which is mainly why I am asking if this would be a good idea in the first place.

-A big thank you towards whomever decides to read this.

Hello Xelb.

I'm sure you've already surfed the internet to find a lot of information about this topic. I myself decided to give vitamin A and zinc supplements a try. Back in December I went to a beauty supply store and purchased Murad's clarifiying skin supplements which contained both zinc, vitamin A, and a lot of other vitamins. I was on the supplements for about 2 months and didn't see a huge difference. The bottle was kind of pricey ($43) and I went through them in less than a month.

So, I decided to just purchase a good multi-vitamin, 50 mg zinc tablets, and upped my intake of vitamin A in organic foods. I've been doing this for about a month and noticed that I'm having less breakouts and I'm healing my pimples a lot faster. I can't tell you if doing this is the only contributing factor to my progress. I have changed my diet, reduced my stress A LOT, getting adequate sleep, and being much more gentle on my skin.

Not sure if this helped you any, but I would recommend giving zinc and vitamin A a shot. The way I see it, it certainly couldn't make your acne any worse.

[Reti]

Ingested retinoids are bad for your intestinal track, your bones (may block vitamin D in calcium use), and will harden ligaments & tendons over time... particularly in the feet. They will certainly increase the turnover of the cells in your skin and reduce skin oil, as well as associated side-effects (dry skin, flakes, easier to get sun burns). But you have to weigh the cost-benefit of taking them. If you choose to do so, monitor your feet and lower legs, in particular. If you notice issues, either reduce intake or stop taking them.

The Vitamin A gel caps can be taken up to about 10 or 15 a day at 180% RDA each, but you are more likely to experience issues that high. The latest data indicates it's probably best if you're a runner to only take one every other day, or not at all. This assumes you get enough Beta Carotene or Retinol in your diet all ready. There is as yet zero data that normal Retinol has the same long-lasting effects as synthetic retinoids, like Isotrentinonen.

Calcium, Magnesium, and Zinc are all important to health and making sure you get enough is helpfull. Indigenious water supplies versus other water sources show that native peoples don't have that problem.

I agree with the other poster to, at the very least, try being more gentle with your skin and get more quality sleep. If the later is difficult, see a sleep center. Try giving yourself 12hrs to sleep. Cool room. Dark. No noise or wear earplugs. Be regular about when you go down. And you'll eventually stabilize to a good sleep pattern and 9hrs or less without needing an alarm. Alarms are bad. Make sure they're set to go off AFTER the time you expect to be getting up on your own.

Edited by Reti, 15 March 2011 - 09:16 PM.

[maybe oneday]

I don't take above 10,000 IU any day, as I eat a lot of Vitamin A rich foods. I base most of the amounts of vitamins I should take on foods I had been previously lacking - leading to a possible deficiencies and also the natural amounts found in foods. Liver has a lot of Vitamin A, 336 grams of lambs liver has over 80,000IU.

[Reti]

Oh, and too much ingested retinol I believe can also cause migraines and visual problems.