Demorph said:i've been taking vitamin D3 for a week now and i haven't noticed any changes yet.should i up the dosage?
As you can see in this chart(from this study), a week is usually nowhere near long enough to have a new dose of Vitamin D reflected in your serum levels; depending on how deficient you are starting out and how large a dose you are taking, it could take multiple months. The Vitamin D Council therefore advises people to take a new dose for 2 months, then get a serum test [Link removed](cost ~$65) to see if they need to adjust that dose up or down to achieve the desired levels.
Whether or not it will help your particular acne or not is questionable, but getting the serum test is a reasonable bet for general health because the implication these researchers are making is that below around 50ng/ml, your body is essentially "starved" for Vitamin D. The evidence implies your body burns every bit it gets somewhere below that level, and only starts storing reserves for sure somewhere above that level. But the only way to know your status is to get the blood test.
I've been taking Vitamin D3 for a few weeks now and I have really noticed a difference to my skin 
I'm 29, and have suffered from acne for as long as i can remember (and i don't think it's hormonal).
I've just moved to a new city, have been having a terrible diet of white pasta and bread all the time, and have been around people who smoke constantly. I've also been drinking alcohol a lot. Usually these would make me erupt in spots, but now I'm getting hardly any!! I can't quite believe it. I'm taking 2 x 1,000IU D3 tablets per day.
THANK YOU to the person who started this thread and made me give this a try. 
The spots I am getting are really tiny in comparison to what I would usually get.
Hi, I'm very new to this forum and found you by google search. I am 40 and have fought acne for more than half my life. Every topical, antibiotic, accutane x 2, contraceptives, etc. Some work for a period of time, others nothing. I'm in family practice and have more success with patients' acne than my own. I also had malignant melanoma (skin cancer) at 27. So I've been sunscreened and covered head to toe for years. I'm very fair complected and live in WI with long winters.
I recently asked for a vitamin D level. I have been taking 2000 to 4000 IU daily for several months - very safe (it may have cancer prevention effects as well). Normal level is 30 and above. I was 3, severely low. Treatment is prescription dosing of 50,000 IU x 10 doses. In 4 doses, I felt awesome already. Skin is cleared over a month! Anedotal, I know. But Vitamin D is safer than the hormones, accutane, everything else I've done. I would not recommend more than 4000IU without a blood level.
From sunlight, you need 15 minutes of sun to the face without sunscreen. It is felt that darker pigmented skin (particularly Asian decent) - melanin the skin pigment blocks sunlight (natural sunscreen) and northern residents (when will spring come?) have more difficulty.
Anyway, I was surprised to search acne and vitamin d and find so much information. This may be more helpful for adult acne where hormones are less issue.
Respectfully,
Another Packer Fan,
TMK
Hey doc,
I suspect I have a vitamin D deficiency (I live in Canada) and I was wondering what the symptoms of this deficiency are? I would like to get a vitamin D test from a doctor because I have a suspicion that this might be contributing to my SAD in the winter time. Do I simply ask the doctor for the test, will they willingly administer it? Also, is it covered by insurance, and if not, is it very expensive? Thanks!
Yes that was exactly my problem. Well not so much vitamin d as vitamin d and calcium. Vitamin d is needed to absorb calcium so it's both. I stopped drinking milk because that was supposed to cause acne (I was only getting maybe 1 pimple a week) and the lack of calcium and vitamin d made my acne so much worse. So about 2 weeks ago I started drinking rice milk (same nutrients as milk but without the hormones or fat), got a vitamin d supplement, a calcium/magnesium/zinc (zinc is also good for preventing acne), and started getting more sunshine, and BAM!, acne gone.
Hi guys!
I haven't been back on the forum in months, so just wanted to pop in and give an update. So far, so clear: it's been about 9 months that I've been taking anywhere from 2000 to 4000IU of vitamin d per day. In that time I think I've gotten one or two significant spots, total. I also take advantage of sunshine where I can -- am pretty pale so it doesn't usually take much, but if you have darker skin maybe you want to try more IUs or more sunlight.
In the past 9 months I haven't changed location or diet or lifestyle significantly, so I'm really inclined to think it's the d. Especially since it doesn't seem to make a difference what I wash with or even how often... I've gone camping and hence days without washing, and no skin problems. My skin actually looks better than it ever has, and even the old red marks are almost entirely faded.
So, well... it seems to have worked! I'm going to keep getting some sun and taking the d. Hopefuly won't be back on the forums for a while... 
Good luck to everyone!!
A
Ps. Oh, and I'm back to eating peanutbutter and milk and citrus and chocolate and all the old (delicious) suspects. Hooray!
Oh I'm so envy! Atalanta, did u notice any difference in your skin oiliness? Also, where were most of your acnes, on your cheeks, jawline, forehead, chin..etc? I've been taking 1400mg D3 for a month now and so far I've seen no differences...still breaking out like hell...*sigh*
Jay7
You are right on the money...I don't think sunburns are good but the derms and their lasers are no better than the tobacco industry in my opinion..It's all about the money...
Melanoma has increased 50% in women but not men since these lasers hit the market in the 80's...Non melanoma skin cancer has tripled in women under 40...
Every other type of cancer has declined 20% while skin and melanoma rise....
I have read studies that a large % of women are vit d defic....Sun Damage is not the cause...
The pharmaceutical and laser industry that is growing every year x300% is at fault and raking in the money at our expense....
Same as the tobacco industry but worse they are making docs and scientist a commodity of corporate greed and women are dying as a result not to mention the damage to the quality of live of so many....
Oh I'm so envy! Atalanta, did u notice any difference in your skin oiliness? Also, where were most of your acnes, on your cheeks, jawline, forehead, chin..etc? I've been taking 1400mg D3 for a month now and so far I've seen no differences...still breaking out like hell...*sigh*
1400iu I take it you mean? If it is, it isn't a lot really. The study we all refer back to when discussing vitamin D3 as an acne product mentions giving patients anything between 5000 - 14000IU per day. I try and take about 5 - 6000iu per day, along with 100mg of zinc.
Oh I'm so envy! Atalanta, did u notice any difference in your skin oiliness? Also, where were most of your acnes, on your cheeks, jawline, forehead, chin..etc? I've been taking 1400mg D3 for a month now and so far I've seen no differences...still breaking out like hell...*sigh*
1400iu I take it you mean? If it is, it isn't a lot really. The study we all refer back to when discussing vitamin D3 as an acne product mentions giving patients anything between 5000 - 14000IU per day. I try and take about 5 - 6000iu per day, along with 100mg of zinc.
Oops, yeah I meant 1400IU. Did you get any results at 5-6000IU?
Oh I'm so envy! Atalanta, did u notice any difference in your skin oiliness? Also, where were most of your acnes, on your cheeks, jawline, forehead, chin..etc? I've been taking 1400mg D3 for a month now and so far I've seen no differences...still breaking out like hell...*sigh*
1400iu I take it you mean? If it is, it isn't a lot really. The study we all refer back to when discussing vitamin D3 as an acne product mentions giving patients anything between 5000 - 14000IU per day. I try and take about 5 - 6000iu per day, along with 100mg of zinc.
Oops, yeah I meant 1400IU. Did you get any results at 5-6000IU?
It's hard to tell, since I use BP as well I can't say what's having the greatest effect. My plan is to wean myself off the BP eventually, but for now I just don't know.
ShirleyB: I'm taking about 4000IU/day, so you might be able to try more and see if that helps.
I think everyone's acne etiology is a bit different, so I don't want to claim D as the cure-all for everyone (for ex, my friend who grew up in Hawaii without sunscreen, and still had acne) but definitely still try it to at least rule out D deficiency as a cause!
Re. oiliness, I've actually always had really dry skin. But lately it's almost entirely normal (no tightness or cracking) so it could just be overall improved skin health, or the fact that I'm no longer putting potentially irritating topicals on it like BP.
So yeah: try upping your dosage, and let us know how it goes!
Melanoma has increased 50% in women but not men since these lasers hit the market in the 80's...Non melanoma skin cancer has tripled in women under 40...
Taking a look at actual data , I see that the rate of increased incidence of melanoma (women only) actually was cut in half in the period 1980-2006 compared to the period 1975-1980. For mortality (dying being somewhat more important than just being diagnosed), I see that the trendline actually went from positive in the period 1975-1988, to negative 1988-2006. This would be pretty much the exact opposite of what you're claiming, right?
Every other type of cancer has declined 20% while skin and melanoma rise....
Well, if you're going to tell a lie, make it a whopper! I leave it as an exercise for any reader who has the slightest doubt this is completely made-up fiction to look at the data.
Have you ever actually looked at any cancer stats database?
The Internet has given birth to the most gullible generation the planet has ever seen, nowhere moreso then in the area of "holistic" health.
IMHO. 
Just a quick question ( and a side - line at that! ), Has anyone found an improvement in their mood since taking vit D3?
I'm taking it mainly to help with SAD ( Seasonal Effective Disorder ) so this will be my 1st winter, and the real test! What with my codliver oil and multi, aswell as the vit D itself, I'm getting approx 3000iu/day. Incidentally, no change to my skin.
Wondering if I should up my dosage for over the winter period ( we're coming into Autumn now and the clocks go back end of Oct, so going to work in the dark, coming home in the dark! Joy! ) but I'm worried about becoming toxic!
Hell, I might just buy a lightbox and have done but they're a couple hundred quid! ; (
Just a quick question ( and a side - line at that! ), Has anyone found an improvement in their mood since taking vit D3?
I'm taking it mainly to help with SAD ( Seasonal Effective Disorder ) so this will be my 1st winter, and the real test! What with my codliver oil and multi, aswell as the vit D itself, I'm getting approx 3000iu/day. Incidentally, no change to my skin.
Wondering if I should up my dosage for over the winter period ( we're coming into Autumn now and the clocks go back end of Oct, so going to work in the dark, coming home in the dark! Joy! ) but I'm worried about becoming toxic!
Hell, I might just buy a lightbox and have done but they're a couple hundred quid! ; (
I have been taking 2000IU to 8000IU a day for the past 2 years. I can't really remember if it has helped my mood at all or not. It certainly didn't hurt my mood. I also can't tell if it has helped my skin at all or not. Either way it is great for my body and I will continue to take it.
Don't worry too much about OD on Vitamin D. Most people's levels are very low. You can safely take 8000IU a day (especially helpful in winter)>
3 months is enough time for your serum levels to have settled at their new value. Did you get tested again to see what your current serum level is? Of course, how you feel may not be related to a Vitamin D deficiency in your particular case.
Absolutely. Vit D deficiency is also linked to autoimmune disease. I have hashimoto's and I am about to try taking a good Vit D supplement. I have tried zinc and I see minute results, but perhaps it's a Vit D issue, since I have an AI disease. I just keep digging in the haystack. I never had acne issues until after having kids and the Hashi's raging in full force. Now at 38, I have zits like a teenager. It's so frustrating.
Well, I think I've found it... I think it's finally over! it's been about 2 months, and *no new breakouts*. Absolutely none. I'm... shocked! After all this time, I think I finally found the acne cause and solution, for me.
Two months ago, I started taking vitamin D supplements, about 1000IU per day. Nothing else changed: work has been no more or less stressful, my diet hasn't changed, nothing significant in personal life. I just noticed that my skin is always better after getting a little bit of sunshine, so decided to try taking vitamin D... and, voila! My skin has *never* looked better... It actually looks kind of pretty!
It's hard to believe it could be so simple, yet it kind of makes sense: I never had acne until moving from Arizona to Seattle, and, it always got worse in the winter. The only other time I had acne in my life was while still living in Arizona, I tried a brief stint of eating a very, very low-fat diet (yes, I was young and foolish), and wearing sunscreen religiously; perhaps since vitamin D is fat-soluble, and I was avoiding the sun, I was just unable to synthesize or absorb it. And, sure enough, once I abandoned the low-fat foolishness, the acne disappeared as well. Until I moved to Seattle, that is, when it returned with a vengeance.
The only heavy-duty medications I tried were retin-A for a year, and orthotricyclen for four months. Both were ineffective, unfortunately: the retin-A had absolutely no effect (after a frickin year!!) and on orthotricyclen I still had reliably regular monthly breakouts, plus some in between. I tried eliminating various foods from the diet: chocolate, dairy, peanuts, and citrus, all to no effect.
Also, I have a digestive condition that prevents me from eating processed foods or very much sugar; in fact, I eat a very, very strict diet of whole foods, lots of veggies, low sugar, lots of fish oils, only grass-fed organic meat when I do eat meat, blah, blah, blah, all the usual recommendations. I got extremely sick of claims that acne is punishment for dietary transgressions -- I *don't* eat crap, at all, yet still had acne. It's possible that the acne was related to my digestive condition, but not because I eat processed or junk food.
Anyway! All this is to say that after 3 years of trial and error, I've been pretty much stumped! Until now... taking vitamin D. It's very weird. It's possible that this one simple thing, vitamin D deficiency, has been the problem the entire time. Wow.
It's been about 2 months, so I'm hoping this keeps up. If anything changes, I'll let you guys know, but... so far, so good!
If anyone is still trying the litany of various dietary/medical/vitamin tricks, well, don't forget to give this one a try. Not the cause for everybody, I'm sure, but if there are any others out there like me, maybe this will help!
im just wondering is it vitamin D3 or just D ....and is it still working for you ?
thanks !
Yay, my first new post on acne.org for ages!
I was out with a friend the other night and he started arguing with someone about sunscreens being potentially bad for you if used all of the time. He said it doesn't let the body produce enough vitamin D....
Now I don't want to be controversial but I think he may be right. I first noticed my T-zone skin getting a little porey and icky a few years ago. I still get cysts too. Anyway, over the next few months I saw some dermatologists and a skin specialist in a reputable plastic surgeon's office and they all just looked at it and automatically said "Sun damage". I didn't even think to question it. We all know about wrinkles, moles, freckles and (God forbid) skin cancer from too much sun here in Australia where I've lived for 44 years. So I took their recommendations and started with a peel then eventually moved on to retin A and fraxel - all of which require you to keep the hell away from the sun. So I've kept out of the rays as much as possible and have been using 30+ sunscreen any time I've been outside. Bad thing is, the more treatments I had for my skin the worse it looked
. All of the stuff I was doing to my poor face was just compounding my problems. I've been getting some pretty severe depression too.
But hang on a second, sun damage?! The rest of the skin on my face looked really great apart from the T-zone and I've been putting a tinted moisturiser SPF 15+ on my T-Zone alone for the last 20 years!!! If it's sun damage why does my unprotected area look so good and the protected area look bad?! It just don't add up!! And it's probably not hereditary either - I've got the worst skin out of anyone in my entire family. I realise the T-zone is the problem area for many reasons (sebaceous glands etc etc) but I got to thinking that maybe that area has been sun-starved for two whole decades?
I'm over a year post-fraxel and I've quit retin A so now I'm starting with a small amount of sun exposure each day to see what it does to my skin. No burn-inducing levels of course - just a few minutes here and there during the safer hours. All things in moderation. I already feel happier (maybe because of more vitamin D, or maybe it's the idea that this could actually work
).
To hell with dermatologists and their lasers and potions and "Don't get any sun or your skin or you'll get prematurely old, then shrivel up and die of cancer" garbage. I'm going back outside...
*sigh*....High school biology is enough to tell you that a portion of your face can't be sun starved while another part is. Vitamin D is made and distributed via the bloodstream, so it's not like your face is a jigsaw puzzle where you can direct what little piece makes vitamin D and what doesn't.
People that don't know any science..
Hello all
I have literally just found this forum, on a google search for "Vitamin D for acne"! It is facinating! Vit D seems to help so many things, so I just put "acne" into the search bar, just to see, and I came across this topic!
Bad acne is the least of my problems ... I am a 45 year old lady who has had acne since I was about 20. However, 16 years ago I started to become ill, and for the last 11 years I have been unable to work due to M.E. (chronic fatiuge syndrome) and severe fortnightly migraines. I am very disabled with it.
To cut a very long story short, I have been doing a lot of research on vitamin D3 these past few weeks, as a doctor's test revealed that I was deficient. Although I now realise that vitamn D should be a routine test for CFS, I have never been tested before. My result was "26". From my searching, I believe that the optimal level should be between 50-80. My dr gave me vit D tablets but it turns out they are vitamin D2, which isn't as well assimilated in the body as vitamin D3.... so, after many hours of reading, I have ordered a tub of D3 5,000iu's, which I am intending to take 1 per day of (possibly 2 - short term).
I decided to take quite a high dose of vitamin D3, to try and get my level back to normal asap. From my research, this is a very safe level to take in the winter (I live in Scotland, and it's soon to be dark at 3.00pm...if it isn't already! Due to my illness, I also don't get as much sunshine as most people, as when I am very painful/nauseous I have to stay indoors.
The more I read up on vitamin D, the more amazing it seems to be! Over the years I have taken tons of supplements for CFS, migraines, asthma, acne, digestion problems etc (Yes, I am blessed with fantastic health!! ) but nothing has worked, although mega doses of B5 seemed to help, but it was not a vitamin that was safe to continue taking long term - not at the doses I was taking.
One thing I would say, is that if you decide to take a high dose ie. 5,000 - 10,000 iu's, you DO need to get a blood test for vit D levels 2-3 times a year. (I know that I am actually deficient and will be tested again in a few months, so I have no problem with taking a high dose). As with most things, you CAN overdose on vit D.
These are the Vitamin D Deficiency Symptoms That I Have:
¯¶ Muscle pain & weakness
¯¶ Depression
¯¶ Mood Swings
¯¶ Weight Loss
¯¶ Low energy & Fagtigue
¯¶ Lowered Immunity
¯¶ Chronic pain
¯¶ Cognitive impairment ie. Foggy brain and memory problems
¯¶ Asthma
¯¶ Hair loss
¯¶ Headache & Migraine
¯¶ Low body temperature? (some people have found that since correcting their vit d deficiency, there low body temperature has returned to normal)
¯¶ IBS: Women with renal problems or intestinal concerns (such as IBS or Crohns disease) may be vitamin D deficient because they can neither absorb nor adequately convert the nutrient.
May be I should add Acne to the list eh??
So... I will begin my vitamin D3 quite soon (ordered it from America) and let you know if anything happens!!
Watch this space!
My acne gets a lot better in the summer and worsens when the sun goes away the rest of the year. I live in Nothern Canada (it's -20, yes minus twenty outside right now). I tried Vitamin D in the spring, I took 1200 UI a day and it didnt help. Please people update this thread. I'm thinking about trying Vitamin D3 and upping the amount. I'd get tested for Vitamin D deficiency, but it's impossible where I live as I couldnt get to see a doctor here in the remote North unless I have a stroke or heart attack.
Hi Johnny
Don't worry - I will be checking this forum from now on, for a while anyway. As I said, I started my vit d3 a few days ago. Haven't noticed any improvements in skin, but then I am going through probably the most stressful time in my entire life right now! (HUGE life crisis). Also, I have a lot of other health problems, so that kinda confuses matters. I have also just started Olive Leaf Extract and that causes your body to detox so that could be counter productive to my acne outbreaks!
We have a balmy -5 degrees here in Blairgowrie, Scotland (overnight). I guess your minus 20 is in the daytime huh?
Keep posting everyone!
I want to know about vitD too! 
D is great but unfortunately it hasn't really helped my situation with acne - I think. I've been taking approximately almost 10000 IU / day for over 2 months, but I still keep getting acne like usual at this time of year. But vitamin D is essential for proper zinc function in your body so it might be linked...
Well I was pretty much clear last week, I'm not really sure why. I had cut out dairy and started to use BP for some time and since my skin started to look really great. I started eating dairy again few times and broke out the rest of the week. Also I began taking zinc 50-100mg / day and niacinamide (again) 550mg/day and I've also been experimenting with the abstaining from masturbation thing so it's really difficult to say what's going on... I guess I'm gonna cut the dairy out again and see what happens.