Deficiencies in all kinds of nutrients, sleep, physical activity make acne worse. Along with every other health condition our sickly culture suffers from. Eat real food.

What the doctor considers adequate levels is too low and 1000 iu per day is nowhere enough for someone who doesn't get any from the sun. It would be bet to just get out into the sun for 15 minutes with as much of your torso exposed as possible. Otherwise, take more like 3000.

Vitamin D is a great thing

I'm sure there are dietary factors that can limit VD absorption from sunlight, but for a large number of people even minutes out in the sun can give a high amount of VD. I believe for 10-15 minutes around noon the amount of VD produced is around 10,000IU's, that seems to me like more than enough. I know that too large a dose (and it doesn't take a lot to go overboard) can cause side effects such as lethargy, depression, and libido issues. It took me a while to realize supplementing with 5000IU daily was too much, it may have provided some benefit with breakouts but not enough to justify even minor amounts of those side effects.

I may try a smaller dose to see how it does, but I have a hard time seeing most people having a problem getting all they need from the sun/diet.

I am 30 and have been dealing with acne since age 11... non stop.

Vitamin D baby! Is where it's at for me. I feel better when I wake up and a plethora of other issues are subsiding.I went off the benzoyl peroxide after 8 months due to nausea that occurred for 21 days. The nausea may have been caused by other issues, but coming off the BP was to get an idea of what perhaps was making me ill. I feel better now... but who knows why. The BP though stained everything I owned and my fiance was happy my face no longer smelled "toxic"

The first week with out the BP was hellish. I decided to give myself two weeks to find another alternative or else I would go back to using it... because if we are all honest, acne really does ruin your life. All those old emotions and worries about my skin came back... uncontrollably with pimples coming up everywhere. Then after 5 days off BP, I read about vitamin D deficiency and checked out some extensive lectures on the subject of vitamin D on Utube. Vitamin D seemed to also be a solution for joint issues, tiredness, candida and a general blah feeling that plagued my life as well.

Looking back, I have spent plenty of time outdoors, but not in the sun between 11 and 3pm during the summer when vitamin D can adequately be made by your body. (My mother would have killed me for getting UV exposure... her voice is still in my head even as a grown woman!- Love you mom)I use to be berry brown with white white hair enjoying the sunshine daily until I was about age 11.... then my mother became serious about sunblock and covering up. And so went the rest of my life, and while I may have been rescued from skin cancer, my health deteriorated ever since... like a long, slow death. I thought I was just growing up and getting old like everyone else does. Unfortunately.... it is like everyone else does... deficient in D. Adequate levels are between 50 and 80 and most of the population is down around 20- some even down to 5-10.

My routine:

1500 IU liquid vitamin D in the morning- this is a lot but I was really deficient. 10000 is what is suggested for some people and even 20000 for others. The liquid is really worth it (costs me $11.00 and lasted 3 weeks... less $ than the BP). Read up on high doses vs. the 400 recommended daily intake by our government.

15 IU Zinc twice a daily.I added this because zinc cannot be absorbed without D and it is suppose to help with acne and joints. My skin improved much faster with this. Previously zinc broke me out (as did lots of other vitamins)... but I decided to give it a go along side the D.

Fish oil Caps- for good measure. I bite into these and suck out the oil instead of swallowing because the coating seems unimportant and I feel it would hinder my digestion. I take two caps- sorry I don't have the mg on me right now. I am not religious about this part.

Veggies, Especially Carrot Juice and other freshly juiced veggies with vitamin A & Potassium- I've done vitamin A before and I didn't want to make things complicated so decided to get the rest of my vitamins through food (multivitamins break me out). A in particular improved the texture of my skin before, but not the acne.I've had potassium deficiencies too in the past. Vitamin D helps the body process a ton of other vitamins, including A, and so I felt that getting these vitamins through diet would ensure optimal health and make the best of what D can do for me. Jamba Juice makes carrot and orange juice drinks with nothing else added. I also go the the health stores and get smoothies and salads.

Also I stopped picking- and I have stopped in the past as well, especially when using BP, but I have a feeling that if I picked my pores now, my skin would not look as good. I have only scraped off a couple of tiny whiteheads that appear and then disappear minutes after removal. Truth be told if the D wasn't working (and Zinc) I would still pick what would be coming up including blackheads and full blown pimples (they are were bothersome and sometimes itchy!) but since I don't have those pimples now, it is easy enough to leave my pores alone.

I only wipe my face with a warm washcloth- and I exfoliate with the washcloth if needed. Every couple days I might rinse with a mild soap, especially after wearing a lot of makeup. Low maintenance washing has been a dream come true! My skin before was sensitive even to the laundry detergent from the washcloth, but it no longer irritates me and maybe even helps the cleansing process.

I would love to do some before and after pics as soon as my scars heal. I want to do it make up free though!

While I was waiting for the vitamin D to work, I kept thinking "how long?". Well I came off the BP at the same time, so if you are not coming of BP, the vitamin D might not take as long to start working. For me the D started changing my skin immediately, but my skin was actually noticeably clear within two weeks....I'd say 10 days. When I started using the Zinc with the D, my skin cleared up entirely with in 3 days after that, and I have no new break outs now for 3 weeks, even during my girl cycle, which is an absolute miracle and with out having used BP. My skin is also much more healthy, supple, glowing and moist. BP use make it dry and pale even though I wasn't breaking out.

I also feel better waking up, my joints don't hurt and I am in great spirits much of the time as well. I also am craving healthier foods.

Try D!Research the recommended high doses of D and consider whether or not the 400 IU of D, which has been recommended for the last 50 years, is actually enough. Also add other vits contained in food that you think might help. The key to this is considering the other symptoms you have that may be seemingly unrelated to the acne, and figuring out what vitamins would be beneficial for those symptoms.

I am so happy I can share this information. Soooooo thrilled. Just imagine how thrilling it would be for your acne to clear up... THAT is what happened for me after 19 years!

Also, looking back I can see how my acne got worse and worse the less D I was getting. Without the BP to dry up my acne, I progressed from one or two cysts daily in my teens, to chin and jaw acne in my early 20's, to chin, jaw, temple & neck acne with blackheads and these uncontrollable watery pimples everywhere in my late 20's.

The UV rays that helps us manufacture D can help but most of us cannot get D much of the year. Also it is difficult to soak it up the proper amounts if you are not near the equator. Look for the Vitamin D calendars online so that you know if it is worth it to sit in the sun right now. I had a couple of sessions of soaking up D in the sun with my legs and arms exposed before Fall came and it felt so great! The liquid form D is really the best insurance.

(Please don't burn! We still need to be careful about too much sun exposure!)

Best wishes!!!

** 15000 is actually what I am taking of vitamin D. I missed a zero. Sounds like a lot but it was key for me. Do a just a little research and see what you find

I had vitamin deficiency too! Pretty severe & I know that was the root of all my skin probs! For two months I took 50,000 iu and it helped my acne A LOT. So please, for anyone with terrible acne...get a blood test done and check your vitamins and hormones. Actually, vitamin d is a pro hormone so it is vital to our health.

I've just started taking 2400ius of vitamin D a day and the little sebum clogs on my chin have gone away. I live in a place that doesn't get much sun and I'm constantly covered in high factor sunscreen because I burn ludicrously easy, especially now that I'm on Duac. I got a lot more sun when I was younger because I only really wore sunscreen at the beach.

Has anyone broken out from vitamin D supplements???

If you have clogged pores, whiteheads, etc. then you can expect a breakout with some treatments, especially those that begin regulating the production of skin and sebum.

Do you normally have oily skin? If so, have you noticed a reduction in oil while taking Vit D? If so, that is a positive sign and stick with the Vitamin D, the breakout is a sign that the Vitamin D is purging things out of your skin. Your skin will normalize well before your skin stops breaking out and the severity and length of the break out depends on how bad your skin is to begin with (mild, moderate, severe).