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Jekester
1. Get D3, not D2. I started with dry tablets (1000IU) but now also take oil-based capsules (5000IU). I don't think it matters which type you get.
2. If you are pale, don't go in the sun without sunscreen. With sunscreen you will be blocking UV, so in either case I wouldn't recommend trying to get a lot of sun to help with the acne. This helps more for mild acne, not moderate or severe anyway.
3. Cod Liver Oil does have some Vitamin D in it but not so much you need to worry (unless you are taking lots of Cod Liver Oil). Add up the amount you are getting from the Cod liver oil and subtract that amount from what you would normally take from a straight Vit D Supplement.
If you are looking to start out, look at 1000-2000IU. 4000IU is considered the upper safe tolerable limit per day but this is highly subjective and some researchers/docs believe it should be much higher than this. If you do take higher levels for long term you should get Vit. D tests every few months to see your current status and discuss with your doc. Long term you can build up too much in the body but like everything it depends on the person.
Thank you for the info!
. So it's possible to build up to much if you take a lot of it or a bit more then the standard amount? and yeah haha I wont go out in the sun to much.. so it's still possible that taking supplements can clear me (if im deficiant.) even though i wont get to many Uv rays on me?
I hope that made sense..
Yes, pretty much anything in too large doses is bad. Stick to the dosages I have previously stated and you should be just fine. You don't need the UV rays from the sun if you supplement to get your Vitamin D.
I didn't read this entire post, but i definitely look forward to it!!! Because I am 25 and have suffered from acne since the age of 14, and after about 3 weeks on D3, my acne is almost completely gone -- I also had my vitamin D levels checked and found they were a dismal 18.1 SEVERELY LOW!
I am happier now than I have been in 11 years. Amazing.
Glad to be able to share this success with a fellow vitamin D beneficiary.
. That is awesome. Glad to hear this is working for someone else as well. I am curious did you have super oily skin too? If so, has Vitamin D significantly reduced sebum production in addition to the acne?
Yes, he's taking other supplements. He was taking C but we ran out. I'll get more. He has been taking OptiZinc, per the dr.'s orders. I've heard Zinc is good for helping acne. How do you know it increased your oil? I'm saying it could have been caused by something else maybe? And he doesn't usually eat greasy food... we aren't regulars at McD's drive thru or anything...haha. In fact, we don't eat fast food at all... the rare exception is if we are on a road trip and are desperate.
In my experience Zinc won't do much and actually might make things worse. Zinc, at least topically, is an antimicrobial and may provide some degree of help. Internally it is given to support immune function and hence is thought to help fight off infections (like inflammatory acne). However, zinc is mostly needed/used by the sex organs and elevates testosterone levels and related hormones. These hormones are the ones most implicated in acne pathogenesis. Since increasing zinc levels will likely increase testosterone, it can increase sebum production and hence acne. I think the effect might be more pronounced for men as zinc is needed for various male functions . I can say I have personally noticed more "vigor" when I am taking zinc so I am pretty sure it increases my T levels and like I mentioned I have noticed a correlation with an increase in sebum whenever I supplement with zinc.
So I would suggest ditching the Zinc supplement unless there is another compelling reason your son needs to be on it.
I'm so sorry you were "that kid"... I was too. Unfortunately now, so is my son. I am so fearful of what my other 2 kids will go through. I am already seeing signs in their skin, and they're younger than him. It really does a lot of emotional damage, doesn't it? What is the earliest age you remember getting acne? You may have said it in your OP, sorry if you did. I read the whole thing.. long, but worth reading.
I had full on severe acne at 13-14 but I sort of remember having some mild mostly non-inflammatory acne even before that.
Oh sorry, I meant to add that he's also taking additional supplements, which his dr. told him to take months ago when he was doing oral chelation. We found out he had heavy metal toxicity... He did it for 4.5 months, and began breaking out worse, esp. on his back. It looked like he had a rash all over his back. She said it would get worse before it got better. She said it is a gradual process (you don't want to chelate too quickly), and it could take a full year to get fully clear. Well, we got so discouraged and ran out of patience that we decided to stop the chelation for now.
Sorry, I'm getting off track.. The other supplements he was (and still is) taking are Capryl, N.A.C., Calcium-d Glucarate, Alpha-Lipoic Acid, Grape Seed Extract, and a digestive enzyme after each meal. I think that covers it. whew. Plus the OptiZinc.
I didn't read this entire post, but i definitely look forward to it!!! Because I am 25 and have suffered from acne since the age of 14, and after about 3 weeks on D3, my acne is almost completely gone -- I also had my vitamin D levels checked and found they were a dismal 18.1 SEVERELY LOW!
I am happier now than I have been in 11 years. Amazing.
Glad to be able to share this success with a fellow vitamin D beneficiary.
Hello! I'm glad you have found success... was your acne severe? Which D are you taking and how much? Did you also see a decrease in oil (sebum) production? My son's skin is soooo oily, I can't wait for that to decrease (if ever!)
oh! Sorry, to answer your other question, i take MegaFood D3 2,000 IU per pill. Also I had some 1,000 IU Shaklee D3 lying around, that i've taken intermittently, but it's "expired" so i don't trust it's potency to take only that. Besides, i like Megafood more.
Oh sorry, I meant to add that he's also taking additional supplements, which his dr. told him to take months ago when he was doing oral chelation. We found out he had heavy metal toxicity... He did it for 4.5 months, and began breaking out worse, esp. on his back. It looked like he had a rash all over his back. She said it would get worse before it got better. She said it is a gradual process (you don't want to chelate too quickly), and it could take a full year to get fully clear. Well, we got so discouraged and ran out of patience that we decided to stop the chelation for now.
Sorry, I'm getting off track.. The other supplements he was (and still is) taking are Capryl, N.A.C., Calcium-d Glucarate, Alpha-Lipoic Acid, Grape Seed Extract, and a digestive enzyme after each meal. I think that covers it. whew. Plus the OptiZinc.
I didn't read this entire post, but i definitely look forward to it!!! Because I am 25 and have suffered from acne since the age of 14, and after about 3 weeks on D3, my acne is almost completely gone -- I also had my vitamin D levels checked and found they were a dismal 18.1 SEVERELY LOW!
I am happier now than I have been in 11 years. Amazing.
Glad to be able to share this success with a fellow vitamin D beneficiary.
Hello! I'm glad you have found success... was your acne severe? Which D are you taking and how much? Did you also see a decrease in oil (sebum) production? My son's skin is soooo oily, I can't wait for that to decrease (if ever!)
i just wrote a long reply, but my computer malfunctioned... so I'll try and get this right...
last summer i started avoiding dairy, was in the sun a lot, putting jojoba oil on my t zone then wiping it off, chemically exfoliating with diluted raw vinegar, washing less (which produce less oil.. overwashing my super oily skin just made things worse) with castile soap (only once a day), and taking a fish oil supplement.
i believe the fish oil and the avoiding dairy rid me of cysts. The jojoba oil was smoothing out my lumpy forehead and melting away the sebum plugs and blackheads, and the sun was unintentionally keeping my neck and jaw clear.
At the end of summer, i noticed my neck and jaw was breaking out horribly.. spreading up my cheeks and to my temples... it was awful.. after such a clear summer, i had HUNDREDS of red dots all over my face. I had a physical done January 4th, and she did bloodwork which showed my vitamin D was SEVERELY low. Started taking 4,000 IU of D3 and slowly upped it to 10,000 (which may be too much for me, as my skin's mildly breaking out at the moment...). Almost overnight it got better. skin is smoother. less oily. more glowy. 100Xs better. I have pictures from january 4th until last week. They're pretty impressive, but i really don't want to put anything like that public... i can e-mail you, if you're interested, but again, i am still really embarrassed about this condition.
Thank you for the info on your regimen and experience. I have heard good things about jojoba oil but my son has never tried it. He is still using tea tree oil, which seems to help but sometimes not fast enough, LOL. I would love to see your before/after photos. I understand about you not wanting to post them. How do we do a private email? through the profile? Sorry I'm new to the site.
It could definitely hormonal...or digestive...have you tried the "leaky gut" diet approach? Probiotics, etc? Was he breast fed? I have to say one thing about the ACV, too. Fructose allergy doesn't show up in regular tests. It's found via hydrogen breath test. I was drinking acv every day faithfully and putting honey (full of fructose) on my face and in my smoothies and my face was a mess. Now I have eliminated those things and I am oh so much better! Just trying to lend my tokens, I know each persons "cure" is different as we all have relatively "different" causes
The dr. told us that he does seem to have a leaky gut. He had a thermogram done last summer which revealed that. He hasn't exactly tried the "leaky gut" diet though... she said to take him completely off gluten, and she gave him digestive enzymes. He is *mostly* gluten free, but at his age it's really really hard to stick to it 100%. I completely believe in healing skin through diet, however it is SO hard to do for anyone, much less a teenager these days... when everyone around you is eating the S.A.D. and you're not... it's hard. And it makes him feel like a freak, esp. when other kids call him "weird" or whatever. sigh... there has to be an easier way. Yes Accutane is much easier, but I mean an easier AND safe way. Still not completely ruling out Accutane though, if it comes to that down the road... hope not.
We are not familiar with the hydrogen breath test.. what is it? That is interesting. I am a firm believer in ACV, I was raised on it as my mother discovered it back in the 60s-70s along with other folk remedies, like honey. But I guess it's possible that my son could have a fructose allergy. Yes, he was breast-fed, for 14 months. I realize now that I was very toxic when I conceived and nursed him.. ugh. I never de-toxed from the Accutane, plus I wasn't eating the healthiest back then, was eating too much restaurant food (including fast food), so it makes sense that he would be very toxic too.
Oh sorry, I meant to add that he's also taking additional supplements, which his dr. told him to take months ago when he was doing oral chelation. We found out he had heavy metal toxicity... He did it for 4.5 months, and began breaking out worse, esp. on his back. It looked like he had a rash all over his back. She said it would get worse before it got better. She said it is a gradual process (you don't want to chelate too quickly), and it could take a full year to get fully clear. Well, we got so discouraged and ran out of patience that we decided to stop the chelation for now.
Sorry, I'm getting off track.. The other supplements he was (and still is) taking are Capryl, N.A.C., Calcium-d Glucarate, Alpha-Lipoic Acid, Grape Seed Extract, and a digestive enzyme after each meal. I think that covers it. whew. Plus the OptiZinc.
I didn't read this entire post, but i definitely look forward to it!!! Because I am 25 and have suffered from acne since the age of 14, and after about 3 weeks on D3, my acne is almost completely gone -- I also had my vitamin D levels checked and found they were a dismal 18.1 SEVERELY LOW!
I am happier now than I have been in 11 years. Amazing.
Glad to be able to share this success with a fellow vitamin D beneficiary.
Hello! I'm glad you have found success... was your acne severe? Which D are you taking and how much? Did you also see a decrease in oil (sebum) production? My son's skin is soooo oily, I can't wait for that to decrease (if ever!)
i just wrote a long reply, but my computer malfunctioned... so I'll try and get this right...
last summer i started avoiding dairy, was in the sun a lot, putting jojoba oil on my t zone then wiping it off, chemically exfoliating with diluted raw vinegar, washing less (which produce less oil.. overwashing my super oily skin just made things worse) with castile soap (only once a day), and taking a fish oil supplement.
i believe the fish oil and the avoiding dairy rid me of cysts. The jojoba oil was smoothing out my lumpy forehead and melting away the sebum plugs and blackheads, and the sun was unintentionally keeping my neck and jaw clear.
At the end of summer, i noticed my neck and jaw was breaking out horribly.. spreading up my cheeks and to my temples... it was awful.. after such a clear summer, i had HUNDREDS of red dots all over my face. I had a physical done January 4th, and she did bloodwork which showed my vitamin D was SEVERELY low. Started taking 4,000 IU of D3 and slowly upped it to 10,000 (which may be too much for me, as my skin's mildly breaking out at the moment...). Almost overnight it got better. skin is smoother. less oily. more glowy. 100Xs better. I have pictures from january 4th until last week. They're pretty impressive, but i really don't want to put anything like that public... i can e-mail you, if you're interested, but again, i am still really embarrassed about this condition.
Thank you for the info on your regimen and experience. I have heard good things about jojoba oil but my son has never tried it. He is still using tea tree oil, which seems to help but sometimes not fast enough, LOL. I would love to see your before/after photos. I understand about you not wanting to post them. How do we do a private email? through the profile? Sorry I'm new to the site.
It could definitely hormonal...or digestive...have you tried the "leaky gut" diet approach? Probiotics, etc? Was he breast fed? I have to say one thing about the ACV, too. Fructose allergy doesn't show up in regular tests. It's found via hydrogen breath test. I was drinking acv every day faithfully and putting honey (full of fructose) on my face and in my smoothies and my face was a mess. Now I have eliminated those things and I am oh so much better! Just trying to lend my tokens, I know each persons "cure" is different as we all have relatively "different" causes
The dr. told us that he does seem to have a leaky gut. He had a thermogram done last summer which revealed that. He hasn't exactly tried the "leaky gut" diet though... she said to take him completely off gluten, and she gave him digestive enzymes. He is *mostly* gluten free, but at his age it's really really hard to stick to it 100%. I completely believe in healing skin through diet, however it is SO hard to do for anyone, much less a teenager these days... when everyone around you is eating the S.A.D. and you're not... it's hard. And it makes him feel like a freak, esp. when other kids call him "weird" or whatever. sigh... there has to be an easier way. Yes Accutane is much easier, but I mean an easier AND safe way. Still not completely ruling out Accutane though, if it comes to that down the road... hope not.
We are not familiar with the hydrogen breath test.. what is it? That is interesting. I am a firm believer in ACV, I was raised on it as my mother discovered it back in the 60s-70s along with other folk remedies, like honey. But I guess it's possible that my son could have a fructose allergy. Yes, he was breast-fed, for 14 months. I realize now that I was very toxic when I conceived and nursed him.. ugh. I never de-toxed from the Accutane, plus I wasn't eating the healthiest back then, was eating too much restaurant food (including fast food), so it makes sense that he would be very toxic too.
I don't know much about accutane's effect on nursing, but I've been proudly nursing both my daughters - one just turned three, and the other is 15 months. Your food intake is (yes debatable) has little to do with the output of milk. The breast has a pretty good, though not perfect filter for baby. I have always hoped the extended nursing would help lesser my field's chance of acne 
it's a miserable condition.
I don't know how to send private messages, as I'm new here too.. but I could figure it out on my laptop (using a mobile version of acne.org).
Hi,
This topic is so interesting that I decided to register. I'm 24 male with horrible oily skin (really really tooo much sebum) and acne on my face, shoulders, back and chest. Plus I have seborrheic dermatitis on all those areas too.
I tried many topical treatments and antibiotics. They help a bit only when I take them, but this is not what I'm looking for.
I'm really strong beliver in vitamin D. My skin is always much better during the summer. Now I have winter and my skin is one big inflammated mess. I decided to try out vitamin D3 supplementation. I take it for 5 days with 1600 UI dose after the meal. I will let you know about my possible progress.
I want also to say something about zinc supplementaion. I know many people say it's good for skin etc. Topicaly maybe it helps me a bit, but supplementing with zinc makes my acne worse along with more sebum production. It has to be hormonal related, raising testosterone and dht.
I got tested a few years ago for vitamin d deficiency and sure enough i was severely low in it. I was put on three times the recommended daily dose for 3 months and within a few months my skin started clearing up. Stupidly, when it came to my acne, I didn't put two and two together and i stopped taking the supplements when my levels got re-tested and came out as normal. My skin stayed under control for about a year after but now it is flaring up again and starting to go completely downhill.
Since originally being prescribed it I have read a lot of information about vitamin D and now realise that it was probably one of the main reasons for my skin clearing up.....needless to say I am back on it, along with a change of diet....skin is already improving after just 4 weeks.
This might have been mentioned in other posts but it is recommended that you take cod liver oil supplements with the vitamin D supplements as it helps promote better absorption (my endocrinologist told me that when i was prescribed it).
I'll be posting more info about it on my blog:
*Moderator edit - URL removed - read the board rules*
i've been taking 3000 iu vitamin d3 tablet form for a little over week. I actually tried this before but didn't notice anything so I just gave this up. But after reading how it can reduce facial oil , i had to give it a try again. First couple days, my face got a little more oilier but then after about a week or so, i definitely noticed a decrease in facial oil which i have a huge problem with. I still get some minor pimples but nothing serious but this helped alot with facial oiliness and my complexion looks outstanding.
But just yesterday I started to get some stomach cramps and I did read that when you overdose on vitamin d3 , stomach cramps were one of the symptoms. But I'm like taking only 3000 iu and only for one week so at this point, Im a little confused. So I'm going to drop it to 2000 iu and see if i still get the benefits while eliminating this stomach cramps i've been receiving. But so far I've been really happy with the results....
Hello everyone! Well, I took my son to get a blood test, and the results came back today... his Vit. D level is 32 But I'm actually kinda glad, b/c it gives me hope that maybe we're on the right track, and maybe just maybe, that's why his skin has been so oily and constantly breaking out...
Today is day #11 of supplementing, and I *think* it's looking better.... looking less oily, and he doesn't seem to be getting new lesions as quickly on his face. The ones he IS getting seem to be smaller, more superficial bumps that come to a head quicker and go away faster... but I don't want to speak too soon. I can only hope it keeps getting better.
HOWEVER, his back looks horrible still, and his neck/shoulders also... Chest is broken out too, but not nearly as bad as his back. I will keep him on this regimen for several more weeks and pray that everything keeps improving! I'm not super worried about his back right now, as it's not swimming season, but as it gets closer to summer, I will be more concerned about it. He loves to go swimming, and we live in the South where it gets really hot.. 
txngrl - Glad to hear your son is seeing improvement. 11 days is still very early in the process so if he is already experiencing less oily skin and smaller breakouts that is a very good sign. It's going to take weeks or likely months before things really settle down with any successful treatment for his severity of acne.so don't get discouraged if he takes two steps forward and one step back every so often; things don't necessarily improve in a linear fashion.
I got a test done a while ago btw, my doctor said my level was 70. So I guess vitamin d isn't my problem? Weird cause the only thing I can think of that has vit d is my Cod liver oil (3x day) and I don't go out in the sun much at all, actually hardly.
I heard there is 2 tests though. soo..?
If you are taking that much Cod liver oil (and have for a long time) it is possible you have raised your Vitamin D levels that way. Also, if you consume a fair amount of milk and yogurt fortified with Vitamin D, that may be helping your levels as well. Also, it depends on what time of year you were checked. Highest levels for most folks would be end of summer when most people are getting more sun and by then Vitamin D levels have built up from sun exposure during the summer months. Levels drop off from that high point in late summer until next spring/summer again. So if you were tested in summer, that may explain your high number, but your status could be much different now, in the middle of winter. From everything I've read, pretty much everyone is deficient during winter months and should supplement, unless of course you live near the equator or drink a gallon of fortified milk a day.
Also I would recommend you actually get the written report of the test. Sometimes rushed docs misread your tests, especially if this was a comprehensive blood panel done and there were lots of other numbers on the report.
Vitamin D supplementation has greatly reduced my oil production. I also just want to make a bit of a defence for zinc - I take 50mg about once a week and there's 15mg in my daily multivitamin. It increases my skin healing times and doesn't seem to increase the amount of sebum on my skin. I'm female but I have high levels of testosterone anyway, don't know if that makes any difference or not.
Jekester - It appears then that your Cod LIver Oil is providing all the Vitamin D you need. If you have oily skin then the Cod LIver oil is probably exacerbating that. If I consume larger than normal amounts of oil/fats in my diet (via food or supplements) I get more oil production. Now CLO is supposed to be a beneficial, non-inflammatory type oil but you might want to consider dropping it if you feel you are not getting much result from it. I have tried it before, in addition to straight fish oil, and then purified DHA/EHA, none providing much success. At times I do think I experienced less inflammation while on these oils, but never did I experience a decrease in oil or level of clearance that I am getting with straight dry tablet vitamin D supplements.
I want also to say something about zinc supplementaion. I know many people say it's good for skin etc. Topicaly maybe it helps me a bit, but supplementing with zinc makes my acne worse along with more sebum production. It has to be hormonal related, raising testosterone and dht.
Oh yeah, i dont think you're alone there. I find it ironic that zinc and b vitamins are always touted as acne cures. Zinc supplements can cause or worsen acne and oily skin in some because most of the zinc supplements usually come with a massive dose of B6. Excessive amounts of vitamins B6 and B12 are known to cause or worsen acne and oily skin in some people; take a B complex if you don't believe me. Besides that, too much zinc suppresses your immune system and whats too much for me might be too little for you so you just never know. In my experience, taking too much of any one vitamin just makes my skin worse. I think its probably because it upsets the balance of everything even more.
I love D3 and the idea of it being a "prohormone," instead of a vitamin but meh, i'm stuck with this giant bottle of D3 1000IU so i only take it every other day and i always feel like I have to take magnesium b/c of it which just annoys me (ugh, too many vitamins). But have any of you guys tried using D3 topically? I have this Ocean Potion "anti-aging" SPF with D3 and I swear to god it totally makes my skin all healthy and supple. I know that sounds lame cause its just a cheap sunscreen but its the only thing I've changed--plus I'm on accutane, so my skin was looking pretty rough before i started using it, (or okay, it was looking like absolute crap). Anyways, I looked up topical D3 when I realized the SPF could be doing good things for my skin and I found some article that was touting it as a miracle ingredient for a facial cream or something. I can't find it anymore so now i'm wondering if anyone else knows anything about this? I just ordered a D3 moisturizer with something like 10,000 IU of D3 but now I wonder if that means I will have to stop taking it orally...I prolly don't need to be getting toxic levels of both D and A but lol, I guess its better to be balanced right?
A lot of good info in the op. I'll try to add to it. Here's a quote from this article.
"The biological function of sebocytes is further regulated by several factors including ligands of receptors expressed in sebocytes, such as androgens and estrogens, PPAR ligands and neuropeptides (NP), liver-X receptor ligands (LXR), histamines, retinoids and vitamin D. The ligand-receptor complexes activate pathways involving cell proliferation, differentiation, lipogenesis, hormone metabolism and cytokine and chemokine release."
Sebocytes are cells that make up the sebaceous glands. Ligands are signal-triggering molecules that bind to receptors(in this case, sebocyte receptors). It says "such as", so this may not be all of them, but it lists the main ligands, or things that bind to sebocyte receptors: androgens, estrogens, PPAR ligands and neuropeptides, liver-X receptor ligands, histamines, retinoids, and vitamin D. I don't know what all of those are, but the ones that stuck out for me were androgens, retinoids, and vitamin D. Androgens trigger the sebaceous glands to produce sebum. Accutane is a retinoid that triggers the glands to stop producing sebum. Vitamin D could also trigger the glands to stop producing sebum(although I have not experienced this personally). The op hypothesized that vitamin D and Accutane could trigger the sebaceous glands to stop producing sebum, but maybe they just bind to the receptors and block androgens, therefore blocking the triggers that cause sebum production. Or maybe they do trigger the sebaceous glands to stop producing sebum BY blocking androgens.
I think we're on to something, although I've thought that many times before. Still, I think we should study this more and try using vitamin D if we can. I would try it again, but I'm already taking Accutane.
Okay i would like those who tried vitamin d3 and tell me if they took the tablet or the softgel form? And also if anyone of you took d3 which had soybean oil? If so, did that work or not work?
I noticed that nature bounty gel has soybean oil and so does nature made liquid softgel. So if you get nature made in TABLET FORM... it doesn't have soybean. Do you think that would be better?
Its strange b/c i read so many ppl say they like gel form b/c its easy to swallow as oppose to tablets which are big but those tablets dont have soybean oil...
Im curious if the soybean oil makes a difference from ppl who taken vitamin d.
Hey guys,
Just looking into adding some D3 supplements to my diet (especially as we're having a particularly cold winter here in the UK!)
I ordered a some 5000 IU capsules online yesterday, so before they come I went into Holland and Barrett (a vitamin/health store in the UK) and the biggest size tablets they do are 1000 IU!!! The lady in there told me that this is because of government health advice and that I shouldn't take more than 1 a day without consulting my doctor for a Vitamin D test!
After reading a lot online, including this post, it appears most recent research indicates this may be a load of rubbish and we actually need a lot more than some people think!