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I would take more. 1200 IU isn't much compared to what most people are taking (or what you would get from being in the natural sunlight). I've been taking 15,000 IU daily for about 2 weeks. I haven't seen a ton of reduction in oil yet but it has helped my skin overall. I would up it to at least 5000 IU and see if it helps you any.
For those who break out more from typical vitamin D supplements, here are 2 more options (besides the vegan D2). Please update if you try one of them.
1. NuMedica bio-identical D3
2. NuMedica Micellized vitamin D3
I haven't tried either of them. Just putting them down as options.
During the winter time my skin gets more oily and redder than usual. Probably due to irritation from the cold and (perhaps) lack of sunlight. Right on cue with winter, after a relativity problem free eight months (my personal best since age 13), I had an unexpected breakout in November and have been seeing the usual winter harshness in my skin since.
I remembered this thread and thought I'd give Vitamin D3 a go. I went with the aforementioned Holland & Barrett variety ( http://www.hollandandbarrett.com/pages/product_detail.asp?pid=826&prodid=886&cid=163 ). It's more expensive than I would have liked but H&B are a trusted UK brand and it came with the promise of "No added Salt. No Milk, No Corn, No Lactose, No Gluten, No Wheat, No Yeast, No Fish, No Porcine, No Soya".
I started on December 2, so it's been a week so far (one supplement per day with breakfast). I've actually noticed a slight improvement already. My face is less oily and is not as red as it was last week. I'm hoping to be able to achieve the normal skin tone and oil balance that I get in the summer, hopefully Vitamin D3 will help with this. I'll post back in a month with an update.
FYI: 24/M/London, I perform "the regimen" every day, take a daily Vitamin C + Zinc supplement, and eat a mostly pescetarian diet.
After two and a half months of Vitamin D3 (from Holland & Barrett) I can say that this has worked for me. I now have very few problems on my face (was already doing fairly well with the above quoted regimen) but the D3 has helped my back considerably. I don't do Dan's regimen on my back and the Vitamin C + Zinc wasn't helping it, the D3 has given me 95% clearance on my back so it must be doing something right!
I've been on my vitamin regimen for almost a month now and have seen substantial results. The vitamin A & D seem to be a power team for clearing up acne and I really wish I had known before that I could take 6 pills a day and enjoy mostly clear skin. In addition to the vitamins, I try to eat healthy and drink lots of water. Also started on a new skin care routine with Paula's Choice products which are really nice. Alternating between BHA and AHA as well as some topical vitamin C to hopefully clear up some of these red marks.
I would take more. 1200 IU isn't much compared to what most people are taking (or what you would get from being in the natural sunlight). I've been taking 15,000 IU daily for about 2 weeks. I haven't seen a ton of reduction in oil yet but it has helped my skin overall. I would up it to at least 5000 IU and see if it helps you any.
This is more vitamin D than I took even when I was severely deficient. I hope you're getting your levels checked, because if you continue to take that much for awhile it is likely they will become too high.
I would take more. 1200 IU isn't much compared to what most people are taking (or what you would get from being in the natural sunlight). I've been taking 15,000 IU daily for about 2 weeks. I haven't seen a ton of reduction in oil yet but it has helped my skin overall. I would up it to at least 5000 IU and see if it helps you any.
This is more vitamin D than I took even when I was severely deficient. I hope you're getting your levels checked, because if you continue to take that much for awhile it is likely they will become too high.
From what I've read online on different medical websites, I'm more than okay. From different articles I looked at, it looks like the only documented cases of vitamin D toxicity have been at over 40K IU, but 15K is quite a bit lower. I live in AZ and it's heating up here, so once I start spending more time out in the sun, I'm gonna lower my dosage to probably 5K. But for now...I've never looked or felt better and I'm running with it
Jayboy-
I'm just warning you. I was taking 5k a day and started out deficient and after a while my doctor tested my levels again and told me I had to stop taking it because it could cause toxicity. He was pretty firm about telling me to stop taking it too, like it was really important not to have your levels too high.
Why not just get your nutrients from food instead? It can't be good to be taking that much vitamin A either.
Oh, I definitely appreciate the advice, it wasn't that at all 
I am trying hard to improve my diet, but I was raised on a very bad, fast food driven diet so 22 years of eating terribly takes time to break. Plus, vitamin D is quite hard to get some natural sources when I don't eat dairy. Vitamin A is easier for me to get because I eat salad, but at the end of the day...this is an easy way out for me. And it's working beautifully. I've read up on all the side effects of taking too much vitamin D and if I notice any I'll definitely cut back. I will also get my levels tested at some point soon.
I've recently been diagnosed as near deficient in vitamin D. I'm in the UK, and apparently most people here are currently near deficient. I am going to start taking a supplement - 25ug twice a day (2000 IU in total). I've had physical symptoms too and been feeling quite unwell. Having read this thread, I'm hoping it might help my cystic acne too (as my latest attempt with the BCP has done nothing). Interestingly my skin has been worse in the past 2-3 years which correlates with the bad weather that is causing the low vitamin D levels over here. I'm happy to post back in a couple of weeks.
Just a note on whether it will vs won't work for people.... maybe the people it works best for are those who are deficient in vitamin D. A vit D deficiency affects the body's ability to fight infection and inflammation. So theoretically, maybe acne could be a symptom of deficiency (being an infection and inflammatory), or perhaps it could worsen a pre-existing acne condition. But I guess that doesn't necessarily mean that taking loads of it when you aren't deficient will get rid of pre-existing acne.
I had a vitamin B12 deficiency and was very ill for a couple of years (couldn't walk, constant migraines, hair falling out etc). I felt like a different person once I started getting the B12 jabs - mentally and physically. But now I am back on stable levels, I don't get an amazing response when I have my maintenance jabs, I just don't feel ill.
I applaud Sebumsucks for starting this thread. I could have written his intro myself as we have almost exactly the same story except I'm a few years older. 2000 IU with 5000 IU A has reduced my oiliness to normal and I can easily manage to acne free with once daily BP and twice weekly AH / BA 3 minute application.
No more severe oiliness and rare acne after 25 years of trying everything, almost to the letter, that he described. I also recommend the mediterranian diet for overall health and skin tone, but the D3 is the cure that I missed for so many years.
I always noticed that the sun helped. A couple of times before tropical winter trips I tried suntan beds and they helped dramatically too. Now I realize it was not the tanning but rather the production of D3, a prohormone, from the light which I'm apparently deficient in. I was tested and my levels were low.
D3 is harmless at 2000 - 4000 IU daily and so much better than tanning, accutane, antibiotics, etc.
I've mananged to keep it under pretty good control for years but the oiliness never subsided and occassional outbreaks which are embarassing as an adult. I hope everyone struggling with this condition tries the D3 for a least 2 months. It takes a few weeks to take full effect.
I believe most of us are unable to make sufficient D3 on our own and the Dr's and Derms will never publically communicate this because it won't make any money and may actually cut back on their number one source of office visits - acne.
FYI - I've been using the d3 for 6 months now with nothing but amazing results.
Vitamin D never had that effect on me. I know vitamin D and vitamin A(retinol, not beta-carotene) are synergistic, so it is important to have both for their function...
didnt work for me either. did u try taking vitamin d3+vitamin A and still didnt work?
FYI - I've been using the d3 for 6 months now with nothing but amazing results.
lucky you. but dont assume its working for every1. i have the oilest skin ever and it didnt do shit for me.
Vitamin D never had that effect on me. I know vitamin D and vitamin A(retinol, not beta-carotene) are synergistic, so it is important to have both for their function...
didnt work for me either. did u try taking vitamin d3+vitamin A and still didnt work?
>FYI - I've been using the d3 for 6 months now with nothing but amazing results.
lucky you. but dont assume its working for every1. i have the oilest skin ever and it didnt do shit for me.
it probably helped a little, like 20% maybe.
Yes, good point. How long did you try it? It seems to take a couple to three months daily for what I noticed combined with a healthy mediterrian style diet. 4000IU and recently brought down to 2000 IU and I'm a 200 lb guy. I do take 5000 IU A too. I noticed continued improvement every month thereafter. I still use some 5% BP and AHA / BHA too for preventative measures.
Vitamin D never had that effect on me. I know vitamin D and vitamin A(retinol, not beta-carotene) are synergistic, so it is important to have both for their function...
didnt work for me either. did u try taking vitamin d3+vitamin A and still didnt work?
>FYI - I've been using the d3 for 6 months now with nothing but amazing results.
lucky you. but dont assume its working for every1. i have the oilest skin ever and it didnt do shit for me.
I just started vit d today. Have always had great skin but in the past year (basically my 30s!) it's been uncontrollably oily and am having both cystic acne ance zits everywhere- the kind that leave marks. The past few months, I noticed my neck has been hurting quite a bit too - after reading this thread I am linking my oily skin and neck pain to vit d deficiency. I live in a very hot country where we keep ourselves covered to avoid getting roasted in the sun. The body only produces vit d on exposure of the torso and legs to the sun, not the face or arms so no surprise that I might have a deficiency.
Will keep everyone posted on skin progress
You mentioned in your article that you used an aloe gel for moisturizing. Also that you only use a cleanser. You're no longer using any acne creams or treatments. I have been using an aloe gel with no fillers or junk in my face but have noticed it dried out my face. Is that normal and which one are you using? Also which or what kind of cleanser are you using?
Okay, that's it. After reading through 3 pages of this I'm really excited and hopeful about this. Growing up my parents used to demand I wash my face, but I never did because I literally never had a single pimple. My senior year in high school (2010-2011) I started to notice that my head would get extremely oily and greasy and I remember one kid even making a big deal about how "shiny" my forehead was. But still, not really a single pimple that I can remember.
It wasn't until after the summer of 2011 and I broke out severely. Extremely bad. So naturally I started to use face washes. Then in the summer of 2012 I realized that my face had cleared up and I don't remember seeing much oil if any. Then in september I broke out again all the way until in the summer of 2013 and my face cleared up again!
So this time I took note to the fact and wondered if it had anything to do with the sun. I live in Southern California, and so during the summer I'm regularly at the beach or in my pool in the backyard. I tan really easily and my face would tan often.
So obviously I thought it had something to do with the sun.
Around September, again, my skin got really oily/greasy again. I decided to sit out in the sunlight for at least 30 minutes a day. I noticed that no matter what, sun or no sun, my forehead would get significantly more greasy when I was outside, or even just driving my car. (still does to this day.)
Just yesterday I realized, hey... the weather during the winter is dry. Dry weather= dry skin. Dry skin= body overproduces sebum to forehead= pores being clogged= bacteria= pimple.
So regardless of whether or not I get out in the sun during fall/winter/spring does not matter. The dry weather will kill my skin every time I guess. Summer is my only good season apparently.
So perhaps this is the only way to get that vitamin d into my skin, supplements. It makes sense. I never thought of it but hey, thank god for this.
Here's my daily routine.
Wake up: Use Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser. Dime size amount. Wash out with room temperature water.
Shower: Just use mild water, nothing else.
Go to sleep: Use Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser. Dime size amount. Wash out with room temperature water.
So I don't do much, but then again this regiment has worked for me better than other regiments that I've used before that caused me to break out severely.
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So I'm convinced after three pages that this is what I need to try. Before I try it I'm going to request a blood test at the doctor's just so I can see my current Vitamin D levels before experimenting with this. Unfortunately tomorrow is Sunday, and so I can't request a doctor's visit until Monday. I'll report back here my levels.
That same day I am going to began supplementing with Vitamin D3 1000IU once a day, with the addition of Vitamin C 500mg tablets right after as recommended by SebumSucks, and I'll also be continuing my same regiment as posted above. I'm going to report back constantly with my results. Fingers crossed!
THANK YOU for the thread! I am going through a cyst right now and I am trying to find out what changed in my diet. Among eating very badly and having more oily skin, I realized I also stopped taking Vitamin D supplements. I started back a couple days ago. I, as well, have noticed a change in the oil in my skin.
It's funny, when I went to Australia and Phoenix, my skin was so clear. I used to get comments on it. It felt great. Then, when I moved back to Canada, it always got much worse, especially in the Winter. I definitely think there is a correlation here.
Thank you for thread and the great reminder. Vitamin D supplementation here I come!
Has anyone tried these?
[Edited link out]
Seems like a great way to boost your levels without having your liver do so much work. A lot of us have compromised livers anyway, and perhaps that's tied into why we have low Vit D levels to begin with, even though we're supplementing. Wishclean, these may work for you, if you can't tolerate oral supplements at all. I'm going to get my levels tested soon and then try these, if I find that I'm deficient(and I most likely am). Getting sufficient Magnesium(organic/chelated) and Vitamin K2(MK4) could also be a huge part of this puzzle too.
I think it's interesting that when we're deficient in Vit D, we're given large amounts of Vit D2 to correct the deficiency, but this still leaves us with low Vit D3, which is what really matters in the end. So almost everyone who is diagnosed as deficient... is still deficient in the end. I'm interested in seeing what kind of results we'd be getting if our Vit D3 and blood Magnesium levels were up to snuff, while we supplemented with a bit of MK4 and Zinc(just a little) to properly utilize the D3.
I think there really is something to the Vitamin D3, but I think we should be more dilligent about how we go about raising our levels, making sure they're actually getting raised, and making sure we have other vitamins and minerals that we need to use the D3 to begin with.