Hi there
I started to suffer from acne at the age of 14, which lasted for just over a year. The acne seemed to come out of nowhere, I honestly went from having the most perfectly clear skin to being COVERED in acne in under a month. During that time I was given harsh chemical creams and gels to apply to my face daily, which burned me so bad. I was also given antibiotics which although made me feel awul and missing a lot of school, they eventually worked. Or maybe my teenage acne had just run its course. This was probably the worst time of my life, I was bullied and hid away from the world until I felt confident that my skin looked ''ok''
I know it's drastic but I even held a razor blade to my rist at my lowest point. This was purely because I couldn't handle the thought of christmas day in a house full of family and young relatives who hadn't seen me for a while. I was just so conscious of how I looked and was so ashamed of myself. This is a feeling I still have when I have a bad skin day and I'm almost 30!
Then, when I was 21 my acne returned, mainly on my cheeks this time. I was put on the contraceptive pill this time, as they thought it must have been a hormone imbalance. The acne did clear up after a few months but left me with scars on my cheeks (which I am currently treating with derma rollers, which seem to be helping a lot) I have a treatment every other month.
I am now 29, and for the last year I have what my doctor described as cystic acne. I get these terrible bumps under my skin which never seem to develop to a head, but just sit under my skin causing so much discomfort. So much so I have on several occasions taken a pin to them to drain them out. I also get normal spots which appear pretty much all over my face. I can in no way say my face is as covered as it was when I had full blown acne, but at the age of almost 30, it's just awful having a face covered in bumps and spots. It's getting to the point where I'd swap my spots for wrinkles! I'm just sick of spots taking over my life. It's a stress I deal with every day
My time of the month is a factor here, as i can pretty much guarantee the time of the month I will start to develope a new cystic spot. After yet another trip to my doctor, she decided to give me a blood test (after telling her I was vegetarian) The test came back showing that I had very low levels of vitimin B (mainly found in meat) and vits D and Zinc.
My doctor then went on to tell me that there had been a lot of evidence to show that acne sufferers often have vitimin D defiencies. So, I was advised to start taking a high dose of vitimin D along with vitimin B. I have been taking 3 vitimin D pills a day, upping the dose to 4-5 pills a day during the winter. I have to say, that after almost a year of taking these vits, my cystic acne has pretty much gone. I do still get the occasional horrid lump but they don't seem to be sticking around for as long as they once did.
The vitimin B and zinc has also helped my energy levels
I also now drink 2 litres of water a day and I SWEAR by Beetroot juice! One glass in the morning and one in the evening (be prepared for pink pee and poo)
It's nice to know that I have found something that seems to be working/helping which isn't full of chemicals.
I also only wash my face with teatree and don't use moisteriser at night, only in the morning after showering.
So, to sum this up, I would recommend vitimin D! There is a lot of research to back this up, so take a look. But be aware, you have to stick to it. It can take several months for your body to start benifiting from the vitimins
Please let me know if you any questions, or if you have any other vitimins you would recommend
Either way, good luck and I hope you all find something that works for you x
Thank you for this, this is very interesting to me as I have just been given vitamin D tablets after a blood test showed I was very low on it. I only take one a day, though, and I'm due to have another blood test in the new year to see if the dose was correct. I wasn't given them for acne, I was given them for light-headedness. I would absolutely love these vit D tablets to improve my skin, that would just be fantastic. I'm afraid to hope. I'm also a vegetarian (well, I'm technically a pescatarian as I eat fish). I wonder if I might also have a vitamin B deficiency. I've only been on the vit D tablets for a week, though. Wish I could speed up time.[Edited image out]
It may take a while but the vitimin D will help with your skin
Stick at it, it took me about 5/6 months to notice a real difference
I would also definately recommend vit b if you're a vegetarian. I went through a spell of fainting, mainly in the mornings
I too eat fish, but my doctor told me vitimin B was mainly found in red meats. I haven't eaten red meat in over 5 years so no surprise my levels were low.
I was told to either start eating meat or take vitimin B. A bit of a no brainer! I take 2/3 vit B's a day and I haven't fainted or felt like i am about to faint for months now.
Also, on the subject of skin, I have recently started to use 'snail gel' It took me a while to get over the fact I was rubbing snail slime over my face, but after only a week I noticed a huge difference, my skin just looks healhier, and any red marks left by my spots have pretty much gone. The gel contains aloe vera so it smells nice at least!
Hi!
I take 5000iu of vitamin d3 and have been doing so for two months and it has made a huge difference to my skin. I rarely get a spot now but I do struggle around my time of the month or if my skin is clogged. You need to wait a while to notice a big difference though and I think my skin will get better in regards to clogging over time as apparently it helps reduce oil
I started taking vitamin d3 (5000 IU) more than 4 months ago. Started out with 1 5000 IU pill each day, then gradually to 2 (10,000 total), then 4 (20,000 IU today), and now i'm taking 6 (30,000 IU total) D3 pills each day with 4 magnesium citrate (200 mg each) in the morning and another 4 in the night, in addition to 2 picolinate pills.
My daily regiment goes like this:
Morning:
6 x 5,000 iu D3
3 x Super K (Vitamin K2) (200 mg MK-7)
4 x 200 mg Magnesium Citrate
1 x 50 mg Zinc picolinate
Evening/night:
4 x 200 mg Magnesium Citrate
1 x 50 mg Zinc picolinate
I have been on this exact regiment for at least a week now. Prior to this, I was taking the same thing, except with 4 less magnesium citrate.
Well, my face has definitely not gotten better. I'm still getting random pimples every couple days. When I feel like one is going away, another one replaces it almost at the same time. Currently there are like 7 or 8 noticeable pimples on my face, jaws. Still get black heads, white heads, oily skin.
I've read here that taking vitamin D3 has completely clear some people's faces in as little as 2 weeks to 3 months. Well, Im WAY past that and my face is still covered in acne. I feel very hopeless.
