Ive always had severely oily skin...so oily id have to wash skin every 2 hours at least.
I was put on accutane for dermatitis of an unkown cause as a last resort. cleared all of my acne and oil within days unfortunately im not suffering from acne anymore i have something else that is causing other skin conditions...but about the vitamin a
Like many others who have oily skin after stopping accutane the oil seems to come right back and for me it was about 2 weeks later. i refused to go back to oily skin so i did research and got vitamin a from fish liver.. It works. ive been taking it for 6 months.
I like it better than accutane because i dont get the severe dryness. i started out with 75000 iu but found that my joints became sensitive so i dropped down to 50000iu and added 50mg of zinc picolinate which was more effective.
Right now i havnt washed my face in 15 hours and i have a normal amount of oil that would be expected after working all day and sweating doing yard work.. Bottom line is it works. a lot of people here have been scared of the toxicity but if compared to how much vitamin a is in accutane taking 50000 or 75000 is as toxic as a sugar pill.
I feel better all around from taking vit a.. I no longer use soap i just use water on my face and i can lightly moisturize without breaking out.
DONOT take beta carotene...make sure your vitamin a is from fish liver. that being said fish oil which can contain vitamin a breaks me out.. The only thing that has worked is the actual vitamin a supplement from fish liver.
Also i had taken chelated zinc before which mad me ill. zinc picolinate does not. its more easily absorbed by the body i usually take 50 mg occasionally ill take 100. again 6 months oil free after oil had returned post accutane.
Now if i could get rid of keratosis pilaris id be in business!
I use NOW supplements from amazon.
Great post on Vitamin A...Glad it's working for your skin! 
I actually gave someone a link to this post as I thought it contained a lot of good info about what Vit A source is the best for this problem. I'm currently trying hemp seed oil (rich in omega 3-6-9 EFA) to help with combination oily/dry skin and excess oil production but if that doesn't work I may also try the fish liver oil...so basically cod liver oil then??... Funny, another member also recommended cod liver oil but I don't think he explained about being rich in Vit A...and another poster I saw yesterday recommended Vit A...been a theme lately lol
YES you can look on package and see what form it is. I use now supplements it says it right on the front "25000 IU from Fish Liver Oil." If it does not say that, then it is a synthetic form which may or may not work. I forget where I read it , but I remember seeing that the kind from fish liver oil works better. I have no idea what ug is so I suggest finding a bottle that measures the Vitamin in iu. I originally started with the CVS brand which was synthetic and in much smaller doses...didn't work, made the switch to the Vitamin A from fish liver and it worked way better, added the zinc and now I actually have to moisturize because I don't have any sebum.
Fish Oil is not going to be the same thing, while it does contain Vitamin A, it won't contain enough whereas Vitamin A from fish liver is ONLY vitamin A that they are extracting from Fish Oil, its not the same.
In fact I've tried Fish oil several times and it makes my skin oily, Borage Oil is a better bet, its a stronger Omega Vitamin and I've taken it before without any kind of problem.
Keep in mind that you need to take huge amounts of vitamin A to do this. You may be taking it for 2 months but you may not be taking enough, and it also may take 3 months to kick in just like Accutane does for some. Add the Zinc if it isnt working, Zinc is what transports the Vitamin A, so your body may not just need more Vitamin A it may need the Zinc to assist in transporting the vitamin A throughout your system.
I take 2-3 Vitamin A pills a day, started in June and its December now. No ill effects. 25000 iu is in 1 pill so that is 500 percent of the daily value. So I'm taking 1000 to 1500 percent of the daily value. It may seem like a scary number but keep in mind that isn't even close to a low dose of accutane. Go on Amazon, look up reviews on various Vitamin A supplements, there are many people out there that use is for this purpose and have had success.
If its not working make sure you are taking at least 50,000 IU that is 1000 percent daily value. If it still doens't work after a few weeks, add zinc picolinate or however you spell it. Take 50mg a day and no more than a 100. Make sure it is that kind of zinc, don't use the other kinds out there, do not use chelated zinc.
You will not get results from taking one pill every day from a CVS brand of 8,000 IU. You have to take well beyond the recommended dose. I've been doing this for some time and it is the only thing that has kept my skin oil free. I plan on taking it until I die, as I don't think you can ever stop taking it or else the oil will return.
Keep in mind you may want to lower your alcohol intake to once a week if you're doing this. Vitamin A like accutane can spike liver enzymes which is fine when you're not abusing your liver with other toxins. I have a hard time keeping this promise, but I try to keep the drinking down to 4-5 drinks a week.
You're wasting your time with Fish Oil, and your wasting your time if you don't megadose. Stick to the numbers I gave you, be diligent, take it at the same time every day and make sure you don't miss a dose, and never double a dose.
Hi! Here is My story 
)
I have been struggling with very bad break out all over My face for the past year( doctor would have put me on Accutane but i cannot take it for some Reasons and i wouldnt either) i still think mine Wasnt the worst but it was moderate/ severe.
I tried everything but nothing really cleared it up, ( antibiotics, duac, differin etc)
So recently i have been doing green smoothies and eating 1 carrot with olive oil each day and My skin is Getting much better, ( it has reduced My skins inflamation greatly)
You need to use oil( olive or coconut) with the smoothie cause the vitamin A and K are oil souble, means you dont get it if you dont consume oil with it.
My recepie:
1) Spinach 70 g( can be more also(
2.) 2 bananas ( for the taste )
3.) ginger ( bit for the taste)
4.) few slices of apple
5.) olive oil 1 teaspoon
6.) bit water
7.) bit juice
8.) sometimes Frozen strawberrys ( make it taste even better) )
9.) good quality pur© honey
I drink it Once a day and i also eat 1 carrot per day and i add olive oil to it- within a week or 2 i Saw some improvement, so try it out and it might also help you )
Write comment if it helps you or has helped you!
Give it a try!
I never thought it would help me before i finally tried it
Happy Holidays:-)
EleFC
In september
End of november
I just purchased these pills and I'm a bit hesitant to even take 25,000 IU. There's so much information on this and what's safe and what isn't.
The warning on the bottle says the product contains a chemical known to California to cause birth defects or other reproductive harm. That freaks me out.
I'm not trying to conceive or anything, but that's not the most pleasant thing to read.