Zinc

Just a little back history....I have been dealing with acne for the past 15 years. I'm now 30 years. Over the years, the severity of my acne has gone in waves, but was manageable for the most part. In February of this year I switched from the pill to the mirena IUD. The first couple of months my skin was ok....by ok I mean it would break out by but wasn't horrible. By the third month, my skin went haywire!!! Everyday I would wake up to 3-4 huge cystic pimples on my jawline and chin. My skin has NEVER been like that. I tried proactiv...didn't work. I tried 10% benzoyl peroxide...didn't work. So finally I broke down and went to the dermatologist. I was prescribed 80mg of Solodyn once a day along with Aczone twice a day. I was on Solodyn for all off 2,weeks when I had serious allergic reaction which caused my joints to hurt, extreme rash all over by body and swollen hands. Needless to say, I stopped taking it. As soon as I stopped the antibiotics my acne kicked back in full gear. So me not wanting to go back on antibiotics, I started doing some research on natural ways to help prevent acne. I came across Zinc for Acne. I was a little skeptical but it was cheap so what the heck. The first week I didn't notice anything. By the middle of the second I no longer had breakouts. I'm now into my 3rd and still no new breakouts. I've been using the Bragg's ACV as toner to lighten the scars. I also use the Aztec healing clay mask once a week to exfoliate. So far I'm liking the results of the zinc. I would definitely give it a try if you feel like you have tried everything under the sun or even if you are skeptical of long term use of antibiotics. I will post and update in a month or so.

I have had acne for a long time..Prescriptions are too expensive for me because i dont have insurance, so i tried this and so far so good. It has cleared my face 90 percent. I try to take it every day 100mg. I just hope it doesnt stop working after so me time!

I've used it for a couple weeks now. my skin texture and appearance improved alot. I can say that my skin is lots better than it was before i started taking zinc supplements. The redness of the spots and blablabla has disappeared and the skin tone looks better. IT WORKS FOR ME.

It does work! It worked for me, I would never breakout and had insanly clear skin with maybe 1 pimple that would go away withint 1-2 days! And I would occasianly break out around that time of the month but nothing major. So I was taking Zinc for about 3 months along with Omega-3, vit C and vit D and it helped my acne as I said, but it got kind of a hassle to take all those pills along with my allergy medication I had to take during the summer so I stopped stupidly thinking my skin was just kind of grown out of acne. STUPIDEST IDEA EVER! My skin went back to it's norm 3-4 pimples everyday which absolutely sucks! So now i've started taking them all again and my skin is already clearing up again :) And I think its extremely important to take the zinc out of all those iother vitamins cause thats what was making the difference!! ~ also, the first day I took my zinc pill 5 months ago, I had a problem with swallowing it down. It felt like it came back up my throat and the feeling stayed for 2/3 weeks which was annoying because it wasn't! So make sure you take lots of water with it so you don't have the same problem cause trust me it was annoying!!!

I started getting really bad cystic acne on my chin about five months ago and nothing I did worked. They just kept popping up and the old ones wouldn't go away. I happened upon this website and read the reviews about zinc supplements and decided to give it a try. I've been taking zinc for a little over a week and all of my breakouts are completely gone! I couldn't believe it. I still wash my face every day and wash my make up brush every week to take care of my skin but I am totally acne free right now. It totally blows my mind. I was about to give up and I'm so thankful I found out about this. I take the chelated zinc tablets 50 mg but I cut them in half and only take one half a day. You have to be careful with zinc because too much in your system will deplete your copper which can cause health issues. If you have a zinc deficiency it could very well be the cause of your acne.

So I've been doing the acne.org regimen religiously for about 9 weeks and my little white heads and superficial acne has completely disappeared on my forehead. My forehead is 100% clear of acne! The regimen did absolutely nothing though for my deep cystic acne on me cheeks. Which makes sense since the acne is just too deep for superficial treatment to penetrate. I decided to take a zinc supplement due to my fear of continuously taking different antibiotics and becoming antibiotic resistant (I'm a bio major). I've been taking a 100 mg zinc gluconate supplement daily as well as a vitamin d supplement and it's working! I've been taking it for 3 weeks now and no new cysts! I'm amazed! To avoid feeling nauseous and better help absorption, I split the pill in half and eat one half with breakfast and other half with dinner.

**See bottom for update as of 11/20/13 First, let me say I am a master's student in nutrition and do know what I'm talking about. I highly recommend taking zinc for anyone experiencing dry and flaky skin on their face. It can help for oily skin too, but my experience is with dry skin, detailed below. My biggest lesson is that taking oral contraceptives can cause pretty big vitamin/mineral imbalances. My conclusion after much education is that my hormones were regulated on the pill*, but my vitamin/mineral imbalance has actually been responsible for my breakouts. What I thought were hormonal breakouts were actually deficiencies. So far I've corrected D3 and B12, but my skin was still dry and flaky on my face, no matter how much I moisturized (seriously!). The dry skin was causing uncoverable breakouts that were frustrating and embarrassing on a daily basis. Since nearly all acne products deal with oily skin, you can imagine my exasperation. I then looked to my minerals, and arrived at the idea that I might have a zinc deficiency, which can cause flakey skin and poor wound healing, and is especially prevalent in vegan/vegetarians. I started adding 30 mg zinc with 1000 mg vit c at bedtime. Together with the 15 mg in my daily vitamin, my skin has actually begun to heal, has stopped flaking, is responding to my nightly hydrosol + serum (evanhealy rosehip repair serum and immortelle hydrosol). Scars are far less noticeable, and my breakouts have greatly decreased already... and it's only been a week! Bottom line: add some into your daily/nightly routine, it can't hurt. The daily upper limit for adults is 40mg (which I'm exceeding by 5 for now), so be cautious not to overdo it, since zinc toxicity can deplete your other minerals like copper and iron, which can cause other issues. I'll update in a few weeks, my goal is to be clear by Thanksgiving! *Yasmin caused me the life-threatening side effect of hyperkalemia and panic disorder, I strongly recommend switching away from it (or Yaz) if you're taking it. I have made a full recovery since stopping oral contraception within a month. **UPDATE** 11/20/13 I upped my intake to 50 mg/day of chelate along with the one 1000mg vit C tab at bedtime (in addition to the 15 in my multi) and have had FABULOUS results. I know I must have been very zinc deficient, as this often happens to vegans (zinc is less bioavailable in plant sources). HOWEVER this dosage is only "safe" for up to a few weeks and MUST be supplemented with iron/copper or you risk depleting those minerals (take a multi!). I'm going to bump it back to 30 mg/day in December, then in January just the 15 in my multi. Mineral imbalances only require loading doses for a short period, don't overdo it! My skin is nearly completely clear and is no longer dry and flakey. I have only 3 small active spots right now and even those are healing (compared to 15+ daily about a month ago). I have some hyperpigmentation but know it will fade over time with proper care. My confidence has been restored after a really tough 2 year struggle with my skin. I wish I had known I was zinc deficient sooner! I feel like I can look the world in the face again!

PLEASE TAKE CHELATED ZINC !!!!!!!! TAKE zinc with vitamin a for best result (VERY RECOMMENDED)

I've been taking 50mg Zinc every night (in addition to fish oil and a multivitamin in the AM) and for the last week I have seen my acne pretty much disappear. People said Zinc helps heal skin faster and damn if they weren't correct! I'm a believer after having one of the worst, scariest breakouts of my life (I'm 26, male.) USE THIS if you are breaking out like crazy.

I've had severe to moderate adult acne since I was in my early 20's. I'm now 44 and still suffering. Years and years of trying to control acne with benzoyle peroxide and salycitic acid, was so uncomfortable, never worked well, and caused premature wrinkling of the skin. Zinc is the only thing that has really helped, I wish I had discovered it sooner. I also have seen a reduction in gray hair, in fact ,I think my hair is getting thicker. I don't get sick with colds and if I do its mild. Also I have alot more energy and no depression. It does not get rid of my acne completely but, it's far less severe and heals quickly. If I don't take it, for a few days, the cystic acne returns. I am concerned now with copper and iron depletion, so i'm going to start supplementing with both, along with Ultimate Omega fish oil. If you are thinking about trying the zinc regimine {you'd be a fool not to} then purchase one with copper up front.