Zinc

i was tired of doing 3 step topical treatments twice a day. i guess im kind of lazy. lol and i also really wanted to get rid of my acne from the inside out because i have back acne too and im embarrassed to wear anything sleeveless. i take prescription meds (not for acne) in the AM and PM so i just put the zinc pills in each daily slot of my pill organizer so i never forget to take them. i really didnt think it would work cause my acne is STUBBORN but after about 5-7 days no big pimples showed up, my old acne started going away, and ive only gotten like 2-3 new small pimples instead of the usual 10ish new pimples after a period of 5-7 days. my complexion even looks different somehow. in a good way of coarse. ive been taking 100mgs of nature valleys zinc everyday. cheap stuff you can get at freakin walmart. 50mgs in the morning and 50mgs at night i doubled the dose that the directions said since im using it specifically for acne and not as an every day health supplement. i can only imagine it getting better from here! i just cant believe its working after just a week! if i can keep forcing myself to do a three step acne system at least once a day, preferably at night because sleeping right after treating my skin makes the results to be alot better in the morning, then combining the two will hopefully clear up my skin 80%-90% in a couple weeks. im even considering adding another 50mg zinc pill to see if it will work faster/better. im just so excited that my complexion is clearing up so fast! i just hope this doesnt backfire on me. i recommend this to EVERYONE! if it doesnt work for you then you should just continue to take the zinc till the bottle is empty cause zinc is good for you anyways. oh and the reason i gave it 4 stars instead of 5 is because it does cause a tad bit of nausea if you dont take it with a good amount of food in your stomach.

For starters, I take 50mg of Chelated Zinc Gluconate from Nature's Bounty. It's one small pill a day that I take after dinner with some coffee, and I've not experienced any of the negative side effects that other's have mentioned. I'm also 17, female, and have dealt with acne since I was about 9 - I believe because of an estrogen surplus. I've tried almost every topical on the market - perscription or otherwise, but my family couldn't afford to visit a proper dermetologist until recently, nevermind a perscription for accutane. (And to be honest, I'd take zits over any of the potential side effects any day.) Also, my mother refused to even consider birth control. It just isn't an option in my family. I've been taking Zinc in this dose for about 8 days now and...low and behold, no new acne. I don't really believe it. I'm sure I sound like a cheesy infomercial but guys, it's actually kind of legit, and it's probably one of the easiest things you can try before heading off to a dermetologist and letting them pump chemicals and silicons onto your face. I used to get these nasty cysts around my mouth and chin, and huge whiteheads right on my lip that looked like cold sores. I have bangs too, so my forehead would get really greasy by 12 o'clock, even in winter. Now my skin is neither dry nor oily, just...normal. I've NEVER had normal skin - you can imagine my excitement. THAT BEING SAID, my skin hasn't just magically become clear overnight, guys. My face is still riddled with old hyperpigmentation marks and scars, and there's still the occasional bump where blackheads are resting or where I suffered the worst breakouts and the skin is rebelling, but there's no new active pimples or pustles to be found anywhere on my face. I haven't had a single whitehead since the first 3 or so days I started taking zinc (and those were small and disappeared in a day or two,) and the redness in my face is going away now that I've begun using an astringent and moisturizor again. I don't want to let myself hope, since so many things have failed me before, but for the first time since I can remember, my skin is actually kind of smooth. It's freaking me out, lol. With the brand I'm using, you get 100 pills, or a three month-ish supply if you only take one per day. I took pictures and plan on updating in another 3 weeks, and then again each month until I'm out. Hopefully, I'll still have good news to report. ^-^

Hey guys, I made an account specifically for this. It works wonders, literally. I've had acne since about 16. I would rate it mild, but at times I would get 4-5 flare ups at once along with acne that's been active. So that made me go from Proactiv, to Doxycycline (which worked for about 3 months) to experimenting with various foods. I came across someone's blog where they praised the "vitamin" cure. Basically, what they did was take Zinc, Vit A, Vit D, & fish oil. Also, the water intake was bumped way high! Think about the amount you drink now & multiple it by at least 4. So, I had nothing to lose and I went ahead and tried it! Boy... Best decision I have ever made in my life! Within days, my skin started to clear up. It was less oily, the active acne was clearing up, & to my surprise no new acne was forming. So I've been on this for about 2 weeks now and it really did the trick. My skin is slowly but surely becoming more clear, there is no active acne (except one small pimple), absolutely oil less. The only downfall is during the first week my acne scars seemed to have been more visible, but that's over with. I drink a bunch of water, probably around a gallon a day since I'm a 200 lbs 6'2 male. Also, go research Borage oil. I hear that it is a lost secret that truly keeps the skin vibrant, & aids in fading acne scars when applied topically & works from the inside out to clear acne. I actually already ordered a bottle so I'll be back to let you guys know how that goes. Alright guys, give vitamins a try! Just make sure you take the right amount.

I've had acne for about three years and there's been ups and downs but generally washing treatments have done very little for my skin. I've tried many bp products and other typical over-the-counter acne products and nothing really "cured" it. My Dermatologist just prescribed me different antibiotics until she wanted to put me on accutane. I started taking 50mg of zinc daily and my skin started healing so fast. Plus I fewer and fewer pimples were sprouting up until it was clear. I stopped for a while without changing anything else and it came back. I'm not saying this is the cure for everyone but if you think you might be deficient, give it a try. It could change everything.

I'm 32 and have been struggling with not just acne but also painful cysts and boils for the past 8 years. I've tried all remedies natural and pharmaceutical and nothing has even budged my acne. About a month ago, as usualI was having a massive breakout on my chin along with cysts on both my cheeks. I've had this bottle of zinc sitting in my drawer that I never took out of fear that it would makes things worse. As bad as my face was I figured I had nothing to lose and started taking 50mg everyday with a meal. In just two weeks, cysts that had been on my face for over six months finally drained and the others completely flattened out. My hormonal acne on my chin was not only almost completely gone but it was also healing with very little scarring. It usually takes my pimples forever to heal and when they do they always leave a dark spot. After doing a little more research on zinc, I found out that it's responsible for wound healing. Almost two months in and my face is gorgeous! My dad and brother even noticed. Not only has it completely cleared my acne but my dark spots are gone too and my face is baby smooth. I do still get an occassional pimple here and there. The awesome thing even about that is that they literally come and go in one day and HEAL very fast with no scarring. Fyi, I use the natural zinc Spribmng Valley brand from Walmart. 200 pills for under $4. That's a 6 1/2 month supply! If you've tried everything then give zinc a try. If you could see how bad my face was just a month ago you would run out and get this stuff lol.

**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!

I have been using this for a month now and so far so good. I take Puritan's Pride Zinc for Acne (also a Multivitamin) 50 mg two times a day. My face cleared up, no more acne. But the scars from previous acne is still there, maybe it will fade in time. I'm not used to my face acne free. Usually, I have acne sprouting on my face every other day and now, this is just Wow! refreshing. Good thing I didn't try birth control pills for this. I almost tried it and I know the consequences for BCP could be life threatening. So Zinc, people should try it. It's not bad at all. :)

I just learned about Zinc in acne.org. And now I made an account just to rave about it and hopefully to help people having the same hormonal acne problem. I'm a 25 year old female. I have had acne in the chin area since high school. It doesn't go away and they are very huge, when a pimple is cured another big one shows up again. It's a depressing cycle. Not only is it ugly but it is very painful as well. I have tried everything. I wash my face with a very gentle facial wash, I always eat healthy and drink a lot of water, I change my pillow cases after a few days, I remove my makeup at night and sleep well. Usual advice to cure acne but nothing seems to work for me. No matter how clean I keep my face it's still there. Then I learned that you can only cure hormonal acne internally. Having read zinc is a possible treatment, I bought 15mg daily supplements from the drug store. Taking Zinc made a huge difference to my skin. Although it did not cure the present pimple on my face, after just a few days of taking it, no new pimple pops up! I have been using this for 2 months and I am happy to say that the last pimple that I had was the one before I took Zinc. I now combine it with Vitamin C supplement. You don't have to take a huge amount of Zinc everyday. I take 15mg of Zinc Gluconate everyday. You can also just take a multivitamin tablet that contains Zinc. If you're a female and you have chin acne especially at that time of the month, you probably have hormonal acne like me. Zinc balances your hormones and taking it can help you a lot. I did not make a review immediately because I want to see it for myself first. I am very satisfied with taking it and I highly recommend it. After 10 years of hormonal acne, I am now pimple free and my skin looks glowing.

I knew about zinc through acne.org. I read a lot of reviews and decided to try it. Why not? I have nothing to loose. I was aware that taking zinc supplements would deplete the absorption of copper. I bought zinc from the brand Now Foods (Optizinc - 30mg), which also have copper in it. I paid less than 5 euros for 100 capsules. I take the birth control pill for birth control purposes (obviously) but it never did anything for my acne. I took the pill Diane in the past, but it didn't do anything for me... I have whiteheads and sometimes inflamed pimples around my jawline, and blackheads in my nose and cheeks. I have also oily skin... Zinc seemed ok to take, and many people said it helped a lot with their acne and oily skin. I only took it for 2 weeks, because after that i had to take antibiotics, and i was afraid that zinc would affect it's absorption - i read something about this. After one week i had to take it only 2 to 3 times a week, because i was experience a lot of tiredness and a little of nose bleeding... But i notice a difference on my skin. It was looking healthier, less oily and inflamed spots were gone. I also noticed a difference on my period which came a couple of days after i stopped zinc (one day after it was supposed to). The bleeding was really minimal and very different from my usual periods even, which i clearly attribute to the taking of zinc. Zinc levels play an important role on menstrual cycle, by regulating the hormones. Its proven to make menstrual cramps better, but it also reduces bleeding. (i had no premenstrual pain, which i usually do) I'm now very skeptical about taking it again... if it can do this with my menstrual cycling, it's because is messing with it in certain way, and i'm not really comfortable with that... It's a shame...but i really don't want to mess with my internal system, i can make it worse by not knowing exactly what kind of imbalance i have. I recommend to give it a go, but make sure you know about side effects and how it can mess with your internal system.

The best thing zinc does for me is reduce the redness and inflamation from pimples. Like I still get some whiteheads but there small and not big red cysts like I had before. I would totally recommend it. And its not perscription so it seems pretty safe :)