Nature's Way : Vitamin A

I'm about to start taking a daily 10,000 IU dosage of Vitamin A (retinyl palmitate, a little bit less potent than retinol) while also applying Epiduo at night (I haven't seen a change while on Epiduo but I'm scared to stop the treatment). I hope this works and I can finally get rid of my mild acne. Could anyone tell me if this is a safe or good idea? Thank you. :)

Last July/August, I started taking GNC's capsules which had 5000 iu vitamin A & 400 iu vitamin D twice a day. It helped a lot with making my skin less oily. Before, my skin used to look so shiny just an hour after washing my face & I used to carry soap to school to wash my face at lunch time. By September I was able to get through the school day without washing my face. Sometimes I just need to blot with a tissue. It didn't make my skin 'dry' though. I'd still say I have oily skin but it's way less problematic now. Now I take a higher dosage of vitamin D with it (2000 iu) & I also take other supplements. It also helped with acne but I will say it's not a cure all.

I was severely depressed being 24 and still having horrible acne. Okay not horrible it was mild but it was a build up because I dealt with severe acne growing up and the only thing that made it mild was dieting , cutting out dairy and sweets and cows milk I switched to almond milk and I went to an allergist to find out I was also allergic to eggs and peanuts which gave me forehead and chin acne. I sacrafice and cut these all out and started to lose a lot of weight because I was paranoid if every food because I still Mildly broke out. I took vitamin A before when I was about 18 and broke out so badly that I just toss the whole bottle but it was the beta caretone version. This year my sister said she was gonna try NOW brand vitamin A and I warned her that it broke me out badly in the past and not to. But she listened to the good reviews on here and purchased. I notice that her skin was clearing after a week and so smooth and then after three weeks no new acne. I had nothing to lose I was so depress because I my mild acne was becoming bad again and I was tired of losing weight and watching my diet so much. I tried her bottle before I bought my own and listen to me, my skin PURGED! This is retinoids version so idk if there is a difference with beta caretone but this version also broke me out in the first 4 days. I'm at th point of my life where there is nothing to lose so when I purged I didn't even react much like I use to. It's either you wanna purge to clear skin or you want to not purge and not ever experience the great affects of Vitamin A. The purge was like a week and then my skin started clearing and better yet HEALING! My red marks started getting a faded gray which is better because it was easier to lighten with fade cream! I'm a Caremel African American and I started to scar so easily until this vitamin. You want to know the best part of the vitamin? I can eat what I want now ! I still avoid peanuts and eggs but sweets I can finally eat again because vitamin A helps so much that I stopped breaking out. If I do it's sooooo small and last like a day or two, really small small small bump. So small and that's rarely. I have my life back and even though I'm healthier now with my diet since I'm use to it now I can still cheat and eat what I want and not suffer consequences. If you take this vitamin please take vitamin d3 with it which also helps with skin. Also make sure you take one a day not two, and also buy NOW version (Retinol) thank you so much vitamin A, my bacne is gone, my acne is pretty much non existence and I'm not scared of food anymore. It really saved my life and saved my summer. Also thank my sister for not listening to me. Acne will slowly cure or greatly vanish from the ROOT problem. Not just external factors you have to start from internal! Try it!

I have self medicated on Vitamin A after Accutane completely changed my life, then failed me after a year :/ I started with 10,000 IUs a day and bumped up to 20,000... my skin is as perfect as it is going to be without time taking away my scarring (which is not bad at all, really, thank god). I literally have no blemishes on my face right now...not even a little one...and this is coming from someone who, just a month ago or two ago, and some pretty bad cystic legions. I am also 5'4 and 120 pounds. This really works but PLEASE, don't be stupid and take 100,000 IUs a day, that's a good way to get extreme, irreversible liver damage. Start off at a reasonable ratio to your body weight. It doesn't take much for it to be effective. It's worth mentioning that I also wash with Dr. Bronner's peppermint soap and CeraVe for oily skin, and use a Retin-A cream every night, along with a mask for half the week.

I've been taking 8000 iu per day (plus other supplements)for over two months and it has done nothing to make my horrible, sudden onset of cystic acne go away.

I have very oily skin and at 300% RDA it really helped dry my skin up fast. Accutane is nothing more then mega dosing of vitamin A to kill the oil glands

Hello, I just wanted to say I'm a 31 year old female who has suffered from cystic acne for about 10 years now. I work in a spa and have tried many laser treatments, chemical peels, detoxes, drinking clay..... and oh the list goes on and on. I'm sure most of you can relate! The ONLY thing that has helped has been Vitamin A. My homeopathic doctor put me on a daily dose of 100,000IU's of vitamin A and my skin is acne free! I was worried about such a high amount building up in my system since Vitamin A is not water soluble but my doctor said it was fine. If you get headaches you should cut back to 75,000IU's or lower. I'm not a doctor so I would suggest meeting with yours before going out and trying this but it has absolutely been a miracle for me. I also drink about 100 oz's of water a day, follow a clean diet, and start my day with a green smoothie that has ginger and turmeric in it to help clean toxins from my liver and reduce inflammation in my face. Once in awhile I do a two week cleanse with a liver detox. Good Luck!

From the time I was 13, I have suffered from severe acne. When I say severe, I mean I had acne all over my face and back coupled with painful cysts which would grow under my skin. It destroyed my confidence. At the age of 19, I tried Accutane for the first time and I'm happy to say it permanently eliminated the back acne, but two years later, my face acne returned and I had to go on a second round of accutane. Again, I saw success, but only for a couple of years after treatment. The acne has persisted well into my thirties, and I have tried every treatment known to man: astringents, creams, soaps, diets, drinking Apple Cider Vinegar (oh god, I will never touch that stuff again), herbs, vitamins. Accutane is expensive and is extremely difficult to obtain for a woman, and sometimes it can take months to actually start treatment if you can't get in to see a dermatologist soon and have to go through the tedium of proving you aren't pregnant, on two forms of birth control, etc. So I have been taking 27,000 I.U of vitamin A (The kind that is Retinol-derived) daily for the past few months. It takes a bit to see results, but my skin looks wonderful. No more cysts, no more zits. I look great for the first time ever.

I ignored all of the cautions about vitamin A toxicity and thought that "they" wouldn't sell a product over the counter if it could be dangerous. And, I thought, it's just a vitamin so how much harm could it do?? The answer is A LOT. I took high doses of Vitamin A (can't remember how much exactly but somewhere between 25,000 and 50,000 IU, and within a couple weeks, I was getting nauseous after every meal. I passed out twice, once in a restaurant after breakfast and once in my parent's kitchen. When I went to the doctor, they discovered my liver was inflamed. The problem is that Vitamin A is a fat soluble vitamin, no a water soluble one, so it only leaves your body when fat stores are burned. In other words, once you reach toxic levels it's not easy to detox. Here's some science to back up what I'm saying: [link edited out] Long story short, it's been years, and I only took it for a couple weeks, and I'm still showing signs of liver disease. And for those of you whose vanity prevents you from caring about your health, you should know that disease in the liver often manifests in your complexion and your nail and hair health. People who are dying of liver failure have gross, sallow, pasty complexions with large pores. Bottom line, it's NOT worth it. Stay away.

I had moderate-severe acne from age 14-18 (peaking my 1st yr in college which was awesome) and at that point my derm finally recommended a course of accutane. That gave me roughly 6-7 years of clear skin with mild, normal breakouts here and there. My skin then progressively got worse until now (28). Because I had no insurance, I started researching an alternative approach and discovered isotretinoin was synthesized from retinol (vit A) and that several studies predating the synthesis of isotretinoin had indicated that large doses of A were effective in treating acne. Taking megadoses of A comes with side effects and possible hepatoxicity so there is a risk. I urge you to research instances of A toxicity in medical journals and take note of the dose. I began taking mega doses of A (I won't say the actual amount but it was way north of 10,000iu). My skin started improving in days. My bacne and chest acne (which was considerable) cleared up 95% in the first month. My face still breaks out but it is improved about 70%. I got dry lips, mild joint pain, and other typical side effects. I am past 3 months of my course but will most likely continue for 2 more months (5 mo total). The amount my body acne has been cleared has been dramatic. I still have acne but this has been well worth it for me. Just had to share my experience. Hopefully this helps someone.