Overview
Vitamin A may also help ward off inflammation, an underlying factor in acne vulgaris. Don’t take vitamin A supplements to treat acne without checking with your doctor first, though. They can make sure the supplements won’t interfere with any other medications or supplements you may already be taking.
Does Vitamin A Improve Acne?
Vitamin A plays an important role in helping cells grow and stay healthy. Research in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology suggests that isotretinoin — which is available under the brand name Accutane, among others — can treat severe acne. Isotretinoin is a type of retinoid.
Vitamin A easily binds to fat cells, and it can build up in the body and become toxic.
Abstract
Three months of treatment with low-dose isotretinoin (20 mg/d) was found to be effective in the treatment of moderate acne, with a low incidence of severe side effects and at a lower cost than higher doses. The patients were divided into two age groups: 12 to 20 and 21 to 35 years old.
A 4-year follow-up was also carried out. The efficacy of isotretinoin at 0.5 to 1.0 mg/kg per day in the treatment of acne is well established and considered safe, although it is sometimes not easily tolerated because of its cutaneous side effects.
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Ally not considered useful in the treatment of acne vulgaris.
We conducted a study which showed that retinol was indeed ineffective at the usual doses of 50,000 to 100,000 IU daily. Retinol was highly efficacious in doses of 300,000 units for women and 400,000 to 500,000 units for men, toxicity was slight and limited mainly to skin (xerosis) and mucous membranes (cheilitis). The danger of hypervitaminosis A in this dosage range has been exaggerated.
Then the dosage is progressively reduced relying on conventional drugs to keep the disease in abeyanc.