Sponsored Links

Featured Links

Other Topics
Sponsored Links



Quote of the Day

"Bashfulness is an ornament to youth, but a reproach to old age."

Aristotle

FEATURED
HEALTH
PRODUCTS
 
Guide To Healthier Eating And Weight
 
The Ultimate Collection Of Health Ebooks
 
A Healthy Back In Ten Minutes A Day
 
Complete Guide To Healthy Eating
 
Natural Health Remedies To Help Stress
 




 


Google

 
Featured Acne Articles

7 Ways To Conquer Acne
Reports show that over 90 percent of all adolescents and almost 25 percent of all adults suffer from acne at some time. Acne affects males and females worldwide, regardless of nationality.The most effective methods to combat acne include a combination of ...

How To Use Acne Treatment Products
Acne is caused by oil glands that produce excessive oil and block pores. This creates a skin inflammation-- pimples--or acne when it appears in significant amounts. Buying the right acne treatment for your acne is the first step in any good acne reduction ...

Skin Care and pH
Whatever we use to wash our bodies should have a ph of 5.5, which is close to the pH of our skin. Alkaline products (above pH 5.5) strip the protective coating from the skin. This invisible coating is made of oil and sweat. The loss of its protective ...





Using Pantothenic Acid (Vitamin B5) as an Acne Treatment
 
How Pantothenic Acid Works
Many people have commented before that I recommend vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid) a lot to acne sufferers. There happens to be a reason for that: It is what cleared my acne. Totally. 100% Eliminated. If you haven't tried it before, I strongly urge you to give it a go, it really is amazing stuff.

Pantothenic acid, also known as vitamin B5, is commonly supplemented in large doses to reduce oil production and help rid your skin of acne. It works like Accutane, in the sense that it reduces oil production. Pantothenic acid, however, works by helping your body to metabolize the fats in your body that later turn into sebum. Accutane actually shrinks the oil glands to block the oil from coming through to your face. Since pantothenic acid addresses the underlying problem, it is, in fact, the more efficient solution.

Let's get into the details of how exactly pantothenic acid works. During your natural metabolism process, your body breaks down fats. When your body lacks enough coenzyme-A, not all of these fats can be broken down, and your body has to get rid of them some how, so they are ejected through your oil glands on your skin in the form of sebum (oil). By creating more coenzyme-A, these extra fats can be broken down with the rest, and oil production will be greatly reduced.

Coenzyme-A is made up of three things: Cysteine, ATP and Pantothenic Acid. Your body takes care of cysteine and ATP by producing it by itself, so vitamin B5 is the only thing that you have to take in through food. By supplementing with pantothenic acid, more coenzyme-A is producted, fats are broken down better, and less oil ends up on your skin. Without too much oil on your face, when a pore gets clogged, the p. acnes bacteria will have nothing to feed upon and can't thrive to cause acne in the first place.

Considering that pantothenic acid works for more than 90% of the people who take it, including myself, it's a very effective medication. Since it's all natural and water soluble, it's much safer than Accutane, which only works for 70%-80% of the people who take it. It's also more efficient than Accutane, because it eliminates the problem, instead of covering it up by shrinking the glands and trapping the fats inside the body.

Supplementing with Pantothenic Acid
As I've said before, to address a pantothenic acid deficiency, you have to take large amounts of it, up to around 12 grams or so. Not everyone has to take quite that much though, so the recommended dosage is as follows: Start out with around 4 grams per day. Always divide the doses into 4 times per day, spreading them out as much as possible. To prevent stomach irritation, the only known side effect of pantothenic acid, try to take it with food or at least a glass of water.

If the 4 grams doesn't work for you, slowly ramp it up until you start to see results, stopping at around 12 grams. When you find a dose that seems to be working for you, stay with it for about two months straight, continuing to divide the doses so that you are splitting the dose into 4 parts. After those two months or so, you should be able to slack back on it until you start seeing negative results to find out how much you will need to continue to take as a "maintenance dose".

The only thing to watch out for is that pantothenic acid can deplete your body of other B vitamins, so a B-50 complex should be taken with it. Some say you should also take Zinc with it, though I only take B-50.

Since pantothenic acid has to be taken in large doses to see results, that means you can forget trying to get enough by eating foods high in it, or through a multivitamin or B vitamin complex. You can even forget about taking pantothenic acid pills, since that means you would have to take 20+ pills every day. There's only really one reasonable way to take the amount of B5 you will need to treat acne, which is pantothenic acid powder.

Pantothenic acid pills can't be found in most stores, much less the powder form of it. Some health food stores might have it, but the ones around my area didn't. You might be able to talk to someone at the store and have them order it for you, though it's usually marked up quite a bit. The easiest and cheapest way to get pantothenic acid powder is to just order it online. A Google search will uncover many websites, such as Amazon.com, which sell pantothenic acid powder at a great price.

About the Author
Ryan Bauer is a former acne sufferer from Springfield, MO. He runs an Acne information website located at http://www.AcneElimination.com

Acne News



More older women being afflicted with acne
TheNewsTribune.com
“I've got uneven skin that's also oily with constant blackheads and cystic acne bumps on my chin,” Wolter said. Her once-simple regimen now involves a complicated product list: face brush, acne cover-up, face mask, cortisone shots and prescription acne ...


Ask Dr. K: Identifying rosacea triggers helps lessen its impact
Greenville Daily Reflector
Dear Dr. K: I read your column on adult acne with great interest. For years, I thought I had adult acne, but when I finally saw a doctor, she diagnosed me with rosacea. I'd like to learn more about this condition. Dear Reader: Rosacea is a long-lasting ...
Ask ShahnazThe Hindu
Ask Dr. K: Knowing rosacea triggers lessens impactGoErie.com

all 3 news articles »

Seaweed-based face wash 'could banish bugs that trigger acne'
Newstrack India
Washington, May 20 (ANI): Seaweed-based face wash could be an effective cure for acne as researchers have claimed that that an active ingredient from brown seaweed can cut spots by nearly two thirds. A new clinical trial of treatments containing the ...


New York Times

When 'Younger' Skin Is Not a Blessing
New York Times
“I've got uneven skin that's also oily with constant blackheads and cystic acne bumps on my chin,” Ms. Wolter said. And her once-simple regimen now involves a complicated product list: face brush, acne cover-up, face mask, cortisone shots and ...

and more »

Daily Mail

How almost HALF of US women suffer from adult acne (but the good news is that ...
Daily Mail
By Kristie Lau Almost half of US woman aged between 21 and 30 suffer from clinical acne, a new study has showed. Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital found that 45per cent of women in their 20s are seriously affected by pimples.

and more »