Vitamin A and Acne

Vitamin A is a very important antioxidant that is important in keeping you healthy and young. So does vitamin a cure acne? Even though Vitamin A is not usually used as over the counter treatment for acne, studies have shown that regular supplements can be beneficial. Acne is the skin affliction caused by the overproduction of sebum. This sebaceous gland becomes infected or blocked which gives rise to a pimple.

Does vitamin a cure acne? Well, vitamin A does help in keeping the skin healthy and looking young as it protects the skin from free radicals. These free radicals are what cause havoc in our body. Vitamin A deficiency is a serious problem as it brings about premature ageing, whose effects show up first on the skin. Like more things, too much of vitamin A can also be a problem. It brings about dangerous side effects that can impact your health in a big way. One interesting thing to note here is that the side effect of Vitamin A is what allows your body to produce another vitamin A derivative called retinoid. There are many derivatives of retinoid such as isoretinoin, tazaroten and tretinoin.

Even with all these effect, the main aim of vitamin A seems to be in making the skin appear younger. Does vitamin a cure acne directly? Topical application of Vitamin A does help as it helps dry up the infected sebum in your skin. This process kills the infection that could be the problem. Even if your pore appears to be blocked, vitamin A can help by drying up the sebum and then allowing you to peel off the top layers of your dead skin. This brings a new layer to the surface, which allows the pores in your skin to be free.

Does vitamin a cure acne? Even if it does, you should makes sure that you get the prescribed retinol form a doctor as unsupervised intake of retinol can ruin your health in a big way. This is especially applicable if you are pregnant, looking to get pregnant or breastfeeding. Doctors prescribe vitamin A to treat acne only if you have a severe acne problem. So make sure that you don’t use any over the counter vitamin A supplements. A slight breakout of acne is not worth the long term damage to your skin that is likely to be permanent and irreversible. You should also have an allergy test before you use the supplements as the last thing that you want is an unsightly rash to replace your acne!