Taking B-Vitamins with Care
While vitamin B5 is very effective for preventing acne and nontoxic even at high doses, not all B-family vitamins are as safe. When taken at dosages close to those typical for B5 acne treatment, some B vitamins can have side effects that actually obstruct clear skin, and moreover, can prove toxic to your body. This is important to keep in mind, as I’ve noticed some message boards perpetuating the idea that you should take all your B vitamins at similar doses while on B5. This idea that “equal balance = health” is simply a medical falsehood when it comes to vitamins. Your body requires a lot more of some vitamins than others, and doctors have been treating health conditions with increased doses of specific vitamins for years. Acne is no different.
Some B vitamins that can specifically have negative effects on your skin (when taken in doses similar to B5) include Niacin and B6. While both of these vitamins are beneficial to your skin at recommended levels, high levels of Niacin can cause “niacin flush” - a reddish flushing of the skin that can be painful to the touch. Niacin flush typically happens with doses over 75 mg. Doses over 2 grams can also lead to the more dangerous side effect of liver toxicity. Although less common, vitamin B6 can also lead to allergic skin reactions. Some users of high-dose B6 supplements have reported acne as a result. Vitamin B6 and other B vitamins compete for absorbance by the same receptor molecules, so it pays to remember that taking high levels of these supplements at the same time as B5 can also diminish the amount of B5 that your body absorbs, dampening the potential benefits of B5 acne treatment.
Keeping a healthy supply of B vitamins in your system doesn’t have to be complicated. Taking a B-50 complex will usually provide way more than enough of all these vitamins, without the risk of toxicity. Taking your B-complex at a different time than vitamin B5 also ensures any competition for absorbance is minimal, and if you’re taking a time-released treatment such as Clear5, there is unlikely to be much competition even if they are taken together (provided your B-complex isn’t time-released as well, of course).
