It’s rare to find a supplement that works amazingly well on its own at clearing acne. But what I’ve been hearing about pantothenic acid (vitamin B-5), is extremely promising.
Usually when I read about supplements that promise an acne cure I don’t pay too much attention because often their claims at clearing acne are either false, or premature. What made me turn around completely on pantothenic acid was a story I read from an adult acne sufferer who had tried everything. And then completely cleared her acne 100% by using this supplement.
I was browsing through the forums of The Best Day Ever membership site when I came across Vanessa Johansson’s post. Vanessa is the owner of the 25 year old skin care manufacturing company, RainShadow Labs and has found her cure through using gentle skin care, not picking or squeezing her spots, and taking daily doses of pantothenic acid. Here is her cure -
“I have struggled with acne myself, as have my children. After almost five years on a raw food diet and massive cleansing, I know that the liver is the source of my acne. I am low on certain enzymes that break down fats, so they do not process correctly and clog up my skin in an attempt to detox. I have had this confirmed through blood testing with a lab and a Naturopath.
Now for the CURE, and I do mean cure.
Take 20,000 milligrams of pantothenic acid every day. Increase the dosage until you are acne free. Stay at this dosage for a few months and then drop down to a maintenance dose that works for you.
This treatment is 100% effective, and safe. I have gone over it with David Wolfe. Pantothenic acid is vitamin B-5, it heals your adrenal system, it is water soluble so it will not build up in your liver or system but the excess will flush out daily, and it actually truly works.
My favorite source for pantothenic acid in capsules is iherb on the Internet. Get the Jarrow brand of Pantothenic at 1000 mg per capsule. It costs about five dollars per bottle. Take 5 capsules four times a day and build up as you see fit. I guarantee clear skin in one month. I feel your pain. Here is the solution.”
After reading Vanessa’s story I did some research on how and why pantothenic acid works, and have realized there are a few key factors that make this supplement work so well -
I love the idea of using organic oils on my skin as a cleanser and moisturizer. And I did that for almost four months with the oil cleansing method, but unfortunately it ended in disaster.
For the first three months using the oils was heaven. My skin was so soft and glowing, and most of my cystic acne disappeared. However, into the fourth month I realized the oils were clogging up my pores big time.
I ended up with a BAD case of cosmetic acne. My skin was clogged over my entire face, with a multitude of blackheads and hard whiteheads over a lot of my skin. And I kept getting these small pimples on my cheeks as the gunk tried to make its way out. It took me the next six months of being incredibly gentle on my skin to clear it up.
This of course doesn’t happen to everyone that uses the OCM or natural oils to cleanse or moisturize their face. There are countless testimonials from both girls and boys on the net that rave about using simple oils or natural products that are packed full of oils on their skin. They claim that the oils actually help unclog their pores and dislodge stubborn blackheads. So why did my skin have the opposite reaction?
I have a few theories, and you may have even seen the videos I did after my OCM disaster which explain a couple of them, like perhaps it was the humid weather in Brisbane that didn’t work well with the oils and clogged me up. Whatever the reason is, my bad experience with the OCM has made me vary wary of using oils on my skin in the future.
Even when I know that a list of ingredients in a product is full of organic oils that all have low ratings for pore clogability, to be honest I’m still very hesitant to use that product on my skin, simply because it contains so many oils.
On my second day in Manhattan I stopped in central park for a rest and sat beside one of the smaller lakes. There was a lady sitting on the rocks under a tree not far from me, peering into a small mirror and picking at a spot on her chin.
She continued to peer and scratch at that spot, then moved onto another area. She must have been focused intensely on her face for a good 10-15 minutes.
And on the subway in Toronto just yesterday, I was sitting next to a girl who was examining the skin on her face with the back of her iPod. It surprised me that she wasn’t embarrassed enough to do that in front of a subway full of people.
That used to be me …
I used to be just like these two women. I once carried a pocket sized mirror around with me in my hand bag and secretly stole glances at my skin when I thought nobody was looking. And I made extra trips to the washroom in the hope that my acne had magically disappeared in the last 5 minutes. Or maybe if I could somehow scratch or pick the bad stuff away then I could make it go away faster.
I also used to go straight to the mirror first thing when I got up in the morning. My stop to the mirror came before going to the washroom, or even just drinking a glass of water. I was always so hopeful that my skin had cleared up in my sleep.
Spending all of this time focusing on your face is destructive. It’s stressful and a constant reminder that you’ve got this acne on your face.
I’m in New York City!! I’m a self confessed shopaholic and a massive Sex and the City fan (yes, I do own the entire series and it did come in a stylish pink overnight bag), so Manhattan being the shopping capital of the world and the home of Sex and the City was a destination I’ve wanted to travel to for a long time.
On my second day here I walked past the Magnolia Bakery by accident. If you’re not a Sex and the City fan, then let me explain. The Magnolia Bakery sells gorgeous little cupcakes that two of the characters in the show, Miranda and Carrie, where eating in one of the episodes.
This scene put the Magnolia bakery on the map. I read online that you have to wait 1.5 hours in a line to get served, and they churn out around 10,000 cupcakes a week.
And since I stumbled past the bakery, of course I HAD to have one of these little cupcakes. And not just because I was passing one of the landmark Sex and the City sites either. There’s something about cupcakes that I absolutely love. They’re small, sweet and pretty. I love them.
Me at the Magnolia Bakery
I’ve since been into the bakery to buy a cupcake four times out of the six days that I’ve been in Manhattan. The longest I’ve had to wait in line is five minutes so I think the site claiming the 1.5 hour wait is a little exaggerated, but it has been surprisingly busy every time I’ve been in there.
I was reading a natural beauty book in the health store yesterday which claimed that people with acne or acne prone skin always have the problem of touching their face too much.
My immediate reaction was “Yeah, sure, whatever”, until I really thought about it and realized that perhaps there was some truth to their claim after all. Let me explain.
The formation of a pimple is really quite simple.
A pore gets clogged with dead skin cells, oils and cosmetics.
If toxins and bacteria then get stuck in the pore too, it creates an infection - a pimple.
These toxins and bacteria can either come from the inside-out as part of your bodies natural cleansing process, or from the outside-in from things like old bacteria-ridden cosmetics, pollution, and you guessed it - dirty hands. Continue reading →
It’s rare to find a supplement that works amazingly well on its own at clearing acne. But what I’ve been hearing about pantothenic acid (vitamin B-5), is extremely promising.
I love the idea of using organic oils on my skin as a cleanser and moisturizer. And I did that for almost four months with the 
On my second day in Manhattan I stopped in central park for a rest and sat beside one of the smaller lakes. There was a lady sitting on the rocks under a tree not far from me, peering into a small mirror and picking at a spot on her chin.
I was reading a natural beauty book in the health store yesterday which claimed that people with acne or acne prone skin always have the problem of touching their face too much.
