years, that every day I learn something new about it. However, acne can be triggered by certain levels of too much or too little of a certain vitamin.
As an esthetician, I love to treat the skin by using a holistic approach, which means we analyze the person’s habits to provide proper feedback, and when it comes to acne, we rely a lot on multivitamins to help improve the client’s overall well-being as we continue to treat the acne.
That said, with all the information we are constantly seeing out there on social media platforms, vitamins are generally regarded as essential for overall health and well-being, however some people have raised concerns that taking multivitamins may cause or worsen acne. Today, I want to give my opinion on the importance of choosing the right dosage and ingredients before diving right into the next trendy multivitamin brand you will see on your TikTok.
A key factor to consider when making the choice of taking multivitamins if your skin is acne-prone is dosage of the individual vitamins inside the multivitamin formulation you are choosing. B Vitamins, most specifically B12 have been linked to an increase in the P.Acnes (acne bacteria) in the skin, causing breakouts when taken in high doses. If you are using a multivitamin, make sure you pay attention to your B12 intake, for example if you are a Celsius lover and drink one or two a day, you might want to check the B12 dosage on that plus the one on your multivitamin. Keeping your individual vitamin dosage balanced is important.
Vitamin B7 or Biotin is another popular ingredient among multivitamins and part of the B Vitamins family, and while it benefits hair, nails and skin, when taken in high doses it is believed it could interfere with Vitamin B5 absorption. For those who are unfamiliar with B5, it is also known as pantothenic acid and it helps regulate oil production in the skin, when it is not balanced, there is a possibility it could lead to excess oiliness, which we already know clogs pores, eventually causing breakouts on the skin.
Last, make sure you read all ingredients prior to deciding on a multivitamin. Some formulations might contain additives, sugar, fillers, among other ingredients that could irritate your skin and mess with your gut-health. Choose the option that has the least additives, less is often more.
Remember, life is all about your daily habits. Everything that you put inside your body matters, and your skin often speaks to you, learn to listen to it. Do not fear the vitamins, most of the time they are very beneficial to your body, simply learn how to read labels and control your doses, so you can remain balanced and keep your skin glowing all year long.
Thank you for reading!
This article of the Skinsider Scoop was graciously written by Face Yoga Teacher, Naturopathic Coach & Co-Founder of Daily Habits, Lola Olivero, and edited by the Clean Skin Club team. If you're interested in more from Lola, please shoot us an email, and follow her Instagram - @lolahabits