Supplement Combination Advice, Please!
 

Hi,

I'm 29 yr's old (male) and have suffered from poor/acne skin since the age of 16. I consider it mild these days.

I would describe it as oily/dry combination skin, oily around the mouth/chin/sides area (shaving areas). Doctors have said 'Seborrheic dermatitis', although it doesn't explain the dryness I suffer after cleansing - I always seem to have dead/flaky skin around the oily areas.

Cleaners I use: Quinoderm Face Wash/ 2.5% Gel - Used PanOxyl in the past (discontinued)/ Recently started using Argan Oil as a moisturizer.

Now, from my own research, I've recently started using this combination of supplements:

Primrose Oil 1300 mg (twice daily)/ Used COD Live Oil prior
Grape Seed Extract (twice daily)/ Never used before
Vitamin B Complex (1)
Vitamin E - Selenium (1)
Zinc 25 mg (1)/ Used it for ages

On & Off:
Milk Thistle/ Vitamin C (prefer foods)

My first question is: Are these safe to take together? To add, Zinc has probably been the most effective supplement I've taken over the years.

Second Question: Do these supplements seem correct in relation to the condition? And can you recommend better?

This might be a post for the skin condition section although my primary concern is the supplement advice.

Any advice would be very much appreciated.

Those seem okay to me to take together.

There is a product made expressly for acne treatment called
Nicomide--which is RX because of the folic acid dose content.

For your Zinc, it might be better to use a product that also contains copper. I don't know which you have chosen. But OptiZinc (one a day) is one brand, not expensive and covers this base.
Zinc taken alone will deplete copper and vice versa.

You can take Nicomide OTC...the 3 basic ingredients are available.
Folic acid 800mcg ( this is a little less than in Nicomide but close, and I'd suggest using the active form, methylfolate called Metafolin. It is bypasses the need to activate folic acid. Solgar makes it.)

The nicotinamide in Nicomide is a form of B3- niacin and also OTC. The RX has 500mg of this.

The zinc you have covered now.

I'd also add in flax oil daily. Primrose is an Omega-6 fatty acid and you really need Omega-3's too. (which is flax). Flax oil worked well for our son's moderate acne. Best to take either or both oils with food. You can start at one gram cap a day. That is all my son needed, for example. Many foods are fortified now with it, so read your labels. Some peanut butters now come with it added.

I'd keep your selenium at 100mcg a day or below.

I am not familiar with the ingredient in Quinoderm..they hydroxyquinoline. I would not use this myself, or for my family:
http://216.122.144.54/cgi-bin/drugcgic/INGR?118243841+0
This product is not that benign.

Also I would avoid Accutane if it is offered to you. This drug is toxic and kills cells (damages DNA). It is used as a chemo agent in some forms of nerve derived cancers (neuroblastoma). It has hideous long term effects on all cells in the body.
The list is LONG for serious side effects:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isotretinoin
Accutane dries up glandular secretions...this is how it works for acne. It will dry up your tear glands, and in some people these become destroyed for life. Basically Accutane is a lipid metabolism destroyer. Lipids are in your brain, nerves, and whole body lining organs -- destroy them and you are permanently damaged. Some people develop increased fluid pressure in the brain, and this is a very grave thing to have.
The original company Roche who marketed drug, took it off the market due to endless expensive lawsuits. It remains generically in US, but is on a list of potential FDA withdrawal...why it is there still is a mystery to many. It is used in small children who have neuroblastomas (cancer).

Also I would avoid Aczone...this contains Dapsone, and this drug is known to cause neuropathies (nerve damage).