Here's a good read for you in the event you have to "face" this dilema (get it??? "face".............LOL):
Vitamin B5 is a revolutionary way to fight acne that is just starting to come into mainstream use. Knowledge of its benefits have been relatively unknown until 1997 when Dr. Lit-Hung Leung, M.D. published his studies on B5's effects in preventing acne. Through years of research, he obtained results that are quite astonishing. The American medical community and the public have been slow to recognize the great effects of B5. It has had more success in Asia, Europe, and Hong Kong where the studies originally began and where the medical industry is structured differently (more info on the research and studies).
Unfortunately, as a result this may be the first time that you've heard of vitamin B5. The news has been spreading mostly through newsletters, acne message forums, back pages on the Internet, and by word of mouth (links to acne message forums that provide first hand, independent accounts of the great benefits of B5). With the power to eliminate the vast amount of acne suffering in the world and protect so many from the terrible side effects of Accutane (isotretinion), our hope is that people and the medical community alike will start realizing the great benefits of vitamin B5 (why hasn't the medical community started realizing this already?).
Also referred to as pantothenic acid, B5 is an essential substance to the body and is consumed as part of our everyday diets. It's found in things such as red meat, broccoli, soybeans, fish, whole-wheat bread, eggs, mushrooms, peanuts, eggs, liver, yeast, mushrooms, and cashews.
However, the amount found in these everyday foods is too small to assist in the fighting of acne. To be effective B5 needs to be taken in high amounts with the other components in our specially formulated vitamin supplements.
How it works - the importance of B5 as an essential nutrient.
While you may have heard that acne is caused by different factors including bacteria, the micro-texture of the skin, stress, diet, the immune system, poor hygiene, etc... the truth is that these are merely sub-causes.
While one could focus on the sub-causes of acne with applied skin products, B5 takes the same approach as Accutane (isotretinion) by focusing closer to the root cause, which is why it's so much more effective. The ultimate root cause is genetics, but short of genetic engineering we cannot fix this problem. We can however focus right above it.
Without overproduction of oil acne wouldn't be possible and none of the other sub-causes would be able to play even the slightest role in acne. Applied products fail because they cannot successfully regulate skin oils (why applied products yield poor results). The key to curing acne is to stop the overproduction of oil at its source. That's why Accutane (isotretinion) is so effective, but it has numerous side effects and other downsides. B5 on the other hand, has virtually zero side effects.
So how exactly do genetics lead to this overproduction of oil?
Unfortunately, many dermatologists are not clear to the public on the causes of acne. There tends to be the understanding that the exact causes of acne are unknown, but in truth most of the causes are known. The mystery lies in why genetics cause an overproduction of oil, only now we have a pretty good idea.
The reason too much oil is being released has to do with the lipids and fatty acid deposits underneath the skin not getting broken down and re-circulated into the bloodstream. Instead they are being released as sebum (oil). What enables our body to break down these fatty acids is directly related to an enzyme called coenzyme A, which is an essential enzyme to the body and is used for fatty acid metabolism.
Coenzyme A is also responsible for other important aspects of the body including sex hormone synthesis. When there is a lack of coenzyme A, the body is forced to choose between using the available coenzyme A for sex hormone synthesis or for metabolizing fats (the breakdown of fats). Hormone synthesis is given the priority (without it sex organs do not develop) and as result, the body has trouble breaking down all of the necessary fats. Fats that should have been broken down and re-circulated into the bloodstream, instead become deposited in the sebaceous glands (sweat glands) and secreted as oil. Oil is fat only in liquid form. Because teenagers have the highest hormone production rate, they are also the group with the highest amounts of acne.
The body produces coenzyme A from three different components: adenosine triphosphate, cysteine, and vitamin B5. Adenosine triphosplate and cysteine are naturally produced within the body through various glands. They are always plentiful so long as the body's not terribly malnourished. Vitamin B5 is the only one that must be supplied from outside the body through one's diet. When there is enough B5 available in the diet, the deficiency in coenzyme A is eliminated. As a result, a person's fatty acids get broken down and the skin doesn't over release oil. Without the over releasing of oil, acne is impossible.
The role of genetics. Will switching to a high B5 diet help with acne?
Switching to a diet high in B5 is not enough to help acne and in most cases will do very little. The reason for this is our bodies have trouble absorbing the necessary amounts of B5 due to our genetic programming.
In theory lets suppose a person naturally consumes an average of 500 milligrams of B5 per a day. The person has moderate acne because their body does not have enough coenzyme A resources to produce hormones and break down fatty acids at the same time. If that were true…
…the same person who consumes 500 milligrams a day could take 1 gram a day and have enough to produce sex hormones and break down fatty acids at the same time. However, this just isn't the case.
The body has trouble producing enough coenzyme A for the breakdown of fatty acids even though the supply of vitamin B5 may be "adequate." It has nothing to due with the other two components of coenzyme A, but is merely a matter of getting the body to absorb the necessary B5 and actually produce the coenzyme A. Even though the body is capable of doing this, it doesn't do it efficiently because it lacks the proper genetic programming.
Consequently, one must take large amounts of B5 through special supplements in order to be effective. By having an abundance available in the system it forces the body to produce enough coenzyme A allowing for the breakup of fatty acids and the prevention of oil (further evidence on why this is true).
It's also important to have the nutrients available that assist in the absorption of B5, the allocation of coenzyme A, and the breakdown of carbohydrates.