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Vitamin D and Acne: Can Low Vitamin D Cause Breakouts?

Infographic: people with acne have about 3 times higher odds of low vitamin D and about 9 ng/mL lower levels

Short answer: low vitamin D is linked to acne. A meta-analysis of 13 studies found people with acne had lower vitamin D levels than people without it, were about three times as likely to be deficient, and that lower levels went with more severe acne. Vitamin D helps calm the immune response in skin and acts directly on your oil glands. Low levels are common and don't cause obvious symptoms, and acne has different drivers in different people, so the way to know is to test.

Find out if vitamin D is part of your acne. The BreakoutLabs Acne Root Cause Test measures your Vitamin D alongside the hormone and blood sugar drivers of acne, from one painless at-home sample. 19 biomarkers across hormones, blood sugar, metabolism and nutrients.

Check your vitamin D and acne drivers at home

Why vitamin D matters for your skin

Vitamin D is better known for bones, but your skin is one of the places it works hardest. Three of its jobs connect directly to acne:

  • It acts on your oil glands. The cells that make sebum carry vitamin D receptors and the enzymes to make active vitamin D themselves. In lab studies, active vitamin D changed how these cells grew, how much fat they stored and how much of two inflammatory signals, IL-6 and IL-8, they released (Krämer et al., 2009).
  • It boosts the skin's own defenses. In oil gland cells, vitamin D raised production of cathelicidin (LL-37), a natural antimicrobial peptide that's part of the skin's first line of defense (Lee et al., 2012).
  • It calms the immune response to acne bacteria. The acne bacterium triggers a strong inflammatory response called Th17, and cells making the signal IL-17 were found in acne lesions but not in normal skin. Vitamin D blocked that response in the lab (Agak et al., 2014).

Put simply, vitamin D helps keep the oil gland and the inflammation around it in check. That's why researchers started looking at vitamin D levels in people with acne.

Can low vitamin D cause acne? What the research shows

The research points in one direction:

  • The meta-analysis. Pooling 13 studies with 1,362 people with acne and 1,081 without, researchers found vitamin D was about 9 ng/mL lower in the acne group. Deficiency was nearly three times as common, and the lower the vitamin D, the more severe the acne. The authors concluded vitamin D might be involved in how acne develops (Hasamoh et al., 2022).
  • A second meta-analysis also found lower vitamin D in people with acne (Wang et al., 2021).
  • Severity. A systematic review found that 8 of 10 studies showed vitamin D falling as acne got more severe, and suggested screening vitamin D in people with acne (Rasti et al., 2022).
  • Inflammatory acne in particular. In one study, 48.8% of people with acne were deficient compared with 22.5% of people without. Lower levels went with more inflammatory lesions, the red and swollen kind (Lim et al., 2016).

These studies show a strong association, and the biology above explains why it makes sense. What they can't tell you is whether your vitamin D is low. Plenty of people with acne have normal levels, and plenty of people with low levels don't know it.

Does vitamin D help acne?

For people who are low, early trials are encouraging:

  • When vitamin D-deficient people with acne took vitamin D for two months, their inflammatory lesions improved (Lim et al., 2016). This part of the study was small, with 39 people.
  • In a 12-week randomized trial of 44 people with mild to moderate acne and low vitamin D, adding weekly vitamin D to a standard topical treatment reduced the return of inflammatory spots after treatment stopped. No side effects were seen (Ruikchuchit and Juntongjin, 2024).

Notice who these people were: all of them had low vitamin D to start with. That's the key point. The research is about correcting a low level, which is why knowing your level comes first.

You can't feel your vitamin D level. Low vitamin D rarely causes obvious symptoms, and acne often has more than one driver. One at-home sample shows your vitamin D next to your testosterone, SHBG and blood sugar, so you know which pieces apply to you.

Test your vitamin D with your hormones

Who runs low on vitamin D?

Low vitamin D is common. In US national survey data from 2005 to 2006, 41.6% of adults had levels of 20 ng/mL or below (Forrest and Stuhldreher, 2011). You're more likely to run low if you:

Risk factor Why it lowers vitamin D
Spend most of your day indoors Your skin makes vitamin D from UVB sunlight (Webb et al., 1988), and few foods contain it (Holick et al., 2011).
Live in the north, especially in winter Winter sun in Boston made no vitamin D in skin from November through February (Webb et al., 1988).
Have darker skin More pigment reduces how much vitamin D skin makes from the same sun (Clemens et al., 1982). Deficiency rates were 82.1% in Black adults and 69.2% in Hispanic adults (Forrest and Stuhldreher, 2011).
Carry more body weight Vitamin D gets stored in body fat. After the same UV dose, the rise in vitamin D was 57% lower in people with obesity (Wortsman et al., 2000).
Wear sunscreen daily Good for your skin, but in a small study it also blocked the UVB-driven rise in vitamin D (Matsuoka et al., 1987).

If you're adding more time outdoors, make sure your sunscreen isn't clogging pores. Run it through our free acne-safe checker.

Vitamin D levels: what the numbers mean

Vitamin D is measured in the blood as 25-hydroxyvitamin D. Here's how the main reference points line up:

Level (ng/mL) What it means
Below 12 Deficient (Lim et al., 2016, using Institute of Medicine categories)
12 to 20 Inadequate for some people (Lim et al., 2016)
20 and above Meets the needs of at least 97.5% of people for bone health (Ross et al., 2011)
Above 50 High enough to raise concerns about side effects (Ross et al., 2011)
Above 150 The hallmark of vitamin D toxicity (Marcinowska-Suchowierska et al., 2018)

Why you shouldn't megadose vitamin D blind

Vitamin D is easy to buy in high doses, and it's tempting to take a lot and hope for clearer skin. Here's why to test first:

  • It builds up. Vitamin D is stored in the body, and too much over time can cause toxicity. The main danger is high blood calcium, with symptoms like vomiting, confusion, heavy thirst and dehydration (Marcinowska-Suchowierska et al., 2018).
  • More isn't better. Levels above 30 ng/mL weren't consistently linked to more benefit, and the upper limit for daily intake is 4,000 IU for ages 9 and up (Ross et al., 2011).
  • Self-dosing is the risk. Researchers warn that taking more than recommended on your own could make vitamin D toxicity more common (Marcinowska-Suchowierska et al., 2018).
  • No starting point, no way to track. Without a baseline you can't tell if you needed it, if it's working or when to ease off.

Can taking vitamin D cause acne? There's little evidence that vitamin D itself causes breakouts, and the acne trial above reported no side effects. If you broke out after starting a multivitamin or combo product, check the label for B12, which has been linked to acne-like breakouts in case reports (Veraldi et al., 2018). See our guide to supplements that can cause acne.

How to test your vitamin D for acne

Doctors recommend a 25-hydroxyvitamin D blood test for people at risk of deficiency (Holick et al., 2011). The usual route is an appointment, a lab slip, a trip to a draw center and a needle draw, then a single number with no link to your skin. And vitamin D alone only answers one question. Acne usually has more than one driver (see acne and nutrient deficiency), so it's worth seeing vitamin D next to your hormones and blood sugar. If your last bloodwork came back "fine," read normal bloodwork but still have acne, and for androgens see testosterone and acne.

Why test with BreakoutLabs

Asking about vitamin D is really asking what's driving your acne. BreakoutLabs checks the main suspects in one go:

  • At home, with a painless device on your upper arm. No lab visit, no appointment, no needle draw.
  • 19 biomarkers across hormones, blood sugar, metabolism and nutrients: Vitamin D; Free and Total Testosterone, SHBG, DHEA-S, Free Androgen Index and Albumin; HbA1c, average glucose and a full cholesterol and triglyceride panel; and ALT, Creatinine and eGFR.
  • Results in 5 business days after a CLIA-certified lab receives your sample.
  • A personalized Clear Skin Blueprint that reads your vitamin D in context with your other acne drivers.
  • $199, HSA/FSA eligible, and backed by our 30-day money-back guarantee.

Collect in the morning after an 8 to 10 hour fast, Monday to Thursday, and on days 3 to 7 of your cycle if you menstruate. For ages 14 and up (14 to 17 with a parent or guardian).

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Frequently asked questions

Can low vitamin D cause acne?

Low vitamin D is strongly linked to acne: people with acne have lower levels on average, and lower levels go with more severe acne. Vitamin D helps regulate oil glands and skin inflammation. Testing tells you whether it's low for you.

Does vitamin D deficiency cause acne on the face?

Studies link low vitamin D to acne severity, especially red, inflamed spots, rather than to one area of the face. Deficiency is one possible driver among several, so check it alongside hormones and blood sugar.

Does vitamin D help acne?

In small trials, people who were low and took vitamin D saw fewer inflammatory spots or fewer relapses. Those benefits were in people with low levels, so test before you supplement.

How much vitamin D should I take for acne?

That depends on your starting level, which is why testing comes first. The upper limit for daily intake is 4,000 IU for ages 9 and up, and your healthcare provider can advise on a dose that fits your result.

Sources

This article is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Talk to your healthcare provider about testing and treatment.

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