L-Lysine for Acne: Does It Work? Dosage, Side Effects, and More

• L-Lysine is an essential amino acid shown to improve skin health
• L-Lysine is not produced by the body naturally and must be obtained through food or supplements
• While most evidence concerning L-lysine’s ability to curb acne is anecdotal, there’s good reason to believe it helps with the condition

L-lysine has been shown to promote overall skin health. Many people believe this amino acid helps with their acne and acne scars specifically, but more research will be required before this can be stated conclusively. 

What Is L-Lysine?

L-lysine is an essential amino acid crucial to many bodily functions. Amino acids combine with different compounds in the human body to form protein and other important macronutrients. Unlike some amino acids, L-lysine is considered an “essential” amino acid because it can’t be synthesized internally and must be obtained through food or supplements. Because L-lysine is understood to stimulate collagen production and provide advantages to the skin at the cellular level, it’s being studied for its potential to help prevent inflammatory acne.

Is L-Lysine an Effective Acne Treatment?

Acne results when a combination of bacteria, sebum, and dead skin cells become trapped in hair follicles and clog the pores. While there are several factors that contribute to breakouts, some nutrients are believed to help control the condition, with L-lysine being one of them.

While to date there is only limited scientific evidence to indicate L-lysine reduces acne, studies have confirmed that it does help build collagen in the skin, collagen production being a vital factor regulating skin health.

At the same time, on a cellular level, L-lysine aids in the production of carnitine, a crucial substance that converts the body’s fatty acids into energy while simultaneously absorbing calcium. The fat-degrading ability of carnitine is believed to help reduce excess sebum, a key factor responsible for acne.

Does it work on acne scars? 

Again, there’s currently no scientific evidence to confirm or deny L-lysine reduces the appearance of acne scars. Nevertheless, some acne sufferers insist that their consumption of the essential amino acid has produced this result.

This all goes back to L-lysine’s demonstrated ability to deliver collagen to skin cells. Collagen is understood to help with many conventional signs of aging, reducing wrinkles, fine lines, and dark spots on the skin. The belief is that since collagen plays such an important role with respect to skin health, this extends to repairing acne scars as well. This could indeed turn out to be true, but in the absence of any studies to confirm the theory, it remains just that: a theory.

Other Skin Health Benefits of L-Lysine

While it remains to be seen whether L-Lysine has a significant effect on acne itself, there are still skin health benefits to be gained from consuming the amino acid.

Stimulates collagen production

As we know, L-lysine stimulates the production of collagen. Collagen is one of the most abundant proteins produced by mammals, providing structural support in our connective tissue, muscle, and the skin. It also regulates skin elasticity.

As we age our bodies begin to produce less of the protein, with the result being our skin starts to lose the elasticity collagen provides, leaving it less capable of repairing itself, which gradually manifests as visible fine lines and wrinkles.

Studies have confirmed that taking collagen supplements over an extended period results in noticeably improved skin health, providing the skin with higher elasticity and moisture levels. Given L-lysine has been proven to increase the body’s production of collagen, it follows that consuming the protein through the right foods, taken in the recommended daily amount, would have the same effect on the skin, leaving it more resilient and healthier overall.

Wound healing

While to date the majority of scientific study has been conducted on animals or animal tissue, there is some evidence demonstrating that L-lysine’s ability to stimulate collagen production also serves to improve wound healing in humans. To this end, it has been shown that wound healing is impaired among people who don’t have enough L-lysine in their system.

Cold sores

Cold sores, or fever blisters, are caused by the herpes simplex virus type-1 (HSV-1). When the immune system is compromised, as often happens in times of stress, the virus triggers the development of cold sores.

While to date there is no scientific consensus that L-lysine prevents HSV-1 from replicating and reduces the duration of cold sores, studies have shown that the protein blocks another amino acid, arginine, which the herpes virus requires in order to multiply and manifest as fever blisters.

Another clinical study determined that a combination of L-lysine with certain botanicals and other nutrients cleared the symptoms of facial and circumoral herpes in 40% of the study’s 30 participants after three days, and in 87% of the participants after six days..

How to Use L-Lysine for Your Skin

The best way to get any nutrient is through food. Lysine is present in many foods common to Western diets, including:

 Fruit and vegetables

• avocados
• mangoes
• dried apricots
• tomatoes
• leeks
• beets
• potatoes
• red peppers
• green peppers
• pears

Meat and seafood

• pork
• beef
• chicken
• shrimp
• fish (Salmon, cod, tuna, among others)
• oysters

Lysine is also present in numerous nuts, grains, legumes, as well as in many dairy products, so there’s certainly no shortage of L-lysine-rich foods to choose from. That said, the body’s ability to absorb this essential amino acid is dependent on the nutrients accompanying it, such as vitamins B12, B5, and C, along with zinc, iron, and various other minerals. As such, it’s good practice to try and diversify your diet in order to reap the full L-lysine benefits of the foods you’re eating.

Lysine supplements

There are advantages and disadvantages to obtaining your recommended daily amount of L-lysine through supplements, which are available as tablets, capsules, and in powder form. On the positive side, most collagen supplements go through the process of hydrolyzation, which means they’ve been broken down into peptides that are easier for the body to process and use.

Dosage 

On the less positive side, it can be difficult to evaluate the quality of the various L-lysine supplements on the market, and you will need to consult your physician to determine just how much you’ll need to take in order to try and curb an acne condition. The reason for this is likely because L-lysine’s effect on acne remains speculative. 

However, given how ubiquitous L-lysine is in the foods we eat, sticking to a healthy, varied diet is arguably the best way to make sure you’re getting an adequate supply of it. 

Bear in mind that it takes between 10 and 30 days for most skin cells to turn over. So any dietary changes you make won’t be evident in your skin for at least one month, and probably longer.

Side Effects

There are no side effects from getting your daily quota of L-lysine through food, while those from L-lysine supplements are essentially negligible, posing no significant health risks. While incidences are few and far between, some people have reported mild digestive issues such as diarrhea and a heavy stomach after taking supplements.

While L-lysine is safe, you should still always talk to your doctor before starting any new supplement regimen.

Can L-lysine cause acne? 

There is no evidence indicating L-lysine causes acne.

Alternative Acne Treatments 

• Garlic is another food that’s been used in traditional medicine to treat infection and boost the immune system. Garlic contains compounds with natural antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects that may help curb acne breakouts
• Probiotics are microorganisms that promote healthy gut bacteria. There’s a fairly substantial body of evidence indicating that a diet rich in probiotics may combat acne and plays an important role in overall skin health.
• Green tea contains a high concentration of antioxidants that help break down chemicals that can damage healthy cells. Some people believe that green tea, consumed orally or when applied topically, will reduce sebum production, inflammation, and P. acnes bacteria. While still largely theoretical, one study recorded a 79% reduction in whiteheads and an 89% reduction of blackheads after eight weeks of using polyphenol green tea extract.

Takeaway 

A healthy, varied diet is crucially important for all aspects of our health, while the link between diet and the skin is well established. L-lysine is believed to be one of the most important amino acids we have when it comes to protecting and improving the skin naturally. While the verdict is still out with respect to its ability to combat acne specifically, sufferers of the condition would be well-served to make sure they’re eating foods high in L-lysine or to start taking supplements if they aren’t getting enough of it in their diets.