The B-5 mega-dosing schedule is typically something like this:

10 - 20 grams (10,000 - 20,000 milligrams) of B-5 taken daily. It is more effective if the doses are spread out over the course of the day, rather than taken all at once. For example, you can take 1/3 at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Typically, the highest dose of B-5 you can buy come in 1000mg capsules, so you'll need to take 10 - 20 capsules per day. This gets very expensive, as you need to constantly keep buying more bottles of B-5.

There are several products on the market that tailor to the B-5 mega-dosing treatment, but are not more effective than pure B-5 alone, but can be many times more expensive (as if this remedy isn't expensive enough already).

The theory behind the B-5 remedy is based on research done by Dr. Lit-Hung Leung, M.D. His theory is that acne is the result of a deficiency of a co-enzyme called "Acetyl Co-Enzyme A", which plays several roles in the body, one of which is fat metabolism, and another of which is hormone production. A diet high in fat creates a demand for Co-Enzyme A, but during puberty, your body is already demanding high amounts of this co-enzyme in order to produce high hormone levels. The body naturally prioritizes hormone production over lipid (fat) metabolism, in order to ensure the survival of the species. But insufficient lipid metabolism creates acne because the unmetabolized fats build up in the skin, block the pores, and the process of acne begins. Your body needs B-5 in order to produce co-enzyme A. The theory is that if you give your body all the B-5 it needs, it won't have to choose hormone production over lipid metabolism, it will be able to do both as it needs to.

An argument against this theory is that even individuals on very low fat diets experience acne. However, this may not be an inconsistency, because the body converts sugars into fats in the body, and high sugar diets have been shown in studies to be associated with acne.

Some alternative supplements to B-5 that also work with this theory are Pantethine, which is a metabolite of B-5, and Co-Enzyme A itself. When you taken vitamin B-5, your body metabolises it into Pantethine. The body then uses Pantethine to create Co-Enzyme A. So some figure, why not skip all the steps, and buy something a little closer to the ultimate goal, which is Co-Enzyme A? This can be done, but there is little documentation as to what the correct doses should be.

In the studies performed by Dr. Lit-Hung Leung, the participants also applied a cream containing B-5 to the affected areas. This fact has been largely ignored by most trying the B-5 remedy.