Vitamin B3: Why You Need It (Niacinamide)

DEFINITION

Niacinamide or nicotinamide is Vitamin B3 a water-soluble vitamin that is found in food and dietary supplement. Medicine made with Vitamin B3 can be taken orally to treat deficiency of Vitamin B3 known as pellagra.

It can also be formulated in topical forms that can be applied on the skin to deal with certain skin issues such as acne. Niacinamide can be made from nicotinic acid or bacterial Rhodoccocus rhodochrous through various processes to get niacinamide as the end product. Niacinamide should not be confused with niacin another form of Vitamin B3.

BENEFITS

Including niacinamide in your skincare regimen can be a good decision if you have tried other active ingredients such as Vitamin C and retinol and have not yielded good results in the past.

• reduces inflammation

• decreases sebum production and oily skin

• has a calming effect on the skin

• reduce hyperpigmentation and melasma

• it increases production of ceramides

• reduces skin flushing and redness

• improves the appearance of aging skin

• it is used to treat acne and acne scars

• reduce risk of non melanoma skin cancer, precancerous and reoccurrence of non melanoma skin cancer

WHAT TO CONSIDER

You already know how important it is to include niacinamide in your skincare regime. here are some tips in order to get a product right just for you

• Viscosity: light to medium

• Percentage: 2 t0 5%; 10% for skin lightening

• Form: serum, night cream or moisturizer

• Color: white, turns yellowish after it stays for a long time

• Skin type: dry skin, acne-prone; all skin types

• Application order: after face cleansing, use it as serum or moisturizer

• Timing: AM(daytime) or PM(nighttime)

RISKS

Overall niacinamide is a well tolerated skincare active ingredient though you can experience the following if your skin is hyper-sensitive or it may be caused by excipients ( other ingredients in the product)

• skin inflammation

• skin redness

• skin itching and irritation

Do a patch test on the skin and wait for 24 hours to see results.

If irritation, itching and redness on the applied area occurs discontinue use.

Sometimes allergic reactions may occur after several uses

FINAL TAKE

If you want to use niacinamide topically then leave on products such as night cream, moisturizer and serum of 2 to 5% are a good head start Wash off products such as face masks, toners, face cleansers, face scrubs or face washes would not bring immediate results since the products gets rinsed off when washing your face and therefore not recommended.

More than 5% of niacinamide in the product can be too much for people with sensitive skin though at these high concentrations can be used for skin lightening but will take a longer time to show results than other ingredients such as glutathione, Vitamin C and hydroquinone.

It is relatively safe to use during pregnancy at lower concentrations of less than 5% but you might consider consulting a doctor before jumping into this bandwagon.