Niacinamide - An all-in-one ingredient

Niacinamide - also known as nicotinic acid or vitamin B3, is a skin-restoring ingredient that offers multiple benefits for aging skin. Among the benefits is to:

• visibly improve the appearance of large pores,
• uneven skin tone,
• fine lines,
• dullness and
• a weakened skin surface.

Apart from that, niacinamide also helps preventing the damage caused by environmental attack and is very stable in the presence of heat and light.
Aside from skincare products, we can actually get our niacinamide from red meat, chicken, turkey, salmon and tuna. If you're vegetarian, fret not, you can get your daily dose from green leafy vegetables, tomatoes and asparagus and believe it or not, lots of packaged foods are also fortified with niacinamide (normally labeled as vitamin B3) so, we're unlikely to be deficient of it.

Why do we need niacinamide in our beauty products?
#1, it helps to boost our skin's immunity. I've read somewhere that in our skin, there are cells called Langerhans cells that are responsible for our skins' protection and repair mechanisms. When we are exposed to direct sunlight, they temporarily retreat, leaving our skin without its natural immunity. Thus, making us vulnerable to the dirty microbes and cancerous lesions. Niacinamide helps to strengthen the protection and prevent this from happening.

#2, it improves our epidermal lipid barrier performance that helps retain our skins' moisture hence, preventing Trans Epidermal Water Loss, keeping your skin well-hydrated.

#3, it fixes the redness/uneven skin tone. This is because, when the epidermal lipid barrier is improved, our skins' ability to protect itself from external aggressors will also improve. Over time, with continuous application, it will improve your skin texture and reduce the redness/uneven skin tone caused by the environmental attacks.

#4, as the skin's lipid barrier improves, so does the cell differentiation! This contributes to better synthesis and production of collagen and elastin. In other words, niacinamide helps minimizes fine lines and wrinkles by boosting the production of collagen.

A lot of skincare brands promotes niacinamide as an ingredient that helps preventing and treating hyper-pigmentation. It actually does, but as you can see above, that is not its only benefits. It is suitable and beneficial for all, regardless of your age or skin type. Products with niacinamide can be used for both, morning and night. I personally do, as my toner contains niacinamide.

What about you? Do you use products with niacinamide? Does it work well for you? Share your experience and thoughts in the comments below! I would love to find out more products that contain niacinamide and try them out.

See you next time! Mxx