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Niacinamide (Vitamin B3)

 

Niacinamide is an ingredient worthy of your attention and your skin will thank you for using it. 

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Niacinamide known as well as vitamin B3, is a water-soluble compound that works with your natural substances in your skin. It's a very effective, powerful and versatile ingredient that offers multiple benefits for pigmentation, acne-prone skin, redness, damaged and ageing. Among these benefits is the ability to visibly improve the appearance of enlarged pores, uneven skin tone, fine lines, dullness, and a weakened skin barrier function (Forbat et al., 2017). Unlike many beneficial ingredients, niacinamide is stable in the presence of light and heat. Due to this characteristic, it can also mitigate and help visibly repair damage from ultra violet light and offset other sources of environmental attack, including the negative impact of various type of airborne pollutants (Thawabteh et al., 2023).

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Mechanism of Action

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Epidermis: Effects on the keratinocyte, protein, structure and function

  • Improved differentiation of keratinocytes

  • Enhanced keratin production: improved strength within keratinocytes and corneocytes due to increased keratin content

  • Increased stratum corneum thickness and structure (Bains et al., 2018).

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Improved intercellular lipid content:

  • Niacinamide increases the synthesis of ceramides, free fatty acids, sphingomyelin and cholesterol

  • An improvement in intercellular lipid content in conjunction with improvements to the epidermal structure reduce trans-epidermal water loss (tewl), hence increases skin hydration and epidermal barrier function

  • With an improved barrier function, skin reactivity is decreased and dry skin with pruritic is reduced

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Effect on Ageing Skin and UV Exposure:

  • Ageing skin has depleted levels of NAD and NADP which results in a lowering of biological function for processing requiring redox reactions and energy

  • Due to the provision of NADP, NAD, collagen, keratin, filaggrin and involucrin synthesis is enhanced

  • Anti-glycation effects due to reducing oxidative stress in fibroblasts

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Pigment Inhibitor

  • Prevents the transfer of melanosomes to the keratinocyte (Benito-Martinez et al., 2021).

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Anti-inflammatory:

  • Inhibits poly-adenosine diphosphate ribose polymerase-1 (PARP-1) (Moreiras et al., 2021).

  • Niacinamide can inhibit neutrophil chemotaxis, which reduces the levels of inflammatory cytokines and histamine within the skin 

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Antioxidants:

  • Free-radical scavenger

  • Protects the cellular membrane and the cell from oxidative damage caused by reactive oxidation species 

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Anti Pruritic:

  • Has the ability to stabilise mast cells to reduce the release of histamine

  • With an improved barrier function through ceramide production, pruritic may be reduced

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Clinical Indicators

Niacinamide can be use to treating skin concerns such as:

  • Ageing skin (fine lines and wrinkles)

  • Condition exhibiting poor barrier function

  • Rosacea

  • Acne

  • Inflammatory skin disorders

  • Reactive skin

  • Photo-ageing and people exposed to the element

  • Hyperpigmentation

  • Hyperactive sebaceous activity 

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Formulation:

  • Clinically effective in concentrations between 2-5%

  • The ideal pH is 6

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Niacinamide is a versatile product and when combined with vitamin C, they become even more powerful to address dark spots, uneven skin tone, dullness, impaired barrier  and loss of firmness. When your skin barrier function is defended, this duo will help you a better chance at achieving radiant, smooth, even, younger-looking complexion. 

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Niacinamide is very compatible with any other actives product contain vitamin A, peptides, AHA's, BHA, vitamin C, hyaluronic and all types of antioxidants. 

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References

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Bains, P., Kaur, M., Kaur, J., & Sharma, S. (2018). Nicotinamide: Mechanism of action and indications in dermatology. Indian journal of dermatology, venereology and leprology, 84(2), 234-237. doi:https://doi.org/10.4103/ijdvl.IJDVL_286_17

 

Benito-Martinez, S., Salavessa, L., Raposo, G., Marks, M. S., & Delevoye, C. (2021). Melanin Transfer and Fate within Keratinocytes in Human Skin Pigmentation. Integrative and comparative biology, 61(4), 1546-1555. doi:https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/icab094

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Forbat, E., Al-Niaimi, F., & Ali, F. R. (2017). Use of nicotinamide in dermatology. Clinical and experimental dermatology, 42(2), 137-144. doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/ced.13021

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Moreiras, H., Seabra, M. C., & Barral, D. C. (2021). Melanin Transfer in the Epidermis: The Pursuit of Skin Pigmentation Control Mechanisms. International journal of molecular sciences, 22(9), 4466. doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms22094466

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Thawabteh, A. M., Jibreen, A., Karaman, D., Thawabteh, A., & Karaman, R. (2023). Skin Pigmentation Types, Causes and Treatment-A Review. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland), 28(12), 4839. doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28124839

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