4 Tips to get the most Niacinamide Benefits into your skincare routine as a sensitive skin type.

Niacinamide is in everything now a days. From Mists, to Serums, to Creams. But there are a few key tips to maximizing your results while minimizing irritating your sensitive skin.

In this post we’re going to talk about Niacinamide Benefits and tips for Sensitive Skin Types.

This Post is about Niacinamide tips for Sensitive Skin Types

So what is the deal with Niacinamide anyway?

Niacinamide is a verison of Vitamin B3 which is naturally found in a variety of foods. So you more than likely consume it naturally through our everyday diet, unless you are on a certain restrictive diet or fasting for some reason.

You can also apply Niacinamide topically (directly to the skin via product formulation) and it has a variety of skincare benefits ranging from soothing inflammation to lifting hyperpigmentation, (more on that in a minute).

Niacinamide benefits have been shown in studies to help protect your skin from premature aging by preventing Glycation in were sugar molecules attach to your collagen (which is a limited supply already! more on that here) causing a loss in the firmness and elasticity in your skin. Read more in this arcticle here: Niacinamide: A B vitamin that improves aging facial skin appearance

Niacinamide can also help to boost the hydrating benefits of other moisturizers, which is why you may find it in creams to help retain hydration levels and provide anti-oxidant benefits at the same time!

So we can already see why this ingredient is so widely loved and used.

Where is Niacinamide likely to be found in your skincare routine?

Niacinamide is a skincare ingredient that you will typically see in a step that soothes or hydrates the skin.

So you can find it typically in mists for resetting your PH and introducing water based moisture back onto your skin.

You can find it among water based serums with other thickeners or ingredients with a similiar PH to your skin at it’s natural state.

And as mentioned prior, since it can boost the hydration benefits of moisturizers, you can find this ingredient in your creams or last step moisturizers before your daily SPF in the AM. Because we’re all wearing SPF daily RIGHT?!

Looking for some Niacinamide Options?

Try these

Tips for using Niacinamide as a Sensitive Skin Type

As a general rule, Niacinamide is highly stable, low-risk ingredient when it comes to sensitivity risk for any skin type.

However there have been instances where people report experiencing redness, and even burning after the use of a product containing Niacinamide. And so as a result Niacinamide has almost been guilty through association rather than actually the root cause of a sensitized condition.

Here are a few points to remember when using Niacinamide as a sensitive skin type

• Check the other ingredients in your Niacinamide Formula.
• Make sure you’re not using a product with a percentage of Niacinamide over 5%
• Make sure you’re not using too many products with Niacinamide all at once or in the same daily routine
• Avoid using Naicinamide directly after a non fat-soluble version of Vitamin C

Niacinamide is often combined with other ingredients in product formulations. So be sure to check the ingredient list for things you know you are already sensitive to or that don’t agree with your skin.

This can range from ingredients like zinc to preservatives that are fine and necessary for the shelf life of your product, but that your skin just doesn’t like.

This a good practice to do with any and all skincare products you use.

Niacinamide Percentages

Niacinamide benefits has been researched to show effectiveness on skin within the range of 2-5%. Yet there is a lot of marketing around products containing 10% Niacinamide. This can be misleading as it’s not necessarily more is better.

Stick to percentages that are within the ranges of the clinical research.

This leads to the next tip to keep in mind:

Don’t layer in too many products with Niacinamide all at once.

Since Niacinamide is such a stable ingredient to work with and has a range of benefits for skin, it’s included in a lot of cosmetic formulation.

So make sure that you’re not overdoing it by having multiple products and steps in your skincare routine that include Niacinamide in them.

Check your cleansers, mists, serums and moisturizers so that you’re not accidentally increasing your levels of Niacinamide Percentages.

Looking to get to healthy skin?

Start right at home, with virtual skin coaching.

Niacinamide and Vitamin C: A Word of Caution

Vitamin C is another widely used ingredient in skincare. It is a great natural antioxidant and also helps to brighten skin experiencing hyperpigmentation.

When looking to combine this benefit with Niacinamide though here are a few points to keep in mind.

Vitamin C more specifically L-Ascorbic Acid that we typically find in skincare products, needs to be at a lower PH in order to provide it’s benefits to your skin.

The issue with this is that lowering your skin’s PH can allow for other ingredients and environmental elements to impact your skin if your skin is not brought back to it’s balanced PH level.

Niacinamide as an ingredients works at a skin neutral PH, meaning combining these two together does not allow for the best benefits of either.

Further more the imbalance in your skin’s PH may lead to irritation if your skin is particularly sensitive.

Look for a different form of Vitamin C to use in your routine instead

Fortuanely there are various forms of Vitamin C and so you want to reach for one that we call fat-soluble or oil-soluble version of Vitamin C.

Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate a favorite that I talk about in this Vitamin C Post here ——->Vitamin C in your Skincare Routine

This version of Vitamin C provides all the benefits without having to lower your skin’s PH levels to do it.

And if you happen to have skin of color AND be a sentive skin type, this is essential for protecting your skin from any potential source of inflammation which could lead to hyperpigmentation.

Try Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate in your skin routine with these faves

Niacinamide benefits for sensitive skin dealing with Hyperpigmentation

Niacinamide is effective as an anti-inflammatory ingredient, which means it helps to soothe your skin and boost hydration levels, this in turn reduces redness from inflammation in your skin.

This is key for skin types dealing with hyperpigmenation, as that inflammation is the catalyst for triggering the melanin production process, which is over active in hyperpigmentation conditions.

To get the most benefit from having Niacinamide in your skin routine to target hyperpigmentation, combine it with other tyrosinase inhibitors. To learn more about Tyrosinase inhobitors check out this post here.

Tyrosinase Inhibitors work better when combined with others so keep that in mind when building your hyperpigmentation routine.

Comment and Share: Do you have a favorite Niacinamide Product?

Have you used Niacinamide before? If so, what has your experience been? Do you have a favorite product or two? Share it in the comments below, we’re here to help each other!

---

Check out these #sensiclub skin Favorites