Daily Archives: March 24, 2021

“Always remember to take your vitamins: Vitamin A for action, Vitamin B for belief, Vitamin C for confidence.”

I love my body wash. I admit, I picked it mainly for the pretty pink and gold packaging and the sweet scent. But I really like what it does for my skin — leaves it soft and moisturized after a bath and makes it firmer and younger-looking too. Checked the label… no wonder, it has Vitamin B3 among its ingredients.

What is Vitamin B3?

Vitamin B3 is a water-soluble nutrient that is a member of the Vitamin B family. The B vitamins play important roles in energy production, the synthesis and repair of DNA and RNA, and carbohydrate, protein and fat metabolism. They also help calm and maintain a healthy nervous system and can be important in the maintenance of healthy skin and muscle tone.
Vitamin B3 comes in two forms: niacin (a.k.a. nicotinic acid) and niacinamide. Both help the skin to repair and function normally, but they have different applications.

Niacin is prescribed orally to treat conditions like high cholesterol, pellagra, and sometimes diabetes and can also guard the skin against inflammation and sun damage.

Niacinamide, also called nicotinamide, on the other hand, can benefit skin health when applied topically and treat conditions ranging from acne and eczema. It can also build proteins in the skin and lock in moisture to prevent environmental damage. So niacinamide is the ingredient you are looking for in your skincare products.

Benefits of niacinamide include:

• Strengthens the skin’s natural barrier by stimulating the production of lipids, especially ceramides, a naturally occurring substance in human skin. This increases the skins resiliency and protects it against pollution.
• Improves skin immunity by building keratin, a protein that keeps your skin firm and healthy and protects it from UV rays.
  Improves the texture of the skin by reducing pore size and smoothing the skin surface.
• Reduces inflammation, redness and blotchiness. Particularly helpful in calming eczema, acne and other inflammatory skin conditions.
  Reduces discoloration and hyperpigmentation. Some research has found 5 percent niacinamide concentrations can be helpful in lightening dark spots and minimizing melasma.
• The same concentration of niacinamide has also shown to prevent premature signs of aging, specifically lines and wrinkles produced by sun damage.
• Regulates oil production in both dry and oily skin.
• Controls acne and helps to heal scarring.

What’s more? This powerhouse ingredient is tolerated really well by sensitive skin types and so is suitable for everybody. It is also very versatile and can be combined with many other skincare ingredients.

So, my advice… just go for it. B3 it!