Let’s talk… Niacinamide!

Ello ello!

How are we all? I’m currently sitting here at 11pm starting this as I completely, completely forgot it was Thursday evening (anyone else not sure what day it is at the moment haha?) as I’m determined not to break my pledged weekly Friday post, well quite frankly, on week 3… Before I start talking skincare though, I just want to say a HUGE thank you for all the love on last weeks post; ‘Let’s talk… Self confidence’. As I said in that post, I procrastinated writing it for some time (due to the fact that I wanted to be completely transparent and share my little story), but I really couldn’t have asked for a nicer response, so thanksssss everyone! This week I thought I’d jump off the ‘I’m feeling inspirational’ bandwagon (not sure how long this will last mind you…) and go back to something more skincare based. As after all, the word ‘beauty’ is in the name of my blog…

So without further ado and if you haven’t guessed already from the title… I wanted to talk this week about Niacinamide!

Now it’s a bit of a mouthful that word isn’t it haha? But stick with me… If you’re a well accustomed user already or have absolutely never heard or it, let me explain what I know about this magic (to most people) ingredient…

Niacinamide is also known as vitamin B3 and has grown in popularity in the last few years due to it’s anti-ageing and anti-acne properties in some people! I am by no means any form of scientist here (just in case you thought I was…) but what I do know, is that in studies (by scientists…) they found that regular application of this ingredient to your face, has been shown to stimulate the dermis (the middle & biggest section of your skin where you’ll find veins/arteries which bring blood to keep the skin healthy, hair follicles, sweat glands etc. etc. and AKA, where all the magic happens) to help increase your skins barrier function and to help your skin retain water better. This all in turn, helps with ageing and due to the strengthening effect on the barrier function from this product, it helps to fight bacteria on the skin! Which is exactly why it helps battle breakouts as; bacteria = breakouts. And that ladies and gents, is exactly why I now use it daily religiously!

Now I know above I have only really mentioned 2 skin conditions which it is good for, BUT it actually has an abundant list of conditions which it can also help. To name a few, they are:

• It helps to reduce the appearance of pores
• Improve uneven skin tone/reduce hyperpigmentation
• Soften fine lines
• Brighten skin
• Combats moisture loss (especially well when used under your daily moisturiser)

• And then as mentioned above…
• It helps to strengthen the skins barrier
• Reduces the look and feel of blemishes

Sooo, it’s safe to say; It’s pretty damn wonderful when used regularly! Also did I mention that it’s even suitable for sensitive/rosacea prone skin? (How could I possibly forget that…) This is because this B vitamin is tolerated well by most (and possibly all) skin types and is basically just a really great skin supporter. This is due to it’s moisture-sealing and anti-inflammatory properties, so it’s a win, win eh! It’s also one of those ingredients that is never, ever too late to start using😉 Although if you’re on the opposite end of the scale and are under the age of 20 let’s say with pretty good skin, maybe just stick to a good moisturiser for now (unless you’re anything like me of course and will happily throw anything on your face regardless of age…).

I should also mention that as always with any product, if you are super, super sensitive, you may wish to test patch first, just to be extra, extra, extra careful!

I know that was all rather fact’y there but hopefully that makes a little bit of sense? I tried not to go into tooooo much detail to save you from a ‘information overload’ type situation… But, if you do want to find out a little more, there’s a great article on the Paulas choice website about Niacinamide (this is where I initially learnt lots about this ingredient) so click here to have a read.

If you’re still with me at this point and haven’t got distracted by the ‘Paulas choice’ website haha… let me tell you a little bit about how it’s helped my skin…

I started using my good ol’ trusty ‘The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% and Zinc 1%’ serum (this is my absolute all time favourite by the way) about 2 years ago now. I’ve used it on and off (mostly due to my inability to stick with one regime…) but I always, always come back to it when I’m breaking out and kick myself for stopping (I will learn one day, maybe haha…) and there’s a reason for that; I always find it calms me down skin wise and makes me feel a little more ‘plumped’ shall we say! If you’ve read my other posts (if you’re new don’t worry and welcome!), you’ll know that I’m a proper combination skin girl and tend to get a little dry around the edges, all whilst battling breakouts and an oily middle too (wahoo!). However, with this it sorts me out to some extent. Now like I always say, there’s not a one size fits all solution that will solve every single problem under the sun and I really should point out that, yes I still get breakouts with it (the joys of hormones) but it calms them down and working with what you’ve got is sometimes all you can do. This is exactly what I find anyway, it helps and prevention is often better than cure right? Don’t forget also, try and avoid out of date products and like lots of ingredients (this one included) it can take time to see results so persevere if you can. Unless of course your face is screaming at you (which it shouldn’t be but you never know, skin does have a mind of its own after all) then please stop!

All in all, can you tell I like it haha? In all seriousness though, I hope it helps you too if you do decide to try it because if you have any of the issues mentioned above, then it may well be worth a shot!

Also as mentioned above, I can only really give you one product example (the ordinary one) sorryyyy, as I have been pretty loyal to that brand as far as Niacinamide products go, however I’m sure there are many other amazing ones out there that are just as good. Although what I will say is… The ordinary one is only a fiver (just saying haha…). I should be a brand ambassador here really shouldn’t I?

So there we have it! Can we please just take a moment also to appreciate the fact that I have actually gone and written a slightly shorter post for once… I know, try not to fall off your chair at that😉

Good luck if you do give this ingredient a go, urm what’s it called? I don’t think I’ve mentioned the name… Niacinamide…? Yeah that’s it. All jokes aside, let me know how you get on if you do try! Then most importantly and as always stay safe and take care in this nutty world right now (because god forbid we develop another strain of COVID, I’m going to run out of topics to post weekly…!)

Happy glowing people!

Lots of love, Ella x