We all love our skin. I mean… after all, it is the largest organ on our whole body. As such, it needs extra care to keep it booming and healthy.
Taking care of your skin is very important. Let’s go back to that chapter in our lives when we were battling an intense acne outbreak- it was not a pleasant experience. But, you remember what it felt like?
You lost confidence in your skin and your general self-confidence just vanished. It has been proven that when we have fresh and healthy skin, it enhances our mentality and naturally makes us confident in ourselves and everything that we do.
So, what am I trying to say?
It is very important to take care of your skin, so as to keep it plump and smooth. That being said, there are so many things that are involved when it comes to skincare- I’m not trying to scare you or anything, but I just want you to know that taking care of your skin needs a lot of commitment. Are you ready to learn more about how you can transform your skin and make it glow?
In this article, I want to talk to you about two of the most important ingredients when it comes to skincare, Niacinamide and hyaluronic acid, covering some of their benefits to your skin and the various ways that they can be used to ensure that they work effectively. Eventually, we will answer your question- you know… the one that made you open this article.
Skin Care- what is it all about?
As I mentioned before, taking care of your skin is skin can be quite involving, but once you have mastered all the techniques, you will have the healthiest skin with ease.
The first step into the skincare process is, none other than, knowing your skin type. Do you have oily skin, dry skin, sensitive skin, combination skin?
All these skin types that I have mentioned here are different from each other (except the combination skin type that tends to take on the characteristics of two different skin types).
Knowing that they are different, you should also know that different skin types are cared for in different ways. For instance, people with oily skin are told to exfoliate their skin more, and they do this in order to remove some of the excess oils on their skin.
However, if you attempt to take the same advice and disproportionately exfoliate your dry skin, you would have opposite results. What will happen is that since your skin is already dry, you will end up removing the oils that were keeping your skin plump. This will result in irritation, or worse, an acne outbreak. Yikes!
So when you know your skin texture, you will learn more about how you can take care of it as well as the products that are safe for you.
Speaking of products, the ingredients and their various percentages (of concentration) are also an essential part that you need to track. Let’s talk about Hyaluronic Acid.
Hyaluronic Acid
No other skin is happier than hydrated skin. When your skin is hydrated, its plumpness will naturally reduce the appearance of fine lines as well as wrinkles on your skin.
This is one of the most important ingredients that play a major role in retaining moisture on the skin, hence keeping it hydrated.
One thing I want you to know is that our bodies naturally produce the hyaluronic acid themselves, in order to maintain a stable level of moisture on the skin, thereby keeping skin from getting too dry.
As such, when you are going for a product that has this hyaluronic acid, the ingredient will serve as a humectant.
Not conversant with the term? A humectant’s purpose in a product is to draw moisture from the surroundings onto your skin. In other words, humectants simply attract moisture.
Since dry skin is prone to such conditions, hyaluronic acid is suitable for all skin types but will particularly provide maximum benefits to people with dry or dehydrated skin types. Some people with combination skin can also benefit from this ingredient.
However, if your body doesn’t seem to agree with hyaluronic acid, I would advise you to go for a simpler and less concentrated amount. If fewer amounts of hyaluronic acid don’t work on your skin too, you can go for some alternatives, such as glycerin, allantoin, and sorbitol. These ingredients are often used in skincare products to draw moistures to the skin and improve the overall texture of the product.
With the effective use of hyaluronic acid, you can really get awesome results. For instance, once you have kept your skin hydrated, the fine lines and wrinkles will be less visible. This automatically makes you look younger.
Niacinamide
When it comes to skincare, Niacinamide is probably one of the most popular as well as the most beneficial in the whole skin game.
Or those that don’t know, Niacinamide is actually one of the two forms of Vitamin B3. The other is Nicotinic acid.
Generally, the main purpose of Vitamin B3 is to convert the food you eat into usable energy, while also ensuring that some of the energy is stored. Also, Vitamin B3 helps your body’s cells carry out important chemical reactions.
Niacinamide is very important and recommended that you take it daily. Most of this lies in the fact that your body isn’t able to store this special vitamin, mainly because the Vitamin is water-soluble. Because of this, you have to take it on a regular basis, to allow your body to maintain maximum benefits each day.
Where do I get Vitamin B3?
The best part about Vitamin B3 is that you can obtain it from a lot of food sources. You can get Vitamin B3 from animal-based products, such as meat and poultry.
The list of foods doesn’t stop there. Many grain products, particularly those that refined grains, such as nuts, seeds as well as green vegetables.
Alternatively, your body is also capable of making these ingredients by itself. To do this, the body converts a chemical called tryptophan. This is basically an amino acid present in most protein foods. This amino acid is then converted to vitamin B3
However, the conversion of tryptophan to vitamin B3 is inefficient, as it has been proven that it literary takes 60 milligrams of tryptophan to make just 1 mg of vitamin B3.
Benefits of Vitamin B3
There are so many benefits that come with using this amazing ingredient. Let me just list a few for you.
- Helps in preventing a type of skin cancer called Melanoma
- It can be great for treating Chronic kidney Disease
- Slows down the Progression of Type 1 Diabetes
In the skincare department, Niacinamide provides the following benefits
First of all, Vitamin B3 has very strong antioxidant properties that work to give your pores and deep clean and to rapidly slow down free-radical production.
Because of such characteristics, Niacinamide makes a great product that would work on acne-prone skin. Despite that it can work for acne-prone skin, Vitamin B3 is generally perfect for all skin types.
On top of that, Vitamin B3, as we mentioned before, is a good way to maintain your skin’s oil production. That being said, make sure it is not too low as that can trigger a breakout. On the other hand, if your face is left too oily, your face will feel congestion, which will also lead to acne or break-outs. All roads led to acne on this one.
How to apply Niacinamide?
While it might be a good product for all skin types, it is always better to stay safe because there have been a few occurrences of acne that developed as a result of applying Niacinamide. Before you apply Vitamin B3, I suggest that you should do a patch test first.
Also, once you do figure out that it works for your skin, I recommend starting with products that have a lower percentage of Niacinamide, or you can even dilute it yourself.
After doing that for a couple of days, you are free to slowly increase the Niacinamide concentration.
We have talked so much about Niacinamide and hyaluronic acid. Now, let’s back to the question at hand.
Do I use Niacinamide before or after hyaluronic acid?
Without a doubt, it is very safe to use these products together, mainly because they are both water-based solutions.
However, you can’t apply them at the exact same time. To answer your question, I think the most beneficial order should be to start with the hyaluronic acid, followed by the Niacinamide.
Why this order?
It is because of their functions. When you apply the hyaluronic acid first, you are making your skin soft and keeping it hydrated enough. You are also putting it in a state that will make it absorb faster.
So, when you apply the Niacinamide on top, it will work on minimizing the pore sizes as well as regulating the sebum on your skin.
Frequently Asked Questions
What order should you use Hyaluronic Acid?
Hyaluronic Acid is the most beneficial when it is used in a moisturizer. As you are adding moisture to the skin, there should be a compound that locks in that moisture or prevents it from escaping. This is where Hyaluronic Acid is the most effective. It forms a protective barrier over the skin that prevents any moisture loss and regulates sebum levels.
What can I layer Niacinamide with?
Niacinamide is an extremely versatile product that is able to work with most skincare products such as:
- Retinol
- Peptides
- Hyaluronic Acid
- Vitamin C
This allows it to be a product that every person with a skincare routine or regimen should own. You do not have to worry about Niacinamide working with the products already in your skincare routine as you can see that Niacinamide is compatible with most skincare ingredients.
Should I use Niacinamide in the morning or night?
People that are looking to give their skin an extra boost will benefit from using Niacinamide in their routine as Niacinamide can work for people with oily, dry and combination skin types. Niacinamide is the most effective when it is used twice daily, both in the morning and at night before going to bed. The best results are to be had when you use serums and moisturisers that contain Niacinamide as they can be left on the skin that allows it to be absorbed by the skin.
Conclusion
To summarise it all, Niacinamide and Hyaluronic Acid both are very beneficial for the skin. They give the user clear and healthy skin. Niacinamide can be applied after you have applied Hyaluronic acid so that the product has a chance to be absorbed by the skin.
