Niacinamide...why I love it plus a bonus pigmentation lesson

I started using niacinamide (topical vitamin B3) when The Ordinary first brought out their products and I practically purchased all of the range.

Little did I know, I had actually been using niacinamide for far longer, I just wasn't aware of it because it wasn't "trendy" a few years ago. I had actually been using La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo Plus which has the triple whammy of salicylic acid, benzoyl peroxide and niacinamide. This tackles acne from all angles - unclogging the pore, reducing inflammation and improving the health of the skin and its ability to heal, as well as improving any pigmentation caused by the acne.

Why I love it

1) It is amazing for acne - it helps to regulate the oil flow in the skin, thus, allowing your protective barrier to remain in tact (the barrier can be damaged by harsher products like salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide), but also reducing the risk of pore clogging leading to comedones and spots. I particularly like The Ordinary's formulation as it is combined with zinc, another great anti inflammatory product which is an amazing gentle help for acne

Which leads onto point 2...

2) Niacinamide boots the production of ceramides ( a natural fatty component of skin which almost acts like scaffolding to hold the skin cells together). If you imagine your skin as a sieve, throughout the day and night your skin wants to leak all the lovely things that keep your face looking plump and hydrated. This leads to dryness, dullness, and loss of plumpness. Thus, we need to do as much as we can to close the holes in the sieve in order to keep all the good stuff in. Niacinamide is awesome at that.
Because of this, it is also great as a buffering agent underneath any product that may cause irritation, such as peels, retinols etc. It is also compatible with pretty much every other skin care active (ignore the historic belief that vitamin C and niacinamide should never meet), making it great for layering.

3) Pigmentation buster.

Pigmentation can be tackled at 3 points.

• Prevention of production of melanin by the production cells - known as melanocytes. The melanocytes are stimulated by UV rays and in some cases, even by heat and visible light, mainly delivered to the skin via infra red rays 
• This can be done by:
• Blocking the UV rays from stimulating the melanocytes (i.e. sunscreen - see my favourites here) and blocking free radicals which cause DNA damage via antioxidants such as vitamin c (best as Ascorbic acid)
• Via agents such as hydroquinone (or natural derivatives such as arbutin), kojic acid, and azelaic acid which block the action of tyrosinase (the enzyme responsible for kick starting the melanin production process)
• Prevention of transfer of the melanin to the surface of the skin (the keratinocytes)
• Removal (exfoliation) of the pigmented area from the surface of the skin using AHA's and retinol to boost the turnover of the skin

Niaciamide acts on the second aspect. Whilst it has no activity on the melanocytes themselves, it can stop the transfer of the melanin to the surface of the skin, thus blocking pigmentation. In fact a study in the British Journal of Dermatology found that niacinamide at only a 2-5% concentration gave a 35-68% inhibition of melanin transfer, leading to decreased hyperpigmentation and increased skin lightness in only 4 weeks. 

4) Decrease of lines and wrinkles - Niacinamide boosts collagen (plumpness) and elastin (firmness) so you tackle this from both angles. As mentioned above, it also allows your skin to tolerate stronger active ingredients, especially higher concentrations of retinols, so this allows a double whammy on anti ageing front

5) Skin dullness fixer - as an antioxidant, this can work in the same way as vitamin C to restore brightness to the skin

Simple.




Mentioned paper

Br J Dermatol. 2002 Jul;147(1):20-31. The effect of niacinamide on reducing cutaneous pigmentation and suppression of melanosome transfer.

Supplements - what to buy and what to REALLY not buy

Following on from my previous post about diet changes (read here) there are certain supplements I now take that have definitely improved my health, improved my skin’s ability to cope with what I make it do (Roaccutane, retinols, peels, life).

I have never really believed in supplements, I was always of the philosophy that if you are deficient in something then your diet must be unhealthy.

I still believe this to a massive degree, e.g. vitamin C, iron, magnesium etc but there is no in harm in giving the body a hand in a helpful way especially if you are going through a time that puts physical stress or you have done something/going through something which alters the body in some way e.g. roaccutane, antibiotics, chemotherapy, colonic hydrotherapy, diet changes.

After my first colonic session, Jackie recommended various things to me to improve the health of the gut. It is important to say that colonic hydrotherapy does not “strip the gut of bacteria” or wash out everything. Quite the opposite, it simply removes all the crap (literally) and allows a clean and neutral environment in which you can introduce good helpful things without the unhelpful things getting in the way. Before I started looking into all things diet, I took a combined multivitamin and probiotic.

The problem with this as it turns out is that 1) the probiotic was not in the right form, the right bacterial count  or in the right carrier to actually do anything 2) multivitamins are pretty much pointless.

The issue with multivitamins is that your body processes it like a drug. Anything taken orally is already absorbed at a very low level because of the digestive process, add into this a foreign capsule shell and a load of chemically synthesised vitamins and the amount you absorb is negligible. Effectively you just pee it out.

So…I now take a probiotic with 7 or 8 different strains of gut bacteria with 30 billion bacterial count at expiry. The expiry bit is important as many probiotics will state they have significantly more than this but then do not state how stable the carrier is etc. Yes they are expensive but yes they make a massive difference AND MOST IMPORTANTLY  do not need to take them every day until the end of time unless you are on long term antibiotics. 30 days is enough to colonise the gut with enough bacteria for them to then continue to multiply by themselves (as long as you are eating well, minimal alcohol or medications etc).

The second thing she recommended was something to replace the multivitamin aspect. I now take either chlorella or spirulina ( you can get a huge pack for about £5 on ebay – I have linked some below). These provide all the vitamins and nutrients a normal healthy (ish) person will need on a daily basis. INCLUDING the buzz word of the moment “magnesium” – which everyone seems to herald as the miracle cure for everything. Both supplements are made from green leafy plants which have simply been dried and crushed. For this reason your body processes it from food, so not only does it contain everything you need, your body actually stands a chance of absorbing it. Interestingly they have more iron than beef, more potassium than bananas and more calcium than whole milk as well as protein, zinc AND Vitamins B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B7, B8, B9, C, D, E, k AND all 8 essential amino acids that the body does not synthesize. Sold yet?

I also take hyaluronic acid capsules which helped immensely during my roaccutane treatment. I bought one bottle and could not see a massive difference, I then stopped taking them and within a week my flaky skin had upped its game and the dry-PVA-glue skin was back.

Vitamin D3 is a new one. I thought I would give it a go after Dr Sam Bunting recommended its use especially being on Roaccutane and avoiding the sun like the plague. Vitamin D is a tricky one as the levels set for appropriate levels are a cause for contention. In the UK where we see the sun for about 3 hours a year, pretty much EVERYONE will be vitamin D deficient compared to these levels yet only a small proportion will have symptoms of deficiency. This being said, I found myself in February feeling ill, sluggish, unmotivated. Whilst I have days like this sometimes, I am very much a bounce-off-the-walls-with-energy kinda girl, and this awful feeling had been going on for months.

A week into taking D3 and boom, I was back to having to jog on the spot in work to release the extra energy I had. A month later and I still feel that way (much to my nurse’s annoyance as she has to careful work around my jogging with the dirty instruments)

As I say, not everyone will need it, but I leave the house at 6:45 in my car, go to a leisure centre until its time to go to work, drive the 2 minutes from there to the hospital, work in a basement level in said hospital for 8 hours, then drive home. Whilst I am very active, little of this activity takes place outdoors, so my vitamin d levels were probably rock bottom despite my efforts to eat well.

Omega 3, 6 and 9. This was especially important during Roaccutane treatment as it hammers your liver risking change to fatty acids and triglycerides in the body. My good cholesterol levels were 3 times the level of a normal healthy person and were even slightly higher by the end of treatment. Now yes you can get these from eating fish, but my boyfriend hates fish so while I still eat it, it is not at a level that will provide enough.

I prefer getting mine from vegan sources (flaxseed etc – which I also add to my porridge), see below

Heliocare care ultra capsules are my latest addition. Sun safety is obviously hugely important but with Roaccutane treatment your skin is extremely sensitised so while I am now careful in the sun and wear my high SPF’s etc, anything that can boost the body’s ability to protect and repair from UV damage is obviously a good thing.

What NOT to take

Separate tablets for every nutrient. Unless you have severe dietary restrictions then you really do not need as many nutrients as Instagram tells you you’re missing.

Your body cannot absorb collagen through tablet form, the molecule is too large, so don’t bother taking those .

Vitamin c to prevent a cold – absolutely no evidence for this, there is some anecdotal evidence that increasing vitamin c intake during illness might help speed up recovery but you are FAR better doing this through food than you are through supplements

Please DO NOT BUY COD LIVER OIL. The liver is the filtration system of the body. The sea is full of the rubbish that we have put in there, including the much feared mercury, so the liver will also be full of this. Concentrate this down a few hundred times to give the potency of a cod liver oil capsule and you’re doing far more harm than good. Krill oil is far better, you want the oil that has come from the flesh not the liver.

Perfectil. Biotin is the only proven supplement that will increase hair and nail growth/strength. This issue with this is that it makes ALL hair grow quicker and stronger. Your upper lip wax will be getting moved to weekly rather than monthly. That’s all I’m saying. If you don’t suffer with this, just buy plain Biotin rather than spending your life’s savings on Perfectil or branded ones. Whilst this is the only supplement that alone will help hair and nail growth, having the right amount of amino acids and fatty acids will also do the same job. You're covered there by the chlorella/spirulina and the omega oils

Food substitutions – just a quickie.

As I found I was intolerant to most sweeteners, but did not want to use sugar, I found this was the best to use. It takes the same as sugar, is not gritty, does not have an after taste like pure stevia, and causes no bloating.

Natvia All Natural Sweetener

https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/291614360

Protein – my first blood test for Roaccutane showed my albumin was towards the lower end of the range, and having not scored low on a test my whole life, I wanted to fix this. I REFUSE to take the disgusting stuff they have in the gym and fitness shops. It is absolutely loaded with garbage – sweeteners, enzymes to break down the protein, flavouring etc etc so eventually I found this. I use the soy one, but they also do a hemp and a brown rice protein too in case anyone has soy allergies . Please note, these do not taste good, hence why I use sweetener. The plain soy is completely inoffensive, it just does not taste of anything. The cocoa brown rice one STAY FAR AWAY.

Pulsin Soy Protein Powder

https://www.hollandandbarrett.com/shop/product/pulsin-soya-protein-1kg-60006973

I also now use almond milk in my cooking etc as I needed a dairy free alternative. Its also great to use in curries etc as well as in the obvious porridge. I have tried several that taste like actual soil but this one is great

Alpro Almond Roasted Unsweetened Fresh Milk Alternative

https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/275067782

Supplement links

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Udos-Choice-Super-8-Probiotics/dp/B0036E5KG6

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hyaluronic-Acid-Capsules-250mg-High-Strength-and-100-Pure-Supplement/112813220964?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vitamin-D3-5000IU-x-150-Caps-MAX-Strength-Bones-SAD-Immune-System-Lindens/322481059234?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/255431548

http://www.zestbeauty.com/heliocare-ultra-capsules-30-capsules.html

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Suma-Bagged-Down-Organic-Linseed-golden-organic-1kg/182948960066?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649