What side effects does niacinamide have on the skin

Niacinamide is a well-known skin care product. It is very cost-effective and therefore loved by people. Its products of different concentrations have different effects in whitening, moisturizing, oil control, acne and anti-aging. Despite this, many friends who have used niacinamide have found that frequent use of the product will cause signs of redness on the skin, making the whole person look uncomfortable and promoting hair growth. These are some of the side effects of niacinamide. There are three main reasons why niacinamide promotes hair growth: color difference, stimulation of the skin to promote metabolism, and keratin proliferation. Friends who like to use niacinamide can use it appropriately according to their own skin conditions, and seek medical attention in time if any discomfort occurs.

1. Several different concentrations of niacinamide also have the effects of moisturizing, oil controlling, acne removal and anti-aging.

1.2%-5% whitening effect

2.2% moisturizing effect

3.2% oil control effect

4.4% Acne

5.5% anti-aging effect

The low-concentration niacinamide used on the skin mainly increases the levels of free fatty acids and ceramides in the skin, stimulates microcirculation in the dermis, and prevents skin moisture loss.

Niacinamide at a higher concentration can also promote protein synthesis (such as keratin and collagen) and accelerate the differentiation of keratin cells. This is why high concentrations of niacinamide have certain anti-aging effects. The proteins in the epidermis are activated and proliferated, and the skin becomes plump, which is definitely anti-aging.

Because niacinamide has so many functions, it is also good at blocking the formation of melanin, and it is cost-effective (low cost), so various big brands are also competing to add this cost-effective whitening ingredient.

2. Niacinamide causes skin redness

I don't want to repeat the explanation about redness, as many people have said it but I don't like to repeat it. In a nutshell, if you have sensitive skin or very dry skin, and the sebum membrane is not sound or the skin tolerance is not high enough, the irritation of niacinamide itself is likely to cause redness and allergies, or even... swelling.

The adults’ advice to sensitive girls is that before using niacinamide, try it on the back of your hand or behind your ear. If there is no redness, allergy or stinging, then use it on your face.

Also, don't try to do everything at once. The tolerance level of niacinamide needs to be built up little by little. You can try using 1%-2% concentration first, then add 1% after one week, 1% after two weeks, 1% after three weeks... and so on. Girls who don't want to buy various concentrations can first add the essence to the cream or lotion and mix them together.

3. Reasons why niacinamide promotes hair growth

Regarding the question of whether niacinamide can promote hair growth in the human body, there is currently no literature that clearly proves that it has the effect of promoting hair growth. However, since a girl asked about it and there are indeed such cases, I will list several possibilities for you today.

1. Possibility one: color difference.

This can actually be well explained by the principle of relativity.

Let me explain it with my limited drawing ability, and I hope you can understand. For example, if I draw a smiley face on paper, the same smiley face will look particularly obvious when the background is white. But if the background is black, then you will find that the smiley face is not so obvious, and you may not even notice where the eyebrows of the smiley face I drew are.

The principle is the same when it comes to our skin. When your skin color is darker or duller, you will feel that the hair is not so obvious, but in fact it is always there, neither coming nor going.

When your skin tone is slightly brighter, the color difference between the hair color and the skin color will be bigger. At this time, the hair may be more conspicuous and you will notice that there is hair here, but in fact it is just your original hair. This is why black people's head and body hair are not very noticeable.

2. Possibility 2: Niacinamide stimulates the skin, promotes metabolism, and leads to accelerated hair growth.

Normally, people cannot grow new hair follicles, which are the skin cells that make hair grow. All hair follicles are born with humans and accompany them throughout their lives. Hair follicles cannot regenerate after death. In other words, no matter how much niacinamide stimulates, there will be no new "pits" for the hair "carrot" to reproduce. In other words, your hair will only grow in the "pits" that you have had since birth, and the number will not increase.

One of the functions of niacinamide is to promote metabolism. That is to say, it can stimulate the metabolic rate of your epidermis, which can also promote hair growth. In other words, it's just that your original hair has been made a little taller by this "growth hormone"-like thing.

3. Possibility three: The hair finally found a father who provides nutrition, so it grows better.

Hair grows in hair follicles, and the main source of "nutrition" is located at the hair papilla and hair bulb.

Because high concentrations of niacinamide have a certain effect of dilating capillaries (this effect may also cause redness). The deepest part of the hair follicle is the hair papilla, located 3-7mm in the dermis. It contains nerves and blood vessels, which provide nutrients to the hair shaft, so the capillaries can supply nutrients to the hair papilla and hair bulb. The hair bulb supplies nutrients to the hair shaft, which enables the hair to grow exceptionally lush.

To summarize the previous long paragraph, niacinamide stimulates capillaries - stimulates hair papilla and hair bulb - stimulates hair shaft development - stimulates hair growth. That's why hair grows.

4. Possibility 4: Keratin proliferation.

When niacinamide reaches a concentration of 5%, it will have a certain effect in stimulating collagen proliferation, mainly stimulating the collagen in the dermis.

Only when the collagen in the dermis proliferates can the skin look relatively fuller and fine lines be reduced. In other words, the anti-aging effect of niacinamide depends on whether it can stimulate collagen proliferation.

Collagen is a type of protein. Since niacinamide can stimulate the proliferation of this protein, it means that it can also stimulate the proliferation of another type of protein, which is keratin, the main component of hair.