One skincare ingredient that has blown up in popularity recently is niacinamide, which seems to be a wonder of an ingredient that works well with most other potent active ingredients. It is an ingredient that also works for most skin types, and targets breakouts, texture, tone, moisture, and fine lines.
With brands like The Ordinary that promote simple ingredients that can be customized to your individual needs, using multiple serums and peels seems to be the solution to pairing different ingredients into your skincare routine.
Knowing what products to pair with certain skincare treatments, like an AHA/BHA peel that is a chemical exfoliant, is important to ensure you avoid irritation and instead receive the skincare results you are after. A product like niacinamide can do just the job to enhance and deliver benefits, while still being gentle on the skin.
However, can you use niacinamide after using an AHA/BHA peel? Yes, niacinamide is an ingredient that works well with many other skincare ingredients, AHAs and BHAs included. Spacing out the application timing of each will help to avoid any possible skin irritation, while allowing each product to fully absorb into the skin to deliver the best results.
Below, we’ll discuss in depth what niacinamide is, how is works with AHAs and BHAs, what ingredients to pair with it, as well as what ingredients to avoid using with it.
What Is Niacinamide?
Niacinamide is a form of vitamin B3, and is also known as nicotinamide. It is an ingredient that can be found in different forms varying from certain foods, to oral supplements, to topical skincare treatments.
When incorporated into skincare items, niacinamide typically works best in serums, moisturizers, and face masks, as they sit on the skin for longer to allow the benefits to be fully absorbed.
Nicotinamide is a water-soluble ingredient, which does not naturally occur in the skin, so incorporating niacinamide products into your skincare will enhance the overall appearance of your skin.
As it is not naturally occurring in the skin, adding this ingredient to your routine will help with boosting the moisture barrier and encouraging the development of keratin in the skin to give a smooth, firm, and even appearance.
Niacinamide is an ideal skincare ingredient for all skin types, and it works particularly well with more oily to acne-prone skin types, as it provides moisture without being overwhelming.
It is a gentle enough ingredient that it can be used both morning and night on a daily basis, if your skin is susceptible to it, and can be used in conjunction with many of your other favorite skincare products.
Here’s a great example routine for using niacinamide, specifically The Ordinary’s Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% from Melissa Van Dijk on YouTube.
Benefits Of Using Niacinamide
There are countless benefits to incorporating niacinamide into your skincare routine. Niacinamide works as an anti-inflammatory, which helps to calm and soothe irritated skin and acne-prone breakouts.
It is an ideal product for oily skin, and skin types prone to breakouts, because it helps to control sebum production on the skin as well as minimize the appearance of enlarged pores.
By controlling sebum production while also working to reduce pore size, skin that is prone to breakouts will look and feel more balanced.
Along with reducing breakouts, niacinamide also helps to reduce and even out discoloration. Niacinamide works to even out discoloration caused by sun damage, acne spots, and melasma, by preventing pigment transfer throughout the skin.
Including niacinamide will help give skin a brightened and evened appearance with continued use. Niacinamide also works to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, aiding in smoothing the texture of your skin.
Niacinamide also encourages the production of ceramides in the skin, which are lipids that help to protect the moisture barrier. With the ceramide and lipid production increased, moisture is able to be well-retained and it is protected against transepidermal water loss, which helps skin looks and feel hydrated and plump.
Boosting the moisture barrier, along with the increased lipid production, will also help the skin appear firmer, which will help minimize the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, providing a smooth complexion.
Along with being anti-inflammatory, niacinamide is also an antioxidant that helps protect skin against harmful free radicals and other environmental aggressors, which can cause breakouts, discoloration, or premature fine lines.
It provides added moisture to the skin and mixes well with other active skincare ingredients, making this an all-star ingredient that is worthy of all the buzz it receives.
Benefits Of AHA/BHA Peels
AHA and BHA ingredients can be found in many facial cleansers, moisturizers, toners, and most popularly exfoliators and peels, as a way to achieve smooth and clear skin.
AHA stands for alpha hydroxy acid while BHA stands for beta hydroxy acid. AHAs work to exfoliate the top layer of the skin, while BHAs penetrate deeper to exfoliate the inner layers of the skin.
Both acids works to target the same skin concerns: discoloration, clogged pores, breakouts, uneven texture, and fine lines. The ways in which AHAs and BHAs target such concerns differ, as AHAs are a water-soluble ingredient that is able to stay on the top layer of the skin to exfoliate.
BHAs, on the other hand, are oil-soluble and their smaller particles allow the ingredient to absorb deeper into the skin to exfoliate.
AHAs, such as glycolic or lactic acids, are ideal for counteracting fine lines, discoloration, and texture. BHAs, such as salicylic acid or some citric acids, work best on oily skin types to unclog pores and prevent breakouts.
Both AHAs and BHAs are suitable for any skin type, however as with any chemical exfoliator they may make skin more sensitive or prone to dryness.
AHAs and BHAs also work well in tandem with one another, most notably seen in The Ordinary’s AHA 30% AHA + BHA 2% Peeling Solution. The two acids target multiple layers of the skin to leave a smooth, even, and clear complexion behind after each use.
Because both acids are deeply exfoliating to reveal new layers of the skin, it is important to use SPF during the daytime, as well as following up with products that include gentle, calming, and hydrating ingredients.
AHAs and BHAs are powerful chemical exfoliants, and in products like The Ordinary’s AHA 30% + BHA 2% Peeling Solution, it is best to not overdo the application of it.
Incorporating a treatment like this once a week, depending on your skin type, will still provide the desired benefits, without stripping your skin of too much moisture.
Making sure you follow up with a well-hydrating product after using such a solution will help preserve the results, while also comforting your skin to look and feel its best.
Can Niacinamide Be Applied After AHA/BHA Peels?
There are so many skincare hero ingredients that are constantly getting buzz and major product highlights in the skincare world. The newest, buzziest ingredients are always changing as innovative formulas are continuing to be developed and discovered.
With all the chatter that surrounds some of these hero ingredients, it may seem like we need to add everything into our own skincare routine at once in order to take full advantage of each ingredient’s benefits.
As tempting as it may be to overhaul your entire routine to include each ingredient, there are certain products that work well together, while others do not, and it is important to research and understand the do’s and don’ts before altering your routine completely.
So, do niacinamide and AHA/BHA peels mix? Essentially, yes, niacinamide can be used after and AHA/BHA peel. However, AHAs, BHAs, and niacinamide generally target the same concerns and are all potent ingredients.
If you are not used to incorporating either AHAs, BHAs, or Niacinamide in your skincare routine, it could cause some added sensitivity or irritation if used all at once.
The best ways to use niacinamide, like The Ordinary’s Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% serum, is to work into the skin after washing away the AHA/BHA chemical peel and waiting for about 30 minutes or so.
The waiting period allows the affects of the peeling solution to be absorbed and the skin is able to calm itself down. It also allows the niacinamide serum to have the chance to be thoroughly absorbed into the skin to enhance the skin benefits.
If your skin is more on the sensitive side already, or if your skin typically isn’t used to these types of ingredients, it helps to alter the days or times when you use the products.
By using your niacinamide product on one day, then your AHA/BHA solution the next, or by using the niacinamide in the morning and the AHA/BHA at night, it allows your skin to adjust easily to both products without any excess sensitivity until your skin has built up a stronger tolerance.
Can Niacinamide Be Used With Other Skincare?
Along with AHAs and BHAs, niacinamide is an ingredient that can be used with many other popular skincare ingredients, especially other active ingredients that work to target similar issues of discoloration or uneven skin tone.
Niacinamide is ideal to pair with salicylic acids or retinoids, as those can be ingredients that are often aggressive on the skin and can cause irritation. Especially with retinoids that are known to target fine lines, wrinkles, and deeply exfoliate the skin, it can often leave skin feeling irritated, dry, or sensitive.
Incorporating a niacinamide-focused product, like a serum, with help to reduce the irritation, inflammation, or dry flakiness that could occur when beginning a new retinoid product.
Similarly, salicylic acid works to target acne, breakouts, and clogged pores, which could also cause potential irritation to occur. Using niacinamide alongside a retinoid or salicylic acid-based product will ease your skin into using these exfoliating ingredients, without compromising the results.
Hyaluronic acid is another ingredient niacinamide works well with when paired together. Both hyaluronic acid and niacinamide are humectants, meaning they absorb and retain moisture in the skin to enhance the moisture barrier.
Using the two active ingredients together will deliver even more hydration to the skin, and will increase the strengthening and protection of the skin’s moisture barrier to feel balanced and improve texture. This is an ideal combination of ingredients for dry, dehydrated, or mature skin types.
Niacinamide also works well with peptides and ceramides, as both work to improve the appearance of the skin through encouraged increased collagen production and cellular turnover.
Ingredients To Avoid With Niacinamide
While niacinamide does tend to work well with most other active ingredients available in your skincare routine, it is best to avoid mixing the ingredient with vitamin C.
There is a divide between whether it is okay to pair the two ingredients together or not, however the general recommendation seems to be to skip mixing both together. Vitamin C and niacinamide are both antioxidants, using the two together can cause both products to become less effective.
Based on the unstable nature of vitamin C, when used in combination with niacinamide, vitamin C can become less potent. Vitamin C is mainly used to brighten and even skin tone and complexion by reducing the appearance of dark spots and discoloration.
While niacinamide targets those concerns as well, pairing the two together can also cause irritation to the skin to occur, especially if you have sensitive skin.
Although it would not be super harmful or damaging to use both ingredients together, you may experience increased irritation and not see the desired results you’re after. In order to get the most out of each of these ingredients, it is best to alternate when you use them.
Vitamin C works well during the daytime, paired with your facial sunscreen, and niacinamide can work well at night to calm and hydrate the skin.
Conclusion
Overall niacinamide seems to be a superhero ingredient of the skincare world, and is actively being incorporating into many moisturizers, serums, face masks, and more.
Being so versatile with targeting many skin concerns, and being able to work for almost all skin types is an ideal ingredient to want to add to your skincare routine.
Whether you are looking to minimize texture, want to boost hydration in a way that is not overwhelming for oily skin, or you want help in controlling breakouts, niacinamide seems to be able to do the job without irritating or stripping the skin.
As with all skincare ingredients, knowing how they work and what pairs the best together helps to create your perfect skincare routine. However, no routine is complete without at least one or two treatment products that work to deeply exfoliate, penetrate, or treat specific concerns in a more concentrated way.
AHAs and BHAs are forms of chemical exfoliants that can be added to your routine to ensure smooth, even, balanced, and clear skin from the comfort of your home.
Knowing the sensitivity of certain acids, along with other skincare ingredients like vitamin C, it is ideal to incorporate these new ingredients into your routine slowly.
As you discover what treatments, serums, and other active ingredients you like, figuring out how to pair them together is the next step.
While some skincare ingredients are more specific with what other products they work with, niacinamide is an ingredient that can easily slip into your routine and enhance the other products you use, especially if they are versions of hyaluronic acids, lipids, or ceramides.
In order to avoid irritation, and receive the best results possible from each star ingredients, pair the products together one at a time to see how both the products themselves, as well as your skin, respond to one another.
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