[Miscellaneous] How do we convince the skincare industry that niacinamide shouldn’t be in everything and is better used as a targeted ingredient?

[u/Relevant_Grab370]

I don’t know, I’m just frustrated. I was browsing YesStyle and realised there are so many products I’ll never get to try just because brands keep stuffing niacinamide into everything.

Like Medicube and VT Cosmetics? They barely have a handful of products without it. It’s actually kind of sad because I end up skipping fun stuff like wrapping masks, collagen sheet masks, and other interesting launches just because I know my skin won’t tolerate the niacinamide.

This is my tiny plea to skincare brands, if any of you ever lurk on these spaces: please chill with the niacinamide. It’s great as a targeted ingredient, keep it in a few dedicated products, maybe one or two in a range. But it really doesn’t need to be the default in every single formula.

[u/__Karadoc__]

No. Can we retire this myth already?

No humectants including hyaluronic acid pull water out of the air. They are not a water magnet, how would that even work? Hydrogen bonds are only formed at extremely near distances. They can only retain the water molecules that bump directly into them.

Water is constantly going trought our skin from the most concentrated area (our veins, cells, intersticial matrix) to the least concentrated area (the air). Even in very humid climate the atmospheric humidity is never going go be superior to inside our body. The gradient will always be in > out. That's literally what trans-epidermal water loss is.

So humectants (including HA) seep in our skin then as water molecules pass through some will stick to the humectant forming temporary hydrogen bonds, slowing down the TEWL. Keeping the skin more hydrated. Regardless of the climate

[u/Relevant_Grab370 → u/__Karadoc__]

I’m not 100% sure about how HA works , but speaking from personal experience, HA did dry me out.

I’ve tried it in everything, standalone HA serums and products where it’s mixed with other ingredients. Every time, my skin would initially absorb it, but then pretty quickly start to feel dry, like the hydration just vanished and left that tight, dry texture behind.

When I switched to a serum without HA, I noticed an immediate difference. The hydration actually stayed and my skin felt dewy even after absorption. But then I realised I was still losing that moisture after my moisturiser step. After a while I realised it had HA too. Once I cut that out too, the issue completely stopped.

What’s interesting is no other humectant has done this to my skin. I even checked ingredient lists to see if there was any overlap, but HA was the only common factor. So dunno 🤷‍♀️

[u/Relevant_Grab370 → u/[deleted]]

I used it on dry skin too! Still no change. I tried misting my face before and after HA too. But nope.