PRODUCT REVIEW: STRIVECTIN SUPER-B BARRIER STRENGTHENING OIL WITH VITAMIN B3 AND PREBIOTICS - BEST NIACINAMIDE SERUM FOR DRY SKIN, BEST FACIAL OIL WITH NIACINAMIDE
StriVectin | Super-B Barrier Strengthening Oil with Vitamin B3 and Prebiotics
This product review was originally part of my blog article titled, Niacinamide Serums to Get Your Complexion Going and Glowing SS21 from Naturium, Strivectin, Alpyn Beauty and More. You can catch the full piece here.
—
I can’t light up my complexion with a subzero cryofacial from my favorite new age spa, the Kollectiv NYC, every day. As much as I would love a daily cryofacial, I don’t actually need one. A good brightening treatment is essential for igniting and prolonging your glow — and I use one in each of my skincare routines, twice daily.
If it isn’t already, a well-formulated Niacinamide serum should be your skin’s best friend, too. Of course, Niacinamide isn’t the only powerful active that has the ability to brighten your complexion. There are numerous skin brighteners including, of course, tried-and-true Ascorbic Acid, or Vitamin C.
And while the benefits of topical Vitamin C are broad, including antioxidant defense, collagen building and skin brightening, Niacinamide has the power to do even more. Yes, even more!
Among the most important benefits of the form of Vitamin B are brightening, pore-clarifying, antioxidant defense, sebum control and smoothing a rough skin texture. As I’ve said, there’s simply nothing as effective — and as broadly beneficial for optimizing the health of your skin that a damn good Niacinamide serum.
My most recent deep dive into all-things Niacinamide was published as 2020 came to a welcome close. Titled Niacinamide Is the Game Changer You Need to Defend Against Skin Damage and Maintain Optimal Skin Health, the piece featured five of my favorite Niacinamide serums — some of which continue to be staples in my daily skincare regimen.
NIACINAMIDE IS THE GAME CHANGER YOU NEED TO DEFEND AGAINST SKIN DAMAGE AND MAINTAIN OPTIMAL SKIN HEALTH
If you aren’t employing a Niacinamide serum in your AM and PM skincare routines, you’re missing a vital opportunity to up your game and defend your skin against the aging forces of time, stress and the environment. And, a little daily pore maintenance goes a long way toward pushing your skin health forward.
Niacinamide has played a central role in my own skin health maintenance for about five years now. My journey began with what I consider to be the OG Niacinamide serum, the Paula’s Choice 10% Niacinamide Booster. With a 10% concentration of the active, it’s hands down the best anti-aging serum available in the world today. Have a tried every anti-aging serum in the world? Of course not; I don’t have to. I’ve already found it!
No joke, I go through two bottles of 10% Niacinamide Booster every month.
PRODUCT REVIEW: PAULA’S CHOICE 10% NIACINAMIDE BOOSTER – THE BEST NIACINAMIDE SERUM
What Is Niacinamide and What Does Niacinamide Do for the Skin?
There’s a comprehensive article on Niacinamide by the skin experts on the Paula’s Choice Research Team, titled simply, How Niacinamide Helps Skin. An excerpt from the article:
How Niacinamide Helps Skin
Niacinamide is a skin care ingredient worthy of your attention and your skin will love you for using it. Among a handful of other amazing skin care ingredients such as retinol and vitamin C, niacinamide is a standout because of its versatility for almost any skin care concern and skin type.
As many of you know about us, but for those who don’t, the conclusions we make about any ingredient are always based on what the published research has shown to be true—and the research about niacinamide unanimously demonstrates how special it is. New research keeps showing it’s one of the most exciting skin care ingredients around.
What is Niacinamide?
Also known as vitamin B3 and nicotinamide, niacinamide is a water-soluble vitamin that works with the natural substances in your skin to help visibly minimize enlarged pores, tighten lax pores, improve uneven skin tone, soften fine lines and wrinkles, diminish dullness, and strengthen a weakened surface.
Niacinamide also reduces the impact of environmental damage because of its ability to improve skin’s barrier (its first line of defense), plus it also plays a role in helping skin to repair signs of past damage. Left unchecked, this type of daily assault makes skin appear older, dull, and less radiant.
Why You Should Use Niacinamide
As you might have gathered, we’re very impressed with all that niacinamide can do for skin when applied via skin care products like toners, serums, and highly concentrated leave-on treatments. Niacinamide is uniquely compatible with any of the products in your skin care routine, including those that contain retinol, peptides, hyaluronic acid, AHAs, BHA, vitamin C, and all types of antioxidants.
You can use multiple niacinamide-containing products in your routine, and it will still be non-sensitizing as this ingenious B vitamin is well tolerated by all skin types. It’s even suitable for use by those with sensitive or rosacea-prone skin.
Other helpful benefits of niacinamide are that it helps renew and restore the surface of skin against moisture loss and dehydration by helping skin improve its natural production of skin-strengthening ceramides. When ceramides become depleted over time, skin is left vulnerable to all sorts of problems, from persistent patches of dry, flaky skin to increasingly becoming extra-sensitive.
If you struggle with dry skin, topical application of niacinamide has been shown to boost the hydrating ability of moisturizers so skin’s surface can better resist the moisture loss that leads to recurrent dry, tight, flaky skin. Niacinamide works brilliantly with common moisturizer ingredients like glycerin, non-fragrant plant oils, cholesterol, sodium PCA, and sodium hyaluronate.
How does niacinamide help pores? Great question, although the answer here isn’t certain. Simply put, research hasn’t come to a full understanding about how this B vitamin works its pore-reducing magic, but it does! It seems that niacinamide has a normalizing ability on the pore lining, and that this influence plays a role in keeping debris from getting backed up, which leads to clogs and rough, bumpy skin. As the clog forms and worsens, the pores stretch to compensate, and what you’ll see is enlarged pores. By helping things get back to normal, niacinamide use helps pores return to their normal size. Sun damage can cause pores to become stretched, too, leading to what some describe as "orange peel skin". Higher concentrations of niacinamide can help visibly tighten pores by shoring up skin’s supportive elements.
WATCH VIDEO REVIEW OF
THE BEST NIACINAMIDE SERUMS FOR CLOGGED PORES AND A BRIGHTER COMPLEXION
ON MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL HERE
So, halfway through 2021, I’ve discovered several new Niacinamide serums that stand out to me and that I consider solid formulations, any of which would step up your skincare game were you to incorporate one into your routine.
Let’s take deep dive into one of the best Niacinamide serums for SS21…
StriVectin | Super-B Barrier Strengthening Oil with Vitamin B3 and Prebiotics
Here in NYC a change of seasons is always only a matter of weeks away. So while it’s the second week of August and I’m still running the air at night, I know that in less than a month it will be hoodie weather all over again.
And fall is my favorite season. It always was. When I was growing up in Connecticut, I was no fan of the extremes — neither the summer heat, nor the winter chill. On a hot, humid August day, I would say to myself, “I’ll never complain about the cold again.” In the middle of January, I longed for August!
Early October was the sweet spot for me with temperate weather and temps in the 50s.
The Best Niacinamide Serums and Treatments
I loved how the leaves on the maple trees around our house lit up in bright shades of yellow and orange, only to flutter to the ground in a ritualistic demise.
(Raking them on weekends was the unfortunate consequence!)
Today, the crisp autumn air not only means breaking out my favorite hoodies from the furthest reaches of the closet, but reaching for my favorite facial oils, too. Of course, that includes my favorite facial oil of all time, the Herbivore Phoenix Rosehip Anti-Aging Face Oil. As the best facial oil for dry skin and very dry skin, especially in the cold winter months, it’s been one of my go-to replenishing moisturizers for several years now.
PRODUCT REVIEW: HERBIVORE PHOENIX ROSEHIP ANTI-AGING FACE OIL – BEST ANTI-AGING FACE OIL FOR DRY SKIN
And while this is a mid-August blog article about my favorite new Niacinamide serums, I couldn’t help but include an amazing new Niacinamide-powered facial oil from Strivectin, the brand’s Super-B Barrier Strengthening Oil with Vitamin B3 and Prebiotics.
If you’re not entirely familiar with Strivectin, the brand’s formulas are all powered by a proprietary form of Niacin, a variation of Vitamin B3, called NIA-114. This molecular cousin of Niacinamide possesses a lipidic quality that enables the molecule to penetrate the skin barrier more deeply. Similar to Niacinamide, Strivectin’s NIA-114 molecule has the ability to strengthen the skin barrier, brighten the skin, and defend against aging environmental aggressors.
Strivectin’s Super-B Barrier Strengthening Oil with Vitamin B3 and Prebiotics is a rich, nourishing oil that dries down nicely, though I wouldn’t describe it as a dry oil per se.
In addition to the brand’s Niacinamide alternative (listed on the INCI as Myristyl Nicotinate), there’s a healthy dose of skin nourishment in the form of Squalane, Passiflora Edulis Seed Oil, Rosa Canina Fruit Oil, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Limnanthes Alba (Meadowfoam) Seed Oil — all in the top ten.
But what is most intriguing about the Super-B Barrier Strengthening Oil is the inclusion of prebiotics to support the skin’s microbiome health. You’ve probably been hearing a lot more about them lately. Prebiotics are essentially food or nutrition for the good bacteria in the microbiome, or probiotics, helping them to proliferate in and on the body’s microbiomes.
What Are Prebiotics and Are Prebiotics Good for Skin?
Prebiotics, probiotics and post-biotics are a legitimate trend in skincare over the past two to three years — with probiotics, or good bacteria, leading the way. So what exactly are prebiotics and what is their benefit to the skin?
According to the experts on the Paula’s Choice Research Team, prebiotic are becoming increasingly important in the maintenance of skin health. The team outlines its unique benefits to the skin and body in an article titled simply, What Are Prebiotics for Skin?
An excerpt from the piece:
Prebiotics are an intriguing group of ingredients making skin care headlines because of the important role they can play in addressing a variety of skin concerns. Their gut-health benefits when consumed orally are well-established through research, and now emerging studies are shedding fascinating light on how topical prebiotics can help when applied to skin.
Prebiotics are essentially foods consumed by probiotics. Probiotics are the good bacteria in and on the body that keep our bodies balanced and healthy inside and out (1).
Experts around the world consider probiotics fundamental to being healthy and youthful, and since prebiotics are the natural partner to probiotics, having both gives you the best of both worlds. As it turns out, the benefits of prebiotics and probiotics in our gut are also apparent when these ingredients are applied to skin (2).
Applying prebiotics to skin helps probiotics thrive so they can:
Keep the surface of skin—its first line of defense—balanced, younger-looking, and strong (3).
Offset factors that lead to redness, dryness, and a weakened surface (4).
Ward off signs of aging skin (4).
Restore a healthy microbiome balance (good bacteria) (2).
What Prebiotic Ingredients Should I Look for In Skin Care?
Look for skin care products with prebiotic plant sugars, such as xylitol, rhamnose, and a large group of ingredients known as fructooligosaccharides (including raspberry oligosaccharides) (4). Glucomannan is a particularly interesting prebiotic due to the way it works with a wide range of probiotics that help control acne (5).
Foods with prebiotics include garlic, onions, oats, barley, wheat bran, asparagus, bananas, and flaxseed as well as a plant fiber known as inulin, found in chicory root (1). Some of these plant extracts or their derivatives are also included in skin care products where you can easily reap the benefits of applying prebiotics to skin.
Serums or moisturizers with prebiotics such as these may already be in your routine (check your ingredient labels to make sure).
Strivectin’s Super-B Barrier Strengthening Oil with Vitamin B3 and Prebiotics is a supremely nourishing, balancing pro-skin health treatment and, in my opinion, one of the best that the brand has to offer. I’m really looking forward to incorporating this facial oil into my nightly regimen in the cooler months ahead — as I tug off my hoodie.
If you’ve been eager to try Strivectin out, the Super-B Barrier Strengthening Oil is the ideal place to start. And, quite surprisingly, the brand has just relaunched on the Strivectin website! How fortuitous is that?
SHOP THE BLOG: Purchase the Strivectin Super-B Barrier Strengthening Oil with Vitamin B3 and Prebiotics for $72 here.
WATCH VIDEO REVIEW
THE BEST NIACINAMIDE SERUMS FOR CLOGGED PORES AND A BRIGHTER COMPLEXION
ON MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL HERE
WATCH VIDEO REVIEW
MY 2021 VITAMIN C PICKS + THE BEST VITAMIN C SERUMS TO BRIGHTEN UP THE COMPLEXION!
ON MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL HERE
WATCH VIDEO REVIEW
RETINOL, RETINOIDS, RETINOIC ACID PART ONE: THE BEST RETINOL SERUMS AND BEST RETINOL CREAMS
ON MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL HERE
The Ingredient List of the Alpyn Beauty Wild Nettle & Niacinamide Firming Serum:
so|h, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil emo 0 0, Glycerin 
sii|h 0 0, Capryloyl Glycerin/Sebacic Acid Copolymer, Niacinamide cci|sb|aacne|h, Urtica Dioica (Nettle) Extract so, Nephelium Lappaceum Leaf Extract, Squalane sii|emo 0 1, Sodium Phytate chel, Sodium Hyaluronate sii|h 0 0, Superoxide Dismutase aox, Lactic Acid exf|h|buff, Sodium Levulinate, Potassium Sorbate pres, Lysolecithin emu, Sclerotium Gum vc, Xanthan Gum vc, Curcuma Longa (Turmeric) Root Oil perf, Pullulan, Diheptyl Succinate emo, Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate aox|sb, Tocopherol (Mixed) aox 0-3 0-3, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil emo 0 0-2, Arctostaphylos Uva Ursi (Bearberry) Extract aox|sb, Taraxacum Officinale (Wild Dandelion) Extract, Vaccinium Membranaceum (Huckleberry) Extract, Prunus Virginiana (Chokecherry) Extract, Salix Alba (White Willow) Extract so, Borago Officinalis (Borage) Flower Extract emo, Salvia Officinalis (Sage) Leaf Extract surf, Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Flower Extract so|aox 0 0, Arnica Montana (Arnica) Flower Extract 
perf, Calendula Officinalis (Calendula) Flower Extract so|aox|perf, Lactobacillus/Punica Granatum Fruit Ferment Extract exf, Maltodextrin, Silica vc, Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate amic|presThe Ingredient List of the Naturium Niacinamide Serum 12% Plus Zinc 2%:
cci|sb|aacne|h, Propanediol solv|h, Glycerin sii|h 0 0, Zinc Pca aacne|h, Polyacrylate Crosspolymer-11 vc, Sodium Hyaluronate sii|h 0 0, Tocopheryl Acetate aox 0 0, Caprylyl Glycol h|emo, Dimethicone emo 0 1, Hexylene Glycol solv|emu|perf|surf 0-1 0-2, Xanthan Gum vc, Glyceryl Polyacrylate, Potassium Sorbate pres, Citric Acid buff, Phenoxyethanol presThe Ingredient List of the Algenist Algae Niacinamide Moisture Veil:
sii|h 0 0, Isododecane emo|solv|perf, Dimethicone emo 0 1, Isostearyl Isostearate emo 1 4, Niacinamide cci|sb|aacne|h, Polymethylsilsesquioxane, Neopentyl Glycol Diheptanoate emo, Polyglyceryl-6 Polyhydroxystearate emu, Polyglyceryl-6 Polyricinoleate emu, Magnesium Sulfate vc, Sodium Chloride vc, Parachlorella Beijerinckii Exopolysaccharides, Phloretin aox, Fucus Spiralis Extract emo, Tetraselmis Chui Extract emo, Spiraea Ulmaria Extract so, Hydrolyzed Algin, Sorbitan Oleate Decylglucoside Crosspolymer emu|surf, Disteardimonium Hectorite vc, Polyglycerin-6 h, Xanthan Gum vc, Triethyl Citrate perf, Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Extract, Eucalyptus Globulus Leaf Extract perf, Bergamot/Grapefruit/Orange/Tangerine Fruit Ferment Extract aox, Mica col, Citrus Limon (Lemon) Fruit Extract, Ethylhexylglycerin pres, Triethoxycaprylylsilane, Phenoxyethanol pres, Titanium Dioxide (Ci 77891) col 0 0The Ingredient List of the StriVectin Super-B Barrier Strengthening Oil with Vitamin B3 and Prebiotics:
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Shea Butter Ethyl Esters, Isopropyl Palmitate, Squalane, Myristyl Nicotinate, Passiflora Edulis Seed Oil, Plankton Extract, Bacillus Ferment, Rosa Canina Fruit Oil, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Limnanthes Alba (Meadowfoam) Seed Oil, Avena Sativa (Oat) Kernel Oil, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Oryza Sativa (Rice) Bran Extract, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Extract, Rosmarinus officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract, Quercus Suber Bark Extract, Oak Root Extract, Panthenyl Triacetate, Glyceryl Caprylate, Glycerin, Naringenin, Caprylhydroxamic Acid, Fragrance/Parfum, Tocopherol, Citric Acid, Hydroxycitronellal.
The Ingredient List of the Synergie Skin Vitamin B 13% Essential Niacinamide Serum:
cci|sb|aacne|h, Glycerin sii|h 0 0, Panthenol (Vitamin B5) so|h 0 0, Caprylyl Glycol h|emo, Glycerin sii|h 0 0, Sodium PCA sii|h 0 0, Pelargonium Capitatum (Rose Geranium) Leaf Extract, Polysorbate 80 emu|surf 0 0, Phospholipids sii|emo, Aroma (Natural), Hydroxyethylcellulose vc, Alcohol (Grain Derived) amic|solv|vc, Caramel (Natural Colour) col, Citronellol perf, Geraniol perf, Linalool perf
