PRODUCT REVIEW: SUNDAY RILEY B3 NICE 10% NIACINAMIDE SERUM - What Niacinamide Does to Your Face? Which Is Better Niacinamide or Hyaluronic Acid?
SUNDAY RILEY | B3 NICE 10% NIACINAMIDE SERUM
There are two products that I use religiously both AM and PM – and they’re both centered around antioxidant defense to protect my skin from skin-aging environmental attacks.
What are they? A Vitamin C serum and a Niacinamide serum, of course!
I consider both antioxidant protection and UV protection crucial for attaining and maintaining skin health. If facial sunscreen and Vitamin C and Niacinamide serums aren’t part of your daily pro-skin health plan, you’re selling your skin short.
As resilient as your skin is, it’s not immune to the effects of environmental exposure over time. And I truly believe antioxidants are the missing link to youthful skin. Sure, there’s no greater aggressor than the sun’s UV rays and subsequent photodamage. No one in their right mind skips a sunscreen for face. Nothing ages your skin more than unprotected sun exposure!
Looking for the best anti-aging cream? Look no further than a well-formulated sunscreen that you like so much you wouldn’t even think of skipping it. Catch my top picks of the best facial sunscreens here.
The Best Sunscreens for Face
Aside from UV radiation, what about everything else you’re exposed to out in the elements every day? Consider pollution, other forms of radiation like visible light (VL), and free radicals.
That’s where antioxidants come into play and why they’re so important.
According to the experts on the Paula’s Choice research team, “When it comes to anti-aging ingredients, the research is clear: Antioxidants are essential, and the more you apply to skin, the better! Just like your diet, your skin needs a mix of healthy, beneficial nutrients. Skin is the largest organ of your body, so nourishing its surface with beneficial ingredients like antioxidants is important.
“Antioxidants not only help combat the elements responsible for the visible signs of aging, but also can calm skin, help reveal a more youthful appearance, and revitalize dull-looking skin due to airborne pollutants and blue light exposure.”
Vitamin C is one of the most potent antioxidants – and on this list of Five Super Anti-Aging Antioxidants Your Skin Needs. And one of my favorite antioxidant Vitamin C serums is Sunday Riley’s unusually pleasurable C.E.O. 15% Vitamin C Brightening Serum. I’m a big fan of Sunday Riley and, of course, the brand’s iconic Good Genes All-In-One Lactic Acid Treatment. But there’s something about the C.E.O. 15% Vitamin C Brightening Serum that I’ve never quite been able to put my finger on.
Sure, I love its silky, lightweight creamy serum texture and very subtle citrus aroma. At $85 for one ounce, it’s such a pleasure to use – and a true skincare luxury that’s worth the higher price. It’s designed with 15% Tetrahexyldecyl (THD) Ascorbate – a stable, oil soluble form of Vitamin C that’s considered to be the relative equivalent of pure Vitamin C, or Ascorbic Acid.
The experts on the Paula’s Choice research team are unequivocal about the unique efficacy of THD Ascorbate. “Some researchers believe this form of vitamin C has a greater affinity for skin because its fatty acid component helps aid penetration. It pairs well with other forms of vitamin C and retinol for enhanced effectiveness.”
You can catch my Sunday Riley C.E.O. 15% Vitamin C Brightening Serum product review on the blog here.
PRODUCT REVIEW: SUNDAY RILEY C.E.O. 15% VITAMIN C BRIGHTENING SERUM
And, of course, I consider a Niacinamide face serum essential to my skin health for both its antioxidant defense properties and the active’s exceptional ability to keep my pores clear. I consider Niacinamide and Salicylic Acid a one-two punch for daily pore maintenance.
Among my all-time favorite Niacinamide serums is the Paula’s Choice 10% Niacinamide Booster. I’ve talked about it on the blog more than any other product – for a reason.
IMO the Paula’s Choice 10% Niacinamide Booster is the best anti-aging serum in the history of anti-aging skincare. Shamelessly, I go through two bottles of it a month. (I only have one left in back stock and let me say the #fomo is real!) With its ridiculously watery texture, the 10% Niacinamide Booster is seriously the easiest Niacinamide serum to use – and one of the best Niacinamide serum formulas available.
PRODUCT REVIEW: PAULA’S CHOICE 10% NIACINAMIDE BOOSTER
What happens to your skin when you use Niacinamide? Well, the benefits seem endless. In addition to antioxidant defense, Niacinamide at varying strengths can have the following benefits for your skin:
Strengthens the skin barrier to prevent moisture loss;
Brightens the complexion;
Flushes out pores to minimize the appearance of large pores and prevent acne breakouts;
Smooths out rough skin texture;
Regulates sebum production to minimize surface oiliness and prevent pores from clogging;
Boosts the hydrating abilities of topical moisturizers.
Before I get deep into my full Sunday Riley B3 Nice 10% Niacinamide Serum review, I’d like to take a moment to further explore the benefits of Niacinamide for skin and what a Niacinamide serum can do to promote your skin health.
The Best Niacinamide Serums and Treatments
There’s a superb article on the benefits of Niacinamide by the experts on the Paula’s Choice research team titled simply, Niacinamide for Skin. You can catch it here.
From the article:
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 or stretched out pores, improve uneven skin tone, soften fine lines and wrinkles, diminish dullness, and strengthen a weakened surface (1,2).
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 (3,4). Left unchecked, this type of daily assault makes skin appear older, dull and less radiant.
If you’re serious about your skin health and curious about the benefits of Niacinamide, you’ve likely asked yourself questions like:
What niacinamide does to your face?
At what age should I use niacinamide?
Is it OK to use niacinamide everyday?
Can you use vitamin C and niacinamide together?
The answer to that last question has been controversial for decades now. Personally, I use both together, often twice daily. There are many myths out there about Vitamin C and particularly about the ingredients that the sensitive vitamin doesn’t mix with. One of those myths has been out there in the skincare ether since the 1960s! It has to do with whether or not you can use Vitamin C and Niacinamide together. Again, the answer is yes, yes, yes!
There’s a superb article that I’ve often cited on the blog from the experts on the Paula’s Choice research team titled, Can You Use Niacinamide With Vitamin C? You can catch the insightful piece here.
As for what age you should begin to use a Niacinamide serum, the answer is any age. If you’re in your teens, you’re likely oilier and Niacinamide has multiple benefits specific to your oily skin. Because all skin types need daily pore maintenance and antioxidant protection, Niacinamide isn’t age specific.
As I’ve been doing all year, I sought out answers to a few questions from the AI at my favorite search engine you.com. The artificial intelligence at you.com is powered by OpenAI’s Chat GPT. I appreciate the way it answered my questions about Niacinamide and its benefits to the skin – with deep insights and citations to credible sources.
Here’s how the technology responded to my questions:
What niacinamide does to your face?
Niacinamide has many benefits for the face, including reducing the appearance of enlarged pores, improving skin texture, restoring skin's defenses against moisture loss and dehydration [1], increasing production of ceramides (lipids that help maintain the skin's protective barrier), treating hyperpigmentation [2], and helping to minimize the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines. It also helps to retain moisture in the skin, increase the production of keratin (a protein that helps keep skin looking healthy), and reduce inflammation. Niacinamide is a safe and effective ingredient for most skin types and can be used in a variety of skin care products.
Sources: 1. Niacinamide Benefits: What Does Niacinamide Do for Skin; 2. What Are the Top Niacinamide Benefits for Skin? | SELF
Is niacinamide or hyaluronic acid better?
It depends on the skin issue you are trying to address. Niacinamide is better for evening skin tone and texture [1], while hyaluronic acid is better for moisturizing skin. Niacinamide also helps increase fatty acids and decreases water loss in dry skin [2], while hyaluronic acid helps the skin maintain moisture [2]. Both have their own unique benefits and can be used together to effectively address multiple skin concerns.
Sources: 1. Hyaluronic Acid vs. Niacinamide - Which is Better? | Skincare Lab; 2. Hyaluronic Acid Versus Niacinamide: What's the Difference? | Teami ...
Is it OK to use niacinamide everyday?
Yes, it is generally safe to use niacinamide every day. Niacinamide is an effective and well-tolerated ingredient that can be used in your daily skincare routine. It has several benefits, including reducing inflammation and improving the appearance of your skin. However, it is important to note that if you are taking an oral niacinamide supplement, you should consult with your doctor first as high doses may have side effects.
Sunday Riley B3 Nice 10% Niacinamide Serum
Sunday Riley is one of my favorite skincare brands. Their two iconic serums – the C.E.O. 15% Vitamin C Brightening Serum and Good Genes All-In-One Lactic Acid Treatment – have been off-and-on staples of my skincare routine for years.
If you haven’t tried them, you’re missing out on real skincare pleasure and the opportunity to have some fun while advancing your skin health. I’m not a fan of spending $85 for even the best Vitamin C serums or exfoliating creams, so I’ll often pick up one or the other when they go on sale at Sephora a few times per year.
So I was excited to be among the first to try the new Sunday Riley B3 Nice 10% Niacinamide Serum – an unusual antioxidant serum that blends 10% Niacinamide with another powerful antioxidant, Resveratrol.
While Niacinamide isn’t one of the most coveted antioxidants on this Paula’s Choice list of Five Super Anti-Aging Antioxidants Your Skin Needs, Resveratrol is. What is Resveratrol and why do you need it in your skincare routine right now?
Well, according to the experts on the Paula’s Choice research team, Resveratrol is “a potent polyphenolic antioxidant found in red grapes, red wine, nuts, and fruits such as blueberries and cranberries. Applied topically, resveratrol helps protect skin’s surface and rebuffs negative environmental influences.
Among its many significant benefits, resveratrol and its derivatives have been shown to visibly minimize hyperpigmented skin discolorations and slow down the process of photoaging in skin.”
SKINCARMA ON TIKTOK
So kudos to Sunday Riley for stepping up the antioxidant defense of their B3 Nice 10% Niacinamide Serum! And in classic Sunday Riley fashion, this new serum is an absolutely ridiculous pleasure to use. It has a slightly pulpy, lightweight texture that absorbs quickly into the skin, making it rather easy to layer into your routine.
Sunday Riley’s B3 Nice 10% Niacinamide Serum is literally a power cocktail of antioxidants. In addition to the 10% Niacinamide and high level of Resveratrol – at ingredient number seven, for maybe a 3% concentration – there are numerous antioxidant botanical extracts.
Most notable are brightening Turmeric Root Extract and Epigallocatechin Gallatyl Glucoside (EGCG) – the main antioxidant component of green tea with powerful defensive properties against environmental aggressors. There are also several humectants and emollient plant oils that combine to hydrate skin and defend against trans-epidermal water loss, the main cause of skin dehydration.
Admittedly, while I’m obsessed with the antioxidant potency of the Sunday Riley B3 Nice 10% Niacinamide Serum and its light, silky texture, the product is quite messy to use and a surprising packaging miss on the part of the brand.
Like what was Sunday Riley thinking? The bottle has an enormous, needlessly oversized orifice – the opening at the top of the bottle that houses the pump. It’s almost difficult to explain. Most similar products have an inner ring that catches excess product. Not this one. I’m constantly wasting serum.
And, even more disturbingly, antioxidants are notoriously unstable in the presence of oxygen in the air. The huge orifice does anything but keep air out; it’s basically the opposite of “airtight”. So as much as I appreciate and value all those antioxidants, I know they’re not long for this world. I’m almost certain that within a month after opening, all that antioxidant oomph is gone.
As with antioxidant face creams and sunscreens in jars, it’s best to use it up ASAP!
What I like about it: The Sunday Riley B3 Nice 10% Niacinamide Serum is a veritable cocktail of antioxidants for face. I love its high concentrations of 10% Niacinamide and Resveratrol. And in classic Sunday Riley fashion, it’s an immense pleasure to use.
What I don’t like about it: I’m mortified by the complete lack of concern over the sensitivity of the antioxidants within to daily exposure to air. The oversized orifice is just ridiculous and makes no sense to me. Sunday Riley knows better.
Who it’s for: All skin types.
SHOP THE BLOG: Purchase the Sunday Riley B3 Nice 10% Niacinamide Serum for $65 here.
The Ingredient List of the Sunday Riley B3 Nice 10% Niacinamide Serum:
Water/Eau/Aqua, Niacinamide, Glycerin, Phenyl Trimethicone, Dimethyl Isosorbide, Octyldodecanol, Resveratrol, Diglucosyl Gallic Acid, Asiaticoside, Madecassoside, Epigallocatechin Gallatyl Glucoside, Boswellia Serrata Resin Extract, Curcuma Longa (Turmeric) Root Extract, Ocimum Basilicum (Basil) Flower/Leaf Extract, Ocimum Sanctum Leaf Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Flower Extract, Solanum Melongena Fruit Extract, Coccinia Indica Fruit Extract, Betaine, Corallina Officinalis Extract, Melia Azadirachta Flower Extract, Melia Azadirachta Leaf Extract, Benzotriazolyl Dodecyl p-Cresol, PEG-8, Tetrahydrodiferuloylmethane, Tetrahydrodemethoxydiferuloylmethane, Tetrahydrobisdemethoxydiferuloylmethane, Punica Granatum Fruit Extract, Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Peel Extract, Citrus Grandis (Grapefruit) Peel Extract, Citrus Tangerina (Tangerine) Peel Oil, Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract, Citrus Limon (Lemon) Peel Oil, Sodium Phytate, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Polysorbate 60, Sorbitan Isostearate, Pentaerythrityl Tetra-di-t-butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate, Polyglyceryl-10 Stearate, Sodium Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Dimethicone, Trideceth-6, PEG/PPG-18 /18 Dimethicone, Tocopherol, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol, Chlorphenesin, Triethyl Citrate.
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