72 replies to this topic

[{DC}]

thanks for the feedback.

Niacinamide should help make your skin more mositurized. It was shown in studies to increase ceramides and fatty acids which in turn reduced TEWL(transepidermal Water Loss). It basically strengthens the skin barrier.

[willow569]

I still really like this Metazine gel a lot. I've been using it for almost 2 months now. My skin has remained almost totally clear since I started using it - no inflamed acne and just a couple of noninflamed spots here and there, which generally go away pretty fast.

It also seems to be making my skin less sensitive. I've never had extremely sensitive skin, but I would get stinging or mild irritation from products sometimes. I have had less of that since i started the metazine. The last time I got a peel at Face Reality, I had less stinging than I usually do, and that was only after using the Metazine Gel for less than a month. I'll be curious to see how the next peel goes - I'm getting one on Friday.

[Crooked I]

I'm glad it's working for you too. Since my last update, I'm now using it pretty much all over my face, with only a pea-sized amount on the areas above and below my mouth. It seems to be working really well and the dryness is nowhere near what it was like when I used BP all over.

I haven't used BP for a couple of months (at least) on my forehead and haven't had any problems. It's also been about 2 weeks since I used BP on my cheeks and again, no problems. This is the best my skin has been in a year. All I need is some sun to get a wee tan and even out the skin tone.

The only thing that's bothering me is some weird red lump at the side of my nose. It started as a spot around 5 months ago and since then it seems to disappear and then re-inflame. I don't know what it is and can't seem to get rid of it!

But the nicotinamide gets 9/10 so far from me.

[{DC}]

thanks guys...it sounds like a great topical.

Crooked I, if freederm and niacim gel are the same, I just looked at the ingredients used in freederm and one of them is ethanol. So that is probably why you are getting dry skin crooked I.

Metazine gel has no alcohol. It uses propylene glycol as its penertrant, which can be slightly irritating to some but it is also a humectant(helps mositurize skin like glcerine does).

Metazipine has 5% niacinamide too. I think Metazipine is definitely the better topical ingredients wise.

Edited by {DC}, 09 December 2009 - 02:21 PM.

[Crooked I]

thanks guys...it sounds like a great topical.

Crooked I, if freederm and niacim gel are the same, I just looked at the ingredients used in freederm and one of them is ethanol. So that is probably why you are getting dry skin crooked I.

Metazine gel has no alcohol. It uses propylene glycol as its penertrant, which can be slightly irritating to some but it is also a humectant(helps mositurize skin like glcerine does).

Metazipine has 5% niacinamide too. I think Metazipine is definitely the better topical ingredients wise.

You're probably right. I don't mind using moisturiser though - I tend to find that a layer of the gel is left on the face anyway so moisturiser is needed to soak it all in and smooth out the skin.

As far as I know it's the only nicotinamide treatment available in the UK so it's all I have. It costs, but if it continues to give me results then it'll all be worth it. The cold weather in the next few months will be a good test for it.

I would certainly advise people to try it.

[Smooth Criminal]

hi guys--
i have been wanting to try the metazine gel, but so far i have only gotten as far as trying oral niacinamide. it's only been about 1 - 2 weeks so it's too soon to say yet whether it's working or not. all of your info and updates about topical niacinamide has been really helpful!

i was just wondering, for any of you who are using it, do you use it morning and night? if you only use it once a day, do you use something else (in the morning/night, when you don't use it) to treat acne?

also--i have been wondering how best to transition from using bp to niacinamide...i know i shouldn't just switch straight from one to the other, but how do you know when or how to start cutting out the bp? does anyone have any successful experience with this? thanks!!

[willow569]

hi guys--
i have been wanting to try the metazine gel, but so far i have only gotten as far as trying oral niacinamide. it's only been about 1 - 2 weeks so it's too soon to say yet whether it's working or not. all of your info and updates about topical niacinamide has been really helpful!

i was just wondering, for any of you who are using it, do you use it morning and night? if you only use it once a day, do you use something else (in the morning/night, when you don't use it) to treat acne?

also--i have been wondering how best to transition from using bp to niacinamide...i know i shouldn't just switch straight from one to the other, but how do you know when or how to start cutting out the bp? does anyone have any successful experience with this? thanks!!

Glad the updates are helpful! I use it at night only, but I am also using a few other products. See my signature for more information on my regimen. I use the Metazine over the Derm A Gel at night (and then BPO on only my chin). I haven't tried to wean off the BPO yet, but I think one of the other posters in this thread is trying to do that.

[{DC}]

willow,

what ingredients in cerave are comedogenic?

[willow569]

willow,

what ingredients in cerave are comedogenic?

Ceteareth 20 and Cetearyl Alcohol - when they are used together in a product, these ingredients are comedogenic

[{DC}]

thanks willow.

Man so many moisturisers use these ingredients and right on the bottle claim that they are non comedogenic lotions. How can they make these claims and get away with it. Its just false advertising and basically lying.

Cetaphil uses it too.

*Also is one of those women in your avatar you willow?

Edited by {DC}, 12 December 2009 - 11:55 AM.

[willow569]

thanks willow.

Man so many moisturisers use these ingredients and right on the bottle claim that they are non comedogenic lotions. How can they make these claims and get away with it. Its just false advertising and basically lying.

Cetaphil uses it too.

*Also is one of those women in your avatar you willow?

I know - its really frustrating. The terms that are used on skin care products are actually not regulated by any outside industry, so essentially they have very little meaning. That is true for terms like "non-comdeogenic", "dermatologist tested", "sensitivity tested", etc. Companies can make these claims regardless of what is actually in the products or whether the products have been tested. There is no official definition for what "non-comedogenic" actually means. And they can use the label "dermatologist approved" if just one derm says they like it (regardless of his/her qualifications or whether they have been paid to say they like the product)

I am the redhead in the photo. The other woman in the pic is Cheryl Burke from the TV show Dancing with The Stars. I've taken some dance classes from her.

[willow569]

I am still really loving this niacinamide gel! I just ordered two more bottles of it (buy one get one free right now). I also want to try it on my body since it is good for hydrating, skin barrier functioning, antiaging and reduces UV damage.

I am seeing cumulative improvement in my facial skin - its not a drastic change, but more subtle. It just improves the look of my skin overall - evens things out, reduces product irritation and skin inflammation.

[{DC}]

thanks willow.

I just got my Niacinamide powder.

I am going to make my own.

Niacinamide apparently increases keratin production which you would think would be bad for someone with a hyperkeratinization problem.

[willow569]

thanks willow.

I just got my Niacinamide powder.

I am going to make my own.

Niacinamide apparently increases keratin production which you would think would be bad for someone with a hyperkeratinization problem.

Actually, from what I have read, it speeds up the differentiation of keratinocytes - which should help prevent the blockage of the pores. Abnormal or slow differentiation is part of what causes the pores to clog.

[{DC}]

OK, thanks for that willow.

I have KP and was reading someone on the KP boards saying that Niacinamide would probably be bad for KP.

KP is rooted in hyperkeratinization too, so maybe I might make a 5% niacinamide lotion and apply it to my arms??

[willow569]

OK, thanks for that willow.

I have KP and was reading someone on the KP boards saying that Niacinamide would probably be bad for KP.

KP is rooted in hyperkeratinization too, so maybe I might make a 5% niacinamide lotion and apply it to my arms??

I don't know much about KP - the skin is so complicated, that its sometimes hard to figure out how all the processes and problems are related. I don't think that niacinamide increases hyperkeratination, from what I have read though. I also don't know if it actually reduces it - it seems like it impacts keratinization in a very specific way during cell differentiation. I don't know how that would affect KP though.

[{DC}]

Willow and others have you noticed a reduction in sebum since using Niacinamide topicals?

Also I have read a couple of times now, just from people on message boards, no studies to back it up, that Topical Niacinamide at higher strengths like 4-5%(which is used for acne) can cause dryness, flaking and slight burning.

I have never read anything about this in any of the studies. Its got me paranoid now. The person who said "seemed" to know what they were talking about. But Dr Bauman and many others suggest using Niacinamide creams to help sooth and strengthen the skin barrier when using retinoid therapy.

What do you say willow?

Edited by {DC}, 13 January 2010 - 08:03 PM.

[Crooked I]

Since my last post I've still been using the nicotinamide gel all over my face. I use a pea sized amount of BP around once every 36 hours or so, and so far have suffered no side effects. It's the best my skin has been for a year. It's fantastic considering months ago my skin was flaring up and I was using lots of BP. The nicam gel is easier to apply, more gentle on the skin, doesn't make your skin dry and keeps it balanced. It doesn't turn it red like BP does.

[willow569]

Willow and others have you noticed a reduction in sebum since using Niacinamide topicals?

Also I have read a couple of times now, just from people on message boards, no studies to back it up, that Topical Niacinamide at higher strengths like 4-5%(which is used for acne) can cause dryness, flaking and slight burning.

I have never read anything about this in any of the studies. Its got me paranoid now. The person who said "seemed" to know what they were talking about. But Dr Bauman and many others suggest using Niacinamide creams to help sooth and strengthen the skin barrier when using retinoid therapy.

What do you say willow?

I've not experienced any burning, dryness or flaking with the 5% Niacinamide gel. I guess it might also depend on what other ingredients are in the niacinamide product being used. If there are no hydrating ingredients, then maybe that causes people problems? Niacinamide needs to be used with other hydrating ingredients to really get the most beneficial effects.

I remember reading a study where they tested people's reactions to various strengths of niacinamide - I believe that they were able to tolerate up to 20% concentrations before side effects or irritation started (although I wouldn't recommend going much above 4-5%, since that seems to be the highest concentrations used in OTC and Rx products)

It may also depend on your own individual skin issues. It is supposed to help reduce skin sensitivity and irriation for those with sensitive skin or rosacea. I don't know if people with KP would have different reactions though.

[{DC}]

Thanks again for your input willow.

I thought it was strange that some said it caused burning and dryness. Maybe the pH of there Niacinamide isnt right. Anything outside of a pH of 5-7 will undergo hydrolysis and turn into nicotinic acid I believe it was. When that happens I read it can cause burning, flushing and flakiness.

Plus a number of places and derms have said to use Niacinamide creams topicals with retinoid usage to offset the irritation and skin barrier disruption retinoids create.

** Willow did/do you have oily skin? If so did niacinamide topcial help with that at all?