Darine: [00:00:00] Welcome to this week's episode of Beauty Babble. Today we're focusing on an ingredient. It's been around for many years and it's Not going anywhere because it's positive impact on many skin conditions and that ingredient is, drumroll, niacinamide. I had to phonetically spell it so I made sure I pronounced it 
Suzanne: properly.
Yes, yeah, well the ingredients are not an easy thing to be saying so I will be the first to say that I do not pronounce them half the time properly. But. Oh, well, that's okay. Well, 
Darine: Niacinamide is, you were saying it is a form of vitamin 
Suzanne: B? Yes, B3. It's a form of vitamin B3. It has been an ingredient in skincare for many, many, many years.
I think because People are getting better at highlighting things in the products or the key ingredients that this one has been popping up for the last year or two, a little bit more and more and how it's [00:01:00] being used as getting really creative as well, which I think is pretty amazing. So knowing your brand you know, you can even ask them, do you have it?
Or hopefully you have the manual and you could look for yourself to see what it is, but it is definitely a powerhouse ingredient. So, you know, it brightens skin. It actually helps with you know, signs of aging. It does help to treat conditions like eczema and acne as well. It's, it's kind of a, like, like we said, a powerhouse of an ingredient depending on how you want to use it.
So it's a form of vitamin B And so one of the key things about it is that it actually helps to build the keratin in our cells, which is the protein that maintains our overall, overall skin health, right? So I think as, as facial technicians out there, you know, the importance of keeping that keratin healthy and strong.
And because of that, then it also helps with smoothing and brightening, but it can also be really specific. So it actually can help with acne. So it helps to nourish and protect the skin, [00:02:00] but because of it's, we'll call it the side effect of it. What it does is it really vascularly. pulls the circulation up.
So what do we know that blood does to our skin? It helps to heal. So the blood going around in the areas of the acne is breaking out. And it's, it's actually highly condensed with blood because it's trying to kill the bacteria that's going on in there, right? So if we increase the blood, Think of it as a big flush of circulation and then the release and cleansing it out.
So helping it to move as well is very interesting for acne clients. I would say on that one, if your brand carries it, they should have some sort of protocol in place on, on for you to, so reach out to them and ask them, how can I make this work for my acne? Tell me how to do this. You don't, you shouldn't be left on your own when you're dealing with product.
And I wouldn't become a chemist. And just go buy it and think, I'm going to start using it. Please don't do that unless you have the research [00:03:00] and the degree behind you of chemistry and all that, then yeah, go for it. But really look at, start there is I guess what I would say. Start with that and see it's such a, it's such a potent ingredient rarely used.
I don't think people realize how to use and everyone's scared. They don't want to flush the skin. They think it's going to irritate, but you, you need to do the protocols to unflush. If I can put it that way and get rid of it, right? We actually played with it with rosacea clients. Like they're so, so flushed, same concept.
You pull, you bring it up and then you place the niacinamide product that you have. Again, that was a brand level. We knew how to play with it. And we placed it elsewhere on the body. So it helped to draw that out of the skin. So it's, it's pretty. So it's a little bit nifty, the stuff that you can do and play with it.
On that note, 
Darine: how, how is it, in what form will it come in products? So is it in serums? Is it in creams? Like, I know it's not specific. [00:04:00] But what, how, how can it 
Suzanne: appear? Just so people are aware. It's more likely when I'm talking this level, it's a pro product. It's not a retail level. There could be some.
Niacinamide in product for retail, but it needs to be in a controlled atmosphere by the facial technician, right? So that they know what they're doing or the dermatologist or the medical spa, like wherever it is, they're the professionals in control of the professional product level. If I can have concentration being used, sometimes it comes on its own.
It's usually mixed with something else for sure. But or it could be a mask. It could be a cream. It could be partly of it. Because again, I mean, I love the scientists and the chemists that create these things and think what they're doing with it to make it a good experience in the end with the product, right?
So it's hard to say how it would come together with the product line that you have your brand. So I definitely reach out to, to your brand to see, do they have anything with that and what are their protocols? I think is a [00:05:00] good place to start. And after that, if you don't have it. You can reach out on that education side, who, who's, who can educate, who teaches this stuff and learn from it.
Maybe that's why do your own research online. However, I caution you not to just buy a product online without having education with it. 
Darine: And don't believe everything you 
Suzanne: read. Oh yes, please remember, you know, like I'm naive to permanent makeup and to see. All those pictures. I'm like, wow, that's amazing.
That's amazing. And then talking to PMU artists and say, yeah, that's not what it looks like right after treatment. That's later. I mean, there's a whole process to it. I'm like, oh, okay. But that's a whole other topic, but that's the idea, right? You see it and you think, you know, the ingredients, so you're going to buy the product, but you don't know the protocol.
Of how to use it safely, properly, and will it coincide with the products [00:06:00] you currently have? And, cause you're not a chemist, and that's something I've noticed more and more. I think there are chemists, but, you know, and you've been out of school for six months. Like what experience have you had with your ingredients and products you've been doing on people?
I'm cautious when I play with product lines, I want to understand the ingredients and what's in there. What's not, this does not ever go with this. So I know this, so I don't put those things together. Do you know what I mean? Like, I don't know. That's, that's what I go with, but back to this niacin it also boosts hydration.
Again, it's going to help that lipid lipid barrier of the skin, that layer of the water and the oil that protects our skin. So it helps to lock in that moisture in the skin. So that's why another reason you'll see it in products. What else can I do? And again, because that then your skin is probably going to be a little less sensitive.
So thinking of your sensitive rosacea clients. So there's that correlation there along with healing and and other things, right? 
Darine: I think the question is what [00:07:00] doesn't it do because it's also good for like 
Suzanne: hyperpigmentation. It's like, if you die, why 
Darine: is it not in every product is my question, 
Suzanne: right? It's crazy.
Yeah, it's, I mean, and again, because of it, it's going to help with reducing some fine lines and wrinkles. It could even help to reduce the enlarged pores, the appearance of large pores because it's you know, Cleaning the skin. You have a smoother skin. Like it's not that your pores shrink, we know this, but it does give a different smoothness to the skin.
And then it regulates the oil glands as well. So how much oil is being produced? So it's not clogging the pores as much. Sometimes you're going to see like most skincare products have about. 5 percent in it. I believe that's on a retail side. Depending on, on the level of your training to how it think of it, like AHAs and BHAs, what percentage in the pro line do you have?
And you just need to know and be aware of, of how strong it is as well. And sometimes too, it's [00:08:00] like, Starting out like you, you know, if you're working in a medical, then you already have, you know, doctors in place to help you with that. And you're, and you're probably I would presume being taught at that level with the product line you have.
And it's the same if you go to other skincare lines that are maybe not medical. There should be someone teaching you or educating you on it. I think it's a huge part of it. You can, sometimes they're mixed with other things. What I pulled up is sometimes on its own completely, but rarely, most of the time it's paired with like vitamin C for that antioxidant and moisturizing with sericidamides, which are your fat molecules in the product.
Because think of it like when you're, when you have a vitamin and you're ingesting a vitamin, most of the time, it's not by itself. Because it needs to work with something else to make it a positive impact. So that's the same kind of idea when it comes to skincare. It's paired with something to make it better for the skin.
So I think 
Darine: also depending [00:09:00] on what it's paired for, it could also be more suitable for certain. Skin type paired with this versus when it isn't. 
Suzanne: So what I mean is already formulated for you is what I'm referring to. You're not the scientist pairing your products together, right? Exactly. I can see it right now when I say this out loud.
People are going to use glycolic acid with their And I said to mine, maybe, but no, the glycolic you're using and what you're doing, and are you trained with the product line to do the two together? Because I know product lines that do do that, or with our hyaluronic, the hyaluronic acid, they mix with it, right?
Or retinol, but the product line already has the research behind it and they know how to pair it. Right? So again, don't be, you know, Amazon and go. You can buy stuff online, right? I think that's a huge part too. Getting your protocols 
Darine: from your, the brand is because they've done the research and they know what's safe and what 
Suzanne: isn't.
Exactly. So that's why I'm putting it out there. It, it, you can see it being [00:10:00] formulated with other things, but, or, or you can pair it with something else, but it's usually in their protocols already to explain. Like you think glycolic acid and retinol and that my mind goes to repairing. Right. So it's something about healing, repairing.
So acne, maybe hyperpigmentation, scarring, like what are we after here? Hyaluronic. It's like, okay, is it's for sensitive? Cause I'm not going to do glycolic acid on more than likely not unless I knew the client, what percentage it is and the pH and all that stuff. That's another class with rosacea.
Right. So what can we use on somebody and our, and then your contraindications, you know, like maybe they can't use retinols. Or glycolic, right? So it's it's understanding all those factors. So yeah, it's a, it's a powerhouse been around a long time. It's not going anywhere. Like you said and people are having a little more interesting developments with it, which I think is pretty cool.
It 
Darine: sounds phenomenal. Yeah. It's pretty. I want some now. Yeah. 
Suzanne: But in the [00:11:00] end, just think it's very active. So if you sell this to a client, like you have a retail product, the idea behind it overall is an increase at a vascular level. So if you're, I don't know, you did appeal and you're sending them home with this product, you have to tell them what's going to happen.
So they don't think they're reacting right. It's going to, it's the purpose behind is a vascular increase. And then from there, what's, what's the outcome of what we're targeting here and then maybe what it's paired with and why you put that together, the product line with those protocols, right? So please tell your clients.
Yeah. That's a good reminder. Yeah. And think about your menopause women, do we want this, you know, that increase, what if they have a hot flash and they have that on, you got to remember all those things. That's the, what I love about this industry. Can't stop thinking. Absolutely. [00:12:00] Absolutely. 
 We haven't just singled out this ingredient, but we will be featuring, we'll be talking about ingredients and honing in on a specific ingredient just to, because you've talked a lot about, you know, know your ingredients, don't just rely on the one skin care brand that you use, you should really understand the ingredients so that you can understand how to use and then it's the products, any products, right?
Suzanne: Right. I mean, look at it. I mean, I've known this in all the years. It's all of a sudden a product gets pulled from, from our shelves in Canada. Mm hmm. And now what are you doing? Exactly. So understanding your ingredients is really important. So then you can still follow through with the protocols, your direction, your client's goals, their wishes, what they want, and you can still provide a top notch service and know what the next step is.
It doesn't happen often, but. With some of those products out there, it's happened a little bit more because of the regulations out [00:13:00] there. Europe and Canada has the strongest regulations. So keep that in mind when you're bringing product in. That was actually one of the key reasons I brought in what I did back when I had my spa.
I was a European brand and I sat back and went. They're going to fix it. They're in 55 countries. They got to pass it in all of them. Right. And so I knew I'd be covered throughout my, again, know your brand, know your business and what you're absolutely. Anyways, 
Darine: that's all I got for you today. It's a short one, but we will be back with another episode next week.
Thanks so much for listening.