Of the many forms of this vitamin, some of the more commonly used are ascorbic acid, ascorbyl phosphate (typically as the magnesium and sodium salts), and other ascorbate derivatives (e. g., ascorbyl palmitate, ascorbyl glucoside). Mechanisms Vitamin C is well known as an antioxidant and has been utilized as a skin lightener (e. g., via […]

The key challenge for working with niacinamide and nicotinate esters is avoiding hydrolysis to nicotinic acid. Nicotinic acid, even at low doses, can induce an intense skin reddening (flushing) response (30). While a little skin redness (increased skin “pinkness”) may be a   □ 5% niacinamide   Figure 8 Niacinamide is well tolerated by the […]

As representative for the vitamin B3 family of compounds, there are several published reports on the diversity of clinical effects of topical niacinamide (14-18). These data ). were obtained from double-blind, placebo-controlled, left-right randomized studies. For example, topical niacinamide has been shown to reduce skin fine lines/wrinkling (Fig. 5). The effect increases over time and […]

Vitamin B3 serves as a precursor to a family of endogenous enzyme co-factors, specifically nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD), its phosphorylated derivative (NADP), and their reduced forms (NADH, NADPH), which have antioxidant properties. These co-factors are involved in many enzymatic reactions in the skin, and thus have potential to influence many skin processes (14). This precursor […]

There are three primary forms of vitamin B3 that have found utility in skin care products: niacinamide (aka nicotinamide), nicotinic acid, and nicotinate esters (e. g., myristoyl nicotinate, benzyl nicotinate). Figure 4 Effect of topical 0.05% trans-retinoic acid on skin barrier as determined by transepidermal water loss (TEWL). Although the skin becomes more tolerant of […]

There are two primary challenges in working with retinoids. One is their tendency to induce skin irritation (as noted above) which negatively affects skin barrier properties. While high doses will provide ever greater skin aging improvement, the associated irritation tends to define an upper concentration limit where they can be used practically. While the skin […]

While much of the substantial literature on the improvement of skin wrinkles by topical retinoids is focused on trans-RA, there are also data available on the vitamin A compounds which are used cosmetically. Since retinoids are irritating to skin, defining skin-tolerated doses clinically is a key step in working effectively with these materials. Retinol is […]

Since trans-RA is the active form of vitamin A in skin, the abundant published literature on the former is applicable to this discussion. Trans-RA interacts with nuclear receptor proteins described as RA receptors and retinoid X receptors, which can form heterodimer complexes. These complexes then interact with specific DNA sequences to affect transcription, to either […]

Donald L. Bissett P&G Beauty, Miami Valley Innovation Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, U. S.A. INTRODUCTION There are many cosmetic materials that are claimed to have anti-aging effects when used topically. Since there are so many of these materials and since the term anti-aging is very broad (in terms of prevention vs. improvement and the wide array […]