Niacinamide
Ingredients
Niacinamide, without the hype
What 3% does, what 10% does not, and why the flushing you have read about is usually something else entirely.
Journal
Written by the people who make it.
No sponsored posts, no affiliate links and no "ten miracle ingredients" slideshows. If we are not sure about something, the article says so.
Journal · featured
Guide
How to read an ingredient list in ninety seconds
The first five ingredients are almost the whole product, because INCI order runs by weight — everything after the preservative is present in amounts too small to matter. Here is the shortcut we use ourselves, and the three words on a label that should make you slow down.
Latest
Six more, in plain English.
New pieces go out roughly once a month. There is no newsletter pop-up, and no email unless you ask for one.
Routine
Routine
A routine for skin that reacts to everything
Three products, eight weeks, nothing added in between. If your skin has not settled by then, one ingredient is the problem.
Myth
Myth
"Sensitive skin" is not one condition
Rosacea, eczema, contact allergy and a plain damaged barrier look similar in a photograph and need completely different things.
Formulation
Formulation
Why we do not use essential oils, even the nice ones
Linalool is around a third of lavender oil. It is also an allergen once it oxidises in the bottle — which is what happens on a bathroom shelf.
Patch test
Routine
The only patch test worth doing
Inner forearm, twice a day, three days. Not behind the ear, and definitely not on the morning you want to wear it.
SPF
Myth
Yes, SPF in a Glasgow winter
UVA does not need blue sky. It travels through cloud, through window glass, and through the six hours of daylight you get in December.
How this is written. The journal is written in-house, usually by the
person who formulated the product being discussed. We do not accept payment,
samples or review copies from other brands, and we do not run advertising. When we
cite a study we link to it, and when the evidence is thin we say that it is thin.