[PSA] Holy shit, it was niacinamide all along (or, Why you should never rule out a trigger ingredient because you heard it was good for you)

Beauty Tips For Body Care
Hey everyone. So, after 4 months of pain and not knowing why my skin wasn't improving, I've finally figured it out. And I feel like a huge idiot.I'm pretty new to SCA and skin care in general. I started the beginner routine, ordered an assload of Cerave, was so excited to finally get things underway -- and then my skin BLEW. UP. Red all over, itchy as hell, closed comedones and acne all over my cheeks where it was never that bad before.Cut to four months later and I have removed almost every 'trigger ingredient' that I can think of. Ditched all the Cerave, found a gentle cleanser (Cosrx low ph) and the most benign of moisturisers (Sebamed Clear Face and TO Squalane). After doing a lot of research through SCA and places like Simple Skincare Science, I decided to replace the ceramides and niacinamide that I'd be missing without Cerave and bought myself TO Niacinamide + Zinc, PC Skin Balancing Pore Reducing Toner and Cosrx Blackhead Power Liquid (all with niacinamide). Some improvement, not much, and while my skin overall felt more hydrated, my acne, itchiness and closed comedones did not go away. I was really careful too, did my best not to over-exfoliate, drank loads of water, rebuilt my moisture barrier. But something in my routine was still fucking me up.Every single night I would actually dread my routine because I would come out the other side with a horrible red, itchy face that would take ages an hour plus to subside and had me picking at my skin. I tried to stick with it because I have eczema and it's winter here and I thought this was all normal, and how could a simple serum and a toner hurt my skin really? But then randomly came across some posts about niacinamide sensitivity and it all clicked. I ditched every product I had with niacinamide and literally within a day, my skin stopped itching and I could actually do my routine without any pain.I never actually knew what niacinamide would do for my skin besides helping with blemishes. I had just read that it was good for you and it became one of those buzzword ingredients I'd look out for.So please, learn from my blind floundering through skincare products and really critically look at your routine if it isn't working. Don't just brush off pain and irritation as 'part of the process'. It's really easy on a place like SCA where most a lot of the advice is pretty anecdotal to get swept up in the hype. I saw so many rave reviews about niacinamide that I ignored both the negative ones, and my OWN SKIN telling me it could be a problem. So just add my tale to the big pile of cautionary tales on SCA.(As a side, positive note, this sub has really helped me find a routine that I like and boost my confidence hugely despite still being covered in acne, so thank you so much everyone, the dream of having clear skin keeps me going :') )
Girls Blog 2015
Submitted by tadisacat