Strange reaction to NIA24 sunscreen
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free skin care · Tue Jan 13, 2009 9:54 am

Last week I traveled on business to a sunny place (yeah, I know, poor me! Laughing

) and decided to bring my sample sized NIA 24 sunscreen instead of my trusty Avene Emulsion tinosorb sunscreen. I have to say, the texture of the NIA 24 is superb--silky and non-whitening in the slightest. And it did seem to protect, at least against UVB rays, since I didn't get any burning at all of my uber-pale skin during a noontime walk.

But, after three days of using it, I got red spots over my face, especially across the upper cheek and nose (where I double apply my sunscreen. At least 20 of them--about pea sized, not sore or tender, nothing to "squeeze" if I were naughty enough to do that--and not itchy either. But definitely present and embarassingly noticeable. Yikes!!

Anyone else had a similar reaction? Checking the ingredients, I noticed that silicones are quite prominent (which would explain the lovely silky texture). I've never been 'cone sensitive before, but is this reaction typical of a silicone reaction, for those who are silicone sensitive?

I'm really sad about this, since otherwise this sunscreen seems very nice as a non-chemical one.

free skin care · Tue Jan 13, 2009 11:06 am

Quite a few have broken out in an awful rash after using NIA24, but I haven't heard of anyone having quite the same reaction as you.

It's really annoying though, isn't it, after hearing about the great results some people get from the line!

http://www.essentialdayspa.com/forum/viewthread.php?tid=18153

free skin care · Tue Jan 13, 2009 11:44 am

flitcraft, in the ingredients listing, are there any ingredients that have the word "PEG" listed in them. There have been some problems for some folks who use sunscreens with PEG materials in them. Quite often an itchy rash can break out. I've even had it happen to me on vacation in Florida a few years ago. When I stopped using the sunscreen with the PEG materials in it, the rash went away. The combination of sun, sweat, and the PEG created an irritation.

That's not to say that all PEG containing materials are bad. (PEG means "polyethyleneglycol"). Some raw materials are not water soluble, so a PEG fraction is added to the raw material to make it somewhat more soluble in water. The more PEG you add to the ingredient (higher number next to the PEG) the more water soluble it becomes. In some cases, adding PEG to a material is the ONLY way that it will become water soluble, so that's why it is done. Most sunscreens are oil in water, or water in oil emulsions.

Just a guess, but it is a possibility.

free skin care · Tue Jan 13, 2009 1:52 pm

I used Niadyne a few year ago when it first came out. I had quite an allergic reaction to it as well! ( I also reacted badly to Idebenone.) Shock

I used the Niadyne for a few weeks until I got the reaction.

free skin care · Tue Jan 13, 2009 4:03 pm

NIA24 is something you need to introduce slowly into your routine. Someone pointed this out to me because I initially had some reaction to the products when I first started out. Mine was peeling skin on the face rather than rashes. One of the forum members pointed me to instructions on NIA24 website about using an Introductory regime. Starting out by using light application of the product on alternate days to give your skin time to adjust. Here is the link:
http://www.nia24.com/products/intro_regimen.cfm

I cut back on my usage and my skin has adjusted. However, I did find that the sunscreen gives the most side effects. I personally prefer the Skin Strengthening complex as it feels more comfortable on my skin.

Tue Jan 13, 2009 8:34 pm

Another possible culprit might be the % of niacinamide in the NIA products. As a new user, it could simply be that you need to go slower with it until you've acclimated to it...

Nimue wrote:

I've been using a niacinamide serum that I made myself and when I used too much I had a similar reaction... I've diluted it since then and I'm only using it about twice a week. But hey at least I know that it works, and it's the same as the expensive stuff. I'm convinced that it is a good active so I'm continuing with it. I highly recommend making a DIY niacinamide serum since it's so easy and cheap.

page 5 of the NIA24 thread mentioned above

free skin care · Wed Jan 14, 2009 10:47 am

Thanks for your suggestions, everyone. John, I did check the ingredients and there are two different PEG silicones listed. So that may be a problem.

And, now that I realize better that niacinamide has been a problem for some here, I will be more careful about using it--maybe mixing the sunscreen with another, non-niacinamide one to get my skin used to it. I have been thinking about adding the NIA24 facecream to my regimen, but I'm on a use-it-up-first kick right now as a New Year's resolution.

Wed Jan 14, 2009 6:18 pm

Niacinamide is a form of Niacin but is said to have lesser side effects than Niacin like possible flushing and itching. I guess, some skin might still have a slight reaction to it though. I agree that someone with sensitivity to this ingredient, which is said to be beneficial to the skin, could still use this by introducing this to his/her skin care regimen gradually.

havana8 wrote:

Another possible culprit might be the % of niacinamide in the NIA products. As a new user, it could simply be that you need to go slower with it until you've acclimated to it...

Nimue wrote:

I've been using a niacinamide serum that I made myself and when I used too much I had a similar reaction... I've diluted it since then and I'm only using it about twice a week. But hey at least I know that it works, and it's the same as the expensive stuff. I'm convinced that it is a good active so I'm continuing with it. I highly recommend making a DIY niacinamide serum since it's so easy and cheap.

page 5 of the NIA24 thread mentioned above

free skin care · Wed Jan 14, 2009 7:11 pm

The active in NIA24 is a strong one. I have fairly resistant skin and can tolerate prescription retinoids and AHA without major problems. But I had a lot of peeling with NIA24, much more than with retinoids and AHA. It was mainly because I underestimated the strenth of this active ingredient and merrily started off using a hefty amount of the sunscreen (I am conditioned into aiming for the 1/4 teaspoon "dose" on my face). The Introductory regime on the website says "thin layer" and recommends alternate day usage when starting off. So obviously I overdid it.

But it is worth persisting with this active because I have noticed it helped to flatten a lot of the bumps on my skin and skintone is also evened out since using it. The sunscreen is not my favourite formulation of this line (maybe the PEGs have something to do with it too) and my skin prefers the Skin Strengthening Complex. Pity it's so much more expensive.

free skin care · Fri Feb 20, 2009 4:54 pm

I'll chime in on the good advice already posted.... if you're new to NIA24, start slowly introducing it to your skincare routine especially if you have sensitive skin.

NIA24 sunscreen is...... absolutely...... my holy grail for sunscreen. The reason I came to EDS was because I was looking for sunscreens; after learning about the difference between physical and chemical, I was more comfortable with physical/mineral sunscreens that deflect UVA and UVB.

I was a little leery of the silicones in this product, but the silicones act as a makeup primer and sun screen as well. Given the generosity of the product, it's proven to be the best value as well.

free skin care · Fri Feb 20, 2009 5:57 pm

I just added some Nia24 products to my skin care arsenal, and am moving VERY slowly based on everyone's great advice!

free skin care · Thu Feb 26, 2009 6:16 pm

Just FYI,. Oil of Olay Regenerist uses niacinamide as well. I am not sure of the percent but I am fairly certain it is lower then the Nia24 line. If someone wants to try the niacin, and is concerned about side effects, this might be a good starting point. Oil of Olay Regenerist has a spf 15 formulation as well but I believe it uses chemical rather then physical sunscreen ingredients.

I have tried the Olay products and I like them ! That being said, I just purchased a full size of the Nia24 SS since I had no reaction to the sample.

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