VITAMIN B5

What Is Vitamin B5?

Vitamin B5 is a water-soluble vitamin that is present mostly in plant and animal-based foods such as eggs, seafood, fruits, legumes, cereals, and milk. It is a B-complex vitamin, which regulates various biochemical processes in your body and is regarded as the foundation of your optimal health.

Vitamin B5 is commercially available as pantothenic acid, a laboratory-prepared chemical. Pantothenic acid is commonly used in skin and hair care products, as well as in medications and oral supplements. The alcohol form of pantothenic acid (Vitamin B5) is panthenol (  provitamin B5).


How Vitamin B5 Works?

Vitamin B5 is used by your body for a number of important process including maintain proper operation of your liver and nervous system, maintaining the correct functioning of your digestive system, synthesizing red blood cells (RBCs) to transport oxygen in the body and maintaining the health of your face, eyes, and hair.


What Vitamin B5 Does To The Skin?

Vitamin B5, unlike other traditional moisturizing ingredients, has the added benefit of serving as both a humectant and an emollient. Humectants draw and attach water to the surface, while emollients seal in the skin's holes, trapping the water in.

  • Skin-moisturizing Properties: Applying vitamin B5 to the skin reduces water loss and aids in moisture retention. This prevents dry skin, flakiness, and itchiness while still maintaining the skin's softness and elasticity. It also aids in the preservation of the skin's barrier function.
  • Antioxidant Properties: Provitamin B5 increases glutathione content in the skin. This portion binds free radicals and peroxides, reducing the accumulation of melanin and the presence of dark spots on your skin.
  • Skin-healing Properties: Applying pantothenic acid to wounds will help them heal and make scars less noticeable. This is due to the fact that pantothenic acid promotes the development of structural proteins (such as collagen) that your skin requires to maintain its health.
  • Anti-inflammatory Properties: Dexpanthenol has anti-inflammatory properties on the skin. It assists in soothing the skin from erythema or redness caused by UV damage when applied topically.
  • Anti-aging Properties: Provitamin B5 aids in the development of fibroblasts in the middle layer of your skin (where wrinkles form) and increases collagen, glycan, and elastin production, making your skin look younger.


Reference Sources

  • "Pantothenic acid: Fact Sheet for Health Professionals". Office of Dietary Supplements, US National Institutes of Health. 3 June 2020. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  • Gropper SS, Smith JL, Groff JL (2018). Advanced Nutrition and Human Metabolism (7th Ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning. pp. 330–335. ISBN 978-1-305-62785-7.
  • Otten JJ, Hellwig JP, Meyers LD, eds. (2006). "Pantothenic Acid". Dietary Reference Intakes: The Essential Guide to Nutrient Requirements. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. pp. 270–273. ISBN 0-309-10091-7.