et Skin Series: Vitamin B5

CAIRO – 23 February 2018: Vitamin B5, also known as pantothenic acid, is a water-soluble vitamin that is found in all living cells in a body.

It plays many roles regarding your health, such as converting nutrients from food into energy, balancing blood sugar, reducing bad cholesterol, lowering high blood pressure, preventing nerve damage and pain, and preventing heart failure. It also helps maintaining and regulating your metabolism.


Salmon is a good source of vitamin B5. Via CC/Pexels.

A deficiency in vitamin B5 can manifest itself as fatigue, depression, irritability and insomnia, among other symptoms. People at a greater risk of developing a vitamin B5 deficiency include alcoholics, women on oral contraceptives/birth control pills and people with severe malnutrition.

When used in skincare, vitamin B5 is converted to provitamin B5, which is called Panthenol. Panthenol is a fantastic skincare ingredient, as it can help to heal, protect and hydrate the skin. It is a humectant, meaning it can bind water to the skin to increase hydration, and also improve its softness and elasticity. It offers relief from itchiness and pain, and it reduces redness. Wounds treated with provitamin B5 have resulted in regenerated tissue that is more solid and elastic. These properties make it an excellent ingredient for anyone with dry, tight, dehydrated or acneic skin.