Vitamins and nutrients are essential for allowing us to live healthy, happy lives. You might even take vitamin supplements daily in order to make sure you’re chock full of the wonderful nutrients that nature has to offer.
Vitamin B5 is one of the most important vitamins for sustaining human life, so it’s necessary that your body is making enough of it. That’s where provitamin B5 can really come in and save the day. So, what exactly is it?
A provitamin is a chemical that acts as a precursor to a vitamin, meaning that it can be converted to an active form of a vitamin through normal metabolic processes.
So that means provitamin B5 (fancy name: panthenol) is the precursor to vitamin B5 (fancy name: pantothenic acid). It’s typically used in skincare because of its soothing and moisturizing effects.
Let’s take a look at everything there is to know about provitamin B5, including its benefits, uses, and sources. It’s pretty good stuff, so you’ll want to make sure you’re getting enough!
Where Does Provitamin B5 Come From?
Vitamin B5 occurs organically in your body, but it can also come from plant and animal sources. However, most cosmetic products utilize panthenol as well. It’s actually very likely that you have a personal care item that contains this compound right now.
When you put panthenol on your body through a moisturizer, shampoo, or lotion, it absorbs into the skin and becomes vitamin B5.
Benefits of Provitamin B5
Provitamin B5 is mainly used in skincare products. It has initial benefits for your extremities even before it gets absorbed and turned into regular vitamin B5.
It’s a Great Moisturizer
One of the main jobs that panthenol has in cosmetic products is that it’s really great at providing moisture to the skin. This is because it’s a humectant, meaning that it helps the skin attract water and hold onto it.
So provitamin B5 can help restore essential nutrients to the skin, helping to rejuvenate the surface by providing elasticity and hydration.
Panthenol may also be able to help the skin form more healthy lipids that act as a strong and healthy skin barrier. This can protect it against dryness, irritation, and flakiness, which can make it especially useful for people with eczema or dry skin types.
It Has Anti-Inflammatory Properties
Additionally, provitamin B5 has anti-inflammatory and skin-protecting abilities that make it great for lotions and creams. By reducing inflammation in affected areas, panthenol can help provide relief to seasoned joints and muscles while simultaneously restoring moisture to weakened skin.
Panthenol also promotes production of fibroblasts, which help product skin-firming collagen on the body’s surface. Collagen is the most abundant protein in your body, responsible for providing your skin with its elasticity.
Since panthenol can help with its synthesis, it means that it can also be helpful in wound healing and overall pain management.
It Can Be Used for Nail and Hair Care
The hydrating effects of provitamin B5 aren’t just skin deep. Nail and hair treatments that contain panthenol acid can help significantly increase hydration and durability of hair and nails.
You’ll probably find panthenol in tons of different shampoos and conditioners. It’s useful for rebuilding individual hair shafts that are often damaged from exposure to heat or blow dryers.
Not to mention, it might be able to use its humectant properties to lock in moisture and help prevent environmental damage. One study even found that panthenol was super effective in thickening the hair, making it useful for those who are concerned about hair loss and hair thinning.
What Happens After Provitamin B5 is Absorbed?
When your skin absorbs provitamin B5, your body will convert it into vitamin B5. Vitamin B5 is really important for your overall health. Like all B vitamins, B5 is important for converting protein, carbs, and fats into energy.
Vitamin B5 is used to make coenzyme A, which is a chemical compound that helps enzymes build up and break down fatty acids, as well as other metabolic functions.
But B5 has specific functions that make it super essential. These include:
- Making blood cells
- Maintaining healthy digestive tract
- Proper functioning of the liver and nervous system
- Making certain hormones in the adrenal glands
Sources of Vitamin B5
In addition to moisturizers and lotions that contain provitamin B5, you can get more B5 through a balanced, healthy diet. There are loads of foods that are high in pantothenic acid, but the best sources are chicken, beef, and organ meats.
With that said, vegans and vegetarians have nothing to fear! You can also stock up on vitamin B5 by eating foods like:
- Avocados
- Mushrooms
- Fortified cereals (which contain added vitamins and minerals)
- Nuts
- Yogurt
- Potatoes
- Brown rice
- Oats
- Broccoli
- Dairy products
You probably already eat a good chunk of foods that are high in vitamin B5 on a daily basis. Of course, you can take B5 supplements if you ever think you’re running a bit low.
Is it Possible to Have Too Much Vitamin B5?
The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for adults 19 years or older is 5 mg. However, pregnant or breastfeeding women should increase their intake to 6 mg and 7 mg respectively.
Even at high doses, pantothenic acid is regarded as safe. You’d have to take extremely high doses to feel adverse effects. And even then, it’s usually just an upset stomach or diarrhea.
Also, being vitamin B5 deficient is actually rare in the United States, so you’re probably getting enough of it. But signs that you might be a bit low are numbness in the hands and feet, fatigue, irritability, trouble sleeping, stomach pain, and nausea.
But since provitamin and vitamin B5 are so great for you, it’s pretty hard not to want to stock up all day long!
How To Use Provitamin B5
Panthenol is fairly harmless, i.e. it doesn’t really have any adverse effects when paired with other ingredients. This means that you don’t have to worry too much about what you’re using it with: just focus on how you’re using it.
Since you’re probably getting your panthenol from a moisturizer or topical cream, the best practice is to apply your provitamin B5 to freshly cleaned skin. This can help ensure that it doesn’t trap any excess dirt in your pores.
Smile’s CBD face cream incorporates provitamin B5 among its list of natural ingredients. This means you get the hydrating properties of B5 with the soothing properties of CBD all in one.
Moisturizing is especially important if you suffer from dry skin, as this can restore balance and hydration to the skin and give you a more glowing complexion overall. Also, panthenol isn’t oil based, so you won’t need to worry about it clogging your pores and causing breakouts.
Using it morning and night should be all you need, but since it’s unlikely to cause any irritation, you can probably use it as much as you want. However, it’s best to follow the instructions on the side of your product, just to play it safe.
If you choose to take a B5 supplement, you may not experience the same moisturizing benefits. With that said, it can still aid you in leading a healthy lifestyle overall.
In Conclusion
Provitamin B5, or panthenol, is the chemical precursor to vitamin B5, which is an essential bodily nutrient. Provitamin B5 can be produced organically, but it is often sourced from plants or animals for use in cosmetic products, particularly moisturizers.
Panthenol acts as a humectant, so it is effective in trapping moisture and keeping skin hydrated. On top of that, it has a number of anti-inflammatory benefits that make it useful in pain reduction. It’s also popular in hair and skin care for its ability to protect their natural barriers from environmental forces.
When provitamin B5 is absorbed, it gets converted into vitamin B5. This is one of eight essential B vitamins that make red blood cells and convert the food you eat into energy sources. You can get more B5 from most meats, but also from foods like mushrooms, avocados, or dairy products.
While using a moisturizer with panthenol is most effective during your morning and nightly routine, there’s really no wrong way to use it! Provitamin B5 is a great way to improve your appearance on the outside while also keeping your body happy on the inside.
Taking B5 supplements is great, but what if you got your provitamin B5 while simultaneously getting soothing benefits of CBD? Smile’s one of a kind CBD face cream combines the rejuvenating properties of provitamin B5 with the soothing properties of CBD for an all-around effective facial moisturizer. It’ll give you even more of a reason to smile every time you look in the mirror!
Sources:
https://incidecoder.com/ingredients/panthenol
https://www.healthline.com/health/humectant
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1365-2133.2011.10633.x
https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/DL-Panthenol#section=Uses
https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/pantothenic-acid-vitamin-b5/
