FOLIC ACID

📋 Quick facts

Description: FOLIC ACID — vitamin B9, antioxidant support, skin conditioning.

All Functions: vitamin B9, antioxidant support, skin conditioning

Quick Facts:

• Category: active

Proven Benefits At A Glance:

• Folic acid is a B vitamin essential for DNA integrity and function
• Research on topical folic acid delivery is emerging, using nanotechnology to improve skin penetration
• Systemic folic acid supplementation during pregnancy may increase risk of allergic diseases in children, especially respiratory allergies
• High-dose folic acid supplementation trials showed no significant increase in cancer risk over 5 years
• Folic acid may help manage chronic inflammatory skin conditions like psoriasis when deficiency is present

📊 Comedogenicity

🛡️ Safety rating

Safety tier is a starting heuristic from regulatory status and comedogenic rating, not a dermatological verdict — see our Terms for the full disclaimer. Research confidence reflects how many real cited studies back this ingredient, not the strength of their findings.

🌍 Regulatory Status

💧 Skin Type Compatibility

⚠️ Don’t Combine With

📚 Research & Evidence

🔬 The Science

Folic acid is a B vitamin that plays a foundational role in DNA integrity and function (J Dermatolog Treat, 2007). When the body doesn’t have enough folic acid—a state called relative deficiency—it can occur during pregnancy or in conditions involving rapid cell turnover or chronic inflammation. #1: For inflammatory skin conditions, folic acid supplementation appears reasonable as a therapeutic option in patients with moderate to severe chronic inflammatory skin diseases like psoriasis, particularly those who also have elevated homocysteine levels (a marker linked to cardiovascular risk) and low plasma folate (J Dermatolog Treat, 2007). #2: However, for pregnant women and developing children, the picture is more complex.

A meta-analysis of 15 studies including over 244,000 participants found that maternal folic acid intake below 400 micrograms per day during pregnancy was associated with increased risk of allergic diseases in infants and children, with the strongest association for respiratory allergies like asthma and wheezing (Front Pediatr, 2020). This suggests pregnant women should monitor total folic acid intake from both supplements and fortified foods. #3: Regarding cancer risk from high-dose supplementation, a large meta-analysis of 13 randomized trials with nearly 50,000 participants found no significant effect on overall cancer incidence or site-specific cancers (colon, prostate, lung, breast) during an average 5.2 years of treatment (Lancet, 2013).

The doses used in these trials were substantially higher than typical food fortification levels. On the topical skincare side, recent research (ACS Omega, 2024) has explored using nanotechnology—specifically layered double hydroxide carriers—to deliver folic acid through the skin. Laboratory studies showed this approach improved skin penetration and demonstrated antioxidant activity similar to free folic acid, with no cell toxicity in skin cell cultures. However, this research remains in early development stages and has not yet been tested on human skin in real-world conditions.

📄 Related Research

Matched by search — not necessarily verified support for every statement above.

• Cohn BA (2002). Sunlight, skin color, and folic acid. J Am Acad Dermatol.
• Gisondi P et al. (2007). Folic acid in general medicine and dermatology. J Dermatolog Treat.
• Chen Z et al. (2020). Effect of Folic Acid Intake on Infant and Child Allergic Diseases: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Front Pediatr.
• Vollset SE et al. (2013). Effects of folic acid supplementation on overall and site-specific cancer incidence during the randomised trials: meta-analyses of data on 50,000 individuals. Lancet.
• Kleyi P et al. (2024). Folic Acid-Intercalated Mg/Al Layered Double Hydroxides-A Multifunctional Nanohybrid Delivery System for Topical Applications. ACS Omega.

🧴 Products Containing FOLIC ACID

• Nivea, Nivea Men NIVEA Men Hyaluron Anti-age Gezichtscrème
• Natura Siberica Conditioning spray
• Nature’s Answer PerioBrite Mouthwash
• Williams Louisiana Style Gumbo Home Style Soup Mix
• mouthwash
• Spring Valley Women’s Multi With Fruits & Vegetables
• Sephora Beauty insider
• Revita Apple cider vinegar
• FILORGA TIME-FILLER Crème Absolue Correction Rides
• Fresh & Easy Cornbread
• Filorga Filorga Hydra Filler 50ML
• Apokra APOKRA Breastfeeding Vegan
• iron and vitaminas
• 8Greens Daily greens
• Sunlife Multivitamin