Every brand is using niacinamide in their products, whether it be serums, moisturizers, face cleansers, sunscreens, or even some makeup. Brands think using niacinamide will get consumers to buy their products, similar to how they think saying ‘clean’ on their packaging will get people to buy their products. It makes sense why so many brands are using niacinamide in their products. Most ingredients can either do chemistry-defying work for your skin or lead to your skin faking a grunge style. Niacinamide does not fall under the latter category.
What I did not expect was all the misinformation about what niacinamide does.
Niacinamide, or Vitamin B3, appears to help skin retain moisture while keeping irritants out by strengthening the skin barrier function. Research shows that niacinamide can help regulate sebum production, which makes it a good ingredient for people with oily skin or people with a predisposition to skin breakouts. Niacinamide helps to reduce hyperpigmentation by disrupting the vertical transfer of melanin to skin cells over time. The process is gradual but it works.
Niacinamide is not the trendy active ingredient people are seeking to get glass skin in the time it takes to get a coffee. It works quietly behind the scenes and fosters other ingredients to do their job.
The hype for niacinamide is not justified. It’s not the ingredient itself that is hype worthy, but rather the concentration. 2-5% is the gold standard for concentrations with clinically proven anti-inflammatory properties. I’ve seen serums that contain niacinamide at a concentration of 0.5% marketed to be transforming, but in actuality it is not at a high enough concentration to do anything.
Another misconception with niacinamide is that it is an anti-inflammatory miracle ingredient that prevents the formation of acne. It does not. It may possess some anti-inflammatory properties to help calm some redness, but acne is caused by an inflammatory response to an obstruction in the pores. Drugs like benzoyl peroxide and salicylic acid target the formation of acne through an anti-inflammatory mechanism.
Niacinamide is typically marketed to not be used in conjunction with alpha and beta hydroxy acids. This is false. Modern formulations have a balanced pH and are designed to be used even in conjunction with niacinamide. I have personally used niacinamide with beta and alpha hydroxy acids, and retinol. Niacinamide can actually improve the tolerability of retinol when used in conjunction.
So who can benefit from using Niacinamide? Literally, everyone. It is a very low irritant active ingredient which means that it can also be used for more sensitive skin, skin with rosacea, or skin with a compromised barrier. It can even be used daily which means that it can be incorporated in your everyday routine, as it won’t make you sensitive to the sun like retinols and acids can.
There are some reports of people reacting negatively to Niacinamide and I know of some friends who have experienced breakouts with the use of high concentrations of Niacinamide, especially with levels above 10%. If you are interested in using Niacinamide for the first time, using a formulation containing 5% Niacinamide or even less is a good idea to see how your skin reacts. If your skin reacts negatively to a lot of products, it would be a good idea to patch test first.
Two years ago I began using a 5% Niacinamide serum because I had damaged my skin barrier from using too many acids. I honestly didn’t expect a lot from the serum. After a few weeks I noticed that my skin looked calmer, less red, and I had fewer breakouts. I was surprised by how well my moisturizer was working and it was just so much better without any annoying purging. I didn’t realize how bad the redness was until it was gone.
The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% will run you about 6 dollars and is a great starting point. Be aware that the 10% concentration might be a little too strong for some. If you want to try something else, I suggest Paula’s Choice 10% Niacinamide Booster, which is around $50 but less likely to cause pilling under makeup and other products. Both are good options. Pick one, use it consistently for a month and see if your skin starts to behave.
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