Everything You Need to Know About Niacinamide 

Jan 06, 2024

If your niacinamide knowledge begins and ends at “TikTok says it will make my skin glow,” you’ve come to the right place. Welcome to Niacinamide 101, your crash course on this buzzy skincare ingredient.

Read on for the 411, plus shop our favorite niacinamide skincare products.

Other names: vitamin B3, nicotinamide

Benefits: brightening; minimizes redness, inflammation, pore appearance, and fine lines; prevents breakouts; improves skin barrier

Application: in the morning and/or evening

Pairs with: other antioxidants (like vitamin C); retinoids; acids

Good for: all skin types

Side effects: not common; may cause redness, itching, and burning in high concentrations of topical products

Niacinamide boasts many benefits when applied topically, as evidenced in studies of products containing a concentration of 4 to 5 percent. It helps to:

Brighten skin: Some studies have shown niacinamide to be a brightening agent that’s beneficial for hyperpigmentation.

Minimize appearance of pores: Clinically, niacinamide has been shown to reduce the appearance of pores and uneven skin after eight weeks.

Minimize visible signs of aging: Evidence suggests that niacinamide helps reduce fine lines, wrinkles, and sallowness, and improves skin’s elasticity.

Control breakouts: A powerful anti-inflammatory ingredient, niacinamide can calm swelling and redness caused by acne and help regulate oil production.

Improve skin barrier function: Niacinamide increases ceramide and free fatty acid levels in the outermost layer of our skin, reducing trans-epidermal water loss. (It keeps water in our skin from evaporating.)

One of our favorite things about this vitamin is its versatility. It plays nice with most other ingredients and gets a boost when paired with other potent antioxidants. Niacinamide also works well with retinoids, retinol-alternatives, and acids.

Our CCO loves this Tahnyc serum because it’s super thin and can be added to any other serum like a booster. (There’s also a version containing 5% niacinamide.)

This time-released treatment has just about everything you could need in one product: retinoids, lipopeptides, hyaluronic acid, and niacinamide—gang’s all here!

In addition to niacinamide, this light liquid also contains soothing and antioxidant-rich allantoin and licorice extract, along with brightening vitamin C.

This is the body wash that helped our wellness editor banish her strawberry skin!

Another of our wellness editor’s faves, this treatment brightens and plumps under eyes. Plus, it’s super fun to apply.

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