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Niacinamide: everything you need to know about this super skin ingredient
By Amber Voller &Chloe Burcham
2 years ago
All products on this page have been selected by the editorial team, however Stylist may make commission on some products purchased through affiliate links in this article
13 min read
Niacinamide is a super skincare ingredient that’s proven to treat everything from acne and dehydration to excessive oiliness and pigmentation. Here’s how to make it work for you.
If we asked you to think of a turbo-powered superstar skin ingredient, chances are the likes of vitamin C, hyaluronic acid and retinol would spring to mind. They’re the hero ingredients frequently lauded as complexion game-changers. But there’s another gentle giant quietly working away in some of our most-loved cleansers, serums and creams.
Forget a jack-of-all-trades, niacinamide is a master of everything. Tackling fine lines, hyperpigmentation, acne, oily skin, dehydration and uneven skin tone, niacinamide really is a serious skincare multitasker.
To grasp the true power of niacinamide, it helps to understand the skin’s barrier, which, in short, is the skin’s gatekeeper and the outermost layer.
When the skin barrier is doing its job properly, aggressors such as irritants and pollution are kept away while vital substances like oil and water stay locked in. Skin with a healthy barrier tends to be less sensitive and look radiant, calm, balanced and clear. But the barrier weakens with age, excessive use of acids and actives, over-exfoliation and too much sun.
By the time we’re in our 20s, 30s and beyond, it’s common for our skin barrier to need a helping hand. This is where niacinamide comes in – it strengthens that wall by boosting the production of ceramides (the bricks that make it up). It is also capable of blitzing pigmentation and is one of the few ingredients that can reduce sebum (oil) production, which in turn can help minimise acne.
“It’s straightforward to use and there’s a niacinamide product for everyone and at any price point,” says Dr Sam Bunting, founder of Dr Sam’s Skincare.
What is niacinamide and what is it used for?
Niacinamide is a form of vitamin B3 found in meat, fish, milk, eggs, green vegetables and grains. It is easily absorbed by the skin so it works brilliantly when applied topically in skincare, too.
If you’re a fan of featherweight textures, you’re in luck – niacinamide doesn’t dissolve in oil so you’re more likely to find it in water-based serums. It features in lots of skincare products, but it’s not always hailed as a star ingredient – probably because it does all kinds of jobs rather than one easily-marketed targeted effect – so it’s worth having a scan down the ingredient list to see if it’s included.
What are the benefits of using niacinamide on skin?
“There is plenty of research to back up the benefits of using niacinamide in skincare. Primarily, it helps to strengthen our skin’s important barrier. In turn, less vital water is able to escape. This results in a reduction of dehydration and fine lines leaving skin looking plumper, dewier and more youthful,” explains Shabir Daya, pharmacist and co-founder of Victoria Health.
“A stronger barrier also prevents as many irritants from getting in, so it’ll work wonders if your skin’s prone to sensitivity, blotchiness and redness. If you’re somebody with excessive oiliness, niacinamide helps to regulates oil production so your skin will feel more balanced and under control.”
“Niacinamide is also an anti-inflammatory so it’s useful in unclogging pores and reducing blemishes,” says Dr Bunting.
In an eight-week study, in which acne patients were treated with a 4% niacinamide gel, 82% found their skin improved and there were no side effects. In a similar rosacea study, 24 out of 36 patients showed an improvement. When those main issues are soothed, chances are you’ll start to notice smaller pores, too.
Can niacinamide be used on all skin types?
Absolutely. “Niacinamide is a brilliant all-rounder that the vast majority of people – of all ages and skin types – have no problem tolerating. I rarely see someone who doesn’t get on with it,” says Dr Bunting.
Different skin types will benefit from different aspects of niacinamide’s skill set. If you’re oily, you’ll love its oil reduction powers. For the acne-prone, it will help calm those angry red blemishes. If you’re sensitive, it’ll help soothe inflammation and reduce the risk of irritation going forward.
Dry skin will benefit from its help with ceramide production and, if you’re dehydrated, it’ll strengthen your barrier, which in turn will minimise that all-important water loss. Plus, it’s safe to use when pregnant and breastfeeding.
What’s the best way to apply niacinamide?
The beauty of niacinamide is that it’ll slot extremely easily into your existing routines. It’s found in everything from cleansers and moisturisers to serums, toners and sunscreens.
Dr Bunting suggests using a niacinamide serum or moisturiser at night and a sunscreen spiked with it in the morning. It’s safe to use all over (including the under-eye area) and there are no rules about how to apply it, although the same ethos applies as with all skincare: use the thinnest, most fluid products first and follow with thicker creams or oils after. Dr Bunting advises applying seven drops of most serums.
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When and how often should niacinamide be applied?
As it’s tolerated well by most people, niacinamide can be used twice a day every day. It works at any time of the year, although it comes in particularly handy in the winter when the weather is cold and dry, and there’s frequent use of central heating.
“It’s also a very useful ingredient if you’re about to start using skincare containing any new powerful active ingredients as it’ll make you less prone to irritation,” explains Dr Bunting. “This is particularly helpful with retinol products that have a tendency to be irritating. Retinol also impacts your production of ceramides so niacinamide will help build those up again. You’ll notice your skin’s less dry from the retinol as a result.”
Use it in the run-up before starting your retinol treatment and alongside it, too. Try using it directly before the retinol or use your retinol product at night and niacinamide during the day.
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How long does it take for niacinamide to work?
You’ll notice some effects immediately, although most of the studies on niacinamide showed results after 8-12 weeks. Look for products containing at least 5% niacinamide. That’s the percentage that’s been proven to visibly make a difference without causing any irritation. Products with higher concentrations do exist, although you might find they’re best targeted onto individual areas, instead, as they can be slightly more irritating.
Can niacinamide be used in combination with other ingredients?
Yes. There’s a misconception that niacinamide can’t be mixed with vitamin C but it’s not true; they won’t render each other less effective. Instead, they form a powerhouse combination that’ll leave skin looking more radiant, smooth and even.
It’s also compatible with peptides, alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs) like glycolic acid, beta hydroxy acids (BHAs) like salicylic acid and antioxidants.
Does niacinamide lighten skin?
Don’t worry, niacinamide won’t bleach skin. However, it is able to fade dark spots caused by age, spots or the sun, resulting in a more luminous, even skin tone.
“Niacinamide has a powerful hyperpigmentation-blitzing effect. It reduces the transfer of pigment called melanin from the pigment cells (melanocytes) to the skin cells. For that reason, it’s also really helpful if you’re prone to post-inflammatory marks left behind after blemishes,” notes Dr Bunting.
“It’s so effective it’s even used to reduce melasma – a condition with marked facial hyperpigmentation that’s notoriously difficult to treat,” adds Daya.
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Best niacinamide products to add to your skincare routine in 2023
Sunday Riley B3 Nice 10% Niacinamide Serum
If you suffer from dark marks or discolouration after you’ve had a blemish, this is the serum for you. 10% niacinamide works to improve the look of post-acne dark spots and scars, minimise the appearance of enlarged pores and brighten the skin.
Shop Sunday Riley B3 Nice 10% Niacinamide Serum at Cult Beauty, £54
The Outset Purifying Blue Clay Mask
This calming clay mask is great for unclogging pores and purifying the complexion without drying your skin out. Salicylic acid and niacinamide work together to gently exfoliate and nix blemishes, while leaving your skin soothed, soft and more radiant.
Shop The Outset Purifying Blue Clay Mask at Cult Beauty, £46
Olay Regenerist Whip Day Cream
Olay’s products are often regarded as niacinamide ‘originals’, as it was one of the first mainstream high street beauty brands to hero the ingredient. Procter & Gamble (which owns Olay) has also carried out various studies into niacinamide’s benefits, proving it improves the look of skin texture, hyperpigmentation, fine lines, wrinkles and red blotchiness.
The range boasts everything from serums (Dr Bunting’s pick) to eye creams and night creams, although we’re won over by this mousse-texture day cream with SPF30 that makes getting your niacinamide fix seriously easy.
Perricone MD High Potency Hyaluronic Intensive Serum
Perfect for thirsty skin, this hydrating lightweight serum combines four forms and two natural building blocks of hyaluronic acid, to plump your skin with moisture. Niacinamide is then used to brighten, leaving your complexion feeling smooth and supple.
Shop Perricone MD High Potency Hyaluronic Intensive Serum at Lookfantastic, £83
Dr Sam’s Flawless Moisturiser
When Dr Bunting recommends a product, you know it’s set to be fabulous. When she masterminds a product herself? You stash it in your online basket, pronto. This genius moisturiser focuses on simple yet proven ingredients to give skin the support it needs without pore-clogging greasiness or unnecessary add-ons. By day, use it before sunscreen. At night, it works as a lightweight gel cream to seal all your other potent treatments in and deliver lasting hydration.
Boasting that all-important 5% niacinamide level, it’s brilliantly calming and is particularly effective at combatting any tightness or dryness during acne treatment or retinol use.
Shop Dr Sam’s Flawless Moisturiser at Dr Sam’s, £27
Dr Dennis Gross B3Adaptive Superfoods Stress Rescue Super Serum
Stress wreaks havoc on the skin by triggering a response that can disrupt your microbiome and inhibit collagen production. This brilliantly lightweight, supercharged serum is designed to specifically target the symptoms of stress on our complexions, including worry lines, dullness, flareups and compromised skin. It’s packed with niacinamide and potent maitake mushroom, maca root and goji berry to help reduce redness and strengthen the skin barrier.
Shop Dr Dennis Gross B3Adaptive Superfoods Stress Rescue Super Serum at Cult Beauty, £74
Fresh Tea Elixir Skin Resilience Activating Serum
While this serum might be pricey, it sure is potent. Formulated with exclusive adaptive phytocompound tea technology (a unique tea plant that’s adapted over the last 130+ years to adverse growing conditions), it works to support the skin’s bioenergetic systems – boosting skin resilience and helping skin function at its best. The formula’s also bolstered with niacinamide to refine the skin’s appearance, hyaluronic acid to provide deep hydration and ceramides to strengthen the skin.
Shop Fresh Tea Elixir Skin Resilience Activating Serum at Space NK, from £68 for 30ml
Simple Booster Serum 10% Niacinamide (Vitamin B3)
Designed to bolster the effectiveness of your other skincare picks, this clever little booster allows you to cocktail your own skincare routine – with the addition of niacinamide. Containing 10% niacinamide and vitamin B5, it works instantly to hydrate, smooth and helps to strengthen and protect your skin barrier.
Shop Simple Booster Serum 10% Niacinamide (Vitamin B3) at Boots, £7.99
Naturium Niacinamide Serum 12% Plus Zinc 2%
Formulated to clarify, brighten and clear congested skin types, this niacinamide serum is seriously good. It helps even out skin tone, balance excess oil and minimise the appearance of fine lines and enlarged pores.
Formulated with niacinamide and zinc salt of pyrrolidone carboxylic acid, it’s a powerhouse serum that works hard to refine and purify the skin.
Shop Naturium Niacinamide Serum 12% Plus Zinc 2% at Space NK, £18
Garden of Wisdom Niacinamide Serum
If you like The Ordinary, you’ll love Garden of Wisdom (GOW), which has been an industry secret for years. Founded in Arizona over a decade ago, it’s silently been gathering devotees and is finally getting the recognition it deserves.
The products are all results-driven yet seriously affordable, with nothing over the £10 mark. This serum is a real bestseller. Its comforting gel texture has an immediate soothing effect while the 5% niacinamide works a treat at refining skin tone, reducing oiliness and minimising pore size.
Shop Garden of Wisdom Niacinamide Serum at Victoria Health, £12
The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%
You can always rely on The Ordinary to offer a stellar serum that’s fit for any budget. Don’t be fooled by the price tag, though. This is a whopping 10% niacinamide, making it a powerful targeted treatment. Niacinamide is paired with zinc, known for its oil-balancing effects, making this a brilliant option for blemish-prone, congested complexions.
The high concentration makes this serum most suited to specific areas of the face, rather than all over. Focus on your greasiest areas like the T-zone at first.
Cerave Foaming Facial Cleanser
Cerave is another go-to brand for affordable niacinamide-based gems. While you’ll reap the best benefits from leave-in products like creams, lotions or serums, this cleanser is a clever way to up your niacinamide usage. Most foaming washes are stripping, but this fragrance-free, non-irritating gel uses a bevy of hydration-boosting ingredients.
Along with niacinamide, there’s hyaluronic acid – a whizz at tackling dehydrated skin. Like the rest of the Cerave range, it’s also formulated with ceramides, another tool for reinforcing that all-important skin barrier. Switch your usual cleanser for it if you’re feeling sensitive or have overdone the actives and you’ll soon notice a calmer, hydrated and repaired complexion.
Byoma Moisturising Gel-Cream
Great skincare doesn’t have to be pricey, which is where Byoma’s range of affordable, no-frills skincare comes in. This lightweight gel-moisturiser contains ceramides, niacinamide and green tea to help support your skin barrier, leaving your complexion soothed and supple.
Paula’s Choice Niacinamide Booster
Skincare expert Paula Begoun is the brains behind Paula’s Choice, an award-winning skincare brand that uses only the best, results-driven ingredients to target your every bugbear. The Niacinamide Booster is a product Begoun herself uses every single day alongside vitamin C.
It’s another concentrated weapon starring 10% niacinamide for dramatic results – fast. We’re talking an impressive reduction in enlarged pores, uneven skin tone, wrinkles and dry skin.
You can apply two or three drops directly onto the face but the featherweight water texture lends itself to being mixed with your favourite serum, cream or lotion. As speedy as it is mighty.
EltaMD UV Clear Broad-Spectrum SPF 46
Another Dr Sam Bunting-approved product, this is a clever niacinamide-laden form of UV protection that delivers a double whammy of skin benefits. Since sun exposure can cause our skin’s barrier to take a beating, it makes sense to strengthen up that wall while shielding.
Apply this SPF as your final morning skincare step daily. It’s oil-free so suits complexions prone to spots and glides under make-up perfectly. Well worth a try if most sun cream formulas break you out or cause irritation.
Shop EltaMD UV Clear Broad-Spectrum SPF 46 at Amazon, £39.99
La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo+M
This is – you guessed it – another product that gets the thumbs up from Dr Bunting, who regularly treats acne sufferers in her clinic. Utilising niacinamide’s spot-zapping prowess, it works as a two-in-one treatment and hydrator. Apply it all over morning and night to quickly soothe inflammation and prevent new zits from cropping up.
While some popular blemish-tackling ingredients, like benzoyl peroxide, can react with fussy complexions, niacinamide gets the job done without any hassle while helping to fade the marks left behind by spots, too. It’s a great choice for tempering skin that’s blotchy and angry.
Alpha-H Vitamin B with Copper Tripeptide
This cocktail of serious, anti-ageing ingredients instantly boosts radiance. It doesn’t just use niacinamide – there are copper peptides in there, too. These help brighten and revitalise lacklustre skin, making it appear more youthful and rested in a flash.
You’ll also find nourishing chia seed and ferulic acid, another master at evening out skin tone. It feels ultra-fluid and light so will slot alongside your existing products with ease.
Shop Alpha-H Vitamin B with Copper Tripeptide at Cult Beauty, £32
Images: Stylist; courtesy of brands
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