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Niacinamide

Overview

Niacinamide is skincare ingredient that has become very popular with a reputation as a “do-it-all” product. It can be used for brightening dull skin; reducing fine lines and wrinkles; treating and preventing acne; and improving the skin’s barrier function.

Niacinamide (also known as Vitamin B3, Nicotinamide and Nicotinic Acid) is a versatile cosmetic ingredient that’s becoming increasingly popular - and for all the right reasons.

When used at the appropriate concentration, it can help with a wide range of skin concerns such as improving fine lines (wrinkles), fading hyperpigmentation, reducing pore size, improving skin barrier function and it also exhibits acne-fighting properties.

A long list of well demonstrated benefits paired with its safety makes Niacinamide a great addition to almost anyone’s skincare routine.

What does Niacinamide do for your skin

  1. Skin Brightening

    2. Niacinamide has become an increasingly popular ingredient due to its well documented ability to help fade and reduce hyperpigmentation. Multiple studies have shown that using a 5% Niacinamide cream over periods of 8-12 weeks significantly reduces and fades hyperpigmented spots on facial skin.1,2,8

    The mechanisms of it’s brightening abilities are thought to come from Niacinamide’s ability to suppress the transfer of melanosomes from melanocytes to keratinocytes by up to 35-68%.8

    What does this actually mean?

    Plain English Version:
    • Melanosomes can be thought of as little parcels of melanin pigment that take melanin from melanocytes (the producer of melanin) to keratinocytes (top layer of skin cells).
    • By disrupting this, Niacinamide prevents skin from darkening (from the excess melanin) and helps fade any existing hyperpigmentation.
    • This is great news as it means you can pair Niacinamide with other types of skin brightening ingredients that work with different mechanisms!

  2. Anti-Aging (Fine Lines + Wrinkles)

    3. In the same studies that were mentioned above, it was observed that Niacinamide also had the ability to help reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, even at a lower percentage. A 2% niacinamide cream applied daily over 8 weeks showed improvements in wrinkles around the eye area (also known as crow’s feet).6

    These anti-aging properties been shown due to Niacinamide’s ability to stimulate and boost collagen production. For those who need a refresher, collagen can be thought of as the building blocks of the skin: collagen holds the skin ogether, but the structure deteriorates as we get older because our bodies produce less collagen as we age.

  3. Acne-Fighting & Sebum Reduction

    4. Although it is not really known for, or often prescribed as, a first line of defense against acne, Niacinamide has made a minor case as a acne-fighting ingredient. In 2013, a study found that the use of a 4% Nicotinamide gel twice a day had comparable results to a 1% Clindamycin gel (a strong prescription antibiotic gel) for those with moderate inflammatory acne. An interesting takeaway from this study was that Nicotinamide was found to more effective for Oily Skin types whilst the Clindamycin Gel more effective for those with Non-Oily Skin.10

    This finding might actually tie into the results of another study that found Niacinamide could reduce sebum. The study applied a 2% Niacinamide cream daily over 4-6 weeks and found a reduction in sebum amounts and the secretion rate (although the degree varied)9. It seems that it Niacinamide’s acne-fighting efficacy could be related to its ability to reduce sebum (oil) production. Oily skin types are often found to be more acne-prone as demonstrated by a study that showed casual sebum level displayed positive correlation with number of acne lesions.11

    Interesting food for thought!

  4. Barrier Repair Function

    5. An underrated benefit of Niacinamide is its ability to help, repair and improve your skin's barrier repair function.

    A quick refresher to the skin’s barrier repair function:

    The skin’s barrier repair function refers to the ability of the strength of the skin barrier to protect itself from the external environment. It and also helps keep skin hydrated and healthy.

    Think of your skin as a brick wall made of lipids and fats. This wall is a barrier that keeps the moisture in your skin. A damaged barrier lets water out and allows irritants and allergens to get through which can irritate your skin.

    Niacinamide improves the skin barrier function by increasing the synthesis of free fatty acids, ceramides (sphingolipids) and cholesterol in your stratum corneum13 which results in a stronger barrier function. This has been observed in multiple studies where the use of Niacinamide containing formulation saw thickening of the Stratum Corneum (skin barrier) and more mature corneocytes (bricks) and subsequently saw less TEWL (Transepidermal water loss)3,7,12 indicating a improved barrier function.

    Simply put, using Niacinamide to improve your skin barrier can result in more hydrated, healthier and stronger skin - for those suffering from constantly dry, flaky, irritated or sensitive skin due to a compromised skin barrier, this provides great news!

How to use it and what to use it for

With its long list of benefits, it’s hard not to include niacinamide in your routine regardless of your skincare goals as it’s just a really great, all-rounder of a skincare ingredient.

Who can benefit?

Based on studies, Niacinamide seems to be effective at a concentration of 2-5% over an extended period of time of 8-12 weeks with noticeable effects on your skin from 4 weeks.

What products contain Niacinamide?

With Niacinamide increasing in popularity, it’s becoming easier and easier to find products containing it. To get the most benefit from the ingredient, it is best used in the form of leave-on products such as toners, emulsions, serums and moisturizers.

Try look for products that actually state the percentage of Niacinamide. If they don’t you can try to make an assumption of how much it contains based on its position within the ingredients list, although this isn’t always the case (for example, US based products will usually list ingredients based on concentration, but Korean products do not).

Things to note: Risks & Side Effects

Niacinamide is safe to use topically for most people. However there has been a few cases reported online by Niacinamide users that they’ve experienced allergies and breakouts when using products containing Niacinamide.

As with all products and ingredients, it is always recommend to patch test before liberally applying all over your face.

Myths

A common misconception is Niacinamide’s inability to be mixed with Vitamin C (another great brightening and anti-oxidant skincare ingredient) due to non-stabilized forms of the ingredients being used in studies. Because the ingredients were not stable, they reacted to one another. However, most forms of Niacinamide and Vitamin C used in modern skincare are stable and will not react when combined.

If you’re still worried, you can still use them separately!

Popular Products with Niacinamide

References:

  1. Topical niacinamide reduces yellowing, wrinkling, red blotchiness, and hyperpigmented spots in aging facial skin.
  2. Niacinamide: A B vitamin that improves aging facial skin appearance.
  3. Influence of niacinamide containing formulations on the molecular and biophysical properties of the stratum corneum.
  4. Reduction in the appearance of facial hyperpigmentation after use of moisturizers with a combination of topical niacinamide and N-acetyl glucosamine: Results of a randomized, double-blind, vehicle-controlled trial.
  5. A randomized, controlled comparative study of the wrinkle reduction benefits of a cosmetic niacinamide/peptide/retinyl propionate product regimen vs. prescription 0.02% tretinoin product regimen
  6. Evaluation of anti-wrinkle effects of a novel cosmetic containing niacinamide
  7. Niacinamide-Containing Facial Moisturizer Improves Skin Barrier and Benefits Subjects With Rosacea
  8. The effect of niacinamide on reducing cutaneous pigmentation and suppression of melanosome transfer
  9. The effect of 2% niacinamide on facial sebum production
  10. Topical 4% nicotinamide vs. 1% clindamycin in moderate inflammatory acne vulgaris.
  11. Facial sebum affects the development of acne, especially the distribution of inflammatory acne.
  12. Two randomized, controlled, comparative studies of the stratum corneum integrity benefits of two cosmetic niacinamide/glycerin body moisturizers vs. conventional body moisturizers.
  13. Nicotinamide increases biosynthesis of ceramides as well as other stratum corneum lipids to improve the epidermal permeability barrier.