What Is Niacinamide?

Esnath M
Feb 19, 2021
3 min read

The skincare ingredient that's currently making waves, Niacinamide!

Also known as Vitamin B3 the claim

is it reduces inflammation, When skin is chronically inflamed this condition causes lines and wrinkles, the skin starts to lack lustre and ages poorly.

This is where the use of niacinamide in skincare claims to help ease irritation, breakouts, and other inflammatory skin conditions.

Vitamin B is suppose to give the illusion of smaller pore size, regulate oil just overall making Skin texture less visible, which gives the appearance of a smooth silky derma.

Niacinamide has many claims to it’s name it is suppose to boost hydration, fade hyperpigmentation help with acne and brighten the skin tone too.

There isn’t much it doesn't claim to help with leaving me wondering is this too good to be true?

Apparently not!

Paula Begoun, founder of Paula's Choice, believes this is one case where we really should believe the hype. 'Topically, niacinamide has so many ways to help skin it’s mind boggling,' she says.

'Extensive research has shown niacinamide works to protect skin from environmental damage and also helps skin make more collagen and hyaluronic acid. It improves hydration, reduces signs of ageing, diminishes enlarged pores, and significantly lessens skin discolouration', says Paula.

How long has this ingredient been in use?

Niacinamide, in relation to skincare was first put under scrutiny in a study 45 years ago in 1976 and since then has become a well renowned cosmetic ingredient skincare formulations for acne, eczema, rosacea and skin discoloration.

Indeed, the studies do stack up in niacinamide's favour.

I have personally have used Niacinamide for a long time especially in my 20’s when I was at the prime of moderate acne suffering.

It’s possible that a combination of

Niacinamide and other ingredients could

have helped to improve my skin overtime; though the one product I used and would appear to have had a significant

effect on my skin when I stopped using it was a product that had at least 10% vitamin B3.

Concerns

You might have read or heard that niacinamide and vitamin C shouldn’t be used at the same time, whether found together in the same product or applied separately one after the other. Rest assured, this combination is fine and is in fact quite beneficial! That said in my experience using two separate products that are not from the same brand or that are not formulated to be used together can

lead to irritation.

The idea of this misconception of incompatibility came about when a research was conducted in the 1960s; the forms of niacinamide and vitamin C used in this study were not stabilized even though we know niacinamide itself is very stable, unlike Vitamin C.

A likely explanation that brought about the conclusion of incompatible is product formulation was not as advanced at the time as it is now.

Today, cosmetic chemists use sophisticated products formulation & testing technology helps them find how to ideally combine niacinamide and vitamin C in the perfect base formulas that enhance their compatibility.

The other common concern has been about the Ph of the two products not being compatible.

“The concern is that the acidic environment ascorbic acid needs to be most effective will cause niacinamide will convert to nicotinic acid, a form that can be sensitizing, possibly inducing redness. Good news: This conversion process would only happen under conditions of the formula being exposed to very high heat for a long period of time. This would not apply to layering skincare products or to heat conditions that occur during manufacturing, transport, and storage of cosmetic products that contain niacinamide and ascorbic acid.” Quote

Niacinamide can be found in cleansers, Essences, sheet masks, lotions, face cream and serums.

Depending on the formulation, Vitamin B products are usually gentle and can be used everyday even on sensitive skin just follow the instructions.