What is Niacinamide
Niacinamide, also known as vitamin B3 and nicotinamide, is a water-soluble vitamin that works with the natural substances in your skin to help visibly minimize enlarged pores, tighten lax or stretched pores, improve uneven skin tone, soften fine lines and wrinkles, diminish dullness, and strengthen a weakened barrier.
How it works
Niacinamide is a water-soluble vitamin, which means it is not stored in the body and is important to replenish. It can be supplemented orally through diet or applied topically with skincare products. Scientists theorize that niacin (and therefore niacinamide/nicotinamide) may be so beneficial because it’s a precursor to two super-important biochemical cofactors: nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+/NADH) and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADP+).
Both of these molecules are central to the chemical reactions that your cells need to repair damage, propagate, and function normally. Many of these essential reactions can’t occur at all without NAD+, which your cells can’t make without niacinamide.
By supplementing your body with this precursor, it allows more NAD+ to be produced. This fuels your cells to proliferate and also allows your body to absorb and neutralize more free radicals. Free radicals are molecules that have either lost or gained an extra electron. This makes them unstable and highly reactive, and in high enough doses, can damage healthy cells.
Benefits of Niacinamide
One of the most popular benefits of topical niacinamide is its ability to minimize the appearance of pores. It has a normalizing ability on the pore lining, and this plays a role in keeping oil and debris from getting backed up, and clogging pores.
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Niacinamide also helps protect against sun damage. Sun damage can cause pores to become stretched leading to what some describe as “orange peel skin”. By shoring up skin’s supportive elements, niacinamide often dramatically improves such skin plus minimizes fine lines and wrinkles.
Another incredible benefit of niacinamide is oil regulation which helps prevent sebaceous glands from kicking into overdrive.Â
It is claimed to have an anti-inflammatory effect which is why it is targeted towards those with acne-prone skin as it soothes breakouts and reduces redness. Niacinamide can also be used to treat dry, flaky skin due to its renewing and restoring abilities. It increases ceramide and free fatty acid levels in the skin which prevents water loss and stimulates microcirculation in the dermis.
Niacinamide helps build keratin, a type of protein that keeps your skin firm and healthy.
Niacinamide is a great team player and can be paired with other ingredients for a customized skincare treatment.
Using niacinamide and vitamin C together can improve skin radiance, even skin tone, reduce free radical damage from UV light and pollution, and increase skin elasticity.
Niacinamide and alpha arbutin are a powerful force in eliminating dark spots, evening skin tone, and reducing hyperpigmentation.
The duo of niacinamide and retinol helps even out skin texture caused by both blemishes and wrinkles with minimal irritation.
Congestion, enlarged pores, shiny, oily skin can greatly benefit from a combination of niacinamide and salicylic acid.
While layering niacinamide with ceramides can repair, restore, and fortify the skin barrier to reduce dryness, erythema, itching, and skin dehydration.
Food sources
When it comes to general skin health, you may obtain some of the benefits of niacinamide from the foods that you eat.
Vitamin B-3 is found in:
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eggs
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cereals
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green veggies
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beans
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fish
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milk
Eating a balanced diet is the best way to get micronutrients like vitamin B-3. You should only take supplements under medical supervision to treat deficiency. However, there’s no way to guarantee that the nutrients in your diet are impacting your overall skin health. To ensure that niacinamide is targeting your skincare concerns, it is best to apply it topically.
Our skincare top picks
Melan tran3x gel cream
Pigment control cream for daily use that acts gradually on epidermal dark spots to give a more uniform skin tone. It inhibits the mechanisms responsible for pigmentation to prevent the appearance of dark spots and stop them from reappearing. Quickly absorbed light gel cream texture.
Indicated for reducing pigmentation imperfections of any origin. It is safe for all skin types and suitable to use after professional pigment control treatments (cosmelan/dermamelan, IPL, laser, chemical peels, etc.), to boost and maintain the results and prevent pigmentation in the future.
Melan tran3x concentrate
Pigment control agent for daily use that acts on excess epidermal pigmentation by reducing the formed melanin and visibly reducing dark spots. Its ultra-light texture allows you to apply it before your usual cream.
Indicated for reducing pigmentation imperfections of any origin. This solution is safe for all skin types and is suitable after professional pigment control treatments (cosmelan/ dermamelan, IPL, laser, chemical peels, etc.), to boost and maintain results, and prevent pigmentation from rebounding.
Best for: hyperpigmentation
In both of these products niacinamide helps to prevent the transfer of melanin from the deeper to the outer layers of the skin, where pigmentation becomes darker and more visible.
Radiance brightening cream
Radiance gently exfoliates the skin and restores the skin’s radiance thanks to the synergy of high-performance acids and lightening agents in optimal concentrations. It is a highly effective treatment that targets an uneven complexion, reduces pigmented spots, and restores the skin’s natural luminosity. Suitable for all skin types.
Best for: uneven skin texture and tone, large pores, epidermal pigment spots
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