Ni
Niacinamide (Vitamin B3)
NiacinamideSoothing
It supports the skin barrier and evens tone, and works alongside most other ingredients.
What it does
It helps skin make more of its own barrier fats and fades dark spots. Its effect on oil is mixed.
The evidence, graded
strongIn the trials Drop has read, 2% niacinamide lowered the sebum excretion rate after 2 and 4 weeks in one group — and in a second group at 6 weeks it lowered casual sebum but not the excretion rate. 5% decreased hyperpigmentation and increased skin lightness against vehicle after 4 weeks. A separate 5% trial ran 12 weeks, measuring every 4, and improved fine lines, spots, blotchiness, sallowness and elasticity. Twelve weeks is the longest anything here was measured for.Bissett 2005 · Dermatologic Surgery ↗
expert consensusFine together, in either order. Neither source mixed vitamin C and niacinamide: one measured 5% niacinamide alone for 12 weeks, the other reviews topical vitamin C alone. Neither describes one canceling the other, or shows the pair beating one alone.Bissett 2005 · Dermatologic Surgery ↗
expert consensusNiacinamide and zinc are fine together, layered or in one bottle. In one study, 5% niacinamide on half the face for 12 weeks improved fine lines, dark spots, red blotchiness, dull tone and elasticity. The zinc source covers wound healing and inflammation. The two are often sold for oily skin, but neither source measured oil.Bissett 2005 · Dermatologic Surgery ↗
emergingFine together, in any order — in one study, niacinamide on dry skin raised the fats in the skin’s outer layer and cut the water the skin lost. Hyaluronic acid is the molecule skin itself uses to hold water.Tanno 2000 · British Journal of Dermatology ↗
emergingFine together — in one study, a niacinamide moisturizer eased the start of a retinoid. People used it on one side of the face and a plain one on the other, then started tretinoin on both sides two weeks later. The authors conclude that side got through the first weeks more easily and responded better. That moisturizer also held panthenol and vitamin E, and the retinoid was tretinoin, not retinol.Draelos 2006 · Cutis ↗
Graded per the methodology: strong · moderate · emerging · expert consensus. A weak source on a strong claim gets the weaker label.
What it won’t do
It won't reliably cut oil. In one trial group, 2% niacinamide cut how much oil skin made after 2 and 4 weeks. In a second group, at 6 weeks, it cut the oil on the surface but not how much skin made. Bissett 2005 · Dermatologic SurgeryIt won't replace a retinoid or structurally shrink pores. No credible trial supports either — if a label promises that, the label is overreaching.
Also known as
nicotinamide
Pairs worth knowing
Read more
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