Niacinamide: The Superstar Ingredient That Should Be In Your Skincare Routine

What is niacinamide?

Niacinamide is a form of vitamin B3. In skincare, this type of vitamin is also known as nicotinamide, and in food it’s referred to as niacin. You can get it in supplement form, find it in foods like chicken, fish and many green vegetables, and niacinamide can be used topically on the skin to provide many great benefits. We’ll take a look at the skincare ingredient and its amazing perks for the skin below.

Niacinamide for skin - The key benefits

Unbelievably, niacinamide is just one of those great all-rounder ingredients that has so many benefits for skin. So, what are these niacinamide benefits? Where do I start?!

Large pores

Firstly, it’s great at minimising pores, which is fortunate, as I swear I nearly fell into mine when I looked in the mirror this morning. It cleverly and - more importantly - clinically shrinks large pores, tightening and allowing them to go back to their normal size by reducing excess oil and dead skin. And this is a huge challenge that not many skincare ingredients can claim to do. Niacinamide is most definitely on my skincare shopping list.

Uneven, dull skin

Next on the long list of niacinamide benefits - it improves uneven skin tone. Not only that but niacinamide also brightens skin and fights pigmentation. If your skin is looking a little dull, add niacinamide into your skincare routine and watch it start to glow. Ooooooh!

Anti-ageing

Oh and niacinamide is bloody brilliant at keeping skin looking young and radiant. How? Well, hydration is key when it comes to keeping skin looking more youthful for longer, helping prevent fine lines. And this marvel of an ingredient works by increasing ceramides, which help our skin retain water, and reducing transepidermal water loss, leading to a stronger, thicker skin barrier. It also boosts collagen and elastin, which help keep skin plump and youthful. Nice job niacinamide! Aaaand it even repairs damage. Now that is surely magic!

And that’s not even all…

Niacinamide for acne

Eeep! Another absolutely incredible benefit of niacinamide is that it calms acne prone skin, so if you’re struggling to find the right ingredient to help with acne-prone skin and the pigmentation that often comes along with it, niacinamide could be your new BFF.

Cheryl Cain - The Good Skin Guru - says, “I love niacinamide - especially for my acne patients. A lot of acne patients struggle with harsh and stripping ingredients, but the great thing about niacinamide is that it’s anti-inflammatory, it helps with pigmentation and inflammation that causes problems for people with acne.

It’s really hydrating too, so although it’s helping to combat oil production, it isn’t overly stripping the skin, and it’s providing a boost of hydration. So, for patients who have acne but aren’t excessively oily and struggle with harsher ingredients, niacinamide is a really great one for them.”

When to use niacinamide

Ok, so we know what it does, but where do you use niacinamide in your skincare routine? Well, thankfully it’s one of those ingredients that just seems to get on with others - the good kid - so you shouldn’t notice any issues when using it in conjunction with other ingredients, like AHAs, BHAs, and retinols, etc.

When it comes to when to use niacinamide, Cheryl says, “I tend to use it in my serums, so this will come in between your cleansing step and your moisturising step. I like to pair it with an excellent antioxidant serum (my particular formulation means I use antioxidants first and then my niacinamide serum second, but this may differ depending on a brand’s specific formulations) to get the best results for my skin. It’s always a good idea to speak to a professional who understands the formulations and can advise you on how to get best use from them.”

So, there you have it! Whether it’s fine lines and ageing, large pores, acne, pigmentation or dull skin that’s bothering you, niacinamide really is a superstar ingredient that has absolutely loads of great benefits! If you don’t already have it, add it to your list, and speak to a pro about how to get the very best results for you.

Glowday lists thousands of skincare experts. Find your new skin BFF today and get glowing!