Niacinamide

Niacinamide Description

Niacinamide (also known as vitamin B3 or nicotinamide) is a unique skin-restoring ingredient that offers a multitude of benefits for skin. It is best known for its ability to help visibly reduce enlarged pores and improve uneven/dull skin tone. It also strengthens a weakened skin barrier.

An advantage of niacinamide’s antioxidant power is that it can help visibly repair damage from UV light while offsetting other sources of environmental attack (including the negative impact of airborne pollutants). Another helpful benefit is that niacinamide helps fortify skin’s surface against moisture loss and dehydration by boosting its natural production of skin-strengthening ceramides. Studies have also shown niacinamide has a positive effect on reducing wrinkle depth.

As if this weren’t enough, niacinamide is one of the precursors of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, known more commonly as NAD+. This coenzyme is responsbile for a redox reaction (the process of gaining or losing electrons) that provides energy for every cell in the human body. Decreased levels of NAD+ result in visible signs of aging, as well as other negative health impacts. Studies demonstrate niacinamide plays a key role in NAD+ synthesis by contributing to redox reactions and energy production in skin cells.

Unlike many superstar anti-aging ingredients, niacinamide is stable in the presence of heat and light. It is water soluble and presents as colorless needles or white crystalline powder in its raw material state.

Niacinamide offers benefits for skin starting in concentrations as low 0.2%, and the Cosmetic Ingredient Review Expert Panel concluded it is safe in concentrations all the way up to 20%.

Myths about niacinamide’s incompatibility with other “bio-active” ingredients have been dispelled, and in fact, research overwhelmingly shows complementary effects of combining niacinamide with other key anti-aging ingredients.