Niacinamide (or Vitamin B3) is a buzzy ingredient in the skincare world. But what is it exactly? And how can you use it in your skincare routine?
Niacinamide is a very hyped ingredient with good reason, as it looks after your whole skin health. It’s a water-soluble, super stable, non-acidic, non-irritating wonder-ingredient that can be layered with lots of other skincare products. And it’s suitable for all skin types. Winner, winner.
The benefits of using Niacinamide
- It’s a really powerful antioxidant with anti-inflammatory properties – brilliant for redness, rosacea and sensitive skin.
- It’s anti-aging and very moisturizing with protecting properties. Studies have found that it can actually protect the skin from UV rays.
- It has been found to decrease oil production in the skin. If you have very oily or acne-prone skin it will help to manage excess sebum production.
- It’s fantastic for pigmentation and can slow down and stop the production of hyper-pigmentation in the skin.
- It’s a much less irritating alternative to Vitamin C.
- It promotes and increases the production of collagen, and overall promotes a healthy skin barrier.
What type of products should you look for?
Niacinamide is available in many different forms when it comes to skincare products (and it layers really nicely, too); it can be used in toner format, as a moisturizer, as a cleanser, or you can use a standalone Niacinamide serum.
When layering, it’s a great partner to Retinol as it helps to counteract irritation. It can also be used alongside Vitamin C, and nearly all other products in your routine. It’s a brilliant all-rounder.
Product Recommendations
If you’d like to add Niacinamide into your everyday routine, here are some of my favourite Niacinamide serums and boosters (boosters can be mixed with your regular moisturiser):
And other serums, moisturisers and cleansers that contain niacinamide:
I hope this guide is helpful 🙂
There are many more on my website, including a guide to Skincare Acids, Vitamin C, and SPF. I cover them more in-depth in my Instagram Stories Highlights, along with many other topics.
Some of the links in this post are affiliate, which means if you click on them and buy something, I make a small commission.