Ingredient Focus: Benefits of Niacinamide

niacinamide benefits
Just like vitamins are an essential component of a healthy nutritional plan, they’re also beneficial for your skin. Niacinamide, a form of vitamin B3, has been clinically proven to help support a variety of skin issues and signs of skin aging. These include acne, wrinkles, eczema, hyperpigmentation, fine lines, dryness and oily skin. Similar to how you might nourish your body with a vitamin B3-rich diet of green vegetables and whole grains, applying niacinamide topically using skincare can support healthy cells and skin appearance. You’ll find niacinamide in a variety of skincare products. These include serums, night creams and other skincare solutions. Keep reading to discover how niacinamide works to repair and protect your skin from the inside out. Browse products formulated with niacinamide in Biopelle’s skincare collection.

What is Niacinamide?

Niacinamide is essentially a vitamin—B3, to be exact. The body can make niacinamide from excess niacin, which is the other form of vitamin B3. Also known as nicotinic acid, this compound is essential for healthy cell maintenance and the proper functioning of sugars and fats. It’s found in foods like meat, fish, green vegetables and beans. As a skincare ingredient, niacinamide is considered an antioxidant, a group of ingredients that can protect your skin from free radical damage, as well as helping with brightening, moisturizing and cleansing. It’s of note that niacinamide is a water-soluble antioxidant, meaning it doesn’t play nice (or dissolve) in oil. This means when it is found in skincare products, it is often in water-based serums, mists, and gels, making it ideal for those who don’t love the feel of oil-based products.

Benefits of Niacinamide

As mentioned previously, there are a variety of ways to introduce the benefits of niacinamide. You can find it in your diet or take supplements, but it can be used topically very effectively. That’s because niacinamide is skin permeable, meaning it can be absorbed through your top layer of skin (the stratum corneum) in concentrations that can actually improve skin health and appearance. Niacinamide offers a wide variety of benefits, meaning it can be misunderstood and hard to capture them all. Some types of the benefits of topical niacinamide benefits include these properties:
  • Photoprotective
  • Anti-inflammatory
  • Antimicrobial
  • Sebostatic (sebum reducing)
  • Antipruritic (soothing)
  • Lightening
What does that mean for your skin in practice? A study published by the National Library of Medicine found because niacinamide helps your skin retain moisture, niacinamide can help:
  • Improve the surface structure of aging skin
  • Smooth out wrinkles
  • Reduce inflammation, redness and blotchiness
  • Minimize pore size
  • Brighten skin tone
  • Improve pigmentary disorders
  • Support acne-prone skin
Since niacinamide in skincare like Emepelle Serum helps with cell maintenance and provides additional antioxidant protection, it can help protect against sun damage, as well.

How Does Niacinamide Work?

Without getting too deep into chemistry, niacinamide helps support the ability for your cells to repair skin damage. This is because niacinamide helps build proteins in your skin and lock in moisture. A study published in the “Journal of Dermatology” found niacinamide helps the production of ceramides—natural fats in skin that help maintain the skin’s protective barrier and can decrease water loss in dry skin. A study published in the “New England Journal of Medicine” found niacinamide use was associated with a decreased risk of developing skin cancer. When you apply skincare with niacinamide, it helps to stabilize your skin’s barrier, which regulates skin moisture and water loss. That, in turn, can prevent skin issues like dryness or skin that is overproducing oil to compensate, leading to oiliness.

When will I see results?

We advise that you should expect to see noticeable improvements to your skin between 4 to 8 weeks. However, everyone’s skin can be different. If you’re persistently not seeing results, you may want to consult with a dermatologist or make adjustments to your skincare regimen as a whole.

How Can I Incorporate Niacinamide into My Routine?

As previously mentioned, niacinamide is a water-soluble compound, so it’s likely in water-based products. The use of niacinamide products will vary. Niacinamide is often found in serums, like the Tensage Daily Serum. Use your serum after regular cleansing and toning and before moisturizing. If you’re using a night cream with niacinamide, like the Emepelle Night Cream specifically designed for aging skin, apply the night cream to cleansed, dry skin at night. Like many aspects of skincare, niacinamide doesn’t exist in a vacuum and is likely being used with other ingredients, which can boost its effectiveness. Using niacinamide and kojic acid together as found in KNR Serum can help brighten skin tone, improve skin texture and diminish the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.

Why Choose Biopelle on Your Skin Aging Journey

Biopelle is a dermatologist-recommended skincare line that uses a variety of high-powered ingredients that are known for their results. The Emepelle collection features niacinamide at potent levels—4% in the Emepelle Serum and 8% in the Emepelle Night Cream—and KNR Serum uses niacinamide as a key ingredient to help with brightening and evening skin tone. Biopelle has skincare for all skin concerns, including skincare for anti-aging, skincare for estrogen deficient skin and skincare for hyperpigmentation. Shop skincare recommended by dermatologists for whatever solution you want for your skin.