Niacinamide: What you should know about rosacea, acne & co

Perhaps you're wondering if this active ingredient is right for you and your skin? We'll discuss a few situations to help you better assess whether niacinamide skincare is suitable for you.

Niacinamide for acne and “impure” skin

Does niacinamide help with pimples? Due to its sebum-regulating effect, it's a very interesting ingredient for people with acne. The stronger skin barrier makes it harder for pimples and blemishes to form. Niacinamide serums are therefore frequently used in acne treatment. If your skin produces oil unevenly throughout the day, niacinamide helps restore balance, reducing pimples and blemishes and, in the long run, preventing acne scars.

Brownish acne scars, hyperpigmentation, and pigment spots are common in acne-prone and breakout-prone skin. Niacinamide lightens these spots. Because niacinamide protects the skin from new inflammation, inhibits moisture loss, and makes the skin more resilient overall, acne scars can heal significantly better.

Do you have acne and have you had any experience with niacinamide? Feel free to leave a comment below so others can benefit from your experience.

Is niacinamide suitable for sensitive skin?

Many people tolerate niacinamide well, and allergies are rare. It is considered well-tolerated up to a concentration of 5%. If you follow our application tips at the end of this article, you can also use niacinamide on sensitive skin. And sensitive skin, in particular, benefits greatly from a strengthened skin barrier.

However, like all potent active ingredients , niacinamide can cause adverse skin reactions in sensitive individuals. At concentrations above 5%, the effect can be reversed. This is not simply an initial worsening of symptoms. More breakouts after using niacinamide, sudden redness, and an increase in persistent inflammation are signs that your skin is not tolerating the amount or frequency of niacinamide. A burning sensation is also a side effect. This can easily occur if you combine several niacinamide products. Niacinamide is often included in many cosmetic products. This can quickly amplify the effects, turning the otherwise beneficial niacinamide into an irritant.

Caution is especially advised when niacinamide is combined with acid peels or other acidic products. Acid peels should be used with caution on sensitive skin in any case.

If you currently have perioral dermatitis (over-treated skin) , niacinamide is not suitable. In the acute phase, only a complete cessation of treatment is effective. Only black tea compresses are advisable for soothing relief.

Is niacinamide suitable for rosacea?

Because rosacea is very sensitive to many stimuli, including those found in skincare, potentially even potent active ingredients can be too much. Some people with rosacea/couperose tolerate niacinamide, while others react sensitively and experience increased pustules, redness, and severe inflammation. This can also be due to the concentration used (over 5%).

Definitely start slowly: Begin with a lower dose and ideally test it on a small area. Be sure to also pay attention to the application tips at the end of this article and in the section above about niacinamide for sensitive skin. And listen to your skin's feedback.

Here you will find our Niacinamide Serum , which can also be suitable for the care of Rosacea / Couperose.

Niacinamide for dry skin

Is niacinamide beneficial for eczema or dry skin? Yes, you can use niacinamide even if you have dry skin or eczema. Because it moisturizes and strengthens your skin barrier, a niacinamide serum can be a helpful addition to a rich cream .

Are niacinamides suitable during pregnancy and breastfeeding?

Niacinamide is definitely suitable during pregnancy and while breastfeeding. (Unlike retinol, which you should not use during pregnancy.)

Pregnancy melasma can also be somewhat alleviated with niacinamide. However, no one can promise that it will disappear completely during pregnancy. Some women develop this hyperpigmentation due to hormonal changes during pregnancy. Others experience no skin changes.

Niacinamide is also well suited if you are prone to more inflammation and pimples during pregnancy and breastfeeding.

Many people tolerate niacinamide very well. Niacinamide (unlike many other active ingredients) is insensitive to light. Therefore, it can be stored in transparent packaging. However, there are a few things to consider:

What percentage of niacinamide is good for the skin?

Do not use products containing more than 5% niacinamide. The same applies if the amount is not specified. Unfortunately, most products on the market fail this criterion.

Niacinamide is generally well-tolerated up to a concentration of 5%. Higher concentrations of 4-5% are used, for example, in cases of more severe acne. Niacinamide is effective even at concentrations as low as 3% for pimples and inflammation. Therefore, the full 5% concentration is not always necessary. Particularly sensitive skin benefits especially from lower dosages (around 3-4%), which are still effective.

Below 2% niacinamide, you can usually skip the product altogether, as you won't experience most of its benefits. At that concentration, it will only act as a moisturizer. If you use multiple products containing niacinamide, you lose control over the overall effect. You might end up with too little or too much.

Niacinamide: How often should it be used?

You can use niacinamide up to once a day. If you use it more often, the amount can accumulate on your skin. In that case, the effect is not fully known. If you are unsure whether you can tolerate it, start by applying it every other day.

Tip: Encapsulated niacinamide is more effective and better tolerated.

To increase tolerability and effectiveness, you can use products with encapsulated niacinamide. Why? Our skin protects us from germs and bacteria. If the skin were simply permeable to all substances it comes into contact with, all these harmful things could have direct access to our bloodstream.

But this also makes it difficult for active ingredients to penetrate the skin and take effect where the inflammation is located.

To allow active ingredients to penetrate deeper into the skin, penetration enhancers are used. These can be oleic acid-rich plant oils, acids, or solvents such as alcohols. People with sensitive skin often don't tolerate these penetration enhancers very well. And even with such substances, there's no guarantee that the active ingredient will penetrate deep enough into the skin.

Since niacinamide works best when it comes into contact with the inflammation, the active ingredient can be encapsulated. You can think of the capsule as a small car that transports the niacinamide through the skin to the site of inflammation and releases it there. The skin acts as a gatekeeper, deciding whether the capsule can pass through or not. The more closely the encapsulation resembles skin, the better it can penetrate the skin layer. Liposomal capsules—tiny vesicles made of fat—are structured like our cell membranes. You can imagine them as tiny fat blisters containing the niacinamide.

This mechanism has three advantages (not just for sensitive skin):

Niacinamide does not unnecessarily irritate surrounding tissue and only works where the inflammation occurs.

At the same time, the effect is much more efficient, so you can expect more noticeable effects - unlike niacinamide serums, where the active ingredient is dissolved in liquid.

Thanks to encapsulation, a lower application concentration in the lower range between 3 and 5% is sufficient.

Mixing niacinamide with other active ingredients

Can I combine niacinamide and retinol together? And what about BHA and niacinamide?

They are actually quite easy to combine with other active ingredients. So you don't need to worry about whether your niacinamide serum is compatible with retinol, hyaluronic acid, enzyme peels , or azelaic acid . All these ingredients can be combined with each other.

What should I not combine niacinamide with?

You should only be a little careful when mixing it with acid peels . There are also potentially some things to consider when using vitamin C and niacinamide.

Combine niacinamide with BHA (salicylic acid) or AHA (fruit acid).

Application of Niacinamide in brief

• Only use products containing less than 5% niacinamide. There are also products where the concentration is well over 5%.
• Do not use any products where the concentration of niacinamide used is not specified.
• A low concentration (3-4%) is perfectly sufficient. If the effect isn't enough for you, you can always increase the concentration.
• If you only want the moisturizing or sebum-regulating effect, there are other milder products available, for example with glycerin or hyaluronic acid as moisturizers or with green tea to regulate sebum.
• Always take a longer break after acid peels before using niacinamide.
• Look for a liposomal encapsulated niacinamide serum . This makes it more tolerable and effective.
• If you want to use niacinamide: It's best to choose a single product containing niacinamide and ensure that the rest of your skincare routine (and your makeup) doesn't contain it. This gives you better control over the amount of the active ingredient. That's why we at Xeno only offer one product with niacinamide.
• Facial cleanser : Also check your cleanser or sunscreen for niacinamide. It is frequently found in these products as well.
• You can safely use niacinamide daily if the concentration is not too high and your skin tolerates it.
• Do not use combination products of acid peel and niacinamide, especially if the concentration is high or the pH is too low.