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

One active ingredient is currently being hyped a lot, especially on social media. That's why we've been getting questions about it again and again. It's about niacinamide.

What does niacinamide do in skin care? How well tolerated is it, especially for sensitive skin? In this article, you will learn everything about the cosmetic ingredient.

Niacinamide is a derivative of vitamin B3 (niacin). Niacin is found in some foods and is also used for medicinal purposes. As a cosmetic ingredient, niacinamide strengthens the skin barrier and thus counteracts inflammation, blackheads, "blemishes" and underlayers.

You can find the active ingredient in a niacinamide serum or as an ingredient in creams, sunscreens or other cosmetic products. In recent years, the ingredient has been used almost inflationary. Sometimes in the form of 10% boosters. Or in lower concentrations in everyday products such as sunscreens . The problem is that above 5%, the effect can be reversed. Since the active ingredient is currently omnipresent, it can quickly happen that large amounts of niacinamide accumulate even though you only use products with a low dosage.

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What does Niacinamide do? Niacinamide works on the skin in many ways. For example, it helps to strengthen the skin barrier, works against pimples and keeps the skin healthy and firm. Niacinamide is therefore a real all-rounder if you use the active ingredient correctly.

Niacinamide from 2%

Niacinamide has a moisturizing effect at a concentration of 2% or more. However, that alone does not make the active ingredient so special, as there are many other well-tolerated moisturizers, such as hyaluronic acid, glycerin , ectoin , etc.

Niacinamide from 3%

At a concentration between 3% and 5%, niacinamide has a number of positive effects:

• Niacinamide strengthens the skin barrier by promoting the formation of ceramides and cholesterol. Together with the moisturizing effect, the strengthened skin barrier ensures that your skin loses less moisture. Niacinamide can therefore be very helpful for dehydrated oily skin (dry, oily skin).
• Niacinamides can reduce redness and are therefore (at concentrations below 5%) also a useful active ingredient for rosacea , atopic dermatitis and other sensitive skin conditions such as neurodermatitis, psoriasis, etc.
• Niacinamide has a sebum-regulating effect and is often used as an active ingredient in acne treatment .
• Niacinamide can also lighten acne scars, hyperpigmentation and pigment spots. If your skin tends to have stronger pigmentation under the eyes, niacinamide is also suitable. Hyperpigmentation is not a problem for the skin. Decide for yourself whether it bothers you.
• Niacinamide can also be used to reduce freckles . However, the freckles will quickly return in strong sunlight. Freckles are a protective mechanism of fairly light skin against UV radiation. They are completely fine and even with sufficient sun protection, the odd freckle will show through, as no sun cream in the world can protect your skin 100% from the sun. It's good that your body has a little emergency plan for your light skin. And it's like with hyperpigmentation, some have it, others don't. Some people want freckles, others hate having them. And only you can decide about your skin.
• Niacinamides are able to stimulate the formation of collagen fibers . The firmer and more developed the network of collagen fibers in your skin is, the firmer and smoother the skin is. This reduces wrinkles. As mentioned, they build up the skin. This is why niacinamides are also seen as an anti-aging ingredient. We prefer the term healthy aging .

So if you want to do something good for yourself, have a restorative effect on your skin and at the same time want to address one of the problems mentioned above, a niacinamide serum with 3-5% niacinamide is a useful skin care product.

Niacinamide from 5%

If the dosage exceeds 5%, the positive effect can be reversed.

Maybe you're wondering whether the active ingredient is the right one for you and your skin? We'll look at a few situations so you can better assess whether niacinamide care is suitable for you.

Niacinamide for acne and “blemished” skin

Does niacinamide help against pimples? Its sebum-regulating effect makes it a very interesting ingredient for people with acne. The stronger skin barrier means pimples and underlayers hardly stand a chance. Niacinamide serums are therefore often used in acne treatment. If your skin produces oil irregularly throughout the day, niacinamide will bring your skin back into balance, you will get fewer pimples or underlayers and in the long term also prevent acne scars.

Brownish pimple marks, hyperpigmentation and pigment spots are common in acne and pimple-prone skin. They are lightened by niacinamide. Since niacinamide protects the skin from new inflammations, inhibits moisture loss and makes the skin more robust overall, acne scars can heal much better.

Do you have acne and have you had experience with niacinamide? Please leave a comment below so that others can benefit from your experiences.

Are niacinamides suitable for sensitive skin?

Many people tolerate niacinamide and allergies are rare. They are 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 overreactions in sensitive skin. If the concentration is above 5%, the effect can be reversed. This is not an initial worsening. More spots after using niacinamide, suddenly red skin and an increase in stubborn inflammation are signs that your skin cannot cope with the amount or frequency of niacinamide, for example. If your skin burns, this is also a side effect. This can easily happen if you combine several niacinamide products. Niacinamide is included "as a side effect" in many cosmetic products. This quickly increases the effect and the otherwise good niacinamide becomes an irritant.

Caution is especially advised when combining niacinamide with acid peels or other acidic products. Acid peels should be used with caution if you have sensitive skin.

If you currently have perioral dermatitis (over-cared skin) , niacinamide is not suitable. In the acute phase, only zero therapy helps. Only black tea compresses are advisable for calming.

Is Niacinamide suitable for rosacea?

Since rosacea is very sensitive to many stimuli, including skin care, all potent active ingredients can potentially be too much. Some people with rosacea / couperose tolerate niacinamide, others react sensitively to it and get more pustules, redness and severe inflammation. But this can also be due to the concentration used (over 5%).

In any case, take it slowly: start with a lower dosage and try it out on a small area. Be sure to 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 can find our Niacinamide serum , which can also be suitable for the care of rosacea / couperose.

Niacinamide for dry skin

Is niacinamide useful for neurodermatitis or dry skin? Yes, you can also use niacinamide if you have dry skin or neurodermatitis. Since it moisturizes and strengthens your skin barrier, a niacinamide serum can be useful in 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 alleviated somewhat with niacinamide. However, no one can promise you that it will go away completely during pregnancy. Some women get this kind of hyperpigmentation during pregnancy due to the hormonal changes. Others have no skin changes.

Niacinamide is also good if you tend to have more inflammation and pimples during pregnancy and breastfeeding.

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

How much percent of niacinamide is good for the skin?

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

Niacinamide is considered to be well tolerated up to a concentration of 5%. High concentrations of 4-5% are used for more severe forms of acne, for example. Niacinamide is effective for spots and inflammations at 3% or more. The full 5% is not always necessary. Particularly sensitive skin benefits from lower doses (approx. 3-4%), which are still effective.

If the amount is less than 2%, you can usually skip the Niacinamide product, as most of the effects of Niacinamide are not to be expected. It then only has a moisturizing effect. If you use several products with Niacinamide, you no longer have control over the effect. Either you have too little Niacinamide or it could be too much.

Niacinamide: how often should you use it?

You can use Niacinamide up to once a day. If you use it more often, the amount on your skin can add up. Then it is not known exactly what effect it has. If you are not sure whether you can tolerate it, start by using 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 you from germs and bacteria. If the skin were simply permeable to all substances it comes into contact with, all of these harmful things would have direct access to our bloodstream.

But active ingredients also have a hard time getting into the skin and taking effect where the inflammation is located.

Penetrating agents are used to ensure that active ingredients penetrate deeper into the skin. These can be plant oils rich in oleic acid, acids or solvents such as alcohols. People with sensitive skin often do not tolerate these penetrating agents very well. And even with such agents, there is no guarantee that the active ingredient will penetrate deep enough into the skin.

However, since niacinamide works best when it comes into contact with the inflammation, the active ingredient can be encapsulated. You can imagine the capsule as a small car that drives the niacinamide through the skin to the site of inflammation and lets it out there. The skin is the gatekeeper and decides whether the capsule is allowed to pass or not. The more similar the encapsulation is to skin, the better it can overcome the skin layer. Liposomal capsules - small bubbles made of fat (vesicles) - are constructed like our cell membranes. You can imagine it as a small fat bubble with the niacinamide inside.

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

The 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 - in contrast to niacinamide serums, where the active ingredient is dissolved in liquid.

Due to the 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 uncomplicated when it comes to combining with other active ingredients. So you don't need to worry about whether your niacinamide serum is compatible with retinol, hyaluronic acid, enzyme peeling or azelaic acid . All of these ingredients can be combined with each other.

What should I not combine with niacinamide?

You just need to be careful when mixing it with acid peels . There are also potentially things to watch out for with vitamin C and niacinamide.

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