Niacinamide, also known as Nicotinamide is the ‘it’ ingredient in the beauty world, especially in Asia. Niacinamide is a form of vitamin B3 which plays a role in keeping our skin, hair, and body healthy. Your body can get vitamin B3 by eating meats, cereals, and grains. Niacinamide is first introduced in beauty products back in the 70s by Girish Prasad Mathur. Girish found that niacinamide is a very effective ingredient to lighten the skin tone. After years and years, now niacinamide is commonly found in various skin care products like serum and moisturizer.
Skin Care Benefits
- anti-aging
- reduce melanin production
- minimize pores
- treat acne
Anti-aging
As we grow older, our skin slows down collagen production and loses its elasticity. Our skin started showing signs like dull skin, pigmentations, and sagging skin. Niacinamide is used in various anti-aging skin care products because it can help you achieve a youthful and firm appearance. With that being said, your fine lines and wrinkles will reduce as well. Niacinamide stimulates the growth of keratin, a type of protein that will keep your skin tight and firm. In short, your aging skin will improve and looking more radiant.
Reduce Melanin Production
If you don’t know what is melanin, it’s a pigment that our skin produces naturally to protect our skin from the sun damage. However, overproduction of melanin will cause hyperpigmentations, brown spots, and uneven skin tone. Niacinamide breaks down melanin and slows down melanin production. So your dark spots will diminish and improve your overall complexion. It’s no surprise that this ingredient has become more and more popular in Asia as Asian tends to prefer pale skin over tan skin. With niacinamide as one of the most effective ingredients to reduce dark spots and lighten complexion, no wonder so many big companies started using this ingredient in different skin care products more and more.
Minimize Pores
Hate that pores on your skin? Well, you are in luck, niacinamide is here to help you. This study shows that any skin care product that contains 2% of niacinamide will reduce sebum level. Often times, the pores appeared to be larger when it’s trapped with sebum. At the same time, enlarged pores will easily trap dirt, dust and dead skin. Thus, your pores become larger over time. Niacinamide reduces sebum production and when the sebum excretion lower, and improve the appearance of enlarged pores. Eventually, your pores will shrink.
Treat Acne
Niacinamide is a highly effective anti-inflammatory ingredient makes it perfect to combat acne. Its anti-inflammatory properties suppress acne bacteria and reduce inflammation on the skin. It also stands out from other anti-blemishes products because it is more mild and gentle on the skin. As we mentioned on top, niacinamide works great on diminishing pigmentation. Thus, it will fade your acne scars effectively as well. Bear in mind that you need products that contain a higher percentage (around 4%) of niacinamide to see the result.
How to Choose Niacinamide Skin Care Product
Choosing a niacinamide skin care product can be overwhelming because there are a lot of great products that feature niacinamide as the main ingredient. Despite there are countless skin benefits you can get while using niacinamide, it is not uncommon that people experience redness and irritation on their skin.
If you want to incorporate niacinamide product to your skincare routine. Start with a product that contains a smaller percentage first. Even though it might take some time to achieve your desired result, it is safer for your skin. We think it’s best to start with 2%-3% of niacinamide.
If you want a more visible result, 5% of niacinamide skin care products are effective in fading scars and reduce pigmentations.
Just bear in mind that you really need to slowly introduce your skin to lower the risk of skin irritations.
Skin Types
- all skin types
- aging skin
- dull skin
Niacinamide Skin Care Products
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Purito Galacto Niacin 97 Power Essence (Buy Now)
Purito doesn’t want your skin to have a dramatic but short-term result. They believe in creating products that are safe with natural ingredients yet still provide result. Just like its name, this essence contains 92% fermented galactomisses and 5% niacinamide. Fermented galactomisses balances your skin also moisturize your skin at the same time. As a clean beauty product, it is formulated without paraben, ethanol, and 100% vegan.
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The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% (Buy Now)
One of the best selling products from the brand The Ordinary. With such high concentration, you’ll get a very effective result in a short amount of time. It controls your sebum and balances your skin when pairs with zinc. It also tightens your pores, so your skin texture will visibly improve over time.
