Over the last couple of months we’ve been taking time to put individual ingredients under the microscope to help you get a better sense of what you should be looking for and trying to avoid. Today we’re going to take a look at niacinamide. You may have heard of it now that advertising is moving in the same direction that Skin Actives has been for over a decade. Or maybe you’ve heard it right here in one of the many entries of this blog.

Either way, let’s take a closer look at Niacinamide!

What is Niacinamide?

Niacinamide is a workhorse ingredient. It is pulling so much weight it’s hard to tell where to begin.

Niacinamide is also called Vitamin B-3, so right away this is a B vitamin that you would be looking to get for overall health anyway. Vitamin B-3 is a micronutrient that is available via your diet. Granted you can’t eat just anything to get B-3, but if you stick to the kinds of things you hear that “doctors recommend” you’ll get the amount in your diet that won’t leave you deficient.

This means that you’ll find it in green veggies, eggs, beans, fish and milk.

But that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t add it topically! In fact, the potential for too much niacinamide or side effects are very low. So you should feel free to work the potential of this great ingredient into your daily routine!

Niacinamide Critical to Skin Health

Below you’ll find the TOP 9 WAYS that Niacinamide benefits your skin.

• It’s Anti-Inflammatory - Niacinamide has anti-inflammatory properties which will help you with a wide range of inflammation related skin concerns ranging from eczema to acne, including reducing overall redness.
• Reduces Redness - Along with the anti-inflammatory properties, Niacinamide is known to help reduce the redness that occurs with acne, eczema and other skin conditions.
• It Helps Control Oil Production- Niacinamide helps keep the oil on the outside of your skin from over producing and clogging your pores. With clogged pores leading to acne and niacinamide’s anti-inflammatory benefits, this one is doing triple duty.
• Boosts Immunity - By playing a role in the production of keratin, niacinamide boosts your skin’s immunity.
• It Strengthens Your Lipid Barrier - It may seem like we’re always on about your lipid barrier here at Skin Actives Scientific, and that’s because we are! Your lipid barrier helps keep the moisture in your skin, protecting all the work you do to keep your skin hydrated.
• It Defends Against UV Light - Niacinamide defends your skin’s cellular structure against the light of the sun all the while helping your skin recover.
• It Addresses Hyperpigmentation - If you are looking to reduce some of the dark spots on your hands and arms, let niacinamide help! Like all good things, this may take some patience, and so change may start to become apparent after four weeks of use. Collagen production increases in this time which is another bonus that feeds into some of the benefits we’ve already listed above!
• It Minimizes Fine Lines and Wrinkles - We’re always looking to combat wrinkles and fine lines! With niacinamides helping to defend you against UV light, it’s also reducing those lines and wrinkles that make us feel our age.
• It Fights Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS*) - Just like the stress placed on you from sources of UV, Niacinamide is going to help protect them from Reactive Oxygen Species, such pollution and toxins in the air and water. 

At Skin Actives, we have a long history of using proven ingredients in our skin care products. We've included Niacinamide in many of our products.  Check out these 12 Skin Actives Products with Niacinamide.