Niacinamide: It Sounds Like a Chemical Weapon. It’s a Vitamin.
The first time I hear the word niacinamide, it made me think of hazmat suits and warfare from WW2. It’s just got this big old scary clinical, FIVE-syllable energy that makes you think “surely this is not appropriate for skin.”
My friend, it is a form of vitamin B3. It’s just a vitamin B and that blew my mind.
That’s it. That’s the scary ingredient : the same B vitamin your body already knows and loves, just in a form your skin can actually use. Honestly though, once you get past the lab-coat vibes, niacinamide is one of the gentlest, most universally well-tolerated ingredients in skincare.
What is niacinamide, really?
Niacinamide is the active form of vitamin B3 used in skincare and it’s a lovely ingredient. It supports your skin barrier (the thing standing between your face and the harsh world), helps your skin hold onto moisture, and can help calm the look of redness and uneven tone over time. It plays well with nearly every other ingredient, doesn’t make your skin sun-sensitive, and rarely throws a tantrum, even on sensitive skin. It’s the easygoing friend of the skincare world that can really be effective - which is exactly why I built it into our niacinamide face serum.
Niacinamide and Vitamin B3 are all around us
Because it’s a vitamin B3, you’re already getting niacinamide from your dinner plate! It shows up in mushrooms, green peas, lentils, peanuts, sunflower seeds, brown rice, whole grains and chicken, eggs and even salmon and tuna. So while your serum feeds your skin from the outside, your lunch tops you up from the inside.
The takeaway
Please don’t let a freaky name scare you off a genuinely kind ingredient! Niacinamide isn’t harsh or fussy or new, it’s just B3’s government name. And when it’s formulated thoughtfully, at a functional level, in a water-based serum that actually delivers it to your skin? Oh yeah, that’s a reason it should earn a place in your routine.
Want to try it?
Our niacinamide face serum is handcrafted in small batches right here in Grand Valley, Ontario. It’s a water-based, barrier-friendly, and made-to-deliver-results kinda serum.
A note from the formulator : If you want to play with niacinamide yourself, I’ve got some good news for you!! It’s actually a really easy active to work with. Yay! It comes as a fine white powder that is easy to dissolve in water. I love using it at 5%, but the typical usage rate is around 2%-5%. A couple quick tips: dissolve it into your water phase (not oil because it just won’t mix!), and keep your final product in a skin-friendly, balanced pH range so it stays comfortable and effective. It’s really forgiving but like most formulas, I’d add this guy to a cool down phase like other actives, if possible.
- Andrea, Founder & Formulator, Lavish Earth