What is Niacinamide?
If you're into skincare, you've most likely heard of niacinamide, also known as a form of Vitamin B3. It's starting to pop up everywhere, with promises of smooth, calm, and happy skin...but what does this all mean? If you aren't aware of exactly what B3 can do for your skin, we've put together a list of its benefits and forms that can help you add it to your daily routine.
1. It helps with skin cancer prevention.
Niacinamide isn't a free pass to toss out your sunscreen and stop worrying about skin cancer screenings, but it's a pretty great added booster to your SPF routine. It has primarily been studied and shown to help reduce recurring skin cancers. For this reason alone, it's worth adding to your collection. Be sure to apply it before your sunblock (it's antioxidant benefits make this a morning routine product).
2. It helps correct pigmentation issues and wrinkles.
If you're starting to see age spots, niacinamide is a gentler alternative to stronger brighteners. It will likely take longer for the anti-aging results of niacinamide to become noticeable, but it will still get the job done as an excellent booster to your anti-aging routine. We just recommend using it in the morning and make sure you don't combine it with your retinol at night.
3. It soothes acne, rosacea, and inflammation.
Niacinamide can help regulate skin's oil production, leading to fewer blemishes, and it's great for sensitive acneic skin. And since niacinamide has anti-inflammatory properties, it helps reduce the redness associated with acne and rosacea by calming skin. It should be noted that niacinamide is most effective in products you leave on your skin, so don't fret if your cleanser doesn't have it (more on that below).
4. It has to be left on your skin to have real benefits.
Niacinamide might have a lot of incredible benefits, but it's important how you use it if you want to get any of those benefits. Niacinamide works best when left on skin for some time, so cleansers won't be enough to deliver its positive effects. It's also an ingredient that works best when layered into a combination approach with an existing anti-aging routine. Think of niacinamide as a much needed booster that accelerates the benefits of every product being used.
Did you know?
Based off your skin condition (eczema, acne, age spots, etc.), niacinamide can be found in both prescription and non-prescription form. At Supriya Dermatology, we offer both so depending on your skin issues you'll have the right amount of this incredible ingredient in order to see noticeable results.