Ingredients
What niacinamide actually does
February 2025 · 6 min read
Niacinamide — vitamin B3 — has spent the last few years being asked to do everything. Brighten. Tighten. Calm. Treat acne. Treat ageing. The reality is more modest, and more useful.
At 2–5% it strengthens the skin barrier, reduces transepidermal water loss, and softens redness. At 10% it can help regulate oil and improve the look of pores. Above that, it simply increases the chance of irritation without doing more.
It plays well with almost every other active. It is one of the few ingredients we recommend to almost everyone — not because it is glamorous, but because it quietly does its job.