Nicotinamide, nicotinic acid, antipellagra vitamin – all refer to the same active ingredient, primarily known in cosmetics as niacinamide and a variant of vitamin B3. It gained a certain degree of fame as early as 1937 when the American biochemist Conrad Arnold Elvehjem discovered that a lack of niacinamide in the body could lead to the disease pellagra, whose symptoms include dermatitis and dementia.
Long years of research followed, during which it gradually became clear how niacinamide contributes to vital body processes, such as cellular respiration, repairing cell damage, and regulating stress resistance.
Our body produces niacinamide in several stages from tryptophan, an essential amino acid found in many foods. Animal products such as fish, meat, and offal are particularly rich in tryptophan, but the amino acid is also found in plant foods such as corn, wheat, nuts, and fruits.
And how you may now ask, does niacinamide get into creams and serums and thus onto our skin? What does it even do to our skin?
Niacinamide in cosmetics
Let's start with the last question: There are now countless studies on the effect of the vitamin on our skin. This is also why niacinamide has recently developed into a "favorite active ingredient" in cosmetics. If you follow the studies, it is a true all-rounder that can support and protect the skin in many ways if used regularly. Let me give some examples that are well scientifically proven:
- Skin care with niacinamide can lighten pigment shifts, contribute to an even skin tone, and thus give the skin a natural glow.
- The vitamin has a pore-reducing and skin-refining effect, making the skin appear more even.
- Niacinamide also supports collagen and elastin formation in the skin, which smoothes wrinkles and makes the skin appear firmer.
- The vitamin helps strengthen the skin barrier. A stable skin barrier ensures minimal moisture loss and thus counteracts dryness and wrinkles. In addition, a well-functioning skin barrier can protect us better against harmful environmental influences.
- Niacinamide supports regulating sebum production, which can have a mattifying effect on oily skin.
- Niacinamide is skin-soothing. This makes the vitamin also suitable for impure skin and counteracts redness.
- Niacinamide also has antioxidant effects. This means it can neutralize free radicals in the skin and, in this way, helps to avoid cell damage. Please also read my blog post "Why Antioxidants Are Amazing" if you would like to find out more about the effect of these tiny radical scavengers.
Niacinamide and its production
Understanding the production process of niacinamide adds another layer of interest to this active ingredient. The niacinamide we use in cosmetics is recreated in the laboratory, mirroring its natural form. This synthetic production method not only protects our natural resources by eliminating the need for growth and harvesting, but it also ensures a high level of reliability in terms of quality and purity. The end product is a white, crystalline powder, used in varying concentrations in the formulations of care products.
We use niacinamide in our
Active Concentrate Brightening Complex, whose effect is aimed at an even and radiant complexion. Therefore, this tip at the end: the impact of skin-lightening ingredients such as niacinamide depends mainly on regular use. You will get the best results after about 8 to 12 weeks.
