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Active ingredient

Niacinamide

INCI · Niacinamide

Niacinamide is the amide form of vitamin B3 used in skincare to strengthen the skin barrier, regulate sebum, and visibly even tone. It works by supporting ceramide synthesis, inhibiting melanin transfer to keratinocytes, and reducing inflammatory cytokine activity. Pairs well with most actives, including retinol, hyaluronic acid, salicylic acid, and modern stable forms of vitamin C.

Last reviewed by BIOSAR Scientific Team, PharmD, Cosmetic Chemistry, Pharmacy practice on .

Pregnancy and breastfeeding

No specific caution is known for cosmetic use during pregnancy or breastfeeding. If you are unsure, ask your doctor or pharmacist.

Niacinamide is an endogenous B-vitamin metabolite. Mother to Baby, ACOG, and Trivedi et al. (2017) classify topical use as safe in pregnancy and lactation.

Mechanism in detail

What Niacinamide does

Vitamin B3. Strengthens the skin barrier, helps calm visible redness, and supports balanced sebum. Multi-benefit active suitable for most skin types including sensitive.

Evidence

What the research says

  • 12 weeksFine lines, spots and sallowness improved vs vehicle

    A double-blind split-face trial by the moisturiser's maker, in 50 women with photoaged facial skin: a niacinamide moisturiser used twice daily for 12 weeks reduced fine lines, spots, red blotchiness and sallowness versus its vehicle.

    Read the study

    Dermatol Surg 2005 (Bissett, Oblong, Berge)

  • up to 5.5×In cultured skin cells: more ceramide synthesis

    In cultured human skin cells, niacinamide raised ceramide synthesis 4.1 to 5.5-fold over 6 days. Applied to dry skin, it raised ceramides and fatty acids in the outer layer and lowered water loss; the abstract gives no figures for that.

    Read the study

    Br J Dermatol 2000 (Tanno)

Where it helps

Concerns Niacinamide addresses

  • Acne

    Acne is rarely just acne. It is the anxiety before a meeting, the photo you skip, the makeup routine that started as "a little" and is now twenty minutes. The marks last longer than the breakouts, and they carry the breakout's weight long after the skin has healed. The Acnemed range is the salicylic-acid-led routine BIOSAR built for the full cycle — clearing active blemishes, calming the inflammation that follows, and reducing the marks the breakouts leave behind. Designed under dermatological supervision.

  • Aging

    The first time you notice it is rarely a wrinkle. It is a quality of light — the way your skin catches it differently in a morning mirror, or the photo where you look more tired than you feel. The mechanism is real (collagen synthesis slows; elastin fragments; barrier turnover lengthens), but the felt experience comes first. Serenity Age is the range BIOSAR built for that pivot — Retinol for visible renewal and collagen support, peptides selected for documented signaling activity, and the SPF discipline that protects every other active you apply.

  • Dryness

    Dryness is a barrier dysfunction in which skin loses water faster than it can retain or replenish it, presenting as flaking, tightness, dullness, and roughness. Mild dryness reflects routine over-cleansing or environmental exposure; chronic dryness signals a deeper deficit in skin lipids (ceramides, cholesterol, fatty acids) and humectant content (the natural moisturising factor). Effective treatment hydrates and replenishes the barrier through three layered actions: humectants that draw water in, occlusives that seal it in, and barrier actives that rebuild the lipid mortar. The BIOSAR Hydraderm range delivers this layered hydration and visibly plumps dehydrated skin.

  • Dullness

    Dull skin is the visible loss of luminosity, where the surface appears flat, grey, or fatigued instead of light-reflective. The underlying causes are dead-cell accumulation on the stratum corneum, dehydration, microcirculation impairment, and oxidative stress. Effective treatment combines gentle exfoliation (alpha- and beta-hydroxy acids), antioxidant serums (vitamin C, niacinamide), barrier hydration, and consistent broad-spectrum SPF. Visible improvement typically arrives within two to four weeks of a structured routine, matching the natural cell-turnover cycle of healthy skin.

  • Hair Loss

    For the months you have been finding more hair on the pillow than the comb. For the part line that has slowly widened. For the new mother, the man at the temple recession, the woman watching her ponytail thin — hair loss is a quiet anxiety that most people carry alone for too long before they ask anyone. The Hairmical range is built around the actives that the dermatology and trichology literature considers most defensible for visible shedding: Procapil's three-mechanism complex, caffeine for follicular microcirculation, biotinyl-tripeptide for follicle anchoring. Topical actives work on the follicle's clock — give them 4 to 8 weeks of consistent use for visible improvement, and months for a full growth cycle.

  • Hyperpigmentation

    Across Fitzpatrick III–V skin tones — the majority of darker skin tones — the most common consultation is the same: the patch on the cheekbone that did not fade. Melasma, post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, the marks that follow acne and friction. The pattern is photoresponsive, the mechanism is mapped, and visible improvement is reachable with consistent care. The Whitepurity range is built for that work — Alpha-Arbutin for stable tyrosinase inhibition, Niacinamide-led brightening, and the SPF discipline that decides whether any of the rest will hold.

  • Sensitivity

    If you have sensitive skin, you have probably been told it is in your head — by a product that says "gentle" on the label, by a friend whose skin tolerates everything yours cannot, sometimes by a professional who could not find a visible cause for the symptoms. It is not in your head. The mechanisms are measurable, the biology is mapped, and the care that follows from understanding them is what the Sensimed range was built around.

  • Sun Damage

    Sun damage is the cumulative photoaging caused by ultraviolet radiation, presenting as solar lentigines, irregular pigmentation, fine lines, deeper wrinkles, leathery texture, and elevated skin cancer risk. UVA penetrates the dermis and drives collagen breakdown; UVB damages epidermal DNA and triggers melanin overproduction. Extrinsic factors, with UV exposure carrying the largest share, account for an estimated 80% of premature visible skin aging. Daily broad-spectrum SPF, antioxidant serums, and pigmentation correctors reverse early damage and prevent further progression. The BIOSAR Sunprotex range delivers broad-spectrum UVA + UVB protection layered with antioxidants for measurably stronger photoprotection.

From the BIOSAR catalog

Products formulated with Niacinamide

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