Can You Use Niacinamide Daily? How Often to Apply

You must have spent some minutes looking at skincare videos online some day and would have heard the word Niacinamide in some videos.

This ingredient is almost present in all of your serums, moisturizers or even face washes that are present right on your bathroom shelf.

But this ingredient makes you feel like a scary chemical which will force you to think whether this ingredient is safe to put on your face every day or will it cause any kind of skin burn if used regularly?

For that you just do not need to worry. As it is safe and you can definitely use it every single day. You can safely use it rather than using some harsh acids or strong anti-aging products which can easily cause peeling of your skin.

In this comprehensive blog, you will be able to understand why it is safe to use on a regular basis without causing any skin damage and what are the major measures to prevent better use of it.

Key Takeaways:

Niacinamide or Vitamin B3 is a water-soluble active ingredient which works best when used in consistency. Its daily use can help in maintaining the skin balance as well as healthy skin.
This ingredient works like a personal assistant for your face by enhancing your protective skin barrier, regulating oil production as well as fading away the post acne dark spots.
You should always go for the use of 5% niacinamide as the 10% or 20% concentration could easily irritate your skin which can further lead to niacinamide burn.
Since niacinamide is cheap and efficient, many manufactures include it in Cleansers, toners and even moisturizers. So, it is a must to take notes of your present products to prevent your skin overloading.

What Is Niacinamide?

You must remember not to get fooled by its intimidating name. Niacinamide is nothing but another name of Vitamin B3. You should also know that you are already consuming Vitamin B3 via many foods such as chicken, fish, eggs as well as green vegetables in order to keep a healthy body.

So, you can assume that when you put this same ingredient inside your skincare bottle or use it on your face, it will perform the same functions for your skin too. It not only performs the single function but will just go into your skin cells and will start working on the areas where there is something wrong.

Just in case you are the one with the oily skin type, then it can help you in controlling the oil production. But if your skin is dry and flaky, then it will just help in buildup of a protective shield for locking moisture over your skin. And if you are the one with pigmented spots of past acne, then it will also help in removing them.

How to Use Niacinamide in Your Daily Routine?

There are many skincare products which are required to apply in small amounts or else can cause severe skin burns. But Niacinamide is not the one from them as it is a water-soluble ingredient. Your skin is in need of regular or daily use of niacinamide for better functioning. So, here are the steps that take place when you make this ingredient a part of your regular routine.

1. Building protective shield

Niacinamide helps in buildup of a protective wall due to which the harmful substances such as pollutants cannot penetrate in and the beneficial elements such as water cannot get escaped. Within weeks, you will be able to have a well-built wall around your skin. This will result in decreased occurrence of random redness as well as skin irritation due to any of the external stimuli.

2. Calming your oil glands

If you are the one who is having oily skin, then the chances of you to have a tough time. The majority of treatments available today deal with this issue by drying your face until it has no oil left, causing it to become desperate and make even more oil.

However, Niacinamide goes into your skin in a more gentle manner. Using it on a regular basis will allow you to have a conversation with the little pockets under your skin where grease is produced, and ask for a bit less. It will control the grease without making you dry.

3. Fading your post acne marks

This happens to all of us when you also get a dark spot that lingers for 3-4 days and leaves you behind a dark red/brown mark for three months. These marks are extremely irritating. Niacinamide does an amazing job by getting rid of these marks.

There are small factories in your skin that produce the dark pigment. This component acts as a gatekeeper as well as hinders the dark pigment from reaching your skin's surface. But you should know that with consistent application, these marks will start vanishing much faster than they normally would on their own.

4. Ideal for sensitive skin

For those who are having sensitive faces that can get blushed easily due to either the climate, a hard substance, or sensitivity alone, then niacinamide will be a highly recommended ingredient. It is naturally a very calming ingredient.

Is It Safe to Use Niacinamide Twice Daily?

Since it is such a mild product that won’t react negatively to sunlight, it can be used in your morning skincare routine as well as evening.

For Morning: It functions as an antioxidant barrier. It protects your skin from smog, pollution, and other dirt that comes from urban surroundings during the day. Also, it mattifies your skin so that makeup and sunscreen don’t melt throughout the day.
For Evening: This is the time when your body starts to regenerate itself after a day of hard work. Feeding your skin with niacinamide at night will provide it with necessary ingredients to build its protective wall.

Using it twice daily is perfectly fine for the majority of people as long as the percentage isn’t excessive.

What Is the Reason Behind the Myth of Skin Breakage Via Niacinamide?

Now, if niacinamide is as great and gentle as we are saying it is, how can some people say that it gave them a skin outbreak? This occurs due to one big trap we all fall for.

Whenever we come across modern skincare products, then you should know that buying too much of a certain thing can only lead to a disaster. We as humans will only think that the bigger the number is, the better results I'll see twice as fast.

But the major truth behind this is that Niacinamide can only work best when the concentration is at 2% - 5%. This only means that at such a percentage it performs all the required functions without causing any type of irritation.

But once manufacturers increase the percentage of it up to 10% or even 20%, the skin gets confused with it and gets too crowded. The consequence of such application of niacinamide is called niacinamide burn which includes:

Face turning bright red and hot right after applying.
A little itchy rash resembling bumps which are not regular acne.
Pricking sensation.

However, if you need niacinamide on a daily basis, you must go for the 5% one since it is the best-performing one for daily use. If you are going to use the 10% product, you should probably consider using it three days a week rather than daily.

What Should Be a Proper Routine to Include Niacinamide in Your Regular Skincare Routine?

A 10-step regime is unnecessary in using these products. Just keep things as easy as possible. Remember that the first rule of skincare is the application from thin (liquid) to thick (creamy) layer.

Here is a simple daily skincare routine which you can follow:

The Morning Routine

Splash water on your face or a cleansing lotion.
Applying 3 - 4 drops of Niacinamide serum on your finger tips.
Spread it all evenly across your face.
Leave it to get dry for 30 seconds.
Applying a good SPF sunscreen every day in order to protect your skin from the sun.

The Night Routine

Cleaning up all the oil and dirt from the day using your face wash.
Applying the Niacinamide serum again with the same quantity.
Applying your favourite night cream in order to keep all the goodness from the vitamins locked right inside your skin overnight.

Can We Use Niacinamide in Combination with Other Ingredients?

Some active ingredients in the skincare are very harmful to use together such as if you use retinol in combination with powerful exfoliation acids, you will end up with irritated skin. But you must know that unlike those harmful ingredients, Niacinamide can get along very easily with any product. So, you do not have to worry that it will break anything. In addition, in most cases, it will only help in enhancing the effect:

1. Combined with Retinol:

In order to avoid all of these side effects, you should apply niacinamide first. It will strengthen the skin's barrier, thus making the application of retinol much easier.

2. Combined with Hyaluronic Acid:

This pair provides maximum hydration. Hyaluronic acid will only attract the moisture of your skin, while niacinamide keeps it locked there.

3. Combined with Salicylic Acid (BHA):

If you have problems with blackheads, this pair is perfect for you. The former ingredient cleanses the pores from inside, while the latter one makes pores look smaller and prevents the production of sebum.

Some of the Alite recommended products are:

Wrapping Up

Yes, you can definitely use niacinamide on a daily basis. This is an effective vitamin, which appreciates routine and gentleness. But you should remember not to abuse your skin by using five different products, which include it in their formula, and should only go for the use of 5% concentration.

Finally, you will be able to see that if you apply it regularly for 4-6 weeks, your skin will become smoother, more even and less oily.