Ingredient
Niacinamide
The gentlest useful active, and the one most routines should start with.
Also on labels as: Vitamin B3 · Nicotinamide
What it is
A form of vitamin B3. It is water-soluble, stable in light and air, and unusually well tolerated — which is why it turns up in everything from cheap drugstore serums to expensive Korean essences.
Who it suits
Almost everyone. It is the usual first active for oily skin, visible pores, post-spot marks and a barrier that has been over-treated. If your skin reacts to most things, this is the one to try first.
Strength and how to start
2% to 5% is the useful range and what most good formulas use. 10% is not twice as good — it is twice as likely to sting, and the flushing people blame on niacinamide almost always comes from a 10% product used daily on skin that was not ready. Start at 5%, once a day.
Pairs with
Water first, then the active. Nothing competes.
Niacinamide sits comfortably under sunscreen, and sunscreen is doing most of the work on marks.
Use them at different times of day rather than layering, and congestion and oil improve together.
Be careful with
Nothing, really
The old warning about niacinamide and vitamin C cancelling each other came from lab conditions that do not describe how either is actually formulated. Using both is fine; morning vitamin C and evening niacinamide is simply tidier.
In Bangladesh
In Dhaka's humidity a niacinamide serum often replaces a moisturiser for oily skin during the monsoon — a light gel with 5% can be enough on its own under sunscreen. In the dry December-to-February weeks you will want a cream over it again.
Common questions
How long before niacinamide does anything?
Oil and texture often look different in four to six weeks. Post-spot marks take two to three months, and only if you are wearing sunscreen daily — without it you are fading marks and making new ones at the same time.
Can I use it twice a day?
You can, but there is little evidence it helps more than once. Once a day is where most people get the benefit without the flushing.
My face went red and hot. Is that purging?
No. Niacinamide does not purge — it has no effect on cell turnover. Redness and heat mean the strength is too high or the product has something else in it. Stop, let your skin settle, and try a 5% from a different brand.
Products coming at launch
We are not selling yet. When we open in early 2027 we will stock products built around this ingredient — with the source of every batch recorded. Leave your number and we will tell you once.
This article is general information, not medical advice. Skincare products are not medicines. Speak to a dermatologist about persistent or worsening skin conditions.