Does Niacinamide Help with Acne? Evidence-Based Answers

Yes, niacinamide has proven benefits for acne-prone skin, including controlling the excess oil that can lead to a breakout and helping smooth out skin with post-acne marks. Let’s go through the different benefits niacinamide has for acne-prone skin and discuss how best to use it for your maximum benefit.

How Does Niacinamide Help with Acne-Prone Skin?

Applying niacinamide as part of your skincare routine has beneficial effects that can change how acne-prone your skin will be. It’s a gentle, supporting ingredient that can be used every day, even when you’re not in the middle of a breakout. Applying it regularly can boost your skin so you see less breakouts of acne. Here are 4 distinct ways niacinamide has been proven to help for acne.

Reducing Sebum Production

If you struggle with acne, you know the relationship between having oily skin and acne breakouts. Excess oil, aside from making your face shiny, directly contributes to acne breakouts. As originally proven in a 2006 study, topical niacinamide (2% concentration) helps to control and reduce how much oil your skin produces. Within 2 to 4 weeks of applying niacinamide, oil production is significantly reduced.

Reducing Inflammation

Acne breakouts are called “inflammatory acne.” Calming inflammation is a key goal of many acne treatments and prescriptions, including clindamycin, which is routinely prescribed for acne. In a leading study, niacinamide’s effect on inflammation was compared to clindamycin’s effect, and niacinamide was just as effective in reducing the inflammation as clindamycin. That means niacinamide is a powerful way of soothing inflammatory acne.

Repairing Skin Barrier

Ceramides are an essential part of your skin’s barrier, which locks in moisture and keeps your skin healthy. Niacinamide, applied to your skin, signals to your cells to produce more ceramides, thereby building a stronger barrier that helps prevent acne bacteria from flourishing and skin from becoming inflamed and breaking out. 

In this study, ceramides production was shown to increase significantly after applying topical niacinamide.

Fading Post-Inflammatory Hyperpigmentation

After an acne breakout has finally healed, it often leaves behind mementoes in the form of PIH spots, which are dark spots of hyper pigmentation. Niacinamide doesn’t actually stop the production of the extra pigmentation, but it is very effective in another way. It stops the pigment producing cells from being able to transfer their pigment to the skin cells, so that you don’t end up seeing the spots on your skin.

This effect was proven in a study that showed significant skin lightening after using niacinamide twice daily for 4 weeks.

What Science Says: Ideal Concentrations for Acne

To get the results described above, most studies show the best effects when you use niacinamide in a concentration of between 2% and 5%. Once you get to higher concentrations, between 10% and 20%, your skin can no longer absorb all of it, and you end up with niacinamide sitting on your skin. Instead of being soothing, the niacinamide can actually end up being irritating.

How to Use Niacinamide in Your Skincare Routine

Many niacinamide serums come in higher concentrations than 2 to 5% but this is an easy fix. Simply mix a couple of serum drops into your moisturizer to dilute the effect of the high concentration and make it easier for the niacinamide serum to be absorbed. You’ll end up with the same effect as a 2 to 5% serum.

The PCA Skin Vitamin B3 Brightening Serum has the closest to ideal concentration, with 6% niacinamide, so it doesn’t need to be diluted much. After cleansing, mix the serum with your moisturizer and apply to your clean, damp skin. Do this both in the morning and at night to see results faster.

Watch for any irritation that might occur due to incorrect concentration, and start only with patch testing at the beginning.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it take for niacinamide to clear acne? 

Niacinamide is a gentle treatment that typically takes 4 to 12 weeks of consistent use to see lasting results. The answer to this will also depend greatly on whether niacinamide is used as a standalone or paired with other active ingredients.

Does niacinamide cause skin purging? 

Unlike other active ingredients, niacinamide does not increase your rate of cell turnover, so you don’t have to be worried about purging when using niacinamide.

Is Niacinamide Worth It for Acne?

Niacinamide has proven effective as a gentle, non-irritating supporting ingredient for an acne-clearing routine. When used on a consistent basis, you can see a real difference in how often your skin breaks out and how fast it takes for a breakout to heal and for the marks to disappear.