Why We Put Niacinamide in Two of Our Face Serums

We put niacinamide in two of our face serums, the Vitamin C Face Serum with Niacinamide and The Midnight Youth Potion, because it does three useful things for skin without asking much in return. It helps the skin barrier hold water, it helps tone look more even, and it helps texture and pores look more refined, and it does all of this gently enough for sensitive skin. This piece explains what the ingredient is, why we chose it, and why it sits in a light morning serum in one bottle and a night oil in the other.

What niacinamide is

Niacinamide, also called nicotinamide, is a form of vitamin B3. The body makes it from the niacin in foods such as whole grains and milk, and can also build it from the amino acid tryptophan. In skin, it is a building block for two coenzymes, NAD and NADP, that cells use for energy and for making the fats in the barrier. Levels of those coenzymes fall as skin ages, and topical niacinamide helps make up some of the difference.

It is water-soluble, and it does not need a low pH or any conversion step to work. Unlike niacin, it does not cause flushing, and unlike retinoids and hydroxy acids it is not irritating. That combination is rare among ingredients with this much research behind them.

Why we chose it

It helps the barrier hold water

Niacinamide encourages skin to make more ceramides and free fatty acids, the fats that seal the outer layer, so less water escapes through the surface. Gains in barrier function have been seen at around 4 percent. On the skin, a stronger barrier shows up as less visible dryness, less reaction to weather and product changes, and a smoother feel.

It helps tone look more even

Niacinamide slows the transfer of pigment granules from the cells that make them to the surface cells that show them. In one study a moisturizer with 5 percent niacinamide significantly reduced that transfer, and lower strengths have been linked to a more even-looking tone. The change is gradual and visible, which is exactly what we want a serum to promise.

It helps texture and pores look refined

Studies of products with 2 to 5 percent niacinamide report less visible shine on oily skin, and research has linked around 4 percent to smoother texture and smaller-looking pores. The exact way it works on oil is still being studied, and we would rather say that than oversell it.

In the morning serum

Our Vitamin C Face Serum with Niacinamide is built around two ideas. Ethyl ascorbic acid, a stabilized form of vitamin C, helps skin look brighter. Niacinamide helps tone look balanced and texture look refined. Because vitamin C works on how pigment is made and niacinamide on how it is passed along, the two approach an even tone from different directions. Aloe and cucumber add cool, light hydration, sodium hyaluronate helps skin hold moisture, and bilberry, sugar cane, maple, orange and lemon extracts give it a fresh feel.

Niacinamide is water-loving, so a water-light serum suits it well. Press three or four drops into clean skin, wait a moment, and follow with moisturizer or a face oil, then sunscreen in the daytime.

In the night oil-serum

The Midnight Youth Potion is a different kind of formula: thirteen botanical oils, among them grape seed, avocado, jojoba, rosehip, marula, baobab, tamanu and Kalahari melon, blended with niacinamide, sodium hyaluronate and a vitamin C ester into one lightweight oil-serum. Niacinamide on its own does not move easily into the oily layers of skin, which is why how it is formulated matters as much as how much is used. Here it sits alongside oils that leave skin deeply nourished and sodium hyaluronate that helps it hold moisture, so the evening's work is held in overnight.

Press four to six drops into clean skin as the last step of your evening routine. A faint floral note comes from tiare flower; there is no added fragrance.

How the two serums work as a pair

The serums are made to bracket the day. The Vitamin C serum in the morning brightens and evens under sunscreen; The Midnight Youth Potion at night adds rich moisture while you sleep. Our Complete Face Serum Collection follows the same logic: vitamin C in the morning, peptides at night, and The Midnight Youth Potion last. Both niacinamide serums are made by hand in our Williamsburg workshop, in batches of 50 to 100.

Questions about niacinamide in our serums

Which Marianella products contain niacinamide?

Two face serums: the Vitamin C Face Serum with Niacinamide and The Midnight Youth Potion. Our Ingredient Library lists every product that contains it.

Why put a water-soluble ingredient in an oil-serum?

So it arrives with the oils and sodium hyaluronate that help skin hold moisture overnight. In a night formula, niacinamide works on tone while the oils keep skin nourished.

Can I use both serums every day?

Yes. Use the Vitamin C serum in the morning with sunscreen and The Midnight Youth Potion as the last step at night.