Niacinamide in Serums, Soaps, Lotions and Body Oils.: What 2026 Research Says

Niacinamide, a form of vitamin B3, makes skin tone look more even. That's its best-known benefit, and decades of controlled trials back it. Its benefits go further than tone. The research below explains how it works and where it belongs in a routine, and it ends with the two Marianella serums we make with it.

What niacinamide is and how it works on skin

Most brightening ingredients slow down how much pigment the skin makes. Niacinamide works at a different step. It does not inhibit tyrosinase directly but reduces hyperpigmentation by blocking the transfer of melanosomes from melanocytes to keratinocytes, the skin cells where pigment becomes visible.

The effect has been measured. In a lab study of human pigment cells and skin cells, niacinamide at concentrations of 0.5–5.0 mM reduced melanosome transfer by 35–68% without affecting melanocyte viability or basal melanin synthesis rates. The effect is also reversible. Cell cultures treated with niacinamide resumed normal melanosome transfer in 3 days after removal of the inhibitor, so it works for as long as you keep using it.

Niacinamide benefits: what the clinical studies show

A more even tone

In the early clinical work, a 5% niacinamide cream, applied for 4 weeks, significantly reduced the pigmented spots by 11%. A later trial compared it with hydroquinone in melasma, where the average decrease for HQ was 70% and 62% for niacinamide. Side effects were present in 18% with niacinamide versus 29% with HQ.

Fine lines, sallowness and elasticity

The best-known study of niacinamide on ageing skin used a split-face design. Subjects with clinical signs of facial photoaging applied 5% niacinamide to half of the face and its vehicle control to the other half twice daily for 12 weeks. The result was reductions in fine lines and wrinkles, hyperpigmented spots, red blotchiness, and skin sallowness (yellowing), along with improved elasticity.

The researchers also noted how well the skin tolerated it. Niacinamide was well tolerated by the skin and provided significant improvements versus control on every measure they had studied before.

Niacinamide in serums, lotions, soaps and body oils

Every niacinamide benefit above came from a product that stayed on the skin. The trials used moisturizers. Participants applied an oil-in-water moisturizer containing 5 percent niacinamide to one side of the face and matching vehicle (control) contralaterally twice a day for 12 weeks. At Marianella, niacinamide goes into two face serums.

The best niacinamide products of 2026 from Marianella

Vitamin C Collagen Boosting Face Serum with Niacinamide, $52.50

This one is for daylight. It looks like water and goes on as a light, fresh water-gel that sinks in without stickiness. It's built around two actives. Ethyl ascorbic acid, a stabilised form of vitamin C, helps skin look brighter and more even. Niacinamide helps tone look balanced and texture look refined. Aloe and cucumber add cool, light hydration, and sodium hyaluronate helps skin hold moisture. There's no synthetic fragrance.

The Midnight Youth Potion Face Serum, $52.50

This one is for the end of the day. It's a lightweight oil-serum that blends thirteen botanical oils, including baobab, rosehip, marula and passionfruit seed, with niacinamide, vitamin C and sodium hyaluronate. Niacinamide helps tone look more even, and sodium hyaluronate helps skin hold moisture. Your skin feels deeply nourished without feeling greasy. It goes on silky and settles in quickly. Tiare flower gives it a faint floral note, with no added fragrance. We blend it by hand in our Williamsburg workshop, 50 to 100 bottles at a time.

How to use a niacinamide serum, morning and night

Morning

Cleanse and pat dry. Press 4 to 6 drops of the Vitamin C Collagen Boosting Face Serum into your face and neck, avoiding the eye area. Wait a couple of minutes, then apply your moisturizer and finish with sunscreen. If the serum is new to you, start every other day for two weeks.

Evening

Cleanse, then apply toner if you use one. Warm 4 to 6 drops of The Midnight Youth Potion between your palms until they turn silky. Press them into your face and neck as the last step. You wake to skin that looks brighter, softer and well rested.

Both together

The vitamin C serum is made to be followed by a face oil. The Midnight Youth Potion is made to go last. On evenings when you use both, apply the water-gel first and the oil-serum second.

Both niacinamide serums, the Vitamin C Collagen Boosting Face Serum with Niacinamide and The Midnight Youth Potion Face Serum, are $52.50 each at marianella.co.

FAQ

What does niacinamide do for skin?

Niacinamide limits how much pigment reaches the surface of the skin, so tone looks more even. In clinical trials, topical niacinamide also improved the look of fine lines, red blotchiness and sallowness.

How long does niacinamide take to work?

The clinical studies measured results over weeks. Facial images and elasticity measures were obtained at 0, 4, 8, and 12 weeks in the main study on ageing skin. Plan on using it daily for at least a month before you judge it.

Can you use niacinamide with vitamin C?

Yes. Both of our niacinamide serums contain vitamin C. The Vitamin C Collagen Boosting Face Serum uses ethyl ascorbic acid, and The Midnight Youth Potion uses ascorbic acid.

Should I use niacinamide in the morning or at night?

Either works. The Vitamin C Collagen Boosting Face Serum can go on morning or evening, followed by sunscreen in the morning. The Midnight Youth Potion is the last step of your evening routine.