Replace Everything In Your Routine With Niacinamide

A streamlined skincare routine is all about little substitutions, where one product can do the work of several, and there’s no better skincare multitasker than niacinamide. Need an antioxidant, why not use niacinamide? When you want more moisturized skin, use niacinamide! Smoother texture? Niacinamide!

We know the skin-friendly B vitamin derivative can effectively pass through the outer, protective layer of skin, meaning you get good results with relatively low concentrations (2 to 5-percent is average in most clinicals). Plus, it comes with very few adverse side effects, so even those with sensitive skin needn’t worry. Those two reasons alone are enough to explain why niacinamide seems to be included in every Tom, Dick, and Harry’s skincare product nowadays—but frankly, niacinamide’s resumé is so long we often don’t make it past the first page. All modesty aside, one little molecule can actually fulfill a lot of your skincare routine’s essential functions. It’s never a perfect one-to-one substitution, but in lots of cases you might find yourself preferring niacinamide’s results over one of its predecessor’s. Looking to put your routine on a skincare diet? Here’s what you can swap out: