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Read on to find out can niacinamide and vitamin C be used together, what makes them such a powerful combination and which are the best niacinamide and vitamin C serums and other skin care products…
When building your skin care routine, one of the most important things to nail is to choose your actives right. In a waste sea of new, hyped ingredients that come and go with the season, there’s a handful of tried and true, scientifically backed up ingredients most of us can visibly benefit from.
Niacinamide and vitamin C are near the very top of that short list. Both of these ingredients come with many potential benefits and both can safely be used by many people. In fact, if you check labels on your serums, masks, moisturizers and eye creams, there’s a good chance you’ll find one or both of them there.
But the question is – should niacinamide and vitamin C be used together and how to layer them to get the best out of both.
Can Niacinamide and Vitamin C Be Used Together?
To answer this question, let’s first take a look at these ingredients and their effects to the skin separately.
Niacinamide for skin
Niacinamide is one of those universal skin enhancers that can help reduce most skin issues. It is not a miracle worker, but it does have plenty of hydrating, brightening and anti-aging effects most of us could use.
Niacinamide is a form of vitamin B3 that improves the skin’s barrier by increasing the production of ceramides. That way, it reduces water loss and keeps the skin hydrated.
Another great feature of niacinamide is that it may help lighten hyperpigmentation and reduce inflammation and redness. It ultimately leads to a clearer, more even skin tone and a brighter complexion.
Niacinamide can also help prevent and reduce first aging signs, such as fine lines and sun spots.
Vitamin C for skin
Many dermatologists’ favorite and with a good reason. Vitamin C is one of the best researched skin care ingredients that has proven time and time again just how amazing it is at keeping your complexion healthy, even and youthful.
Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant you can layer under your sunscreen, to help protect the skin and reduce photoaging. That, combined with the fact vitamin C stimulates the collagen production, makes vitamin C one of the best anti-aging ingredients ever.
Vitamin C serums are amongst the best products to reduce hyperpigmentation, post acne marks and sun spots. That is because this ingredient inhibits the production of melanin and fades skin imperfections.
All in all, vitamin C is one of the best skin care vitamins you can find. It is one of those ingredients that work noticeably for most people and is easy to add to pretty much any routine.
Niacinamide and vitamin C together
The reason why some people are wary of using niacinamide and vitamin C together is a decades-old research which showed these two ingredients could potentially irritate the skin by producing nicotinic acid. However, the results of that research don’t translate to a real world scenario, as the negative reaction occurred only when using pure ascorbic acid and niacinamide held at high temperatures.
As this is not how normally vitamin C and niacinamide are used in skin care, the answer to our question is pretty simple. Yes, you absolutely can use both niacinamide and vitamin C at the same time, as long as you patch-test the products first and introduce them slowly into your routine (as you should do with all new products).
Vitamin C and niacinamide work great separately and they are even better when paired together. For starters, they both have antioxidant effect, so together they can fight off free radicals even better.
Both are great at delaying premature aging signs – perfect if you are looking for preventive skin care. And they are both natural skin brighteners, and whose complexion couldn’t use some extra glow?
So if you have products that contain these two precious skin lovers, feel free to use them together on a daily basis. There is no rule as to which one should you apply first. Whichever product is thinner should go closer to your skin.
There are also products that already contain both vitamin C and niacinamide. The ones we recommend to try out are listed below.
5 Best Niacinamide and Vitamin C Products
*All prices mentioned are from April 2022.
1. Olay Regenerist Tone Perfection Vitamin B3 + Vitamin C Serum
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Price: $29.99/1.3 fl. Oz.
A quality niacinamide and vitamin C serum would be a great addition to practically anyone’s routine, as it can enhance an even, glowing tone. Especially if your skin is dull, dehydrated and prone to imperfections, you will love the effect.
Olay’s Tone Perfection Serum promises the ability to visibly renew one million skin cells in just one drop, for noticeably brighter skin after just one use. It is fragrance-free, and other than niacinamide and vitamin C, it also contains hydrating glycerin and soothing panthenol.
2. Eva Naturals Vitamin C Plus Skin Clearing Serum
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Price: $14.95/1 fl. Oz.
This serum has over 44k reviews on Amazon, and according to people who tried it out – it’s pretty incredible. You can use it to reduce a wide range of skin concerns, such as premature aging, sun damage, dehydration, sensitivities, dull complexion, etc.
You can think of this serum as an all-in-one product that brings some of the most potent skincare ingredients in a single bottle. These ingredients are: 20% vitamin C, 3.5% niacinamide, 2% salicylic acid, 5% hyaluronic acid, 2% retinol, 10% MSM.
3. Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare C + Collagen Brighten & Firm Serum
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Price: $78.00/1 fl. Oz.
Another niacinamide and vitamin C serum that visibly brightens and rejuvenates the skin. Perfect if you want to revitalize tired skin, prevent premature aging signs or reduce some of the already existing ones, and make the skin firmer and smoother.
This serum contains a stabilized form of vitamin C that fades hyperpigmentation and helps prevent and reduce fine lines and wrinkles. You can also find lactic acid, CoQ10, carnitine, amla fruit extract and other skin enhancers as key components in this serum.
4. Skin Inc My Daily Dose of Vitamins ABC+
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Price: $48.75/0.68 fl. Oz.
As its name suggests, ABC+ serum brings a combination of some of the best skin-friendly vitamins in a single product. Vitamins A and C are amongst the most efficient skin care ingredients ever. As for the B, it contains both vitamin B3 (niacinamide) and pro-vitamin B5 (panthenol).
This serum hydrates the skin, soothes inflammations and redness, improves the appearance of enlarged pores, refines and brightens the complexion. It is formulated without fragrance, parabens, sulfates and phthalates.
5. Dermalogica Age Reversal Eye Complex
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Price: $75.00/ 0.5 fl. Oz.
Among the best niacinamide and vitamin C products is also this age reversing eye complex. It works to firm and smooth the sensitive under eye skin, prevent and reduce crow’s feet and brighten dark circles.
Like the other products on this list, this one also has an impressive ingredient list full of some of the best skin care components. The most noteworthy are retinol, niacinamide and vitamin C, peptides, apricot kernel oil, oat extract, sodium hyaluronate, caffeine, ceramides and botanicals.
I haven’t tried this product yet. I do have them on my wish list and will get some.
Let me know how you liked them when you do!