What is niacinamide on an ingredient list?
Niacinamide is the amide form of vitamin B3, also called nicotinamide. Poliage’s ingredient dictionary, built from the EU CosIng database, lists its function as smoothing. A Poliage product page that says it contains niacinamide is reporting the label. It does not promise any result on skin.
This page explains what the word niacinamide means on a label. It describes the ingredient and its listed function. It does not say what the ingredient does for any person’s skin.
What it is
Niacinamide is also known as nicotinamide. A peer-reviewed paper describes it as a hydrophilic amide of vitamin B3, found in cosmetics and medicines. The same paper says it occurs in foods such as fish, mushrooms and nuts.
A second review describes niacinamide as a water-soluble amide isotype of vitamin B3. That review says the body converts it into coenzymes called NAD and NADP, which are involved in metabolism. It also says niacinamide is used in many cosmetic formulations.
Those are descriptions of what the molecule is. Studies of products use different amounts, different formulas and different groups of people. This page does not summarize their results.
How it appears on a label
The INCI name is NIACINAMIDE. Labels may also print nicotinamide or vitamin B3. Poliage’s ingredient dictionary recognizes both of those as the same ingredient.
Position on the list tells you about relative amount, not about strength. The ingredient order guide explains how to read it.
The function Poliage lists
Poliage’s ingredient dictionary is built from CosIng, the European Commission’s cosmetic ingredient database. It lists one function for niacinamide: smoothing.
The dictionary describes smoothing this way: “Seeks to achieve an even skin surface by decreasing roughness or irregularities.” That is a function label for the ingredient inside a formula. It is not a measured result on any person.
What Poliage shows
On a product page, Poliage says “Contains Niacinamide” and shows its function. A flag states that an ingredient is listed on the label. It is not a judgment.
Niacinamide is not one of the flag categories in the app. It is marked only when you add it to your own avoid list. If you do, the page marks it for you and nothing more.
Poliage gives product information, not medical advice. The label on the pack comes first. Labels can be misread, and a maker can change a formula without changing the barcode.
What this page does not cover
This page makes no claims about wrinkles, acne, pores, tone or any other result. Reviews of studies mention many uses, and a label cannot tell you whether a given product will do any of them.
If you want to find out how your own skin reacts to a new product, the patch testing guide covers what the American Academy of Dermatology says about testing a small area first. If a product bothers your skin, talk to a doctor or pharmacist.
Where this comes from
The description of niacinamide as an amide of vitamin B3 comes from two peer-reviewed papers indexed in PubMed Central: a research paper on skin cells and a review of eye cream ingredients. The function label comes from Poliage’s ingredient dictionary, which is built from the European Commission’s CosIng database. The CosIng web entry loads only in a browser, so its wording was not fetched directly for this page. Flag behavior and the avoid list come from Poliage’s own app rules.