The best niacinamide serums you can buy

Get the Full StoryNiacinamide, or vitamin B3, is a great skin-care multitasker it can help neutralize redness, soothe breakouts, lighten up hyperpigmentation, smooth fine lines, and more.

We love SkinCeuticals Metacell Renewal B3 because it contains a powerful and hydrating cocktail of niacinamide, amino acids, and peptides but still feels lightweight on skin.

Niacinamide or the artist formerly known as vitamin B3 is a do-it-all ingredient that helps a variety of skin types. Rosacea-prone? Niacinamide can help soothe red patches. Breaking out? Niacinamide can help fight acne. Worried about fine lines? Niacinamide can help minimize the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.

While no skin-care ingredient is right for everyone, I personally find niacinamide to be extremely effective and gentle enough for my fairly reactive skin. Before you dive in head-first, perform a patch test on a small, non-visible area, or see your dermatologist.

Niacinamide can be found in a ton of products like moisturizers and makeup primers. But the simplest, most direct way to incorporate it into your routine is a serum. They usually contain higher concentrations of active ingredients than other types of products, and can be rotated in and out of your routine depending on your skin's current needs.

There are fantastic options to be found at every price point from department store to drugstore, but the one that's right for your skin will depend on your budget, individual skin type, concerns, and preferences.

The best niacinamide serums you can buy:

Best niacinamide serum overall: SkinCeuticals Metacell Renewal B3

Best budget niacinamide serum: The Ordinary Niacinamide 10 Zinc 1

Best niacinamide booster: Paula's Choice 10 Niacinamide Booster

Best niacinamide serum for sensitive skin: Glossier Super Pure

Best niacinamide serum for dry skin: InstaNatural Niacinamide Serum

Keep reading for more details about our top picks.The best niacinamide serum overall

SkinCeuticals

SkinCeuticals Metacell Renewal B3 is a powerful blend of ingredients that address common skin concerns like wrinkles, hyperpigmentation, and free radical damage.

SkinCeuticals's Metacell Renewal B3 is an anti-aging serum containing 5 niacinamide and a cocktail of other ingredients that target skin concerns such as fine lines and redness.

Part of SkinCeuticals' "Correct" line-up, it's meant to help repair damage that has already been done to the skin. The formula also includes amino acids to help boost collagen levels, along with peptides to help lessen the appearance of lines and glycerin to hydrate.

This lightweight serum is dermatologist-tested and suitable for all skin types, including sensitive and mature. It's fragrance-free and formulated without sulfates, parabens, and phthalates.

Health calls it "a great choice for anyone with environmental damage." It's been featured as a top pick by StyleCaster and averages 5 stars on Dermstore, based on 48 reviews.

"Highly recommend staple in my nightly routine! Helps to diminish my hyper-pigmentation and I've noticed firmer and smoother skin," writes one shopper.

Pros: Addresses many concerns such as lines, redness, and free radical damage, fragrance-free, works for all skin types

Cons: Very expensive

The best budget niacinamide serum

DECIEM

The Ordinary Niacinamide 10 Zinc 1 has an impressive high concentration of active ingredients for such an affordable serum.

The Ordinary Niacinamide 10 Zinc 1 is an effective, affordable serum with a surprisingly high concentration of actives for such an inexpensive product seriously, it's less than 6. The 10 niacinamide combined with zinc makes this a great pick for the breakout prone and budget conscious.

The serum's thin texture makes it ideal as a spot treatment for individual blemishes, though the watery texture might feel too thin for some. If you tend to get pimples all over, you can coat the entire face without feeling like it's suffocating your skin. This formula is ideal for oily skin types as it can also help cut down on excess oil production while minimizing the appearance of pores.

More sensitive individuals will probably want to tread more carefully reviewers report that the formula can be drying and sensitizing.

"I have combination skin with perioral hormonal acne which is occasionally cystic. My skin was reacting very poorly at the beginning of winter, and I was breaking out more frequently. Started using this once daily in the AM maybe 3-4 months ago, and my skin is much clearer breakouts are less frequent and less severe," writes one Sephora reviewer.

The product is a popular pick with consumers and experts; it has a 4.2 rating on Sephora based on 847 reviews. It's also been recommended by Allure as a top serum under 30, and featured on StyleCaster and Health.

Pros: Extremely affordable, high concentration of actives, good for oily or acne-prone skin

Cons: May be drying for some

The best niacinamide booster

Paula's Choice

Paula's Choice 10 Niacinamide Booster is meant to be combined with moisturizer or another serum to create the redness-fighting cocktail of your dreams.

The Paula's Choice 10 Niacinamide Booster is designed to slot easily into your existing skin-care routine as it can be used alone as a serum or mixed in with other skin-care products. If you already have a serum or moisturizer you love but want to give your skin a little boost, this could be a great pick.

Formulated with licorice root extract to help with hyperpigmentation, antioxidants to help repair free radical damage and prevent premature aging, and 10 niacinamide to, well, do everything, this is a simple yet effective formula. The consistency is very thin and blends easily with thicker creams or serums.

I've used this alone and mixed it into other products, and have found it effective at preventing blemishes from fully taking root even when they've already started to form.

"My skin loves Niacinamide, it makes a huge difference in my pore size. I have oily skin. I have used other niacinamide boosters that I loved, but did not play well with others and would ball up, so I couldn't use them during the day. This one I can use straight on my skin and it soaks in and never balls up," writes one Dermstore customer.

Overall, the product has a 4-star rating based on 32 reviews on Dermstore. It's also been featured on StyleCaster, Health, StyleCraze, and MyDomaine, which says it will "make your pores appear nearly invisible."

Pros: Can be mixed with other skin-care products, lightweight, fragrance-free

Cons: Texture is very runny

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