Niacinamide
Niacinamide
ALSO — NICOTINAMIDE, VITAMIN B3
The one molecule in this register that appears in almost every compounded formula and is almost never the reason it works. Well tolerated, sensibly dosed, quietly useful.
The marker is a representative concentration from the cited records. The bar includes approved and compounded preparations recorded here. It is not a recommended dose, a minimum effective strength or a claim that other concentrations are untested. Evidence depends on the vehicle, indication and trial population.
The shaded band is the depth this molecule is understood to reach. Anything below it is out of scope, whatever the label says.
Mechanism
Precursor to NAD+ and NADPH. Increases ceramide synthesis, reduces melanosome transfer to keratinocytes, and moderates sebum output and inflammatory signalling.
HOUSE NOTES
- Where this register has found a published concentration it has been 4% or 5%, which is inside the usual effective range. It is the one active compounders consistently dose correctly.
- It is present in most of these formulas to make the irritants in them survivable, which is a legitimate job and not the same as being the active.
- No controlled trial in this register's evidence base tests it. That is a gap in the register, not evidence against the molecule.
- One service names it as half of a 'dynamic duo' in its own marketing and publishes no concentration for it anywhere.
MEASURED ENDPOINTS
SUPPORTING RECORDS
Layering
No known conflicts on file. That is an absence of recorded interactions, not a guarantee — ask a prescriber before stacking anything prescription-strength.
- Tretinoin
- Azelaic acid
- Hydroquinone