How to read a niacinamide label properly

Niacinamide is the most oversold ingredient in Nigerian skincare right now, and the number on the front of the bottle is the least useful thing about it.

Ten percent is not better than five

Above about five percent, most people get flushing and irritation with no additional benefit. If a brand is advertising twenty percent, they are selling a number, not a result.

Look at position instead

Where niacinamide sits in the ingredient list tells you more than the claimed percentage. If it appears after the fragrance, there is very little of it in there regardless of what the front says.

Check what it is paired with

Niacinamide plus a barrier lipid or a humectant is a formula. Niacinamide plus water, alcohol and fragrance is a marketing exercise that will sting.