Niacinamide is everywhere: in Korean serums, creams, even sunscreens, often written in large print on the packaging. It seems like the latest discovery in Asian cosmetics. In reality, its history begins much closer to home, in the Po Valley, more than two hundred and fifty years ago.
Rough skin
In 1771, a Milanese doctor, Francesco Frapolli, described a disease that affected Lombard and Venetian peasants. He took the name from the language the sick spoke: pellagra, from pelle agra, meaning "rough skin."
It wasn't a name chosen at random. The skin was the first sign: reddened, then dark and scaly, and always in areas exposed to the sun, like the backs of the hands and the neck. The rest of the body came later. Pellagra was a serious disease, and in the countryside of Northern Italy, it claimed many victims until the twentieth century.
For more than a century, no one understood where it came from. The blame was placed on spoiled corn, a poison, or an infection. The true answer was simpler, and also more ironic.
The recipe left in America
Corn arrived in Europe after Columbus and conquered the countryside: it was high-yielding and fed many people. Here, it became polenta, often the only dish of the day.
In Mexico and Central America, however, corn had been eaten for three thousand years and pellagra did not exist. The reason lay in the kitchen: before grinding it, Mesoamerican peoples cooked it in water and lime. The process has an unpronounceable name that comes from the language of the Aztecs, nixtamalization, and it does one specific thing: it releases vitamin B3, which is present in corn but remains locked in a form the body cannot use.
Europe imported corn and left the recipe on the other side of the ocean. Anyone who has assembled a piece of furniture without reading the instructions knows how that ended.
From nicotine to vitamin PP
The molecule itself was already known: nineteenth-century chemists had obtained it from nicotine, which is why it was called nicotinic acid. However, no one had linked it to pellagra.
The connection came in 1937, when the American biochemist Conrad Elvehjem demonstrated that nicotinic acid and its "twin" form, nicotinamide, cured the equivalent of pellagra in dogs.
An image problem remained: no one wanted to enrich bread with something that sounded like tobacco. So, in the United States, the vitamin was renamed niacin. In Italy, it took on another name, which our grandmothers still remember: vitamin PP, from Pellagra Preventing. The niacinamide you read on labels today is exactly that: nicotinamide.
And on the skin, today?
An honest premise: a cream does not "give" you the vitamin that is missing. Pellagra is prevented at the dinner table, and today it has disappeared thanks to a varied diet. Cosmetics work on the surface of the skin, and there, niacinamide can do quite a lot:
- evens out skin tone and softens the appearance of dark spots;
- supports the skin barrier, i.e., the skin's ability to retain water;
- reduces the shiny look of the T-zone and makes pores less visible;
- it is well-tolerated by most skin types, which is why you find it in very different products.
A myth to debunk: niacinamide can be used together with vitamin C. The ban stems from old studies conducted in conditions far removed from real-world use, so much so that two of the products below include them in the same formula.
How to tell if there is really any in it. Look where it is in the ingredient list: the higher up it is, the more there is. If it appears at the end, after fragrances and preservatives, it's a bit player, not the star.
Where to find it with us
We have chosen only products where niacinamide is at the top of the formula:
- Belif Super Drops 5% Niacinamide & Vitamin C — the 5% is written in the name, and vitamin C works alongside it. For those who want a brighter, more even complexion.
- Arencia Red Smoothie Serum 30 — niacinamide and arbutin as the main duo, on a base of antioxidant red extracts. Fragrance-free.
- Klairs Freshly Juiced Vitamin Charging Serum — niacinamide and a stable form of vitamin C, a light, everyday texture.
- Comfort Zone Hydramemory Hydra & Glow Ampoule — a formula of only eleven ingredients, in ampoules, for a seven-day cycle.
In a nutshell
Niacinamide is not a Korean trend: it is vitamin PP, born from a Lombard word and a forgotten recipe. Today, on the skin, it is one of the most versatile and gentle active ingredients available.
This article tells the history of vitamin B3 and the cosmetic characteristics of niacinamide. It does not replace the advice of a doctor or dermatologist.