Niacinamide: how much is enough, and from what age
It appears on a lot of labels. The useful questions are the concentration, the age it is appropriate from, and what it is actually doing to the barrier.
Niacinamide is vitamin B3 in a form the skin can use. In adult skincare it is everywhere, usually at 5–10%, and usually sold for pigmentation or oil control. In infant skincare the reason to use it is different, and so is the amount.
What it actually does
The claim worth making is narrow: niacinamide increases the skin’s own production of ceramides and free fatty acids — the lipids that hold the barrier together. A better barrier holds water in and keeps irritants out. That is the whole mechanism.
The age question
We specify it across the full age range of the two products that carry it — the lotion and the soothing cream, both 0–12 — and we have put that decision in front of the paediatric dermatologist reviewing our formulations, specifically asking whether it needs an age floor below six months. When we have their answer we will update this page and say what changed.
Why we publish this at all
Most baby skincare tells you what is not in it. That is easy. Telling you what is in it, at what concentration, and why that number — that is the part a parent can actually check.
Daily Moisturising Lotion
Niacinamide at 1–2%, ceramides with cholesterol at a biomimetic ratio, and a texture built for Indian heat. This is the product this ingredient sits in.
See the product