Very seldom in skin care do you come across a single ingredient that can help all skin types with multiple issues at once, but niacinamide is that superhero. This compound, a form of vitamin B3, has been shown to benefit oily skin, acne-prone skin, dry skin, sun-damaged skin, and even sensitive skin. Once you've heard that much, you probably want to know how to go about choosing the best niacinamide serum to use day and night, which is why we're here to help you.

How Niacinamide Benefits Skin

Niacinamide, which is also known as nicotinamide, is a water-soluble vitamin that helps the body make molecules that are essential to certain cell functions. Those functions include repairing DNA damage, sending and receiving signals, and reproducing. We get some niacinamide through our diet but can't store it for long, so applying some of the best niacinamide serum to the skin is one very effective way to give skin a needed boost.

Niacinamide has been shown to signal skin cells to produce ceramides and fatty acids, which are the lipid cells that form the skin's outer layer, the natural barrier that retains moisture in the deeper layers of the skin and keeps out unwanted pollutants. When we don't make enough lipids on our own, that natural barrier literally breaks down and moisture evaporates through it. This is how skin gets dry, flaky and damaged — and when skin is dry, fine lines are more visible, too.

By maintaining healthy cell metabolism, niacinamide can also boost collagen production in the deeper layers of skin, which makes it supple and prevents fine lines and wrinkles from forming. Niacinamide also helps with another sign of aging: dark spots and hyperpigmentation. The compound can actually block cells from transferring pigment to the cells on the surface of the skin, which is what causes sunburns, tans, and dark spots. That means skin appears to have a more even tone, despite external factors such as UV rays and scarring.

Before that sun damage occurs, niacinamide works to prevent it by acting as an antioxidant and binding with the free radicals let loose in the skin by sun and pollution.

Niacinamide: Acne and Oil-Balancing Hero

Even as it helps skin maintain moisture, niacinamide can also benefit skin with the opposite problem. Studies have shown that topical niacinamide can regulate the secretion of sebum in skin. That means skin is less oily, pores are less likely to be clogged by excess sebum, and this also means pores will appear smaller.

Niacinamide also has anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial properties, which are two words anyone who suffers from acne loves to hear. Without infections and inflammations, you have less redness and fewer breakouts.

Choosing the Best Niacinamide Serum for You

As with any serum, you should base your decision on a few factors: combination of ingredients your skin needs, the quality of ingredients, and the absence of harmful ingredients.

Skin serums contain high concentrations of active ingredients designed so that your skin easily absorbs them. You can choose a serum that has a combination of ingredients in order to get maximum benefit and accomplish more than one skin-care goal — say hydrating skin, repairing damage, and protecting it. Ghost Democracy's Floodgate Hyaluronic Acid Serum is one way to do all of the above. Hyaluronic acid gets top billing — this ingredient draws moisture into the skin, making it plump and supple — but the serum also contains 4.1% niacinamide, about the same as many serums that boast their vitamin B3 content first. And while niacinamide is an antioxidant, Floodgate packs in linden flower extract and white tea extract, two powerful antioxidants that also promise to protect skin while hydrating it. Hibiscus flower extract is one more skin-plumping ingredient your skin will love.

Some serum makers might list the supposed benefits of their product, or hype one particular ingredient or two. But considering the fact that serums penetrate your skin and work quickly, you shouldn't have to wonder about what is really in them. Complete transparency empowers you to know what your serum is doing. It's also good to know your ingredients in case of any adverse reactions. You can tell whether there are harmful chemicals, fragrance, or ingredients that might be doing damage to the environment. Ghost Democracy products all adhere to a high standard of clean beauty and honesty about everything that goes into them.

While niacinamide is a stable compound, the active ingredients in serums do break down when exposed to heat and light. If your serum was transported or stored in a hot truck or warehouse, it might not be as potent as you hope. By eliminating the retail middleman, Ghost Democracy avoids those unknown factors. That means the best niacinamide serum can arrive untainted, fully effective and ready to work on your skin when you need it.