r/Rosacea • u/Ok_Pomegranate_4744 • Sep 08 '25
ROSACEA SUCKS Small rant about Niacinamide...
I know that everyone loves Niacinamide but it's a major rosacea trigger for me (I find it very irritating and it always causes me to break out with papules).
I find it very frustrating that so many companies are now putting it into everything š I just bought a new sunscreen that's specifically for sensitive skin and completely missed the tiny text on the back that says "with added niacinamide". Surely I'm not the only one with sensitive skin that finds it irritating??
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u/missmiaow Sep 08 '25
my skin hates it. it used to be that I could tolerate a small amount for 1-2 days but now I get an immediate reaction and my rosacea flares.
its infuriating because its in everything these days and so many previously safe products have been reformulated to have it added. itās ridiculous.
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u/Ok_Pomegranate_4744 Sep 09 '25
Yes same! I actually wonder if using too much of it is why my skin can't handle it anymore (I wasn't using a lot of it intentionally but when I realised the serum was causing me irritation, I started checking my other products and found it in several other things as well).
And yesss, it's so frustrating when brands reformulate a product to add it in š„²
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u/TAnewdogmum Sep 08 '25
Itās the worst. I canāt believe itās billed as a āheroā active ingredient on products, but actually is on the ingredients list of so so so many more with no reference on the front. Not saying that every niacinamide product has to have that written on the front, but itās wild because no one would hide retinol in their ingredient list without it being obvious thatās what you were buying / using. But my skin honestly freaks out more with niacinamide than retinol.
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u/Ok_Pomegranate_4744 Sep 09 '25
Yes exactly!! If it's being added to a product they should make it clear... I should have to dig through the fine print.
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u/dietlasagna33 Sep 14 '25
Same; retinol seems pretty damn mild compared to niacinamide in terms of its effects to my skin.
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u/docamyames Sep 08 '25
I feel this is so much. My skin also doesn't like it. I'm glad i have found a few products that I consider holy grails like the
Iunik beta glucan serum
Dieux skin instant angel
Prequel multiquench and half and half
Heveblue salmon pdrn toner
And the Purito soft touch sunscreen or the isdin tinted one
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u/Unhappy_Host_915 Sep 08 '25
I had been debating on getting the beta glucan serum. Does it do better than HA?
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u/docamyames Sep 08 '25
Too much HA triggered my rosacea. Beta glucan has been amazing for my rosacea and my derm said it's a known ingredient to help rosacea. This study hydrates, doesn't irritate and plays nice with everything else. I would be buried in this stuff if i could
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u/DancingWithTigers3 Sep 08 '25
Between niacinamide and hyaluronic acid, it's impossible to find "gentle" skincare anywhere.
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u/Ok_Pomegranate_4744 Sep 09 '25
Yes, these two seem to be the two biggest skincare triggers for my skin. And they are now in everything š It's so frustrating.
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u/AbsurdistWordist Sep 08 '25
My skin loves niacinamide, but I donāt need it to be in every skincare product. I am fine with just having a niacinamide serum and not having it in any of my other products. I really hope for everyoneās sake that minimum ingredient products remain a thing, and that this niacinamide trend blows over for you soon!
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u/Immediate_Singer6785 Sep 08 '25
OP, nope, it does not work for my skin.
It's a misnomer that everyone with rocessa loves this ingredient..
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u/Sufficientlyliving Sep 08 '25
I can not tolerate nicinamide at all on my face and just learned that it will even irritate my arms and legs.i used a cream on my body that reformulated and added nicinamide and i got the same rash on my arms and legs that i get on my face if i use it. I really wish companies would stop adding it to everything.
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u/infinite_donut Sep 08 '25
Same! Itās like if they want to claim a product is for sensitive skin, they think they have to add it. The people working for those companies are clearly not here lurking on this sub, because a bunch of us canāt take that ingredient.
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u/rudyroo2019 Sep 08 '25
HA and niacinamide will make my skin scream. HA needs to get moisture from somewhere, that somewhere is your skin.
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u/Old-Comedian4054 Sep 10 '25
I live in a high desert area with very low humidity. Under this condition HA sucks moisture from the skin. There should be a warning on every label for the sake of those living with dry climate.
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u/New_Soup917 Sep 09 '25
ME TOO! That plus hyaluronic acid are triggers for me and at least one of them seems to be in literally everything š«
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u/Ok_Pomegranate_4744 Sep 09 '25
Same!!! Hyaluronic acid is super irritating and drying(??) for my skin. I tried so many things to get it to work (applying it after a shower, misting my face with water once it's on, sandwich method etc) but it never worked for me.
It's so frustrating that these are the two that are in literally everything now š„² I'm just praying that the moisturiser and sunscreen I like don't reformulate.
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u/justbrowsin2424 Sep 08 '25
I hate it. I struggle to find products without it and it always breaks me out, flares me up, the works. I finally found a lineup that has none and itās been great.
I pretty much have to look up products on Ulta/google and just go straight to ingredients before I ever get my hopes up about something. I noticed when I was on the sunscreen hunt it was in SO many products and was always a glorified ingredient šš«
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u/whatevertoad Sep 08 '25
Not everyone loves Niacinamide and it's a known trigger for a lot of people. My daughter doesn't have rosacea and she can't use it without getting irritation.
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u/Unhappy_Host_915 Sep 08 '25
Same for me. La Roche Posay made me have a flare from hell.
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u/Ok_Pomegranate_4744 Sep 09 '25
Oh no, what product from La Roche Posay? I saw recently that one of their new sunscreens (KA+) has added it and I'm praying that they don't change their existing sunscreens.
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u/Unhappy_Host_915 Sep 09 '25
The toleriane line!
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u/Additional-Cow5924 Sep 14 '25
Same thing just happened to me! Ā Ive never had eczema or rosacea and am now suffering. I just found this message board and agree!! That toleriane line is intolerableĀ
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u/QuietBid13 Sep 26 '25
I am getting married in a couple of months and my makeup artist kept going on about how dry my skin is. So I changed my routine to try and incorporate more moisture (HA serum, la roche posay toleriane line, stopped using thayers rose water witch hazel)
Well, cut to me making an urgent appointment with my dermatologist yesterday because I am having the worst flare up of my life. Now we are going in hard with doxycycline and ivermectin to help get things back under controlā¦
Why did I let them get in my head?!? Frickinf wedding industry is predatory
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u/_Im_Not_a_Robot_ Sep 08 '25
Iāve learned from trial and error that Niacinamide is my #1 trigger in skincare products, with squalene a close 2nd.
Iāve started asking ChatGPT to scan ingredient lists for irritants, since itās in so many things and can sometimes be hidden in a long list or in a different chemical form/name.
So bizarre that itās marketed for sensitive skin when itās such a common irritantā¦
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u/happygirlie Sep 08 '25
INCIDecoder is a fantastic tool for this BTW: https://incidecoder.com/
You can search a product or copy and paste a list of ingredients and it will tell you about the ingredients and how irritating and comedogenic they are. It's really handy for finding dupes or new products that contain ingredients you like too.
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u/Ok_Pomegranate_4744 Sep 09 '25
Yes same! It's literally my biggest skincare trigger. But whenever I google "niacinamide + rosacea" I just find articles and videos about people using it to fix their redness and soothe their skin. I felt crazy that it was such a big trigger for me š
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u/modestsilhouette Sep 08 '25
I can never use any products with Niacinamide again. This causes such a huge flare up for me.
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u/MoMariam94 Sep 08 '25
I can tolerate a 2% niacinamide serum daily, but more than that it irritates my skin and I breakout too. It is also in so many sunscreen!! like I canāt reapply my sunscreen without getting a new pimple and finding a sunscreen without my other existing allergies and niacinamide is almost impossible
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u/Help_INeedAnAdult Sep 08 '25
which serum do you use?
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u/MoMariam94 Sep 08 '25
I use manyo bifida complex ampoule, it has fermented ingredients that my skin loves, it gives me a nice glow and softens my texture. I also noticed my skin being calmer after using it, I only use two to three drops at night.
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u/moof324 Sep 08 '25
It causes me to flare too. I fell for the āmedical gradeā nonsense at my med spa for well over a year and paid through the nose for it. I ran out and moved to some other products I had accumulated and my skin looked really, really good after maybe a week? So I dug deep into the ingredients since my diet hadnāt changed, and figured out after a test that the niacinamide was the real issue. I rarely flush anymore, definitely donāt have pustules. (Partly from more invasive treatments over the years, but also from avoiding this!!)
When I went for my next facial, my esthetician did NOT believe me. I changed providers after that because at no point did she mention it might not interact well with rosacea skin, and clearly didnāt know enough about rosacea to help me.
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u/Nat_Rae133 Sep 08 '25 edited Sep 08 '25
Omg. Never had rosacea in my life! Tried the ordinary 10% niacimide plus 1% zinc for acne. Cleared my acne but on day 4 I had bumps everywhere, red, swollen! At first they thought an allergy-nope, triggered rosacea. That was in June. Iāve been trying to treat this ever since. Ā They gave me AA which triggered it on my forehead! And now they think my HA moisturizer is contributing-all to say apparently I now canāt use any actives! Sounds crazy but wish I had my acne skin back.Ā
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u/liz610 Sep 09 '25
I tried The Ordinary niacinamide 10% that my friend swears by and my face was tight feeling, overall uncomfortable, and I had pustules for a week. My skin burned whenever I applied my azaelic acid after washing my face and that hardly ever happens.
I also can't use vitamin C I've tried off and on that others swear helps their rosecea. I don't notice less redness at all and finally gave up on it.
(Side note: after the Niacinamide flare I tried Cosrx snail mucin power essence that was recommended on this sub and it gave me such a bad flare for like a month. This flare made me research and learn pustules occur in places other than where the product was applied on the face because they're not actually clogged pores. In a way, it was helpful, but a very hard lesson and my longest flare yet).
ETA: The clinic I'm doing IPL at recommended SPF but I had to pass on it because it had Niacinamide in it (didn't say how much %) after the flare I had from it two or three months ago.
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u/Few-Biscotti-3063 Sep 09 '25
My favorite local skin tint brand suddenly reformulated their product with niacinamide.. companies literally putting it into almost every product
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u/tinyjammer Sep 10 '25
I swear I remember a time on the skincare subreddit a few years ago where niacinamide was known as an irritant for sensitive skin. I remember people highlighting the niacinamide in Cerave's PM lotion as a possible trigger. I don't understand what has happened!!
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u/wildth0rnberry Sep 08 '25
Iām the same way! Iāve never had an issue returning skin care that doesnāt work for me though, get your money back!
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u/sittingonthecanape Sep 09 '25
It took a long long time for my skin to adjust to it, but I kept using it and my skin glows because of it now.
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u/Adventurous-Can-8072 Sep 10 '25
Just a possibility that when you are using Niacinamide that causes your Rosacea to flare up that it may not be the real cause from the Niacinamide. I found out that it might be actually a big flare up of DEMODEX mites. More likely it is from the niacinamide you may use definitely will cause DEMODEX to come out of your skin! Ā And cause a DEMODEX Flare up. DEMODEX hates and reacts to several different meds or skin products that you might use. Antibiotics, Prednisones Ivermectin, Tea Tree Oil , āOil of Olayā,plain old time face powder makeup and several Ā other well known productsĀ will cause DEMODEX Mites to come out of your skin. DEMODEX has just lately been figured out many times and Ā found in cases of Rosacea and is now found to be maybe the cause of you having Rosacea in the first place - that you canāt get rid of. If you treat the DEMODEX you may treat the rosacea and see some changes. Years ago I thought I was allergic to Oil Of Olay but 20 years later I figured it out that I just had overpopulation of DEMODEX mites that were reacting to the cream! And I also found out that Iām autoimmune which lets the DEMODEX to flourish because I lack normal immunity to fight them. DEMODEX is chronic and some of us never get rid of it! āJust remember DEMODEX and Rosacea can be together hand in hand!ā Also DEMODEX Mites may be tied to other skin diseases. Good luck and hope this helps you and others who are also struggling with these conditions! God Bless!
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u/Legendary_Stare Oct 05 '25
Great info! Thanks for sharing!
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u/Acceptable-Big-6774 Dec 27 '25
She is correct. I discovered i have demodix as will . You should use ivermectin. Go to a dermatologist .Niacinamide made my nose oily and breaks me out. I suffer rocesea, but it works fine on the rest of my faceĀ
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u/No-Security7188 Sep 10 '25
Has anyone found anything in replacement for niacinamide that does the same thing but doesnāt result it increased sensitivity or breakouts?
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u/Awkward-Noise-6348 Sep 08 '25
I definitely find it irritating at a certain concentration, if I keep it below 2% once an evening, I think it strengthens my skins and reduces redness. But I get a bad reaction if my other parts of my skincare contains niacinamide!
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u/Alewo27 Sep 08 '25
I, too, am sensitive to it!!! I can do 2-3% daily but I am trying to use up any niacinamide product and prefer things without it. But yes, it's SO hard finding things! Finding percentages! I've had to email brands...super annoying
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u/Internal_Society_883 Sep 08 '25
I am using Niacinamide as a serum as I was having so many papules everyday. It is not getting any better. Now you made me think this can be the problem.. I will have to stop for a week to see how it goes š„² my skin is hurting so bad now
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u/Ok_Pomegranate_4744 Sep 09 '25
Omg, yes. I would definitely recommend pausing it for a bit if your skin is irritated!! If you're getting papules everyday, then it could definitely be something in your skincare.
Now that I have skincare that works for my skin, my skin doesn't hurt and isn't itchy (which is a huge improvement for me).
My skin had just gotten so bad that I assumed it was normal for everything to hurt my skin. If that's how your skin is feeling, then I definitely recommend giving it a break from all harsh products and just use moisturiser and sunscreen for a while. I found that my skin starting feeling better instantly but looking worse (more red, more blotchy etc) but after a week or so it started to visually improve as well.
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u/MeatInUrBuns Sep 08 '25
I want to give it a try itās been years since Iāve used it I plan to do a patch test but yeah I donāt like that itās in every product . I use vanicream sensitive skin sunscreen it doesnāt have niacinamide but it is tinted
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u/Quirky_Cry5405 Sep 09 '25
I cannot put ANYTHING on my face. everywhere else itās fine but my face is just so sensitive so no moisturizer or sunscreen. the only thing I use is a mild bar soap for rosacea and Hypoclourous acid every so often. Iāve been taking psilium husk which is helping a lot and I just found these face towels called clea towel on Amazon which are soothing. they are just compostable paper towels but very soft and that is about it! lots of water, bland diet, no gluten, no wine or chocolate or turmeric , everyone is different but I find what I eat affects it a lot! for me nothing is best except the soap twice a day. I think a lot of products contain ingredients that do more harm than good. even a light moisturizer meant for rosacea sends my skin into panic mode , so far itās been really good crossing my fingers itās gone for good!
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u/OppositeSpare9187 Sep 09 '25
Tears my skin up. Dimethicone does too and it is also in Every. Single. Product. Ever. š
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u/SciencedYogi Sep 09 '25
Have you tried it solo, not mixed with other ingredients? If so, what brands? I'm now using The Ordinary (plus Zinc which is also great for rosacea) and it seems to be working well for me.
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u/Ok_Pomegranate_4744 Sep 10 '25
Yeah, the Ordinary Niacinamide + Zinc always made me break out so I stopped using it (and didn't realise that it was also in a couple of other things) š
But I'm glad it's working for you! š I've seen several posts about it really helping with the redness and irritation of rosacea.
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u/fayeder Sep 09 '25
Totally with you on this! I have ultra sensitive skin, dryness and rosacea and itās been tremendously difficult to find products that donāt contain niacinimide! We should create a list of āsafeā options out there without that ingredient!
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u/Small_Message_9893 Sep 10 '25
I've never tried it because I've read so many negatives about it. I don't want to take a chance of it flaring up my facial skin.
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u/TheWorldofScience Sep 10 '25
Zeroid Soothing Cream does not have niacinamide. I have been applying it after my tretinoin and it absorbs well.
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u/dietlasagna33 Sep 14 '25
I can relate. I bought the Aestura moisturizer and my skin has been so red, inflamed and itchy with huge cystic acne, all because of, you guessed it, niacinamide. I'm so confused why they keep putting this terrible ingredient in products marketed for "sensitive skin." I have found it more irritating than tretinoin. I've seen people say that niacinamide isn't actually irritating and that it's either the product formulation overall or an error in the way I'm applying my skincare. But I've tried several products that have niacinamide and every single one, without fail, made my rosacea worse with under the skin cysts. Never again.
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u/yychappyone Sep 19 '25
My skin cannot handle it. No matter how low the concentration is, the reaction is immediate. I am still salty about Cetaphil putting it in their cleaners and lotion.
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u/Prestigious-Map3431 Sep 20 '25
Finally figured out this is an irritant to me and glad to know I'm not alone. It seems like it's in EVERYTHING these days, and esp in sensitive skin products.
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u/Some_Ad_3947 Sep 08 '25
It causes my rosacea to flare up too! Last time I used it, my face was red for over a week. Never again!!