MAGELLAN LONGEVITY
Home › Research › Study library › What are the effects of topical niacinamide on skin appearance and…
Study summary · Skin, hair & photoaging

What are the effects of topical niacinamide on skin appearance and properties, specifically wrinkles, yellowing, and elasticity?

In one paragraph

Niacinamide, a randomized trial (Dermatol Surg 2005, PMID 16029679) — topical niacinamide provides additional benefits beyond previously observed effects, including improved appearance of skin wrinkles and yellowing, and improved elasticity. Scope: over 12 weeks, and the abstract states no limitations.

Source: Dermatol Surg 2005, PMID 16029679 ↗ · Research map · How Magellan grades evidence · evidence confidence: low

Dermatol Surg · 2005 · PMID 16029679 · DOI 10.1111/j.1524-4725.2005.31732

Plain-English summary written and published by Magellan Longevity · medical review by Gabriel Radu, DO (physiatrist, NPI 1376861765). We summarize what the paper reported — we did not run this study.

The takeaway

Topical niacinamide improves multiple signs of facial aging, including wrinkles, hyperpigmentation, redness, yellowing, and elasticity.

The question

What are the effects of topical niacinamide on skin appearance and properties, specifically wrinkles, yellowing, and elasticity?

What they tested

Topical niacinamide will improve the appearance of aging facial skin, including reductions in fine lines, wrinkles, hyperpigmented spots, red blotchiness, and skin sallowness, and will improve elasticity.

How they did it

Fifty female white subjects with facial photoaging applied 5% niacinamide to half of their face and a vehicle control to the other half twice daily for 12 weeks. The study was double-blind and left-right randomized. Facial images and instrumental measures were taken at baseline and every 4 weeks.

What they found

Topical niacinamide significantly reduced fine lines and wrinkles, hyperpigmented spots, red blotchiness, and skin sallowness (yellowing). Skin elasticity, measured by cutometry, also improved.

What it means

Topical niacinamide provides additional benefits beyond previously observed effects, including improved appearance of skin wrinkles and yellowing, and improved elasticity.

Limitations

The abstract does not explicitly state any limitations of the study.

Where the published abstract does not list limitations, we say so rather than inventing them. Read the full paper on PubMed before drawing conclusions.

“reductions in fine lines and wrinkles, hyperpigmented spots and skin sallowness”— from the published abstract, Dermatol Surg 2005

The paper at a glance

Magellan’s evidence labelbarrier and pigment modulation (our label for this citation — see PubMed for the paper’s own title and authors)
JournalDermatol Surg
Year2005
PMID16029679 ↗
DOI10.1111/j.1524-4725.2005.31732 ↗
TopicSkin, hair & photoaging

Read the source: PubMed record (authors, abstract, full citation) ↗ · Publisher via doi.org ↗

Where Magellan uses this paper

This citation sits behind the evidence grade on the pages below. Grades are set from the research and are independent of affiliate commissions.

Niacinamide (Vitamin B3) Serum

Randomized, mostly split-face trials indicate that topical niacinamide can modestly improve the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, hyperpigmented spots, red blotchiness, sallowness and skin elasticity, while strengthening the skin barrier and reducing transepidermal water loss.

Niacinamide (Vitamin B3) Serum

Niacinamide (nicotinamide) is the amide form of vitamin B3 and a precursor of the cellular cofactors…

Check price on Amazon ↗

Research describes the compound or intervention studied. It is not a claim about any specific product.

Cite this page

These citations point at this summary. To cite the original paper with its full author list, use the PubMed record or doi.org.

APA
Magellan Longevity. (2026). What are the effects of topical niacinamide on skin appearance and properties, specifically wrinkles, yellowing, and elasticity? [Plain-English summary of Dermatol Surg 2005, PMID 16029679, DOI 10.1111/j.1524-4725.2005.31732]. Magellan Longevity. https://magellanlongevity.com/study/s180.html
BibTeX
@misc{magellan_s180, title = {What are the effects of topical niacinamide on skin appearance and properties, specifically wrinkles, yellowing, and elasticity?}, author = {{Magellan Longevity}}, year = {2026}, howpublished = {\url{https://magellanlongevity.com/study/s180.html}}, note = {Plain-English summary of PubMed PMID 16029679; DOI 10.1111/j.1524-4725.2005.31732; Dermatol Surg 2005. Reviewed by Gabriel Radu, DO}, urldate = {2026-08-11} }
Permalink
https://magellanlongevity.com/study/s180.html

Related studies in the Magellan library

All 32 Magellan summaries on skin, hair & photoaging →

How this summary was made. Every section above restates what the published abstract of PMID 16029679 reports — the question, the design, the numbers, the authors’ own conclusion and their stated limitations. We do not add claims the paper did not make, and we keep negative and no-effect findings in. Magellan’s evidence grades are set from research like this and never from affiliate commissions.

Prefer the interactive version? Open this summary in the Magellan app → · Browse all 314 study summaries →

Educational information, not medical advice. This is a plain-English summary of published research; it is not a treatment recommendation and nothing here is intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Individual studies can be wrong, and a single paper rarely settles a question. Talk to your physician before acting on any research, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, or taking medication.