When it comes to skin discoloration and inflammation, especially from sources like acne, two active ingredients have been getting a lot of buzz in recent years. If you are weighing the benefits and trying to decide between azelaic acid vs niacinamide, the right choice usually comes down to your specific use case, and some people do benefit from both.
Azelaic Acid Benefits For Acne & Inflammation
Both azelaic acid and niacinamide help with skin discoloration, but azelaic acid is often the better choice for acne treatment, including the skin discoloration that comes with acne. While many people benefit from both, acne breakouts can be caused by keratin overproduction. If that is a concern, then niacinamide might be counterproductive, since it encourages keratin growth.
Azelaic acid is a naturally occurring organic acid that helps balance your skin’s chemistry in ways that directly treat inflammation in addition to skin discoloration. That makes azelaic acid 14 percent cream widely useful for cases of skin irritation and inflammation caused by a variety of common environmental factors like minor allergies, on top of its use as an acne treatment.
Niacinamide Benefits for Fine Lines & Wrinkles
Niacinamide has a few additional benefits that azelaic acid does not bring to the table, so for some people, using a mix of both is best. For others, the trade-off between the unique benefits of each product tips the balance toward niacinamide. In addition to helping with acne and skin discoloration, niacinamide helps encourage keratin production, which has led to its inclusion in some of the best supplements for hair growth alongside keratin from sources like kelp.
Niacinamide is a form of vitamin B3, so it provides some of the same benefits you get from dietary niacin, just in a form that is more suited to direct topical application. That’s part of why it helps encourage keratin growth, and it is also why niacinamide helps with fine lines, wrinkles, and other signs of aging in ways that azelaic acid creams do not.
Weighing Your Use Case
If you are treating skin discoloration caused by aging spots or need to treat acne and hair loss together, then niacinamide might be your best choice. If you are concerned about keratin overproduction as a possible cause of acne breakouts, then azelaic acid is your best choice. It is also the best choice for acne when it produces a lot of redness and swelling because it is better at controlling inflammation than niacinamide.
If over-the-counter concentrations of either compound are not completely effective, it might be time to talk to a dermatologist about whether it would be better to combine products or to move into prescription strength options.
Find the Skin and Hair Care Products You Need
The key to skin health is providing it with all the nutrients, vitamins, and amino acids it needs to maintain a healthy balance. In addition to your acne treatment, check out options for cleansers and moisturizers that can provide you with the tools you need to prevent future breakouts.
