Niacin (Vitamin B3) completely changed my oily face. Ever since I hit puberty (like 10 years ago) I've had the oiliest skin you can imagine, with actually very little acne but the oil was extreme and extremely embarrassing as well, I washed my face just to notice a couple of hours later that i had oil all over with the distinctive shine. I have literally tried every product, commercial or otherwise and never quite found anything that really helped.... Until I tried Niacin. For the first time in years my face was normal I would even say dry, so much so that I don't have to worry at all about washing my face more than once a day, or wiping it out every couple of hours, I'm taking 750mg (3 pills of 250mg each) a day of Niacin from GNC (I suppose any other brand works just as well, I only bought it there cause it was the nearest)

The niacin gives you a warmth feeling or flush only for a few minutes after taking it each day, and then you're set for the rest of the day, maybe the first couple of days it might be weird or somewhat uncomfortable, by now I'm not only used to it but I actually enjoy it. Is note worthy that the flush happens only for a few minutes and goes away, I actually have noticed that afterwards it helps me regulate my body temperature (before I began taking Niacin I was always cranking up the a/c cause I felt hot, temperature wise, lol). Ok so the flushing is pretty much the only side effect, which is completely normal by the way.

And about the quantity I'm taking, well up to what I've researched, the toxicity kicks in when taking 1500mg to 3000mg a day over long periods and the toxicity has been tied to other types of vitamin B3 namely the slow release type, and not to the normal "run of the mill" niacin and certainly not at the 750mg a day dose that I recommend

I sincerely hope this post helps anyone one out there, I wish I had know about this years ago...Best wishes everyone

This post has been edited by Josesua: Oct 10 2009, 09:48 PM

Thanks for the info & feedback, I've been taking a small amount of Niacin, and it may also be helping (so much other stuff going on hard to tell for me atm!). Just wondering how long you have been taking it for, as some say the effects sometimes don't last.

Supplements never done anything for my oily skin unfortz , Kudos to you tho , glad they've helped someone.

I've been on Niacin for 5 weeks now (entering the 6th) and it is still working wonders on my face. Up to this point far from diminishing its effects, the Niacin is working just as well as ever.

I have actually been testing/indulging myself with everything that previously worsen my oily skin, and the face is holding on fine...

But I promise I'll let you all know if in the future it stops working or diminishes its effects...

I did Niacin for a month and tbh my face last week was the worst it's ever been. I don't think the niacin did this, I think I just had a breakout. But I just stopped taking niacin to see if my face improves / stays the same / or gets worse.

I did alot of research on Niacin and didn't have these results other people are having and it might be all mental...


Oily skin can accur from you stressing out or thinking that your face is getting oily, or atleast that how i felt. Like at school / work my face is disgustingly oily! But at home my face is fine all day. Just something to think about.

When i took niacin it made my skin worses.It was the flushing type

This post has been edited by junior11: Oct 24 2009, 09:24 AM

Niacin is clearing up my oily skin also after only 2 months. I don't have acne but I do have a sebeceous nose (oily and bumpy) which is now clearing up for the first time after more than 40 years (now 62) Low niacin makes you more prone to fungal infections (mostly yeast infections) so I recommend Nystatin cream (very cheap, $10 without insurance, but prescription is required) in combination with the niacin. I'm on 1000mg per day for cholesterol control but I think 750mg is more than enough for the oily skin. The fungus gets into the oil glands and can cause disfiguring scars so Nystatin is a good back up for niacin.

Hi everybody, I just wanted to drop-by for an update, is long overdue anyway.. the product has worked as expected, it's been great. I took it approximately for 2 and a half months, and I have only discontinued it since because my idea was never to get hooked on something indefinitely.

I am currently trying some other products as tests, but if necessary I will go back to Niacin in a New York microsecond. If anything, maybe is worth mentioning that my hands were overly dry and had some peeling, and the flush was starting to get a little old for me.. just a personal observation (lol)

I hope this has been helpful..

Alright everyone is raving about niacin right now. When I take B vitamins (a complex) in general I seem to break out. But I've never actually isolated the b3. I'm really thinking about it though. What is a good dose? Is non flush just as effective? Is it safe? Does it interact with any medications or other vitamins? (I'm on a whole slew of things ) Sorry for all the questions, i'm just really curious now because you're like the fourth person I've seen post something like this.

I have been taking 500 mg of flush free niacin for about 4 months now. Didnt seem to help much with acne, BUT I have had a definite decrease in my oil production. My face no longer gets shiny with grease halfway through the day and I no longer have to blot my face with a tissue every few hours. niacin's da best!

How odd; doesn't do a thing for me.


Ah, that explains it. You're taking some form of nicotinic acid, whereas I use the amide form. AFAIK, there isn't any OTC form of nicotinic acid you can take in that dose long term that isn't associated with increased liver damage. Hopefully, people won't read your experience and run right out and start popping massive amounts of other chemicals that happen to be labeled "niacin". Kinda sad that the safest form of nicotinic acid is prescription only, while more toxic forms are OTC.

With all the confusion about niacin, I gotta bet there'll be some case reports on toxicity appearing in a few years, from people trying to megadose various chemicals to treat acne.