What it is
The register’s chemical name for it: “3-Pyridinecarboxamide.”
- EU register name (INCI)
- NIACINAMIDE
- CAS number
- 98-92-0
- EC number
- 202-713-4
What the register lists it for
These are the uses the European Commission’s CosIng register lists for Niacinamide in any cosmetic, hair roles first. They say why a maker might add it, not what it does in one formula, and they aren’t a safety rating.
- Smoothing
-
Evens out a rough surface. The register writes this for skin; on a hair label it sits beside conditioning ingredients.
Register definition: “Seeking to achieve an even skin surface by decreasing roughness or irregularities.”
Where it sits on each label
US labels list ingredients from most to least, except that those at 1% or less may follow in any order. A name near the top is a large part of the formula. A label doesn’t mark where the 1% point falls, so further down, the order says little about how much is in it.
- Clarifying shampoos 1 label First five names: 0 of 1 Clarifying shampoos without it
- Heat protectants 1 label First five names: 0 of 1 Heat protectants without it
Every label, product by product (2)
- Cécred Clarifying Shampoo & Scalp Scrub Clarifying shampoo 12th of 31 names
- TRESemmé Protecting Heat Styling Spray Heat protectant 9th of 29 names
Each line runs from the first name on a label to the last; a dot is where this ingredient sits. Makers change formulas now and then; if the list on your bottle differs, go by your bottle.
Your next step
Updated · The name, numbers and uses come from the European Commission’s CosIng entry (CC BY 4.0); we write the uses in US spelling and put the hair ones first. The labels are each maker’s own. The order rule is the FDA’s Cosmetics Labeling Guide. All our sources are on the Sources page.