When you think of key skin-care ingredients, your mind may wander to retinol, the gold standard for anti-aging, vitamin C, the go-to brightening antioxidant or hyaluronic acid, the hydrating skin plumper. But new data from BeautyDNA suggests another ingredient you may be overlooking has become one of skin care’s biggest staples: niacinamide.
BeautyDNA’s analysis found that niacinamide appears on more than 50 percent of photographed skin-care shelves, making it the most common active ingredient observed among BeautyDNA members. The findings are based on AI analysis of thousands of products photographed on users’ actual bathroom shelves, giving us a unique look at what consumers keep in their collections. Because the analysis reflects photographed products, it measures shelf presence rather than confirmed frequency of use.
Ahead, a closer look at the ingredients appearing most often—and the familiar favorites niacinamide outranked.
Niacinamide Is the Favorite Ingredient
BeautyDNA analyzed more than 6,000 skin-care products across 1,271 brands and found that niacinamide appeared more frequently than any other active ingredient, showing up on just over half of photographed shelves. Niacinamide is often included in products with multiple active ingredients, sometimes even built into products consumers purchase for entirely different reasons.
“At 50.7 percent it is on more shelves than any other active, mostly as an ingredient inside products bought for something else,” the report states. Often found in serums and moisturizers, niacinamide can help reduce the appearance of dark spots and hyperpigmentation.
In other words, although niacinamide was the most common active on the observed shelves, consumers may not be shopping for it specifically, but they’re ending up with it anyway.
Top Skin-Care Ingredients
While niacinamide claimed the top spot, other key ingredients followed. The following numbers show the percentage of members with an active skin-care shelf who have at least one product in each category, according to BeautyDNA:
- Niacinamide: 50.7 percent
- Peptides: 45.4 percent
- Hyaluronic acid: 40.6 percent
- Retinol: 39.6 percent
- Vitamin C: 39.4 percent
- Ceramides: 23.5 percent
- Salicylic acid: 20.5 percent
- Glycolic acid: 19.8 percent
- Collagen: 17.5 percent
- Lactic acid: 15.9 percent
Note that vitamin C and retinol are neck and neck, suggesting that both are already well established in beauty routines. “Roughly four in ten shelves already carry each—this audience is past the education stage on both,” the report says. Bakuchiol, often marketed as a gentler retinol alternative, appeared on just over 7 percent of shelves, indicating that it remains comparatively niche.
Peptides Are Still on the Rise
Peptides ranked second on the list, showing up on more than 45 percent of shelves. Their strong placement reflects the growing prominence of peptide-based formulas in firming and healthy-aging routines.
Here’s the takeaway: While retinol and vitamin C continue to be at the forefront of skin care conversations and peptides remain popular, niacinamide has quietly become the active most likely to appear on consumers’ bathroom shelves, whether they realize it or not.
