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When Jennifer Aniston revealed she used NAD+ IV drips in an interview for The Wall Street Journal last year, it fuelled a growing internet frenzy over the supplementary therapy, which promises to boost energy and improve the skin’s appearance. Now, as demand continues to grow, NAD+ is moving out of the clinic and into oral supplements and skincare — offering new opportunities for beauty brands.
NAD or nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (which, in its oxidised form, is called NAD+) is a coenzyme found in every cell in the body, essential for maintaining cellular health. However, it declines with age, contributing to a decrease in cellular efficiency, which in turn leads to inflammation and accelerated ageing. The idea of supplementing NAD+ through IV drips first emerged in the ’60s, but has taken off in recent years as the wellness industry continues to boom, especially during the Covid pandemic. (Kendall Jenner and Hailey Beiber caused an earlier spike in interest when they were shown using NAD+ IV drips during an episode of Keeping Up with the Kardashians in 2022.)
“The pandemic brought health consciousness to the forefront, compelling everyone to think about what it means to be healthy,” says Olivia Houghton, lead beauty, health and wellness analyst at strategic consultancy The Future Laboratory. “This shift extended across all wellness and beauty industries where attitudes and behaviours towards skincare evolved from seeking instant results to valuing long-term health.”
This has only accelerated in 2024 amid growing interest in skin cell longevity and a wider shift towards proactive health management and biohacking. NAD+ has gained a strong following — even from clinicians. NAD+ is “a key player in maintaining cellular balance and longevity”, says Dr David Jack, aesthetic doctor, surgeon and founder of his eponymous skincare brand. “Over time, the lack of NAD+ leaves the skin barrier exposed to water loss, redness, irritation and inflammatory disorders,” adds Harley Street dermatologist Dr Jinah Yoo. Harvard professor Dr David Sinclair, a leading figure in longevity health, meanwhile, has publicly spoken about his use of NAD+.
Consumer trends agency Spate expects Google searches for “NAD” to rise 10 per cent over the next year, after rising 3.3 per cent between 2023 and 2024. As NAD+ becomes more readily available in over-the-counter products, it will become more accessible while boosting awareness. (An IV drip can cost anywhere between $500 and $1,500 per session, depending on the clinic.)
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Yet, the impact of NAD+ therapy on humans is not scientifically proven. In the US, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has been cracking down on clinics that illegally advertise it as a ‘cure’ for cancers and for treating Covid. There are also questions about how effective NAD+ is in oral supplements or skincare products, as it supposedly needs to penetrate the skin barrier.
Experts say consumers may not understand — or care about — the limitations. “Consumers are waking up to the possibility of living not longer, but healthier,” says Houghton. “Awareness around how NAD+ products benefit our skin has elevated consumer thinking towards longer-term cell performance.”
As such, NAD+ has the potential to be a big business. The global NAD market was valued at $184 million in 2022 and is predicted to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 23.6 per cent to reach $655 million by 2028, according to research firm Insights Probe. “NAD+ has emerged as likely the best-known longevity and human performance supplement on the market today,” says Iain De Havilland, who founded London-based NADclinic in 2018. “We have seen a huge rise in demand over the past 12 months for NAD+ IV. We are seeing a consistent 10 to 20 per cent month-on-month increase in sales volumes, primarily from female clients aged between 30 and 50.”
The beauty opportunity
As NAD+ emerges from celebrity and biohacking circles into the mainstream, wellness and beauty brands are exploring ways to introduce it into oral supplements or skincare products. “NAD+ is an extremely attractive concept for brands, as it combats a multitude of factors that contribute to ageing through inflammation (also known as ‘inflammaging’),” says medical practitioner Dr Nathan Curran.
Dr Sam Bunting is one of the skincare brands capitalising on the trend. In April 2024, it launched its Flawless Vitamin C NAD+ Serum, available on its website for £62. “NAD+ is the next frontier in skin well-ageing, and although its benefits are not as well known as collagen’s (yet), it may be even more vital for healthy skin,” says Dr Bunting, dermatologist and founder of her eponymous skincare brand.
Swiss skincare brand Intuisse launched its NAD+ product line in 2022. Offerings including the Active NAD+ Cleansing Lotion (£50), Active NAD+ Essential Cream (£80) and Active NAD+ Eye Serum (£85) are available online worldwide and at London pharmacy John Bell Croyden. “For years, we’ve been relegated to drinking collagen and applying topical treatments to increase our collagen levels,” says Isabel Greiner, founder of Intuisse. “NAD+ gets to the root cause and seems to turn back the clock on our skin cells’ collagen production.”
However, experts warn brands to consider efficacy when introducing NAD+ into skincare. “While topical NAD+ potentially offers benefits for ageing skin, its efficacy is highly influenced by factors such as formulation stability, skin absorption and concentration,” explains Dr Jack. “Unlike IV administration, where NAD+ is directly introduced into the bloodstream and bioavailability is 100 per cent, topical applications must penetrate the skin barrier, which can significantly limit effectiveness.”
Rhian Stephenson, founder of supplement brand Artah, nutritionist and naturopath, adds that the success of any NAD+ product is contingent on the consumer’s health: chronic stress, excess food, alcohol and a poor diet, smoking and a lack of sleep deplete NAD+ levels. “Therefore, when the industry markets NAD+ products, transparency surrounding a consumer’s lifestyle is as important as acknowledging that NAD+’s benefits are optimal alongside a balanced lifestyle,” she says.
Supplement brands like Artah and Victoria Health use foundational ingredients that the body can then convert into NAD+, otherwise known as NAD+ precursors. “Supplements containing NAD+ will not be effective in raising NAD+ levels without precursors due to the size of the NAD molecule and the body’s inability to absorb it directly into the bloodstream,” says Victoria Health co-founder and pharmacist Shabir Daya.
For emerging brands to overcome the tension surrounding product efficacy, Dr Jack recommends using ingredient enhancers within the formulation. “Nanoparticles, lab-made fat particles or oleic acid may help improve the delivery of NAD+ and its precursors deeper into the skin,” he says. Dr Bunting uses ingredients that allow the NAD+ molecule to stimulate itself. The brand’s Vitamin C NAD+ Serum uses sunflower shoot extract to increase the amount of NAD+ that is recycled inside the cells by increasing the amount of the key enzyme nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (NAMPT). “This approach increases the amount of available NAD+ exactly where it’s needed in our skin,” says Dr Bunting.
Experts predict that NAD+ will continue to rise in popularity in line with a focus on healthy ageing and longevity, driving further innovation. “NAD+ will be seen more in 2024 and beyond as an all-in-one key ingredient to tackle inflammaging, and will possibly become one of the traditional cornerstones of a skincare regime such as collagen, vitamin C and SPF,” Dr Curran predicts.
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