NAD Skincare: What NAD+ Does in Skin and What Slows Its Decline

I'm Dr. Hongseok Kim, a board-certified dermatologist with 21 years of practice and the medical director of VOS Dermatology Clinic in Gangnam, Seoul, in front of Dosan Park. At VOS I see every patient myself, from the first consultation to the last treatment.

NAD skincare has become a popular phrase, and patients ask me whether NAD+ is the reason two people of the same age can look so different. As a Korean dermatologist, I think the more useful question is what NAD+ actually does in your skin and what wears it down. This page is based on my YouTube video from August 2026; I rewrote it for readers abroad. The video above can be watched with translated captions.

What is NAD+, and why does it matter for skin?

Short answer: NAD+ is a coenzyme your cells need to make energy and run repair work; think of it as fuel for skin cells.

Two people can be the same age while their cells age at different speeds (in the video at 00:14). It is like a car that looks fine but will not start because the battery is weak. When we talk about skin aging, most people think of collagen loss, but that is the last thing we see (in the video at 00:51). Long before, skin is taking UV every day, repairing damaged DNA, making proteins and controlling inflammation to keep itself stable.

All of that needs NAD+ (in the video at 01:29). It is not just an energy source but a coenzyme for energy metabolism and many enzyme reactions. One group of proteins that depends on it appears again and again in aging research: sirtuins.

Sirtuins, the "longevity switch"

Short answer: sirtuins help cells respond to stress and damage, and they need NAD+ to work.

I call them a longevity switch to make them easier to picture, but switching them on does not suddenly make anyone young (in the video at 01:43). They are proteins that help cells cope with stress, regulate themselves and respond to damage. The idea came from research on lifespan genes in yeast, where a protein called Sir2 drew attention; similar proteins were later found in mammals (in the video at 02:14). In skin, papers are appearing on proteins such as SIRT6 in relation to cell stress, DNA damage, inflammation and aging. The fuel has to be there for this management system to run.

Why does skin recover more slowly with age?

Short answer: studies show NAD+ metabolism changes with age, and skin feels "old" when repair can no longer keep up with damage.

Several studies have observed that NAD+ metabolism in tissues changes with age and the amount cells can use declines (in the video at 02:49). When we are young, skin bounces back quickly after sun, inflammation or a cut. Later, recovery lags, and the moment we feel our skin has aged is when damage outpaces repair.

The important point is that NAD+ does not drop automatically with each birthday (in the video at 03:39). How much your cells use depends on their environment. That is why skin of the same age can look so different. Three things add the most to the burden:

• UV (in the video at 03:56). UV damages the DNA of skin cells, and repairing it uses NAD+. Constant sun means constant repair work.
• Chronic low-grade inflammation (in the video at 04:12). In youth, inflammation flares and clears. With age, a low level can keep smoldering, which is called inflammaging, and cells carry that load continuously.
• Blood sugar and glycation (in the video at 04:53). Repeated spikes encourage sugar to bind to proteins, forming advanced glycation end products. Once formed they are hard to undo and make supple collagen stiff.

Can NMN or NR make your skin younger?

Short answer: they can raise NAD-related markers in blood, but that has not been shown to make skin younger.

NMN and NR are precursors, the raw materials your body uses to make NAD+ (in the video at 05:34). In human studies, taking them increased NAD-related metabolites in the blood (in the video at 05:55). But a higher blood level is a separate issue from younger skin. Money in your bank account is not the same as money invested where you want it. Getting all the way to the skin, reducing wrinkles and increasing collagen, has not been proven.

Does that mean you should not take them? I do not say that (in the video at 06:33). They may well be good for your overall health, just do not assume they will rejuvenate your skin. My video does not test topical NAD+ creams or serums, so I am not rating those here.

Four habits that protect your skin's repair capacity

Short answer: reduce the damage your cells must repair first: sunscreen, steady blood sugar, exercise, and rest.

1. Sunscreen (in the video at 07:29). Rather than repairing a car you keep crashing, stop crashing it. Applying sunscreen properly is the most direct way to reduce DNA damage.
2. No blood-sugar roller coaster (in the video at 07:54). I am not telling you to quit sugar. You can eat it, but avoid spiking and crashing after every meal. Choose lower-sugar options when you can, cut refined carbohydrates a little, and add protein and vegetables.
3. Exercise (in the video at 08:41). Aging research keeps returning to exercise because it affects energy metabolism, mitochondrial function, insulin response and inflammation. Mitochondria are the power plants of cells, and skin cells cannot use energy well when metabolism is poor.
4. Rest and fewer stressors (in the video at 09:13). Sleep matters, and so do smoking, drinking and constant stress. Cells cannot work 24 hours a day; they need rest to recover.

I also think slowing aging is less about adding something new (in the video at 09:44). Eat a little less, use fewer cosmetics, take only what you need, and lower the damage your cells have to deal with. The healthiest skin is not skin where time stopped; it is skin that keeps recovering well (in the video at 10:02).

If you want a broader, personalised look at what drives your own aging, VOS offers functional medicine testing, which looks at metabolic and immune balance; whether it suits you is decided at consultation. My overview of Korean anti-aging care covers treatment options, and visitors share their stories in our creator experiences at VOS.

Results, timing and recovery vary from person to person, and the right plan for you is decided at an in-person consultation.

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Results, swelling and recovery vary from person to person. This page is general information from VOS Dermatology Clinic based on Dr. Kim's video and does not replace an in-person consultation.