You've probably noticed it: some people hit 50 with barely a fine line, while others show significant aging much earlier. Same sun exposure, similar genetics—so what gives?
Increasingly, research points to something happening beneath the surface. A molecule called NAD+ that naturally declines as we age, and when it does, our skin's ability to repair itself goes with it.
Think of NAD+ as fuel for your skin's maintenance crew. When you're young and NAD+ levels are high, your skin cells efficiently repair daily damage from UV rays, pollution, and general wear and tear. But as NAD+ drops over time, that repair system slows down. DNA damage starts piling up, collagen breaks down faster than it's replaced, and those visible signs of aging accelerate.
NAD+ isn't working on the surface. It's not plumping or filling or temporarily smoothing. It's actually restoring the machinery that keeps your skin cells functioning like they did when you were younger. And unlike your genetics or decades of sun damage, NAD+ levels are something we can actually do something about.
How NAD+ Actually Works in Your Skin
Before we dive into specific NAD benefits, here's the simplified version of what's happening:
Your skin cells run on NAD+. It powers the enzymes responsible for repairing DNA damage, making collagen, clearing out cellular junk, and producing energy. When NAD+ is abundant, your skin cells function like a well-oiled machine. When it's depleted, everything from repair to renewal starts breaking down.
Studies show that both NAD+ and the enzymes it activates (called sirtuins) measurably decline in aging skin. And where you see those declines, you also see accumulated DNA damage, inflammation, and the hallmark signs of aged skin: wrinkles, thinness, and poor healing.
Now let's look at what happens to skin when NAD+ levels are restored.
7 NAD+ Skin Benefits You Never Knew Existed
1. Your Skin's DNA Repair System Gets a Boost
Every single day, UV radiation creates thousands of DNA breaks in your skin cells. Usually, your cells fix this damage before it becomes a problem. But here's the catch: the repair enzymes that fix DNA (with names like PARP1, SIRT1, and SIRT6) literally cannot function without NAD+.
When NAD+ levels are adequate, damage gets repaired quickly. When levels drop with age, that damage accumulates. The result is exactly what you'd expect—wrinkles, thinner skin, and a slower healing response.
Research shows that restoring NAD+ may help reactivate these repair mechanisms, essentially giving your skin cells the resources they need to fix daily damage before it becomes permanent.
2. It Helps Clear Out "Zombie Cells"
So, when skin cells accumulate too much damage, they sometimes enter a dysfunctional state. Instead of dying off and making room for fresh cells like they're supposed to, they stick around. They stop producing collagen and elastin (the proteins that keep skin young-looking and firm), but they don't leave.
Worse, these "zombie cells" actively harm the “neighborhood”. They release inflammatory molecules and enzymes that break down your skin's structural support system. It's like having workers who not only refuse to work but actively sabotage everyone else.
Research demonstrates that low NAD+ actually promotes this cellular dysfunction. When NAD+ is restored, the burden of these problematic cells decreases. Your skin can essentially clean house and make room for healthy, functioning cells.
3. Collagen Gets Protected (and Production Improves)
This is where NAD+ skin benefits become literally visible.
The firmness you see—or don't see—in skin comes down to collagen in the deeper skin layers. NAD+ activates sirtuins that do two important things: they promote genes involved in making new collagen, and they block the enzyme (MMP-1) that breaks existing collagen down.
Clinical studies confirm this: both SIRT1 and SIRT6 are significantly reduced in older skin, right alongside NAD+ levels. Less NAD+ means less collagen production and more collagen breakdown. The math isn't pretty.
Restoring NAD+ may help tip those scales back in your favor—preserving what you have and supporting your skin's ability to make more.
4. Skin Cell Energy Production Improves
Aged skin consistently shows mitochondrial dysfunction—basically, the power plants in your cells start failing. When that happens, skin cells don't have enough energy to repair damage, produce structural proteins, or maintain a healthy skin barrier.
NAD+ is essential for mitochondrial function in two ways: it's directly involved in energy production, and it activates proteins that help create new mitochondria while clearing out damaged ones.
Studies show that increasing NAD+ improves mitochondrial function and boosts skin cells' regenerative capacity. Translation: cells have the energy to actually do their jobs.
5. Cellular Cleanup Systems Work Better
Your skin accumulates damaged proteins over time. Collagen becomes stiff and inflexible (through a process called glycation), and your skin literally becomes less supple.
Normally, cells clear this junk through autophagy—a recycling system that breaks down defective components. But like everything else, this cleanup system slows with age.
Evidence indicates that NAD+ is critical for activating these cleanup pathways. More NAD+ means better cellular housekeeping and less accumulation of the damaged proteins that make skin fragile and less resilient.
6. Inflammation Levels Drop
Those damaged zombie cells we talked about earlier? They create a vicious cycle: they release inflammatory molecules that damage surrounding healthy cells, which creates more inflammation, which causes more damage.
NAD+ appears to help break this cycle by preventing cells from entering that damaged state in the first place and by supporting the cleanup mechanisms that clear them out. Less cellular damage means less inflammation, which means less visible skin aging.
7. Skin Barrier Function Improves
Remember those senescent “zombie” cells? They aren't just sitting there being useless. They're actively degrading your skin's extracellular matrix, which is the scaffolding that holds everything together.
When these damaged cells stick around, they secrete enzymes and inflammatory factors that break down this structural support. This results in the outer layer of your skin (the epidermis) thinning, and your barrier function weakening. That means more water loss, more sensitivity, more vulnerability to environmental damage.
Research shows that when senescent cells are removed, the extracellular matrix normalizes and inflammation drops. By helping prevent cells from becoming senescent in the first place and supporting their removal when they do, NAD+ restoration may help maintain the structural integrity and protective barrier function that keeps skin resilient.
What This Actually Means for Your Skin
The research is pretty clear, NAD+ decline is a measurable factor directly linked to skin aging. This isn't about covering up damage with a fancy cream—it's about giving cells what they need to function properly at a fundamental level.
NAD+ can be restored both systemically (through injections or supplements) and topically. Systemic approaches improve whole-body cellular health, which naturally includes skin.
Topical applications face a significant absorption challenge. NAD+ is a large, unstable molecule that struggles to penetrate the skin barrier effectively. For meaningful skin benefits, systemic approaches—particularly injections—are likely your best bet for absorption. These work from the inside out, improving whole-body cellular health that naturally manifests in your skin. The benefits go beyond surface-level improvements to actually supporting the cellular machinery that keeps skin healthy.
Beyond Just Appearance
There's a practical angle here beyond aesthetics. Many popular skin treatments—microneedling, laser resurfacing—work by triggering cellular stress pathways that clear out damaged cells and stimulate collagen production. All great options.
But here’s the thing, those pathways require adequate NAD+ to function optimally. If your cells are already running on empty, they can't respond as effectively to treatment. Restoring NAD+ beforehand may help ensure better outcomes, regardless of age.
The Bottom Line: NAD+ Skin Benefits
The science reveals a straightforward mechanism, as NAD+ declines, multiple processes fail that directly result in visible skin aging. Studies document the correlation between declining NAD+ levels and increased DNA damage, dysfunctional cells, collagen loss, and impaired healing.
NAD+ restoration may help address these issues by supporting your skin's natural repair mechanisms, reducing cellular damage, preserving collagen, improving energy production, and activating cleanup systems.
Ready to Start Your NAD+ Protocol?
At Strut Health, we offer NAD+ injection therapy designed to restore cellular function from the inside out.
Take a simple online medical assessment to see if NAD+ therapy is right for you.
Our licensed physicians review every case, and if approved, your NAD+ is freshly compounded and shipped directly to your door with free shipping.
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