I’ve been trying products from The Ordinary, the budget-friendly, actives-focused skincare line from Deciem that’s just launched in Australia. I posted my review of Advanced Retinoid 2% and Lactic Acid 10% + HA 2% a few days ago – now, here’s Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%.
A quick recap of the general notes I made on the products overall:
- Lots of ingredients backed by scientific research
- Only a few actives in each product (generally… Buffet is a different story), so the products give you lots of options for customising your routine
- Dropper packaging is convenient for dispensing small amounts easily
- No parabens, sulphates, mineral oil, methylchloroisothiazolinone, methylisothiazolinone, animal oils, benzalkonium chloride, coal tar dyes, formaldehyde, mercury, oxybenzone, alcohol, silicone, nuts; not tested on animals and vegan.
Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%
Price: $9.90 for 30 mL (prices vary on Amazon)
Good for: congested skin, hyperpigmentation (dark scars, sun spots), oily skin
Like for Advanced Retinoid 2%, there’s a big warning that this product isn’t intended for acne treatment, and to use benzoyl peroxide or tretinoin instead (they also say they don’t recommend salicylic acid, but I’m not sure why). It might be to preemptively ward off a warning about drug-like claims, but most companies do that by simply not mentioning acne, instead of making a big disclaimer. They do use “reduce the look of” and “visible” in their directions, which is definitely to avoid those drug-like claims that cosmetic products aren’t allowed to make (it’s pretty silly and outdated regulation in my opinion since consumers ignore that disclaimer and it means any company can claim anything, so I’m looking forward to the day it gets overhauled).
Niacinamide: aka vitamin B3. According to peer-reviewed studies, it does a whole bunch of everything in skincare:
- evens out skin tone
- improves barrier function
- improves skin hydration
- reduces sebum production
- reduces acne
- reduces fine lines and wrinkles
- antioxidant
The main side effect is that it often comes with niacin, either as an impurity in the original product, or from breakdown over time. Niacin makes your skin flush and tingle, but it’s mostly just an annoyance. There’s been some talk of niacinamide not interacting well with vitamin C, but most likely this is only relevant for products where the two are stored together for a long time, rather than when you mix them on your skin for less than a day.