Review of The Ordinary Niacinamide Powder, who needs it and how to use it.

The Ordinary hasn’t come up with anything new for a while now, since Pycnogenol maybe? So grab your excitement hats, we have something new to play with. Niacinamide powder is a bit of an enigmatic one, it’s something we didn’t know we needed. I’m going to try and figure out who needs it, what we need it for and what we do with the stuff.

If you’ve found yourself here from Google, you might want to check out my/our communities- The Ordinary Chatroom and The Ordinary Subreddit (or the Skincare with Friends chatroom for less The Ordinary specific chat). Great places to head if you’re looking for advice and reviews

Here’s the facts and figures-

• 100% Niacinamide Powder aka “Less Than 100ppm Residual Nicotinic Acid” aka Vitamin B3
• Deciem promises it will target visible shine, enlarged pores and irregular skin texture, but it does a whole lot more
• It should not be used at the same time as Ascorbic Acid or L-Ethylated Ascorbic Acid or combined with any of the direct acids (Glycolic, Lactic, Salicylic, Mandelic or Azelaic)
• It is vegan and cruelty free
• It does not contain fragrance, alcohol, oil, silicone, water, gluten or nuts
• The Ordinary Niacinamide Powder is £4.90 for 20g from Deciem

What Is Niacinamide Good For?

Niacinamide is gorgeous stuff. It has loads of positive skincare effects, It works for every type of skin issue.

Here is the science behind niacinamide’s power- It is a precursor to the coenzyme NADH, which has a great deal of functions in the human body-

• As we get older, niacinamide coenzymes deplete in the skin causing age related changes. Applying niacinamide to the skin increases the niacinamide coenzymes and helps the aging skin cells to operate more like young skin.
• Niacinamide increases the number of collagen producing cells, and increases the amount of collagen produced by the collagen producing cells. This increases the skin’s firmness.
• It increases the skin’s ability to produce it’s own ceramides, this helps strengthen it’s barrier, reduce dryness and increase skin health. As little as 2% has shown this effect.
• It helps to protect the skin from UV damage.
• Niacinamide reduces the appearance of sunspots as well as improving skin tone overall.
• A 4% Niacinamide solution has been shown to reduce acne by up to 60% and can reduce oil production by around 40%.
• Experiments have showed that 5% Niacinamide can dramatically improve skin texture.

(Review article for further reading)

It really is magic stuff, effective for so many different issues. Anyone, apart from those with actual baby skin, could use niacinamide to improve their skin. It’s good for aging, acne, dryness, oiliness, pigmentation, loss of firmness, sunspots, the works.

The Ordinary Niacinamide Powder Review

Niacinamide powder comes in a dark brown UV protected glass bottle in a card box with a small plastic scoop, much the same as The Ordinary’s 100% Ascorbic Powder. The instructions go-

Mix a quarter scoop of the spoon provided with a water-based treatment in the palm of your hand and apply to the face in the morning and/or evening. Avoid contact with eyes, if contact occurs rinse thoroughly with water. Wash hands after handling. Do not mix with formulations with a pH of 5 or lower.

The issue I have straight away with this is the quarter scoop bit. It’s really hard to tell what a quarter scoop looks like. Also, the concentration is going to change depending on the amount of stuff you use to dilute it with. You have to pretty much do it by eye. Normally skincare formulas containing niacinamide contain between 1-10%, so that is a tiny bit of powder going with a face worth of serum.

The Niacinamide powder dissolves really easily. There is no grittiness and it soaks in well. I always get a little tingle when I use The Ordinary’s 10% Niacinamide and the powder gives the same sensation. I didn’t get any redness or soreness afterwards, just the tingling.

What to Mix The Ordinary Powder With

You can mix it with anything that has water in it. Niacinamide is water soluble, so if you try and mix it with an oil, it will be an oil with niacinamide grit in it and it won’t enter the skin. It should be mixed with something around a neutral pH- so no acids. Particularly not Vitamin C (specifically Ascorbic Acid, the derivatives- Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate, Ascorbyl Glucoside and Ascorbyl Tetraisopalmitate, are fine). Glycolic Acid, Lactic Acid, Azelaic Acid, Mandelic Acid and Salicylic Acid don’t work well with Niacinamide.

Here are some ideas for mixers, you could also check out my 7 skins post, which has a lot of suggestions for hydrators-

• Water
• Any hydrating toner
• Hydrating serums- The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid + B5, Hylamide Low Molecular HA, NIOD MMHC
• Peptide serums- Buffet, Buffet plus Copper, Matrixyl, Argireline, Hylamide Sub Q

Niacinamide breaks down in low pH to Niacin. Niacin isn’t bad, but it can cause an unpleasant flushing/redness of the skin.

Should You Buy It?

Yes. Or any other product that has niacinamide in it. It’s great. If we’re comparing it to The Ordinary’s 10% Niacinamide plus zinc, it’s more labour intensive, in that you have to mix it up, but it’s more adaptive and cheaper. The amount of niacinamide you get in 20g of powder can make up nearly 7 10% serums. It’s a very cheap way to give your skincare a niacinamide boost, and see what it can do for your skin.

For more info and to pick up TO Niacinamide Powder head to Deciem.

(For full clarity- I received The Ordinary’s 100% Niacinamide Powder as a sample for review from Deciem. The post has affiliate links, which means that I get a little money if you buy something as a way of thanks for writing).