Review: The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%

The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% was the first The Ordinary skin care product I tried. I chose it because it’s recommended for blemishes and congestion. It’s supposed to help balance sebum in the skin too. I have very oily skin, and that sounds like something my skin could use. Anything that helps to tame the oilies is good in my book! I also wanted to try something different that helps with acne besides benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid. This serum seemed like a good option. It looks like a simple, basic serum with minimal ingredients. I was so excited for it that I picked up a couple of bottles. This could be a game changer in my routine if it works. The question is, did it work? Well, keep reading. 🙂 Here’s my experience with The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%!

My experience

This serum comes in a 30 mL dropper bottle. I used it in the morning and at night. When I was using The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%, I wasn’t using any another product besides a face wash, benzoyl peroxide acne treatment, and sunscreen. I didn’t have any skin issues. My skin was 100% clear. All thanks to benzoyl peroxide. My skin care routine was very low maintenance, which was really nice. It saved me so much time, and I didn’t have to deal with acne. It was taken care of. Since I haven’t added any products into my skin care routine for a while, I thought I would add something new like a niacinamide serum. It was this serum, lol. The serum is colorless. It comes out feeling sticky. When applied to the skin, it absorbs quite well and didn’t leave my skin feeling sticky or tacky. Since it didn’t leave my skin feeling greasy, I thought it could work long term. Well…I was wrong. I used it for 2 months, and the results weren’t that good. It did some good things to my skin, but it also did some bad things to it.

This is what happened to my skin.

This serum did a very good job at decreasing sebum in my skin. My skin looked more balanced. My face wasn’t extremely shiny during the day anymore. I didn’t have to blot too often throughout the day. Goodbye excessively oily skin! With these results, I thought I was doing something good for my skin using this serum. But as the days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months, my skin became so congested with closed comedones. I had so many clogged pores on my cheeks and along my jawline. I could feel them as I run my fingers over my skin. I felt so disgusted with my skin. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. A bunch of flesh colored bumps lingering underneath my skin. They wouldn’t budge even with benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid. I gave up on The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% so quickly and was devastated with the final results. My skin didn’t return back to normal quickly either. It took forever to get rid of these closed comedones. Honestly, this serum was one of the absolutely worse skin care products I have used on my skin. It’s supposed to help blemishes, but it gave me a bunch of blemishes.

Since I was still using benzoyl peroxide, I wasn’t relying it to get rid of acne. My skin was completely clear. I was hoping that it would make a positive impact on my skin, such as balancing out my skin (which it did) and targeting congested skin (which it didn’t). Just something that would minimize blemishes if there were any. But it ruined my skin.

Here are the ingredients of this product if you’re interested.

The ingredient list is pretty short. I’m guessing that the breakouts are from the other ingredients. The base of the product. Not the niacinamide or zinc. I have products that contain niacinamide and zinc and use them without a problem.

Pros & Cons

✅ Pros

• Contains 10% niacinamide and 1% zinc
• Good oil control
• Affordable

❌ Cons

• Doesn’t help with skin congestion
• Doesn’t brighten the skin
• Causes breakouts (tons of closed comedones)

Conclusion

My experience with The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% was a terrible one. I thought this serum could be a great addition in my routine to reduce some blemishes, but it created havoc in my skin, and I developed more blemishes because of it. It took me so long to clear up my skin again from the mess that it made. Yes, it contains niacinamide and zinc, but the overall formula of this product isn’t good. It’s not something I would recommend to acne-prone skin individuals. If you do choose to try it, do a patch test first. I already finished up my bottles of The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% and won’t repurchase. Terrible product for the face.