What is Niacinamide?
Cassandra used The Ordinary’s niacinamide powder from The Ordinary for a year. Although this product was very hyped up through marketing, the science behind niacinamide still holds strong, and The Ordinary is still a great brand. Niacinamide is also a great ingredient, it can help with oil control, increasing the ceramides that our skin naturally produces, and it can help to stop the spread of hyperpigmentation. Niacinamide or vitamin B3 is phenomenal and fantastic even when it’s ingested, but Cassandra has some thoughts about using it in a pure, powder form. After using it and mixing it in with her peptide buffet serum and the natural moisturizing factors, she wanted to share her results.
How do you use The Ordinary 100% NIacinamide Powder?
The Ordinary 100% Niacinamide Powder -$5.80
Let’s first talk about the usage and applications. So, again what is the purpose of having niacinamide in a powder form? In Cassandra’s experience, the Ordinary’s niacinamide serum worked so well, and of course, the niacinamide is already mixed into the formula. So, is having it as a powder skincare supplement truly beneficial?
The Ordinary’s 100% niacinamide is not completely grain-free. It’s still soft, and it still dissolves, but it’s not super silky the way another serum would be. But, what were the results? Well, Cassandra thought that it not only dried out her skin, but she thinks it caused a little bit of irritation. The main products she mixed the powder in with were the buffet serum because it has a liquid base and stable ingredients like the peptides, and she also mixed this in with natural moisturizing factors. It didn’t mix in very well with the moisturizer because it was a little bit thicker. She just poured the moistured into her handed, add the powder, and mixed it.
The Ordinary Peptide Buffet Serum - $16.80
Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA -$8.08
Can you use The Ordinary 100% Niacinamide Powder with Oil?
Cassandra has tried to use this with oils, but the oils did not work given the water-soluble nature of niacinamide. When she tried to dissolve it into the oil, it ended up being very grainy. With the peptide buffet, Cassandra noticed that at first, it was totally fine. But if she scooped out and mixed a little too much, she would actually get these little white streaks on her face. This is not unusual for niacinamide. If you look at other niacinamide serums, a lot of them cause this, even some of Cassandra’s favorites from Pacifica or natatorium. When a formula’s niacinamide percentage is too high, it can leave some white streakiness on the skin. The scooper used for the powder does not actually provide measurements, and you should not be using a full scooper. At the end of testing it out, Cassandra had a ton left, and even then, she just found that it was too much, and ultimately, that brought dryness and irritation.
Is The Ordinary 100% Niacinamide okay for oily skin?
Cassandra has naturally oily, acne-prone skin. And after a few hours of using this product, she got a bit greasy. During the Summer, her oiliness is a bit more intense, so she started using the niacinamide in August. One of the key things niacinamide or vitamin B3 does is supposed to control oil. After using it, Cassandra noticed that part of her face was not as oily which kind of came as a welcome surprise. However, oil also serves the purpose of keeping the skin hydrated. So, when winter came, this product dried her skin out. She even started to get these tiny little breakouts. They weren’t like the cystic acne Cassandra had as a teenager or big blackheads. Her nose, upper cheeks, and forehead would flush whereas normally her pimples are on the jaw, the chin, the neck, and around the temples. Rashes like these are very uncharacteristic of her skin, and when she isolated the variable, all that could have been causing this was the niacinamide powder.
Even when she mixed this into her body products and put it on her neck and chest, the rash appeared. So, niacinamide at concentrations of 5% and 10% is phenomenal. However, when you mix a 100% concentration with another product, it could be sensitizing. In Cassandra’s case, perhaps it was the way she applied it or external factors that caused irritation as well. Nevertheless, the breakouts always looked the same, and they only occurred when she used the powder. This was Cassandra’s personal experience.
Is The Ordinary 100% NIacinamide Powder Good?
However, Cassandra understands as well that The Ordinary is not a brand made for skincare novices. If you are not interested in skin science too much, this product is probably not for you. For example, Cassandra works in aesthetics, and there are primarily two types of clients or patients. There’s the patent who wants to understand their condition and their options. Then, there are the clients who say, “I have this problem. I just need you to tell me what I should do, my best option, and fix the problem.” Cassandra is the kind of person who wants to understand, explore and go through that process whereas some people just say “give me the answer.”
The Ordinary is more for the person who wants to understand that process. So, understandably, this product is for a different market. Cassandra bought this product because she loves the niacinamide and zinc serum for her oily, acne-prone skin, but in the end, it wasn’t enjoyable to use. It caused dryness, irritation, and added white streaks to her face. Cassandra didn’t find that it had a ton of benefits. The texture is scrubby, but it’s not jagged. So, on the other hand, it could be used as an exfoliant.
Ultimately, Cassandra is not overly disappointed about her experience with the product. There are a lot of skincare products that Cassandra has tried that didn’t work costed a lot more. Cassandra would only recommend buying this product if you absolutely want to try it. Otherwise, she would recommend just buying the niacinamide powder because it’s formulated better.
If you truly want a powdered skincare product, get the L-ascorbic powder from The Ordinary. Yes, it can sting or be a little irritating, but in Cassandra’s opinion, it has more purpose. It’s more stabilized, the price is just as good, and it’s pure vitamin C powder.
The Ordinary 100% L-ascorbic acid Powder - $5.80
We know that Vitamin C can work at higher concentrations whereas we don’t have the data and testing to show that niacinamide is effective at a higher concentration.