The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%: An Honest Take After 6 Weeks of Daily Use
It's $6.50. It has 4.5 stars from over 50,000 reviews. It's the bestselling skincare product on Sephora's website. But does it actually work? I tested it daily for six weeks. Here's what I found.
Lauren Davis
Skincare Editor · April 30, 2024
The Ordinary's Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% serum is one of the most reviewed skincare products in history. At $6.50 for a 30ml bottle, it's the gateway product that introduced an entire generation to ingredient-led skincare.
What It Is
A water-based serum containing 10% niacinamide (a form of vitamin B3) and 1% zinc PCA. The formula is housed in a glass dropper bottle, fragrance-free, and that's basically the entire ingredient list along with a few stabilizers.
What Niacinamide Actually Does
Clinically supported: reduces transepidermal water loss, reduces sebum production over 4-8 weeks, improves the appearance of enlarged pores, has mild anti-inflammatory properties, and improves skin tone evenness over 8-12 weeks.
Overhyped: "Erases hyperpigmentation" — niacinamide can lighten mild discoloration over months, but it's not vitamin C or hydroquinone level. "Shrinks pores" — it can reduce pore appearance by reducing sebum, but pores don't structurally shrink.
How It Performed
Week 3-4: Genuinely less oil production. My T-zone, which used to need blotting by lunch, was holding steady all day. Week 5-6: Skin tone evened out noticeably in my under-eye area, where I had some redness from rosacea flares.
Final Verdict
For $6.50, this is a remarkable value. It does what it claims, slowly, with consistent use. It is not a miracle product. It is a well-formulated, affordable workhorse that belongs in many people's routines.
Where to buy
About the reviewer
Lauren Davis
Skincare Editor
Lauren Davis spent a decade as a licensed esthetician before moving from facials to feature writing. She's mapped every retinoid, acid, and peptide on the market and can tell you within ten seconds wh...
