The Marmite of Skincare: Love It or Break Out
A budget serum that's either your holy grail or your worst breakout. Oily skin thrives; sensitive skin runs.
What real owners actually say
This is the most polarising product in the comments — and honestly, I've never seen anything quite like it. The oily-skinned crowd is FERAL for it. They say it calms redness around the nose and chin, controls oil like nothing else, fades pigmentation and scarring, and keeps breakouts at bay. Multiple people call it their holy grail. One person even swears by it for body acne — shoulders and butt. On the flip side? The breakouts. Oh, the breakouts. A huge chunk of users report small itchy red bumps, blackheads, whiteheads, and in one alarming case, a red spot that lasted five months after just two days of use. And here's the interesting bit: the ingredient detectives among them don't think it's the niacinamide itself causing the problem. They're pointing fingers at the pentylene glycol (a known irritant related to propylene glycol) and chlorphenesin in the formula. Others simply say 10% is too high — they switched to 5% niacinamide serums from other brands and their skin changed completely, no irritation. Someone even noted The Ordinary deleted their complaint comment on Instagram, which... yikes. The consensus seems to be: if your skin likes it, it's transformative. If it doesn't, it's a breakout nightmare, and it's NOT purging — niacinamide doesn't cause purging. It's the formulation.
What Glow loved
- Exceptional oil control for genuinely oily skin types
- Visible fading of pigmentation and acne scars over weeks
- Absurdly affordable entry point for a high-percentage active
- Works on body acne (shoulders, back, butt) when face is too sensitive
What Glow didn't
- Breakout rate is alarmingly high — not purging, actual formula irritation
- 10% concentration is above what most research supports; 5% works for many
- Potential irritants in the base (pentylene glycol, chlorphenesin) go unaddressed
- Foams and pills if you use too much or apply with damp hands — unforgiving texture
The YouTube reviewers who actually tried it
The YouTube landscape is equally split, and even the doctors can't agree. Dr. Ingky posted TWO videos on this — one titled 'Avoid This Popular Serum!' and another 'Doctor DESTROYS The Ordinary Niacinamide 10%!' — but the comment sections on both are battlegrounds. Oily-skinned users flood in saying 'this saved my skin' and 'I've been using it for a year with no problems' and 'I glow like an angel.' Others say it 'irritated the hell out of my skin.' One commenter referenced Dr. Dray noting most research only tests niacinamide at 2–5%, which makes 10% look aggressive. Several creators emphasise the learning curve: Glowwithsuju's community stresses you need a strong skin barrier first, should use it on alternate days (not daily), use small amounts, and lock it with a good moisturiser. It takes 2–3 weeks to adapt and weeks more for visible results. Brianna Jane's 30-day review showed realistic, gradual improvement — not overnight magic — and commenters noted that around the 8-week mark is when niacinamide typically shows noticeable difference. Application technique matters too: foaming or whitening means you're using too much or applying with wet hands. Some viewers in South Asian markets flagged price concerns and difficulty finding authentic products.
The caveats nobody puts on the bottle
When user voice and video reviewers contradict each other, that's usually where the truth lives. Here's the disagreement.
- USER oily-skin types call it transformative, while USER sensitive-skin types report severe, long-lasting breakouts — same product, opposite realities.
- USER ingredient-savvy commenters blame the formulation (pentylene glycol, chlorphenesin) rather than niacinamide itself, suggesting The Ordinary's vehicle is the problem, not the active.
- VIDEO doctors like Dr. Ingky title videos as warnings ('Avoid,' 'Destroys'), yet their own comment sections fill with passionate defenders — the clickbait clashes with the audience experience.
- USER and VIDEO layers both note that 5% niacinamide from other brands works beautifully where 10% from The Ordinary fails, suggesting the concentration is unnecessarily high.
- VIDEO creators stress a careful ramp-up protocol (alternate days, small amounts, moisturiser) that the product's own packaging doesn't adequately communicate.
- USER comments accuse The Ordinary of deleting criticism on social media, while simultaneously praising other TO products — trust in the brand holds, but trust in THIS formula wobbles.
The 10 videos that informed this verdict
Top YouTube reviews ranked by views. Tap a card to watch on YouTube — no autoplay, no creep tracking, no “you might also like.”