Alternatives to The Ordinary Products - Niacinamide

If you're an Instagram user then it will have been nigh on impossible for you not to have noticed all the drama surrounding Deciem CEO Brandon Truaxe's bizarre Instagram posts.

It all seemed to kick off quite quickly ( I won't go into it too much here) with him posting, at first, passive posts where everything was 'peaceful and loving' and quickly degenerated into pretty hateful comments directed at other users who questioned his behaviour. He even started to highlight certain comments he'd made on his Instagram stories, where he seemed quite pleased with his snarky, and sometimes downright abusive replies to certain comments.

It was uncomfortable viewing from the off - but then it became so bad that for me personally, I could no longer try and turn a blind eye to the way he made the whole Deciem brand feel pretty toxic.

I'm guessing I tried to ignore it for a while as I was a great fan of most Deciem products - particularly those from The Ordinary brand. There were several products that I used every day, or at least a few times a week. They worked and they were cheap.

 

But now I feel that I can't look away any further. I'm using up the products I still own but am now looking at, and purchasing alternative products after the ones I have get finished up.

 

So, firstly, onto my favourite The Ordinary product that I used every day - the Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%.

As an ingredient, Niacinamide (aka Vitamin B3) is one of the anti-aging superstars. It targets all signs of anti-aging such as improving the appearance of enlarged pores,  normalises sebum production, can strengthen skin, brightens dull skin, evens skin tone and acts to improve the appearance of fine lines. It is also said to reduce signs of acne and scarring from acne.

I used this every morning and it became indispensable. I soon noticed a vastly improved difference in my skin - but the main reason I reached for this every day was for the overall healthy glow it gave my skin.

I replaced with:

QRX Labs - Niacinamide and Retinol Serum

£10 for 60ml BUY HERE
Contains 5% Niacinamide and 1% Retinol.

Per ml - this works out at exactly the same cost as The Ordinary's Niacinamide. Plus this has the added bonus of Retinol (another anti-aging ingredient superstar) so I was pretty happy to have found this alternative.
Texture-wise, it's pretty identical to The Ordinary, but it does have a slightly odd smell, which although is not off-putting, is noticeable.
This had a LOT to live up to since I had experienced pretty quick and great results with The Ordinary.
It absorbs well into the skin and works well with other skincare layers, BUT, I just didn't feel that I had that immediate glow that The Ordinary's Niacinamide gave me. However, it does offer half the strength of Niacinamide than The Ordinary - and maybe that makes all the difference in results. I can't attest to long-term use (over a couple of months) as I put it to one side after coming across the next product. So this product didn't quite match up to my previous experience.

Valjeans Labs - Restore Serum - Niacinamide and Zinc

 

Can be found in T.K Maxx (£5.99 for 54ml)  or several sellers on eBay were offering this for sale.

 

I had kept seeing this serum in T.K Maxx, but googling it unfortunately doesn't return any UK sellers (apart from eBay). As I wasn't entirely convinced by the QRX Labs Niacinamide I thought I'd pick this up to try out.

The texture is a lot runnier than both The Ordinary and QRX Labs but not so runny that you have to apply it directly from the glass dropper. This is an absolute dream of a serum to apply - it has no discernible odour, has great slip and absorbs beautifully without any tackiness whatsoever. It also works well with the other products in my morning routine (although I ensure not to use any other actives at the same time).

This has more of an instant visible result on my skin (where the QRX Labs didn't). I can immediately see that my skin is brightened and glowing and pores seem (at least temporarily) reduced. It doesn't affect the application of makeup at all either. This is far more similar to The Ordinary and price-wise, is cheaper too. I don't know what the percentage of Niacinamide is in this product and could find no information online.

 

Other alternatives

 

The most comprehensive list for alternatives to The Ordinary products can be found on Reddit.

 

But here are some products that I found (but haven't personally tried).

 

* Face Theory - Cera-C Pore Reducing Toner (£14.99 for 200ml) - 5% Niacinamide

* Garden of Wisdom - Niacinamide Serum (£9.00 for 30ml)

* InstaNatural - Niacinamide Serum (£10.84 for 60ml)

* Glossier - Super Pure Serum  - Niacinamide and Zinc(£24.00 for 15ml)

* Natural Pacific - Phyto Niacin Whitening Essence -  (£13.27 for 50ml) - 5% Niacinamide

* Paula's Choice - Resist 10% Niacinamide Booster (£34.00 for 20ml)