Anti-Acne Ampoule 5ml

• Oil control is the main job: Niacinamide sits second on the list, and reduced shine is the change most people notice first.
• Eleven ingredients, all of them readable: No silicones, no fragrance, no alcohol and no plant oils — very little here for reactive skin to object to.
• Hydration that does not sit on top: Sodium hyaluronate and glycerin hold water in the skin without the film a richer serum leaves behind.
• Grapefruit fruit extract, not grapefruit oil: The extract is not the photosensitising citrus essential oil, so daytime use is not a problem.
• Redness settles before spots do: Two antioxidants target the inflamed look around a breakout; the breakout itself needs something with an acid in it.

• Niacinamide: Second in the list, so the dose is high. If niacinamide has stung you before, that was likely the percentage, not the ingredient.
• Sodium hyaluronate: A hyaluronic acid serum for oily skin needs this: water held in the skin, no oil and no occlusive film over the top.
• Nordihydroguaiaretic acid: An antioxidant from the creosote bush, used at low levels to reduce the redness that surrounds a spot rather than the spot itself.
• Oleanolic acid: A plant acid despite the name — it does not exfoliate. It is studied for oil production, not for clearing existing blemishes.
• Grapefruit fruit extract: Sits low on the list. It contributes antioxidants, not the citrus scent — there is no fragrance anywhere in this formula.

What is missing is the point: no salicylic acid, no benzoyl peroxide, no retinoid. Nothing here unblocks a pore. If you have active cystic or nodular acne, this is the wrong product and what causes breakouts in the first place is the better place to start.

Full ingredient list (INCI) — verbatim from the catalogue

Water, Niacinamide, Sodium Hyaluronate, Butylene Glycol, Caprylyl Glycol, Glycerin, Citrus Paradisi (Grapefruit) Fruit Extract, Nordihydroguaiaretic Acid, Oleanolic Acid, Disodium EDTA, Ethylhexylglycerin.

1. Cleanse with lukewarm water and pat dry. Hot water strips oily skin, and stripped skin answers by making more oil.
2. Three to four drops, morning and night. Press it in with your fingertips instead of rubbing it around.
3. Give it a minute to dry down before sunscreen or makeup. It absorbs completely and leaves nothing behind.
4. On genuinely oily skin this can stand in for a moisturiser. On combination skin, keep a light one for the dry areas only.
5. Apply it around a breakout, not just on top of it. The redness always spreads wider than the spot does.

How to calm irritated skin without stopping everything?

Take away, do not add. Pause acids, scrubs and any spot treatment for a week, keep cleansing gentle, and use one simple hydrating layer. This ampoule works in that role because there is nothing in it to react to. Bring the actives back one at a time, a week apart, so you learn which one caused it.

Is niacinamide good for acne scars?

It helps with the flat brown marks a breakout leaves behind, which are the most common kind and are pigment, not scarring. It does nothing for indented or raised scars — those are structural and need a clinic. Give the marks eight to twelve weeks and wear sunscreen. Niacinamide explained in full covers the rest.

Will this actually clear my acne?

Not on its own, and we would rather say so. There is no salicylic acid, benzoyl peroxide or retinoid in it, so nothing here clears a blocked pore. What it does is reduce oil, calm the redness around breakouts and fade the marks afterwards. Routines for acne-prone skin shows what to pair it with.

Can it replace my moisturiser?

For many oily skin types in Gulf humidity, yes. Sodium hyaluronate and glycerin give you water without oil, which is often all oily skin wants outside air conditioning. If your skin feels tight an hour later, or you spend all day in a cold office, add a light gel moisturiser on top.

Morning, night, or both?

Both is fine. There is no acid, no retinoid and no photosensitising oil in the formula, so nothing here makes your skin more sun-sensitive. Twice daily is where most people see the oil control settle. If you are also using something stronger at night, put this one in the morning.

Can I use it with a spot treatment?

Yes, and that is the sensible combination. Put the ampoule on first over the whole face, let it dry, then dab the spot treatment only where you need it. Because this formula has nothing active enough to clash, it rarely causes the stinging that happens when two treatments overlap.

My skin is oily but also tight and flaky — what is happening?

That is usually dehydrated skin, not dry skin, and it is very common here. Air conditioning pulls water out; the skin responds by producing more oil. Oily and flaky at the same time is the signature. A water-based layer like this addresses the cause; heavier creams tend to make the oil worse.

How long does 5ml last at twice a day?

Around four to five weeks at three or four drops each time, which is roughly one full cycle of skin turnover. That is long enough to judge oil control fairly, though marks take longer. Our oily skin page and the other ampoules cover what to pair it with.