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Paula's Choice

Niacinamide 20% Treatment.

Paula's Choice Niacinamide 20% Treatment
Serums

About this product

Paula's Choice Niacinamide 20% Treatment is a high-strength niacinamide serum designed to reduce the appearance of pores, regulate sebum, and improve skin texture and tone.

Guru Score

66%

Mixed

7 experts · Strong agreement
7Gurus
3Yay
2Mixed
2Nay

What they liked

  • Pores appear smaller
  • Regulates sebum
  • Brightens dark spots

What they flagged

  • Can cause redness and sensitivity
  • Higher concentration offers no added benefit
  • Expensive compared to alternatives

What the gurus are saying

This 20% niacinamide is significantly stronger than the 2-5% range research supports, and gurus split on its necessity. Those who endorse it report visible results for oily and textured skin: smaller pores, smoother texture, and improved tone, particularly for dark spots. Those cautious note the higher concentration often causes irritation without delivering more benefit, especially for sensitive skin. Best for those with oily or acne-prone skin who tolerate high-strength products.
Synthesized from 7 expert reviews · most recent take February 2026

What the gurus are saying.

Every take we've logged from this product's reviews across YouTube. Click any row to watch the moment they said it.

All takes Yay takes Nay takes Mixed takes Hide sponsored
~Mixed
"If you want a higher concentration of niacinamide, Paula's Choice 20% Niacinamide is something you can choose. It is going to be a little bit more pricey, and I am not sure that 20 percent is going to do a whole lot more for your skin than 10 percent."
~Yay
"This is high strength niacinamide that helps to do all the things that was mentioned earlier but has few additional products. I've used a serum myself. I think it was fine for me but I'm the type of person who really don't need a separate nice serum. I've had friends who have super oily skin, super textured skin and really swear by this product. This is great for kind of combination, normal skin, oily skin, and potentially could work well for sensitive skin, but with that 20% higher concentration, I think it's just more be careful of the potential irritation. The other thing I love about this product, aside from improving the appearance of pores, helping with sebum regulation, is that it does have other products that helps to brighten your skin. So if you struggle with oiliness, appearance of pores, but also like post acne marks, this could be a nice product to have in your routine. It has acetyl glucosamine that helps to gently exfoliate as well as vitamin C derivative that helps to brighten and root extract that also helps to brighten and calm the skin at the same time. It is not for everyone more suitable for those with acne prone skin, oily combination skin looking to control sebum and maybe helping to evening out skin tone at the same time."
~Nay
"So why do Paul's Choice have a 20% nide for the tiny cohort of people that might actually be appropriate and beneficial for there's a whole host of people out there using it believing the stronger is better and actually suffering and experiencing a lot of side effects as a result not science backed not appropriate for the mass Market"
All 2 takes from Mad About Skin
The DOWNFALL OF PAULA'S CHOICE - Price Hikes, Sales Falls, Boycotts and Scandal
"So why do Paul's Choice have a 20% nide for the tiny cohort of people that might actually be appropriate and beneficial for there's a whole host of people out there using it believing the stronger is better and actually suffering and experiencing a lot of side effects as a result not science backed not appropriate for the mass Market"
ITS OVER FOR NIACINAMIDE - Whats Happened To The Ordinary Niacinamide
"Paula's Choice who now offer a 20% strength Niacinamide where there's no data to point out how effective that can be and often delivers a whole lot more irritation"
~Nay
"This one the 20% really I think is just unnecessary you can just use the 10% and you don't need to find a way forward from there like that's where you end 10% is more than enough than what you need"
~Mixed
"With mine, I thought I'd give 20% a go. Never again."
~Yay
"This product would be great for people who are suffering from hyperpigmentation or enlarged pores or acne marks"
~Yay
"If you are struggling with more like dark spots, I would really recommend niacinamide from Paula's Choice. They have these little purple clinical bottles that are so beautiful and they specifically have a 20% niacinamide that has, you guessed it, Chameleia Japonica. And it's got a lot of other ingredients that are actually going to help. Paula's Choice does such a great job researching their ingredients, actually creating products that people will love and actually testing them to make sure that they work and looking at the data and studies behind things. Chameleia is great. They put it in this product, but they also added niacinamide. They also added licorice. They also added regular green tea. And when [Paula's Choice] actually tested this with people, they're saying that 95% of people saw that pores looked smaller, they had more elasticity in the skin. 90% said that the wrinkles looked smoother, and their skin looks younger. And with Paula's Choice, I actually believe those claims. The [Paula's Choice] Nyinomide one is $50, so it's a little more expensive than something like these, but it is worth every every scent."
Top Pick: dark spot treatment serum

Frequently asked.

What is Paula's Choice Niacinamide 20% Treatment?

Paula's Choice Niacinamide 20% Treatment is a high-strength niacinamide serum designed to reduce the appearance of pores, regulate sebum, and improve skin texture and tone.

Is Paula's Choice Niacinamide 20% Treatment worth it?

The gurus are split. 3 of the 7 gurus give it their stamp of approval while 2 would skip it, which lands it in the middle at a Guru Score of 66%.

What is Paula's Choice Niacinamide 20% Treatment's Guru Score?

Paula's Choice Niacinamide 20% Treatment holds a Guru Score of 66%. That is our read on how warmly the experts talk about it, based on the verdicts of 7 expert reviewers we have collected. At least one expert has named it a Top Pick in its category.

Who is Paula's Choice Niacinamide 20% Treatment best for?

Paula's Choice Niacinamide 20% Treatment is generally suited to oily skin and mature skin.

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Paula's Choice Niacinamide 20% Treatment: a Guru Score of 66% from 7 experts on The Guru Index

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