Avarelle 10% Niacinamide Brightening Complex Versus Dr.Melaxin TX Cream

On top of that, this ingredient can counteract the effects of hard water by binding to the minerals in it.

One thing worth knowing is that Disodium EDTA has been shown to be a mild penetration enhancer. It can help other ingredients absorb into skin more effectively which can be a double-edged sword (great for actives, but can also make the active too strong if you have sensitive skin).

Clinical patch testing showed no significant skin irritation at typical use concentrations and minimal dermal absorption.

You'll most likely see this ingredient near the end of an ingredient list. It's typically found in concentrations less than 1%.

Industry-reported use ranges from 8% in rinse-off products and 2% in leave-on formulations.

Your skin makes glycerin on its own (mostly from sebaceous oil breakdown) and shuttles it to your outermost layer of skin, or your epidermis, via aquaporin-3.

Aquaporin-3 is a transporter that is essential for normal skin hydration, elasticity, and repair. Interestingly, mice lacking in AQP3 have dry and less elastic skin that can be fully corrected with glycerin.

This ingredient is non-irritating, plays well with almost every ingredient, and works across all skin types. Typical use is anywhere between 3-10% but can go up to 79% in some leave-on products.

Just know very high concentrations (>40%) can feel tacky in low humidity.

Glycerin is the name for this ingredient in American English. British English uses Glycerol/Glycerine.

You might have heard of "niacin flush", or the reddening of skin that causes itchiness. Niacinamide has not been found to cause this.

In very rare cases, some individuals may not be able to tolerate niacinamide at all or experience an allergic reaction to it.

If you are experiencing flaking, irritation, and dryness with this ingredient, be sure to double check all your products as this ingredient can be found in all categories of skincare.

When incorporating niacinamide into your routine, look out for concentration amounts. Typically, 5% niacinamide provides benefits such as fading dark spots. However, if you have sensitive skin, it is better to begin with a smaller concentration.

When you apply niacinamide to your skin, your body converts it into nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD). NAD is an essential coenzyme that is already found in your cells as "fuel" and powers countless biological processes.

In your skin, NAD helps repair cell damage, produce new healthy cells, support collagen production, strengthen the skin barrier, and fight environmental stressors (like UV and pollution).

Our natural NAD levels start to decline with age, leading to slower skin repair, visible aging, and a weaker skin barrier. By providing your skin niacinamide, you're recharging your skin's NAD levels. This leads to stronger, healthier, and younger looking skin.

Another name for vitamin B3 is nicotinamide. This vitamin is water-soluble and our bodies don't store it. We obtain Vitamin B3 from either food or skincare. Meat, fish, wheat, yeast, and leafy greens contain vitamin B3.

The type of niacinamide used in skincare is synthetically created.

Interestingly, the size of the molecule affects its behavior:

Some clinical evidence links low molecular weight versions to improved wrinkle depth, elasticity, anti-inflammatory effects, and barrier repair.

Many serums use a blend of both weights so you can get surface hydration plus longer-lasting and deeper effects.

You'll typically see concentrations between 0.1-2% for this ingredient.

Topically applied tocopherol has been shown to protect against UV damage by ramping up the skin's own natural defense enzymes.

It also acts as a skin conditioning agent; some studies show that regular topical use can improve the skin's water-binding capacity over 2-4 weeks.

This ingredient is especially loved for being a team player. When combined with Vitamin C, the photoprotective effect of both ingredients roughly doubles and the combo also helps reduce UV-induced DNA damage.

This ingredient has some brightening potential but it's more of a prevention ingredient than spot-fader. Cell studies show it can slow down melanin production but it's worth noting that it's not the most powerful brightener out there.

In formulations, it also serves as a stabilizer that helps protect other oxidation-prone ingredients from degrading.

Concentrations usually range from 0.1-1% in most leave-on products.

Unlike most brighteners that target tyrosinase (the enzyme that synthesizes melanin), TXA works further upstream. It basically blocks your cells from receiving the signal to produce pigment.

This makes it one of the rare actives that works on three pathways at once:

This makes it effective for treating melasma, post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH), and sun-induced dark spots.

The most effective cosmetic concentration sits between 2-5% and going higher doesn't boost results.

Side effects are generally mild; occasional irritation, flaking, or dryness have been reported at the start of use. Overall, this ingredient is pretty well tolerated, even by sensitive skin types.

Another perk of this ingredient is that it does not cause photosensitivity, so it's safe to use in the AM and PM.

"Does it actually penetrate?" is the part that gets argued about online and the honest answer from research + clinical trials at this time is "yes, but not easily."

TXA is a small molecule that loves water and carries both a positive and negative charge at the same time. Skin's outer layer is oily so a water-loving molecule like this has a hard time getting through it. Liu et al. 2021 showed that it doesn't really stick around well in the deeper layer where pigment-making cells actually live.

A 2025 paper puts it simply: penetration is poor and it depends heavily on how the product is formulated (Winn et al., J Cosmet Dermatol).

But "poor" isn't "none" and the research is fairly clear that topical TXA does something. A 2026 review that pooled results from multiple studies found it helped with moderate melasma but it didn't outperform hydroquinone. Some individual studies at 3% and 5% went head to head with hydroquinone and help up well.

So the fair takeaway is that it works, it's just slower and fussier about formulation than other actives (how the serum is built matters a lot).

There's real evidence here and it's not just clinic marketing. Reviews of microneedling plus TXA report less pigmentation, less melanin, and less redness (Zhang et al., Chinese Journal of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, 2024).

The most useful study compared 42 patients getting microneedling plus TXA against microneedling on its own; the group that got the acid saw much bigger improvement. This suggests the acid is pulling its weight and the needling isn't doing all the work.

Just two things worth flagging here:

Oral TXA also works well for melasma and gets used in clinics. However, it is a systemic drug with clotting-related risks and needs a prescription. Injections into the skin have also been studied with good results.

Neither is something a cosmetic product can do, but they help explain why so much attention goes into getting the topical version right.

You'll also recognize water as that liquid we all need to stay alive. If you see this, drink a glass of water. Remember to stay hydrated!