Good Molecules is a popular and extremely affordable skincare brand. The company claims their products can help you “see a difference in your skin,” and their cosmetics are sold at a fraction of the price of similar retailers? 

But do Good Molecules products contain research-backed ingredients for improving skin quality? Do they contain any unhealthy ingredients? Is the Discoloration Serum or the Niacinamide Serum better? And is Good Molecules better or worse than other popular cosmetic brands like Curology?

In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze the ingredients in two of the most popular Good Molecules products (Discoloration Correcting Serum and Niacinamide Serum) to give our take on whether or not the products are likely to be effective, and whether or not they're healthy.

We'll also compare Good Molecules to other popular skincare brands to pick our winners (and losers).

Key takeaways:

• Discoloration Correcting Serum is effectively-formulated
• Niacinamide Serum contains two ingredients we consider questionable
• We currently recommend Good Molecules depending on the product

Discoloration Correcting Serum Review

The ingredients in Good Molecules Discoloration Correcting Serum are shown below:

This is the first cosmetic product we’ve ever reviewed on Illuminate Health that includes the concentration percentage of each ingredient, and this transparency is a sign of a high-quality brand.

This product does contain some research-backed ingredients for improving skin quality and reducing discoloration.

Glycerin can improve skin hydration and facilitate skin barrier repair according to a 1999 clinical trial.

Niacinamide is clinically shown to reduce the appearance of wrinkles and improve skin hydration as we documented in our review of another brand containing this ingredient called itk Skincare.

Cetyl tranexamate mesylate was shown in a clinical trial published in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology to successfully treat hyperpigmentation at a very similar concentration as exists in Good Molecules Discoloration Correcting Serum.

The study authors found that after two weeks, 79% of trial participants experienced an improvement in skin tone, 79% reported a reduction in dark spots and 77% experienced a reduction in facial redness.

Ceratonia siliqua (carob) gum was described as having “depigmentation properties” in a 2015 clinical trial, suggesting that this is another effective ingredient for a discoloration product.

Tamarindus indica seed gum was described as having potential anti-aging effects in a medical review published in the Advances in Dermatology and Allergology journal.

Based on the available research, we consider Discoloration Correcting Serum highly likely to treat discoloration and potentially likely to improve skin hydration and provide anti-aging effects.

This is arguably the best-formulated hyperpigmentation product we’ve reviewed on Illuminate Health, and it’s entirely free of inactive ingredients we consider questionable from a health perspective.

We currently recommend this product.

Niacinamide Serum Review

The ingredients in Good Molecules Niacinamide Serum are shown below:

Glycerin and niacinamide were already established to be effective ingredients for skin hydration and wrinkles in the previous ingredient analysis section.

Betaine may be effective for skin lightening according to a clinical trial published in the Food Science and Biotechnology journal. In our opinion, this makes it a strange ingredient inclusion for a product that’s not used for skin lightening but for promoting smooth skin.

While there are some effective ingredients in this formulation, there is one we consider questionable from a health perspective.

1,2-hexanediol was clinically shown to be toxic to humans, as we documented in our article on is Function of Beauty good, which analyzed another cosmetic brand that uses this ingredient.

Overall, we consider Niacinamide Serum likely to improve skin quality and appearance given some of the research-backed active ingredients.

We don't currently recommend it due to the potential skin-lightening agent and the inclusion of 1,2-hexanediol.

Good Molecules vs. Popular Skincare Brands

Here's how Good Molecules compares to other popular skincare brands in terms of potential effectiveness and healthiness, in our opinion:

Curology

Highly potent formulations, including an active ingredient combination in their moisturizer which is clinically shown to have synergistic effects in moisturizing the skin.

We consider their formulations to be equivalent to that of Good Molecules, but the latter brand is better-priced and does not make "individiualized" skincare claims we consider arguably unscientific, so we give Good Molecules the (slight) edge.

Winner: Good Molecules

Incellderm

Incellderm is a luxury K-beauty brand, and one of the highest-quality skincare brands we've reviewed to date.

Both of the formulations we analyzed contained various research-backed active ingredients, and were entirely free from unhealthy additives.

Winner: Incellderm

Juice Beauty

Both formulations we reviewed contained many research-backed active ingredients and no unhealthy additives.

Winner: Juice Beauty

Our Clean Skincare Pick

MindBodyGreen Best Skin+ is our top anti-aging skin supplement.

It contains orange extract which is clinically shown to increase skin moisturization, skin elasticity and skin radiance.

This supplement also contains astaxanthin which is clinically shown to cause "wrinkle formation reduction."

This supplement is free of ingredients that we consider to be unhealthy.

Good Molecules Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Very affordable
• Brand publishes ingredient concentrations
• Both products reviewed contain research-backed active ingredients
• Should improve skin quality
• Skin discoloration product is best we’ve reviewed for an OTC product
• Mostly positive Amazon customer reviews
• Products we reviewed are free of fragrance and harsh preservatives

Cons:

• Niacinamide serum contains ingredient clinically shown to be toxic
• Shipping costs may double price for single orders

Conclusion

Good Molecules is a unique cosmetics brand and we applaud the brand for its transparency in publishing concentrations for every ingredient in every product.

This helps consumers (and researchers like us) make informed decisions about the potential efficacy and safety of their formulations, and we’ve never before seen a cosmetics brand do this.

Both Good Molecules products we reviewed contain research-backed ingredients, and we consider Discoloration Correcting Serum to be likely effective. It’s a product we would recommend given that it’s free of any questionable ingredients.

We do not currently recommend Good Molecules Niacinamide Serum due to the inclusion of an ingredient clinically shown to be toxic in at least one trial.

Good Molecules is one of the most affordable skincare brands we’ve reviewed on Illuminate Health, and may be a good option for consumers on a budget.

We consider Good Molecules to be a higher quality brand than Curology, but we consider Incellderm and Juice Beauty's formulations to be slightly healthier.