by Hanna Pluck
The Ordinary is a skincare brand that has seen a lot of coverage over the last year. As well as being listed on many ÔÇÿBest Skincare of 2019ÔÇÖ lists, itÔÇÖs gripped social media with its eco-friendly packaging and no-nonsense approach to skincare. ItÔÇÖs seen particular coverage on apps like Tiktok, where users like @SkincarebyHyram sing its praises and its price point – generally around ┬ú5 a bottle – while using its pared down formulations to educate on skincare more generally. But it is really worth the hype?
Available on everything from their parent company DeciemÔÇÖs website to Boots, The Ordinary offers products for almost every skincare concern. Their priciest products include their protective ranges, such as foundation and suncare, but most of their products are serums, offered in 30ml glass bottles with droppers, designed to lessen the bottles contact with the skin and therefore avoid potential bacterial growths that could potentially help acne spread. The bottles also serve as a selling point in their own right being minimalist and elegant in a way other affordable, respected skincare brands like CeraVe sadly just arenÔÇÖt. As well as being infinitely recyclable glass instead of a plastic that can only be repurposed five or six times before itÔÇÖs sent to a landfill providing one less weight on everyoneÔÇÖs ecological conscience.
Beyond this, the principle appeal of the brand is the simplification and transparency of their serums. You know, when you purchase a bottle of ÔÇÿNiacinamide 20% + Zinc 1%ÔÇÖ, that you are getting exactly what it says on the bottle, without having to wonder whether youÔÇÖre paying for a lot of marketing and trace amounts of active ingredients as you might with more conventional skin care brands.
This does, however, have its negatives. While their website offers some clarification on what these active ingredients do, itÔÇÖs still not incredibly accessible to beginners, who might have to do their own research into their personal skin concerns and the science behind them in order to truly understand which active ingredients might be more appropriate for them. For example, The Ordinary offers both glycolic acid and lactic acid serums, which are chemical exfoliants that remove dead skin cells – except that glycolic acid is more powerful and penetrates more deeply, so people with sensitive skin might want to stick to lactic acid to start with.
Skin sensitivity is also where The Ordinary runs into most of its complaints. As most of their products seem to be designed to be supplementary to an existing skin care routine, the serums are often very powerful, and people with sensitive skin can run into issues. Their ÔÇÿAHA 30% + BHA 2% Peeling SolutionÔÇÖ has done particularly well on social media – being about the colour and consistency of blood, it makes for great clickbait – but the brand recommends it to ÔÇ£experienced users of acid exfoliantsÔÇØ only, and that it is applied for no longer than 10 minutes and no more than once a week. Some users have developed severe irritation in reaction to this product, and patch tests are recommended for all products before they are widely applied.
Nonetheless, most of these poor reactions to products can be avoided with sufficient research, and I personally found The Ordinary products less irritating to the skin than their competitors at a similar price point, as they donÔÇÖt include any of the scents or perfumes in their products that normally set my skin off.
Also, while the additional research could definitely be a deterrent for some, for me it was a breath of fresh air. The skin care market often feels flooded by witch oils, promising to turn back the clock a decade, or remove your acne forever, or shrink your pores while that one dermatologist you watch on YouTube scoffs that thatÔÇÖs not a thing. Honestly, IÔÇÖm still not entirely sure what a toner is supposed to do. What does it even mean, to ÔÇ£toneÔÇØ your face?
When you finally dig through to those real, unbiased scientific studies, to find real, unbiased results – you find the names of chemical compounds. At which point you either start scanning down the backs of bottles, trying to remember the difference between retinol and retinyl and wondering if it’s a bad sign if itÔÇÖs halfway down the list, or you go to The Ordinary. Though if you mess up your vitamin AÔÇÖs and CÔÇÖs, or react poorly to the product, youÔÇÖre losing ┬ú5 instead of ┬ú50 so you arenÔÇÖt breaking the bank.