The Ordinary is taking the skincare scene by storm and at this rate, it honestly feels like you can't have a complete, effective skincare routine without at least one product from The Ordinary. After hearing only good stuff about the brand, I finally got the chance to grab some of the highly recommended products when I was in Seoul. Fast forward to 4 months later, today, I thought I'd share with you my thoughts on all of The Ordinary products I've tried so far.
1.
The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5
Two words, holy grail. The simplest way to step up your hydration game without the use of clogging ingredients such as oils, is to incorporate a hyaluronic acid serum in your routine. So far, this is the best one I've found in the market as it contains 2 different types of hyaluronic acid in the formula, Sodium Hyaluronate which is the second ingredient, and Sodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer which is the fifth ingredient. This serum is oil-free, alcohol-free, fragrance-free, and most attractively... It's cheap. Oh right, it also contains vitamin B5 (Panthenol, which is the sixth ingredient) which supports the healing of the skin. Perfect product if you have dehydrated skin or a weakened, compromised skin barrier, or if you love using acids and experimenting with acids in your routine, this will definitely help support your skin's tolerance level.
This is a product I use every day and night without fail in my routine and it's a product that I'll always have backups of.
2.
The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%
This was the first product I used from The Ordinary and it made me go from "
ugh I hate my skin" to "
I'm finally confident about my skin again!" in just one week. Needless to say, the two main ingredients in this are Niacinamide (second ingredient) which helps to reduce the appearance of redness, blemishes, and also skin congestion. And Zinc (fourth ingredient), which regulates sebum production and fights acne-causing bacteria. It is said that using niacinamide and vitamin C can cause them to cancel out each other, and while there hasn't been a solid research to prove that, it doesn't hurt to avoid the risk.
While this product improved my skin drastically when I first incorporated it into my routine, I find that it was unnecessary for me to use it every single day. I tend to use this only as a "spot" treatment, so just one tiny drop for my problematic areas.
3.
The Ordinary Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA
Containing a handful of fatty alcohol, humectants, and emollients, this is a great and affordable moisturizer which is safe for all skin types since it is alcohol-free, fragrance-free, oil-free and essential oil-free. This used to be my go-to, main moisturizer until I switched to the Bioderma Hydrabio Gel Creme. Right now, I still use this after the gym, but in comparison, I prefer the one from Bioderma since it feels a lot more lightweight, making it easier to blend out into my skin. Nevertheless, this is still an awesome product which I highly recommend if you're in search for a good, and affordable oil-free moisturizer.
4.
The Ordinary 100% Plant-Derived Squalane
If you have to use an oil in your routine and you're oily, acne-prone, this is the only oil i'll recommend. I did have a few really stubborn dry patches around my skin until I started incorporating this as my last step. Squalane is a substance that is found and produced naturally in our body by our sebaceous glands, hence, it is technically a part of sebum. It is an emollient which means it helps to smooth your skin, protect your skin, while also providing occlusive properties thus preventing TEWL (transepidermal water loss) a.k.a loss of moisture through evaporation. Personally I find that this is the best occlusive I've used so far in comparison with vaseline because vaseline although is a safer option as compared to oils, it is quite uncomfortable on your skin since it's wax and it's super sticky.
Again, if you are oily, acne-prone, just keep in mind that you should avoid overusing emollients so a maximum of 1-2 drops is enough and if you only have a few dry patches, just use it on the dry patches.
*If you have moderate to severe acne, this isn't a product you should be using.
5.
The Ordinary 7% Glycolic Acid Toning Solution
You can really get the biggest bang out of your buck for this product because it's cheap and comes in a huge bottle! I mean compare it with the overpriced glycolic acid products from Sephora like the Pixi Glow Tonic, or the Alpha-H Liquid Gold...
The skin on my face hates glycolic acid, in a sense that it's too strong for my skin. I have tried to use this on my face once and immediately the next couple of days, flaky skin around my nose... Therefore, I've been using this on my body instead since I do have mild chest acne and also because I workout a lot, my skin can really use some gentle exfoliation. So far it has been doing an awesome job, it hasn't irritated the skin on my body, I use it once to twice a week on my chest, shoulders and back, and I really do see a huge difference in the healing of acne marks caused by the chest acne.
6.
The Ordinary 100% Organic Cold Pressed Rose Hip Seed Oil
Rose Hip Seed oil is known to help the fading of acne scars which is the reason why I bought this oil in the first place. After learning how it can, and will cause clogging (so far it hasn't cause me to breakout, but I did read some reviews claiming that it broke them out), I chose not to take the risk and so I've started using this on my hair instead. Ultimately, it's up to you to decide if you want to risk getting your pores clogged or not, but if you have moderate or severe acne, I highly suggest you focus on prevention first, rather than dealing with your scars. Instead of oils, you can also opt for AHA to fade acne marks.
7. The Ordinary Retinol 0.5% in Squalane
I admit that I haven't used this long enough to see any big difference because I actually broke out whilst I was using this. Of course, it might not be due to this product, but looking at how this actually contains jojoba oil... There is a chance that this was clogging my pores. Again, if you have acne-prone skin, maybe stay away from this for the time being. For acne-prone skin, instead of Retinol, I will recommend Retinoid instead since Retinoid is more proven to be beneficial for healing acne and preventing acne and acne scars.
8.
The Ordinary Azelaic Acid Suspension 10%
Azelaic acid helps fade acne scars by brightening the skin tone, and it also helps unclog pores, making it a superstar ingredient for treating acne and blemish-prone skin. Apparently it's also a really popular ingredient for treating redness related to rosacea. This product has a few nasty side effects, and so it is advised to incorporate it into your routine slowly.
Some of the side effects of using azelaic acid includes burning, stinging sensations, and my worse fear, itching. Twice, I had to wash it off my skin because I thought it was going to melt my skin off. Seriously. So after that, I learnt to introduce it slowly by only applying it to one or two troubled areas instead of all my troubled areas at once. Always remember that your skin should feel comfortable so if the stinging doesn't go away in 2 minutes, rinse it off! In terms of the results, I haven't seen a drastic difference, possibly because of how scared I am to use this often.
9.
The Ordinary Salcylic Acid 2% Solution
I freaking love BHA. If you have hormonal acne especially, it's definitely an active that i will highly recommend you to to incorporate into your routine because BHA is oil-soluble allowing it to penetrate deep into our pores to unclog pores, so it basically prevents pimples from forming and of course prevention is always better than cure. I've not used this much to be honest because I find that the formula can be quite harsh on my skin since the formula is rather basic and I do have sensitized skin. But if you don't have sensitized skin, this is an amazing product to prevent clogging.
10.
The Ordinary Coverage Foundation
Base makeup is equally as important as skincare because it's still a product that goes onto your skin. So this is a good foundation that doesn't contain any harmful drying ingredients such as alcohol, essential oils, fragrance, as well as oils if you are oily and acne-prone. The shade is a little too dark for me so it's not a foundation I gravitate towards. In terms of the finish, this has a matte finish and I recommend only using a light layer because it does cake a little bit if you overuse it. Personally, I don't like heavy foundation so I do like this a lot. In addition, it's not easy to find a foundation that doesn't contain harmful or clogging ingredients and is affordable at the same time, so I'll definitely be purchasing another shade.
So those are all the products I've tried from The Ordinary so far. As I'm typing this, I am starting to incorporate a few new products in my routine so you bet there will be a review for a second batch of products!
WATCH THE VIDEO REVIEW HERE.
Labels: beauty, face, make-up, review, skincare, skincare talk
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