THE ORDINARY : Revamp your skin care

 

-By Huma Batool Nakvi 

The Ordinary is a well renowned skin care brand which sells at their own website, Sephora, Ulta Beauty, and now more widely available at other online websites. But when people hear of The ordinary they know they are going to be getting an affordable product. Nonetheless their products are quite popular in terms of  quality and effectiveness for a wide variety of customers and their skin type. The line is kind of known for their very simple and direct approach when it comes to the name of the product, hence the name "The Ordinary". They are intensely focused on ingredients, percentages, and formulas, which I personally appreciate because let's be frank, I'm a very picky person. I'm all for a brand which is transparent about which ingredients, percentages and formulas they use so if you are too, here's The Ordinary review for you. 

We'll rate the products from least favorite to favorite. 

First off is the Glycolic acid -Toning solution ($9) formulated at 7% with a PH of 3.6. Glycolic acid is used as a chemical exfoliant which dissolve dead skin cells off your skin, which majority of dermatologists recommend over abrasive tools. However it can be very drying for sensitive skin and the Ph level is quite low and any imbalance in the natural Ph levels of the skin of about 5 can cause skin irritation. Its fragrant ingredients can also add to skin irritation. 

Next is Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% ($6). Niacinamide is an incredible ingredient not only for reducing oiliness and sebum production skin which is great for someone with oily skin but is also a brightening agent. In addition niacinamide also calms down redness and irritation in skin. And Zinc also does that so its great that its added with zinc. So someone who suffers from oily skin, pigmentation, and acne scars they could really benefit from this product. 

Moving on to Lactic Acid 10% + Hyaluronic acid serum ($7). Lactic acid is similar to Glycaulic acid and helps in chemically exfoliating and dissolving dead skin cells but its the most gentle of the chemical exfoliants. But 10% lactic acid is a bit high percentage and may not be the best serum for sensitive skin. But it is lightweight and easy to absorb into the skin. It also absorbs moisture from the air into our skin and we all need all the hydration we can get! 

And finally our most favorite product in the entire line: The AHA 30% + BHA 2% solution ($7). AHA is Alpha-Hydroxy Acid is another chemical exfoliant. While BHA or Salycylic acid is another exfoliating ingredient but what we love about it is that it also goes deep into the pores and helps remove impurities from within the skin such as oil, sebum, or dirt making it the perfect ingredient for someone with oily and acne prone skin. And their 30% AHA means its highly concentrated and that's insane and we love that. HOWEVER this product you can only use once a week for 10 minutes because the 30% glycolic acid will bulldoze the dead skin off of your face.