The old Hyaluronic Acid Serum by The Ordinary was a sticky mess. After 8 years, they finally reformulated it, and of course I was curious to see if it’s better now. Find out more in the reformulated The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid review.
The Brand
The true skincare disruptor. Many may claim it, Deciem is the real deal. With them, skincare changed. Without them, skincare in general wouldn’t have had the incredible boom of the last years. Deciem, though, has been in the slumps a bit since Brandon Truaxe died in 2019 and Nicola Kilner took over. They’ve axed brands, slowed down significantly on releases, and those releases has been a bit so-so. In 2023, though, they started to release new products under the The Ordinary umbrella that deviate from the former TO MO of single-ingredient formulas.
Reformulated The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid review: Description
Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5 provides instant plumping hydration to give softer, smoother, healthy-looking skin. The lightweight formula replenishes skin’s hydration levels with all-day results, and helps the skin retain moisture to replump dry, dehydrated skin. Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5 also promotes skin suppleness and elasticity, while minimising the appearance of fine dry lines.
The Ordinary
What it is
It’s a hyaluronic acid serum with a few additional goodies. It’s also the first TO product that they completely reformulated, and also listened to customer input.
I remember their old Hyaluronic Acid Serum very well, although I never reviewed it on the blog. It was a sticky, gloopy mess, and although they claim that they basically came up with the concept of putting hyaluronic acid into a serum, that’s obviously far from the truth. What’s true is that they released the first truly affordable one.
Ingredients
Aqua (Water), Sodium Hyaluronate, Propanediol, Pentylene Glycol, Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid, Sodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer, Phospholipids, Sphingolipids, Panthenol, Ahnfeltiopsis Concinna Extract, Glycerin, Polysorbate 20, Citric Acid, Sodium Citrate, p-Anisic Acid, Tocopherol, Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate, Caprylyl Glycol, Ethoxydiglycol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Hexylene Glycol, Phenoxyethanol, Chlorphenesin.
The Ordinary
Notable ingredients
The big update here is the addition of two new forms of Hyaluronic Acid to the three already used in the old formula: ‘We added an additional form of hyaluronic acid for a total of five different types, to provide hydration to multiple layers of the surface of your skin.’ (The Ordinary)
The superstar is still Sodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer: The special HA mesh has a remarkable water-binding capacity, 5 times more than the already crazy water-binding capacity of “normal” HA. This water filled crosslinked HA gel forms a smooth film on the skin and continuously delivers the bound water, so it gives long-term moisturizing benefits. (Incidecoder)
It’s an excellent ingredient to fight transepidermal water loss.
Then, we have ceramides in the form of sphingolipids. Ceramides are great to strengthen your skin barrier. (More here.)
And, to my delight, the serum also uses Panthenol, the name-giving B5. Panthenol isn’t just a great humectant, but also has anti-inflammatory and wound-healing abilities. It aways works on my skin and is IMO a very underrated skincare ingredient.
Sustainability
DECIEM is working to give back to the Earth in five ways: through more responsible packaging, fighting climate change, better waste management, responsible sourcing and product lifecycle, and water conservation.
The Ordinary
Deciem is also very active with community projects, especially in its homeland Canada.
Application
As per usual, this comes in a dinky little frosted glass bottle with a little dropper. I’m always against to blindly declare glass as the more sustainable packaging option. The higher weight will have consequences for shipping and emissions. And while glass should be easily recyclable, I can also tell you that that dinky dropper can’t and will be burned.
That being said, I’ve had no issues with the dropper, and use about half of it in lieu of a more substantial toner (this one has gotten Paula’s Choice’s Calm Toner place in my routine). IF you’re using that amount every day twice, I guess the bottle will last you about one month. The serum itself is clear, slightly viscous and smells like nothing. I then use a serum and moisturizer (plus SPF during the day) over it.
Finish
While this one feels just a tiiiiiny bit tacky during application, the serum sinks in quickly and completely. I can, though, feel it forming a slight film on my skin, which dissipates when I layer products over that. Beware, though, when I used it for the first time, it led to my moisturizer pilling slightly. That hasn’t happened since, which made me think that maybe I overapplied that first time. Half a dropper is plenty! I have now used it in various variations of skincare routines, and I haven’t had any problems with stickiness or pilling. It’s a great base for more substantial formulas. I can’t see that it changes the finish of those.
Performance
I’ve been very happy with the Hyaluronic Acid Serum since I started to use it. It’s a great little basic product that goes just a little beyond simple hydration. Don’t expect to much from it, though – I use it for hydration and am happy that it also throws in two ingredients that my skin loves, namely ceramides and panthenol. Do they make a difference? Not really. Am I happy that they’re in the serum? Definitely.
Comparison
I find it so interesting how far TO has come. The current version of the serum is miles apart from the more or less single-ingredient formulas they started with. This is very clearly targeted to people with dry skin, and all the different forms of hyaluronic acid will definitely work to plump skin that suffers from fine lines due to dryness.
What I like about it is that it’s also great for skin that is either very sensitive to external stressors, or has a compromised barrier. In that way, it’s similar to their new ‘pink serum’, the Soothing & Barrier Support Serum. That, of course, has some extra soothing bells and whistles, like the ‘calming complex’, niacinamide and centella asiatica. The big difference between the two are the hydrators. The Soothing Serum uses sugar-derived hydrators, while this one, of course, has five different types of Hyaluronic Acid.
My fave Hyaluronic Acid Serum used to be from The Inkey List. It’s now similarly priced, but has a shorter inci list and relies on hyaluronic acid and peptides. It has a very pleasant skin-feel, though, which made it superior in the past. Nowadays, I’m not so sure I’d automatically reach for it.
I think that especially people with sensitive skin will be happy with this one. If you have another skintype, I guess you’ll like it too, but don’t expect too much from it. In the end, it’ll give you hydration, but then, hydration is great for every skintype.
Reformulated The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid review: Rating
Availability & Price
The reformulation brought a price hike of $1. 30ml are $9.90, while there’s also a bigger 60ml bottle for 17.50.
Please note that this post is not sponsored in any way! Twindly is an independent blog, and our reviews reflect that. Sometimes we’ll use affiliate links that will be clearly marked. Affiliate links mean that if you choose to buy a product through this link, I’ll earn a small commission at no extra cost for you. If you decide to do that, thank you for helping to keep the blog afloat! (No matter if the link is affiliate or not, the reviews will always truthfully reflect how any product performed when I tested it.)
