The Ordinary: The Most Affordable Skincare on the Market?

Despite the plethora of luxury skincare items on the market whose numbers seem to grow exponentially year after year, one Canadian company has gone in a decidedly different direction: affordability and simplicity! Imagine the best ingredients from niche brand products at literally a fraction of the cost. Gone is the fancy packaging, million dollar marketing campaign, and celeb endorsements; enter The Ordinary, one of numerous brands from parent company Deciem, tagline "The abnormal beauty company".

Created by Brandon Truaxe, a former computer programmer, the idea for Deciem was conceived after working in a skin-care lab as a software developer. Truaxe recognized the huge mark-up on finished cosmetic products and decided he could develop his own products with a focus on the key active ingredients, but at a much lower cost to the consumer.

"The Ordinary is an evolving collection of treatments offering familiar, effective clinical technologies positioned to raise pricing and communication integrity in skincare. The brand was created to celebrate integrity in its most humble and true form. Its offering is pioneering, not in the familiar technologies it uses, but in its honesty and integrity. The Ordinary is born to disallow commodity to be disguised as ingenuity. The Ordinary is "Clinical formulations with integrity." TheOrdinary.com

Since 2016, The Ordinary has been online with a range of 27 products that are free of parabens, sulphates, mineral oil, methylchloroisothiazolinone, methylisothiazolinone, animal oils, benzalkonium chloride, coal tar dyes, formaldehyde, mercury, and oxybenzone.

The superb brand website clearly explains what each product is used for and even offers a variety of skincare regimens depending on type and need. For example, the general regimen for those concerned about aging skin is as follows:

AM: Buffet, Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5
PM: Buffet, Granactive Retinoid 2% or 5% in Squalane, 100% Organic Cold-Pressed Rose Hip Seed Oil

Let's take a look at some of these products!

BUFFET: Multi-Technology Peptide Serum

"This formula combines a comprehensive array of studied technologies to target multiple signs of ageing at once. The technologies are Matrixyl 3,000 peptide complex (with palmitoyl tetrapeptide-7), Matrixyl Synthe'6 peptide complex (with palmitoyl tripeptide-38), Syn-Ake peptide complex (with dipeptide diaminobutyroyl benzylamide diacetate), Relistase peptide complex (with acetylarginyltryptophyl diphenylglycine), Argirelox peptide complex (with acetyl hexapeptide-8, pentapeptide-18), Probiotic complex (with lactococcus lactis lysate), in a base of 11 skin-friendly amino acids and multiple hyaluronic acid complexes. The total concentration of these technologies in the formula by weight is 25.1%.

(References are made to third-party trademarks in this description. All such trademarks are owned by their respective owners. Neither The Ordinary nor DECIEM is affiliated with these trademarks or their owners.)

Note: The name of this formula was inspired by some brands referring to their expensive products offering combinations of these technologies as a "buffet", distastefully comparing such products to buffets that offer various kinds of food in one sitting."

HYALURONIC ACID 2% + B5: A Hydration Support Formula with Ultra-Pure, Vegan Hyaluronic Acid

"Hyaluronic Acid (HA) can attract up to 1,000 times its weight in water. The molecular size of HA determines its depth of delivery in the skin. This formulation combines low-, medium- and high-molecular weight HA, as well as a next-generation HA crosspolymer at a combined concentration of 2% for multi-depth hydration. This system is supported with the addition of Vitamin B5 which also enhances surface hydration. A more advanced HA formulation with 15 forms of HA, including precursors of HA, is offered by our brand NIOD in Multi-Molecular Hyaluronic Complex.

Note: Hyaluronic Acid is found in the skin naturally but its natural function within the skin is not hydration. Many products have used HA to claim hydration benefits, but HA is too large of a molecule to penetrate the skin and instead sits on the surface and can draw moisture out of the skin making the surface feel soft and hydrated temporarily, while making you feel like you need more HA after the product is rinsed. This formula uses three forms of HA with varying molecular weights, as well as an HA crosspolymer, to offer multi-depth hydration and visible plumping without drawing water out of the skin solely to improve temporary surface hydration."

GRANACTIVE RETINOID 2% EMULSION: Highly-Stable, Water-Free Solution of 0.2% Ester of All-Trans Retinoic Acid

"A 2% concentration of Granactive Retinoid which is a complex of solubilized Hydroxypinacolone Retinoate (HPR). HPR is a highly-advanced form of retinoid which is, in fact, a non-prescription ester of all-trans direct retinoic acid that offers a multi-fold better effect against signs of ageing than retinol, retinyl palmitate and nearly all other forms of non-prescription retinoid; This product uses next-generation retinoid active technologies which have been shown to achieve better reduction in signs of ageing than retinol without irritation. These technologies cannot be compared directly with retinol itself in terms of concentration because they include a different retinoid molecule, in a similar way that Retinol cannot be compared with Retinoic Acid in terms of concentration. If you have interest in a retinol product, please refer to our Retinol portfolio above which products contain pure retinol and cost less since many retinol technologies cost less than their next-generation counterparts like Granactive Retinoid."

100% ORGANIC COLD-PRESSED ROSE HIP SEED OIL: Daily Support Formula for All Skin Types

"This formulation uses 100% pure Rosehip Seed Oil that is both cold-pressed and organic. Rosehip Seed Oil is rich in linoleic acid, linolenic acid and pro-vitamin A, all of which degrade when the oil extraction process involves heat. While cold-pressed extraction is complex, it preserves all of the quality of this important oil which has been shown to reduce signs of photo-ageing and many other skin conditions.

Notes: Supplied in UV-protective packaging.

Our Rose Hip Seed Oil is completely unrefined and imparts a natural scent partly due to its high omega fatty acid content. This scent is not an indication of rancidity. Rose Hip Seed Oil that does not have a scent is refined and offers reduced benefits."

Though I personally haven't experimented with any of these products yet, I definitely plan to and will report back with more info! A skincare line that is both transparent and affordable sounds too good to be true but these products just shot to my must-try list for 2018!

Products mentioned in article

Essence Volume & Gloss Lip Maximizer

The Ordinary Granactive Retinoid 2% Emulsion

The Ordinary Buffet

The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid 2% B5

Marlen Elliot Harrison

Dr. Marlen Elliot Harrison’s journalism in the fragrance industry has appeared in international print and online publications such as Playboy...(more)