The Ordinary Guide – For Your Skin Type

The Ordinary Guide – For Your Skin Type

If you have never heard of The Ordinary or just don’t know what to buy for your skin type it could be overwhelming. Especially since it is well known that The Ordinary website isn’t very helpful. So here is a mini-guide for which The Ordinary product to use for your skin type.

In This Post I Mention:

• Must Buys From The Ordinary
• The Ordinary For Dry Skin Types
• The Ordinary For Oily Skin Types
• Things Not To Buy From The Ordinary

**Update**: The Ordinary created a new tool where you can build your own skin regimen. You can check out The Ordinary Skin Regimen Builder here. Personally, I don’t really like the Skin Regimen since it almost always recommends the Squalane Cleaner and the NA moisturizing factor. These might not be moisturizing enough for dry skin types or might be too much for oily skin types. Not the greatest skin care builder.

Some of My Must-Haves From The Ordinary

These are some of my favorites that I think any skin types could use. My must-haves from The Ordinary include: Glycolic acid toner, Lactic acid, 100% L-Ascorbic powder, The Buffet, Retinols, and Salicylic acid.

Glycolic Acid Toner $8.70 – I love this acid and you get so much of it.  It is a strong acid, effective for exfoliating your skin to reveal youthful glowy skin. You might need to alternate the days depending on how your skin is reacting. Really effective, a def recommend.

Lactic Acid 10% + HA $6.70 & Lactic Acid 5% + HA $6.50 – Besides Glycolic acid, Lactic acid is another one of my favorite exfoliating acids. They both help to exfoliate the skin to reveal glowy skin. I find that lactic acid works quite well on my skin. The Ordinary has a 5% and a 10% formulation. I prefer the but the10% Lactic Acid. I found the 5% Lactic Acid was too weak and I didn’t notice a difference after using it. Although I love the 10%, you might want to opt for 5 % if you have sensitive skin.

Salicylic Acid 2% Solution $5.30 –  This is a great product if you have acne prone skin. If you have fungal acne, you might want to skip this product since it contains ingredients that fungal acne likes [check out my post about fungal acne]. I love to use this salicylic acid on my pimples. You do have to be careful to not overuse it though, or you risk drying your skin. I wouldn’t recommend that you use it every day. If you do, really make sure to hydrate your skin probably.

My favorite go-to hydrating mask is using raw honey. It helps rehydrate your skin, while the anti-bacterial property of honey helps with acne. If you feel super fancy you could use manuka honey.

“Buffet” $14.80 – If you want to start incorporating anti-aging products into your skincare, this is the product. It is affordable and contains many great ingredients to help with anti-aging. At first, I didn’t notice a difference after using it. However, it gradually helped decrease my wrinkles. I don’t have very deep wrinkles in the first place, but when I scrunch my face, my forehead wrinkles would appear. When I use this my wrinkles somehow disappeared.

Granactive Retinoid 2% Emulsion $9.80 -In general, most retinols from The Ordinary are great beginner retinols.  Great for when you want to start incorporating anti-aging products. The Granactive retinoids line from the ordinary is effective yet non-irritating, making it a great starter retinol.  If you have never tried retinol before, this is a good choice.

100% L-Ascorbic Acid Powder $5.80 – If you don’t care about having all the bells and whistles, the 100% L-ascorbic acid powder, is the powder to try. I liked this powder better than the expensive Drunk Elephant Firma C ( check out my post about is drunk elephant worth the hype for more in-depth remove). I found it very effective and brightening. Although it is less elegant than the drunk elephant, it is way cheaper but just as effective. Beware, it might be irritating if you have sensitive skin.

 The Ordinary: Skin type – Dry Skin

If you have dry skin, you want to layer your skin care and add hydrating products. Some of these products include hyaluronic acid, marine hyaluronics and oils.

Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5 $6.80 – Honestly, this isn’t all that great. But if you have never tried hyaluronic acid this might be a good choice if you are in a pinch. Hyaluronic acid holds 1000x more water than its molecular weight. It really helps when your skin is dry and is in need of moisture. A great layering product.

Rather than The Ordinary’s Hyaluronic acid, I much prefer my Hada Labo Gokujyun Hyaluronic Acid Toner. The Hada Labo toner is more hydrating and more affordable. Overall it is a better deal to buy the Hada Labo toner. Although The Ordinary hyaluronic acid is cheaper it is more pricey per milliliter.

Marine Hyaluronics $6.80 – I quite like this one as well, I tend to layer this when my skin is a little dry. This acts just like hyaluronic acid but with a lighter texture and feel. A def recommend if you have dry skin.

Oils might be a good addition to your skincare routine especially if you have dry skin. I generally don’t like oils since oils don’t mix well with my skin. I won’t be recommending any particular oil for this reason. However, if you have drier skin you might want a heavier oil like sea buckthorn, argan, jojoba, borage.

The Ordinary: Skin Type – Oily/ Acne

If you have oily skin, you are probably more prone to acne. I recommend you use acne-treating products like Niacinamide + Zinc and salicylic acid. The niacinamide helps brighten your acne scars while the zinc in Niacinamide helps fight acne and salicylic acid to exfoliate your skin to help treat your acne. While at the same time you can incorporate hyaluronic and oils to help decrease the oil production in your skin.

Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% $5.90 – I know lots of people like this one. For me, I don’t think I saw a big difference after using it. Many people noticed that their dark spot faded significantly after using Niacinamide. Also, since it has zinc in it, it could be a big help for acne prone skin.

Salicylic Acid 2% Solution $5.30 – One of my favorites. I love to use it on my pimples. You do have to be careful to not overuse it, or you risk drying your skin. Try not to every day. If you do, really make sure to hydrate your skin probably.

Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5 $6.80 – Honestly, this isn’t my favorite hyaluronic acid but since it is so accessible it might be worth trying out. Oily skin type might really benefit hyaluronic acid as you might be oily due to dehydration. This could help decrease oil production.

As I mentioned, in the dry section I much prefer my Hada Labo Gokujyun Hyaluronic Acid Toner.  the Hada Labo toner is more hydrating and more affordable. Overall it is a better deal to buy the Hada Labo toner.

Just like I mentioned in the dry section part, oil might benefit your skin type as well. My skin doesn’t really mix well with oils in general so I won’t be recommending any particular oil. BUT in general, you do want lighter oil if you have oily skin. ie rosehip, marula, squalane, hemi-squalane.

Stuff I Dont Recommend From The Ordinary

The Ordinary has many good products, but of course, there are some products that I wouldn’t ever buy again.

Mineral UV Filters SPF 30 with Antioxidants $9.70 –  I really was hoping their sunscreen would be good. Sadly to say, it’s the opposite. Sure, the antioxidants is a good addition but… it leaves a  terrible WHITE CAST. It is almost like painting your skin white. Even when you rub it into your skin, it leaves a greyish tone. Not the best. Instead, check out my post about some of the Best Asian sunscreens. Etude House airy sunscreen is a good option for an affordable mineral sunscreen. It isn’t thick and it blends easily into the skin.

Serum Foundation $6.70 – I don’t hate this foundation, it’s just a decent foundation to even out your skin tone. Nothing super special. However, I hate the pump with a passion. I am not sure, but I think the foundation clogs the pump. The pump always makes a mess and squirts the foundation everywhere.

Coverage Foundation $6.90 – I honestly didn’t use this particular foundation but my sister has this foundation. Whenever she uses this foundation never looks good on her. That is saying something. Usually, when she wears foundation she gets a glow and looks pretty good, but with this foundation, it really looks cakey and it exaggerates the pores and all your dry patches. I wouldn’t recommend it.

So here is The Ordinary Guide for your skin type. Did you enjoy the post?

Check out my other posts: Affordable products for Acne/ The Ordinary  and The one thing you should have in your skincare from The Ordinary

Michelle

A beauty lover that loves everything about beauty and skincare. She is always on the lookout to find the new “it” product. Whether it is budget friendly or high end, she plans to share with others her beauty adventures and beauty experiences on this blog.