The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid is a skincare serum used to improve smoothness of the skin and for anti-aging effects. The brand claims that this serum “targets the appearance of wrinkles and textural irregularities" and can “enhance hydration.”

But does The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid contain research-backed anti-aging ingredients? Does it contain any unhealthy ingredients? Will it cause side effects? And is The Ordinary's serum better or worse than other popular hyaluronic acid serums like Olay Super Serum?

In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze the ingredients in The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid to give our take on whether or not it’s likely to have anti-aging effects, and whether or not it's healthy.

We'll also discuss the risk of side effects, and compare The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid Serum to other popular hyaluronic-acid-based facial serums to pick our winners (and losers).

Key takeaways:

• Contains various research-backed ingredients for anti-aging
• Contains preservatives we consider unhealthy
• We do not currently recommend The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid serum

Ingredient Analysis

The ingredients in The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5 Serum are shown below:

Sodium hyaluronate crosspolymer and sodium hyaluronate are the ingredients from which this serum gets its name, and are shown to have anti-aging effects.

Sodium hyaluronate is shown in clinical research to have “remarkable anti-wrinkle effects.”

Panthenol is a type of vitamin B5 that was shown in a medical review published in the Journal of Cosmetic Science to significantly improve skin moisture content.

Glycerin is also an effective and non-toxic skin moisturizing ingredient according to a 2001 clinical trial.

While there are clearly some research-backed active ingredients, this serum also contains some inactive ingredients that may be questionable from a health perspective.

Phenoxyethanol and chlorphenesin are synthetic preservatives shown to be toxic to human cells in a clinical trial, as we documented in our review of The Ordinary lash serum.

Ethylhexylglycerin is another preservative that may have a synergistically toxic effect when used with phenoxyethanol, according to a medical review published in the PLOS One journal.

Overall, we consider The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid serum likely to have an anti-aging effect.

However, we don't currently recommend this product due to the combined use of the three preservatives described above.

This formulation has worsened from a health perspective since our initial review, because chlorphenesin is a new addition.

Will it Cause Side Effects?

The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid serum doesn't appear to have been studied in any clinical trials, which makes it more challenging to assess the risk of side effects.

However, we can make an educated guess based on its ingredients.

We do not consider The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid serum likely to cause side effects in otherwise healthy adults.

All of the ingredients are relatively safe and well-studied, and while we recommend avoiding synthetic preservatives, there are no especially harsh chemical compounds like artificial dye or fragrance that may be likely to cause irritation or a sensitizing effect.

There is no mention of side effects on the product page of the brand's website at the time of updating this article.

The Ordinary vs. Popular Hyaluronic Acid Serums

Here's how The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid Serum compares to other popular hyaluronic acid serums in terms of potential effectiveness and healthiness, in our opinion:

Depology Matrixyl 3000 Collagen Serum

Along with hyaluronic acid, this popular K-beauty serum contains a peptide combination which is clinically shown to significantly decrease visible wrinkles.

Depology's serum contains no ingredients we consider to be unhealthy.

Winner: Depology Matrixyl 3000 Collagen Serum

Olay Super Serum

Olay Super Serum is a 5-in-1 serum that contains sodium hyaluronate along with other research-backed active ingredients.

This serum also contains fragrance, which we think is more of a health concern than the preservatives in The Ordinary's serum, so we give The Ordinary the advantage from a health perspective.

Winner: The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid Serum

Spoiled Child F38 Night Rewind Serum

Night Rewind Serum contains two of the same preservatives as in The Ordinary (phenoxyethanol and ethylhexylglycerin), but does not contain chlorphenesin.

Thus, this brand gets the advantage from a health perpsective. 

Winner: Spoiled Child F38 Night Rewind Serum

Our Clean Skincare Picks

MindBodyGreen Best Skin+ is our top anti-aging skin supplement.

It contains orange extract which is clinically shown to increase skin moisturization, skin elasticity and skin radiance.

This supplement also contains astaxanthin which is clinically shown to cause "wrinkle formation reduction."

This supplement is free of ingredients that we consider to be unhealthy.

The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Contains research-backed anti-aging ingredients
• Should reduce visible wrinkles
• Should hydrate skin
• Highly affordable
• Great branding
  
• Unlikely to cause side effects

Cons:

• Doesn't appear to be clinically tested
• Contains three synthetic preservatives
• Formulation recently got less healthy
• Brand's website charges for shipping
  

Conclusion

The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid is a well-formulated serum that’s likely to reduce visible signs of skin aging and improve skin hydration.

It’s quite affordably priced compared to most skincare products we've reviewed to date on Illuminate Health, especially considering that it contains multiple research-backed active ingredients.

We don't currently recommend this product due to the inclusion of three synthetic preservatives that may have synergistically negative health effects.

We do not consider this product likely to cause side effects in otherwise healthy individuals, although the preservatives may cause some irritation around the eyes in rare cases.

We consider The Ordinary's hyaluronic acid serum to be a healthier option than Olay Super Serum, but we consider Depology and Spoiled Child's hyaluronic acid serums to be better-formulated.