Which serum goes first? A simple order for The Ordinary serums
The Ordinary makes it easy to buy three or four serums at once. What it does not tell you on the bottle is the order to put them on — and the order is where most routines quietly lose half their value.
The one rule: thinnest to thickest
A serum has to reach skin to work. Anything heavier you apply first becomes a layer the next product has to get through. So go from the most watery texture to the richest, and give each one thirty seconds to settle before the next.
A morning routine
- Cleanse and leave your face slightly damp.
- Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5 on that damp skin. Hyaluronic acid holds water — give it water to hold. On bone-dry skin in a dry room it has less to work with.
- Ascorbyl Glucoside Solution 12% for brightness. It is a gentle, water-based form of vitamin C, which is why it sits comfortably in a morning routine.
- Moisturiser, to seal the layers in.
- Sunscreen. Every brightening serum you own is working against the sun all day. Without SPF you are paying for results and then undoing them.
An evening routine
- Cleanse. Properly, if you wore sunscreen or makeup.
- Niacinamide Serum for oil and the look of blemishes. At 10% it is strong; a few drops is enough.
- "Buffet" Multi Technology Peptide Serum if firmness and fine lines are on your list.
- Moisturiser.
On the nights you use Granactive Retinoid 2% Emulsion, keep the routine simple — cleanse, retinoid, moisturiser — rather than stacking everything on top of it.
Two that should not share a routine
- Pure vitamin C and niacinamide. Ascorbic Acid 8% + Alpha Arbutin 2% is a direct, low-pH form of vitamin C. The Ordinary advises keeping it out of the routine where you use niacinamide. Morning and night solves it.
- Pure vitamin C and a retinoid. Both are active, both can irritate. Split them the same way — never layer them.
Three habits that waste good serums
- Starting everything in the same week. Add one new serum every two weeks. If something stings, you will know what it was.
- Using more. Three or four drops cover a face. Extra does not work harder; it just runs off.
- Judging too early. Skin renews slowly. Give any routine eight to twelve weeks before deciding it does not work.