The Ordinary Reformulated One Of Its Bestselling Serums — Here’s Why

Whether it’s your most beloved moisturiser, go-to menu item, or a particular style of jeans that fits perfectly, nothing hurts like seeing a product you love altered or discontinued. Listen, I’ve been there — many times. (I’ve been known to write Trader Joe’s when it discontinued a certain dairy-free ice cream, much to my lactose-intolerant self's dismay.) So you can imagine my surprise, when I landed at The Ordinary’s Toronto headquarters to learn all about the brand’s newly reformulated version of one of its most popular formulas: Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5 Serum, £8.80.

The saying goes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”, but if you asked the team of in-house chemists and scientists at Deciem (The Ordinary’s parent company), it would probably amend it to, “If it ain’t perfect, it can be improved upon.” Such was the reasoning behind a 2.0 version of one of its hero products: the new-and-improved Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5.

“In 2016, we launched our original Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5, and things started to really change [in the skin-care space],” says Prudvi Kaka, The Ordinary’s chief scientific officer. “Even though we had so many loyal users, there were a few saying ‘It’s a little heavy. It’s sticky.' So we wanted to take the opportunity to update the original product and really improve the formula.” And so in 2022, the team began the journey of reformulating its hydrating hero, the final result you can now shop. “Hyaluronic acid itself gives that [tacky] texture — there’s nothing else in the product that masks or gives it that consistency,” Prudvi explains. “It was a challenge to keep the 2% HA concentration and achieve a non-sticky finish, so it took us almost a year and a half to improve what we call the best of the best.”

An “improvement” is actually a very accurate way to phrase this new launch. As someone who was pretty familiar with The Ordinary’s original HA serum, I’d say it’s more similar than it is different. “What we wanted to preserve from the existing formula is the 2% hyaluronic acid concentration, so that is not downsized in any way,” says Prudvi. “Plus, we added an additional [form of] hyaluronic acid and ceramides — plus the B5 — so almost every great thing about the [existing] product is retained and made better with the texture and finish.”

Hyaluronic acid, like most popular things, is not without its critics. It’s not uncommon to see the polarising ingredient referred to as a holy grail by one person and a total scam by another. Personally, I have no beef with the ingredient. Do I swear by it? Not necessarily, but I do like how my skin looks and feels when I use it, and I think anything that helps skin hydration is a net positive. Unlike some other The Ordinary fans, I was not married to the OG formula, so when I got a hot-off-the-presses bottle of the new version, I unboxed it up like a kid on Christmas morning. My skin loves ceramides, so I was genuinely excited to see it added to the formula. And the brisk Canadian winter was the perfect environment to see how the new product fared. 

The new serum is still as gentle and hydrating as its predecessor, but it feels silky and plush on the skin — without a hint of a sticky, tacky feeling. My skin drank this up. Compared to the original, I'd say the biggest difference is the long-lasting, dewy hydration from the ceramides. When my skin is dehydrated, my cheeks are the first to feel chapped, and fine lines (especially on my forehead) start to appear. This serum made my skin feel as if I’d chugged a gallon of water: Balanced, bright, and naturally luminous. The clear serum was almost identical to its predecessor, save for the faintest yellow tint, which comes from the addition of ceramides. “We know it’s important for a lot of customers to see that clear, ‘hyaluronic acid’ finish,” Prudvi says. Ceramides, being a lipid, have a naturally buttery texture and colour (as we witnessed as The Ordinary chemists whipped up a fresh batch of serum right before our eyes), but the Deciem lab rose to the occasion to ensure that the end result wasn’t too different from the product appearance that customers know and love.

As of today, The Ordinary’s Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5 Serum is available online and at The Ordinary boutiques for £8.80. You can also find it online at Boots and Cult Beauty.

Oh, and if you’re wondering whether applying hyaluronic acid on dry skin negates its effects? We asked that, too: “We’re always pushing our team to answer the questions consumers have, not just the questions we have,” Rita Silva, science communications manager at The Ordinary, said. “It’s really a personal choice: [On damp skin] you may notice an immediate boost, but over time, the results are the same — it doesn’t actually change the overall performance of the product.”