About The Ordinary
The Ordinary is the best-known brand of Deciem, a Canadian beauty company founded in 2013 by Brandon Truaxe. It became known for affordable skin care built around single hero ingredients such as AHAs and niacinamide. The Estée Lauder Companies first invested in Deciem in 2017 and in 2021 agreed to raise its stake to 76%, with full ownership planned within three years.
Products named after their actives
The 7 The Ordinary products we list carry their key ingredient in the name: Lactic Acid 10% + HA, Retinol 1% in Squalane, Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5, Caffeine Solution 5% + EGCG, Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA, Multi-Peptide + Copper Peptides 1% and Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution. Beyond those, the lists share a short base: GLYCERIN and AQUA in 6, PENTYLENE GLYCOL, CAPRYLYL GLYCOL and TRISODIUM ETHYLENEDIAMINE DISUCCINATE in 5.
None of the 7 is flagged for fragrance, silicones, parabens or denatured alcohol (ALCOHOL DENAT.).
Percentages on the label
The percentage in a product name refers to the named active – for example 1% retinol in Retinol 1% in Squalane – not to the whole formula; the INCI list shows the same ingredient as RETINOL, LACTIC ACID or SODIUM HYALURONATE. A product such as Retinol in Squalane contains no water, so its list starts with SQUALANE instead.
Sources: Cosmetics Business – Estée Lauder Companies to acquire The Ordinary's Deciem
Products (7)
Most common ingredients
Ingredients that appear most often in The Ordinary formulas (excluding water, glycerin and fragrance).