What is The Ordinary PHA 5% Exfoliating Lip Serum?

A dropper-packed lip serum from The Ordinary that uses 5% PHA, a gentle exfoliating acid, alongside glycerin and ectoine to hydrate lips.

Is The Ordinary PHA 5% Exfoliating Lip Serum worth it?

The gurus are split. 3 of the 6 gurus give it their stamp of approval while 2 would skip it, which lands it in the middle at a Guru Score of 65%.

What is The Ordinary PHA 5% Exfoliating Lip Serum's Guru Score?

The Ordinary PHA 5% Exfoliating Lip Serum holds a Guru Score of 65%. That is our read on how warmly the experts talk about it, based on the verdicts of 6 expert reviewers we have collected.

What is The Ordinary PHA 5% Exfoliating Lip Serum good for, according to the experts?

In their reviews, experts say The Ordinary PHA 5% Exfoliating Lip Serum is good for flaky dry patches (1 expert) and crepey skin (1 expert).

The Ordinary PHA 5% Exfoliating Lip Serum: a Guru Score of 65%

What the gurus are saying.

Every take we've logged from this product's reviews across YouTube. Click any row to watch the moment they said it.

All takes Yay takes Nay takes Mixed takes Hide sponsored

Dr. Jenny Liu

324k subs

~Yay

"You apply it like a serum, just one little tiny drop all over my lip. It doesn't burn, doesn't stain. It's a great one if you're looking for something that gently exfoliates that doesn't stain, or if you struggle with flaky skin or retain dead skin or uneven tone. Using a gentle product over time can definitely help with that. Ingredient-wise it's got 5% gluconolactone, which is a PHA, glycerin and other wonderful hydrating and soothing ingredients. You can use it twice a day."

James Welsh

1.58M subs

~Nay

"PHAs are a very gentle, nice exfoliating acid, but lips don't usually need chemical exfoliation. Most dry, flaky lips aren't caused by a buildup of dead skin. They're usually just dehydrated or irritated. [...] A regular lip balm tend to work much better than adding acids into the mix."

Robert Welsh

1.11M subs

~Nay

"I used it for a while every other day and it didn't do anything to my lips. Nothing changed at all. In fact my lips are drier. [...] It didn't even keep them to their normal level of crustiness or non-crustiness. Also the directions weren't so clear. The How To Use on their website says to apply a thin layer onto clean dry lips on alternate evenings, allow the product to dry, apply lip balm as needed throughout the day. But I was confused. Do I use a lip balm afterwards?"

All 2 takes from Robert Welsh

Hits, Misses & Meh... | ranking new makeup releases!

"It contains [...] gentle exfoliation, smoothness and hydration. [...] As soon as I saw this, I was like, I want to buy that. [...] I used it for a week and [...] I loved what I used. It tastes great, by the way. You don't obviously eat it, but if you accidentally lick some, it tastes really good. [...] I do like the before and afters. They look realistic. I didn't see a change yet, but I do believe there will be one. It's science. But I need to keep using it consistently."

I Can’t Believe I Wasted Money on These Makeup Products…

Mad About Skin

734k subs

~Yay

"I just love it. Twice a week. This is my top tip for you with this product. Only use it twice a week because it's potent, but it will give you the smoothest, softest lips. What I like to do is put some of this on and then I'll leave it to do its magic for like 5 minutes. Then I'll put a lip balm on top. You'll wake up with the softest pout of your dreams. I've heard some people online say they use this every day. Please don't do that. [...] This is quite potent."

All 4 takes from Mad About Skin

How To Use TRETINOIN And CASTOR OIL For 33% Better Anti Aging

"This is [...] really nice. [...] It's a slightly thicker serum, which means it's easy to apply. You only need a couple of drops on the back of your hand and then you can put it on the lips. You could actually use this all over the face as a gentle exfoliator. [...] First of all, it tastes fairly neutral. Anything I put on the lips, it needs to be taste-free. I don't want to be tasting whatever all day long. This is pretty taste neutral. It feels great."

THE ORDINARY - Reviewing All Their New Products (This Is Their Flop Era)

"It definitely seems to be a little bit Marmite. [...] I'm in the middle on this one because whilst I think it's a good formulation, definitely formulated with the delicate skin of the lips in mind, I think it's still going to be situational as to whether you need this and whether it's going to work for you. Not everybody needs to exfoliate their lips. [...] My lips aren't dry, they're not chapped, they're pretty stable."

THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING - New The Ordinary PHA 5% Exfoliating Lip Serum

"This is a product that I cannot wait to have on regular rotation in my skincare routine. The Ordinary recommend you use it two or three times a week and stick to that. Even though they have super low concentrations of really gentle exfoliating acids, the lips are still super sensitive. If you use this every day, your lips would be screaming. So, start twice a week. You can build up to three times a week if your lips will tolerate it and that's enough. But that's all you need. Base the lips."

THE ORDINARY SALE 2025 - Top 10 The Ordinary Serums

No BS Beauty

89k subs

~Mixed

"It's got a kind of a thicker texture to it, which I was not expecting. Feels okay. I don't feel any tingling or anything. It has a little bit of a taste. One little drop of that was too much I will say. [...] So ingredients glycerin water then we've got the PHA we've got ectoine which is a great hydrating soothing ingredient. Carrot juice um malic and tartric acids and then some preservatives. So not the most complicated formula but it feels nice. I guess I should be applying this at night."

All 3 takes from No BS Beauty

Sephora 20% Off For Everyone Sale - New Skincare & Beauty Picks

"It's the Ordinary PHA exfoliating lip serum. It's really not exfoliating much at all. PHA is kind of a hydrating exfoliant, but it's just a nice lightweight lip serum. I'll just put a little bit on. The packaging is kind of not my favorite, but it just comes in a dropper. No taste. One drop is usually enough and it feels nice and hydrating. And then if you use like a different lip balm or a thicker one at night, you can use that over this. It's pretty nice."

New Skincare 🆕 The Ordinary, Byoma, Bubble, Cetaphil, & Peter Thomas Roth First Impressions Review

This is Interesting! New Skincare & Beauty I’m Intrigued By For October

"PHA is an interesting exfoliant. It's very gentle and it can also help with hydration. They meant this product to be applied under other lip balms, especially theirs. [...] It's meant to be used under other lip balms."

Sincerely Miss Ash

196k subs

~Yay

"I love this so much for keeping the lips nice and soft, smooth, and chapped-free. If you love exfoliating your lips but haven't been able to find something that performs in a gentle way, then you may want to try this. It's very gentle and very hydrating at the same time. The first ingredient is glycerin, so this entire product is pretty much made up of glycerin. [...] There is PHA, which are [...] gentle exfoliants to get rid of dry, flaky lips."