What is The Ordinary Retinol 0.2% in Squalane?

A retinol serum from The Ordinary containing 0.2% retinol in a squalane base, designed for evening use to help smooth skin texture and support the look of fine lines.

Is The Ordinary Retinol 0.2% in Squalane worth it?

Mostly yes. 14 of the 17 gurus who reviewed it give it their stamp of approval, for a Guru Score of 79%.

What is The Ordinary Retinol 0.2% in Squalane's Guru Score?

The Ordinary Retinol 0.2% in Squalane holds a Guru Score of 79%. That is our read on how warmly the experts talk about it, based on the verdicts of 17 expert reviewers we have collected. At least one expert has named it a Top Pick in its category.

Who is The Ordinary Retinol 0.2% in Squalane best for?

The Ordinary Retinol 0.2% in Squalane is generally suited to mature skin.

What is The Ordinary Retinol 0.2% in Squalane good for, according to the experts?

In their reviews, experts say The Ordinary Retinol 0.2% in Squalane is good for breakouts and acne (2 experts), fine lines and wrinkles (2 experts), dark spots and post-acne marks (1 expert), melasma (1 expert), skin barrier support (1 expert) and dehydrated skin (1 expert).

The Ordinary Retinol 0.2% in Squalane: a Guru Score of 79%

Q: Is The Ordinary Retinol 0.2% in Squalane good for breakouts and acne?

2 experts who reviewed The Ordinary Retinol 0.2% in Squalane say it is. Cassandra Bankson put it this way: “The Ordinary's retinol in squalene is great because it is an oil formula but because it also has that retinoid in there, it really helps with those fine lines, with wrinkles, and with acne and blemishes.”

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.

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Dr. Shereene Idriss

1.73M subs

✓Yay

"When it comes to retinoids, it is all about consistency over intensity. I want you to get something in over the course of the week versus just doing something once, blowing your face up and then doing it once every week or once every other week."

208SkinDoc

2.11M subs

✓Yay

"Another budget friendly option is the Ordinary 2% Retinol in Squalane. Squalane is an important lipid for your skin, so it's got ingredients to help hydrate the skin, and the Ordinary is a great budget friendly option. It's definitely not going to break the bank."

No BS Beauty

89k subs

✓Yay

"If you're looking for some anti-aging stuff, The Ordinary is a great brand that is affordable and effective and they've got a retinol."

All 3 takes from No BS Beauty

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"It's a decent retinoid. It's got a lot to like but it's pretty pricey, especially with the new packaging. Overall it'll be nice for most skin types I think could handle using this pretty easily even though it's newer to retinoids."

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"The Ordinary is a lot of ones that are really nice and moisturizing so you don't end up with super dry skin. If you use too strong a retinol on skin that's not used to it or acclimated to it, it can cause some issues like redness, flakiness, dryness. [...] Start out slow."

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"If you're looking for some anti-aging stuff, The Ordinary is a great brand that is affordable and effective and they've got a retinol."

April Basi

72k subs

✓Yay

"If you're a beginner, I recommend The Ordinary point two percent retinol. Over time this product will help reduce fine lines and wrinkles and improve your overall skin texture. [...] In my personal professional opinion, this is a great introductory retinol for someone who has never used a retinol product before."

Dr. Vanita Rattan

1.23M subs

✓Nay

"If you buy it in a jar, like for example from the ordinary, you actually don't know how effective it is because retinol is an antioxidant, it oxidizes in oxygen."

All 2 takes from Dr. Vanita Rattan

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"Right now The Ordinary doesn't use airless pumps, everything is in pipets, and so that would be one negative mark I would put against their retinol. The Ordinary Retinol 0.2% in Squalane is £7.40 versus Paula's Choice which is £59, so quite a bit more expensive. With Paula's Choice they put in 0.3% retinol which I love, they put in bakuchiol which is actually a very effective ingredient, it doesn't work the same way as Vitamin A but quite similar, and it's in an airless pump."

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"If you buy it in a jar, like for example from the ordinary, you actually don't know how effective it is because retinol is an antioxidant, it oxidizes in oxygen."

Dr. Somji Skin

361k subs

✓Yay

"I would recommend the ones that are mixed with squalane because they also help with the skin barrier and the protection of that skin barrier as well. So you want to be using a retinol in your PM routine after using your salicylic acid based cleanser."

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"Much later on, even after about 6, 7 even months, maybe just maybe once or even twice a week you can use the lowest strength retinol that Ordinary has because there's significant evidence showing that small amounts of retinol help thicken the skin and help with your barrier over time."

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"The Ordinary do a great retinol range. I don't recommend starting a retinol until you've done what I discussed with the AM and PM, mainly because the addition of things like AHA and BHA acid for a 4 to 6 week period before starting a retinol reduces one of the potential side effects of starting a retinol, which is a purge of acne. If you start the retinol too soon, you're going to worsen your acne and that can be quite demoralizing."

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"Much later on, even after about six, seven months, maybe just maybe once or even twice a week you can use the lowest strength retinol that Ordinary has because there's significant evidence showing that small amounts of retinol for rosacea help thicken the skin and help with your barrier over time. If you introduce this retinol too soon then you could just reverse all of the effects that you've got because of a retinoid reaction and the fact that your skin is going to be a lot more sensitive."

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"The Ordinary do great retinol range. I like to use a 0.2% in squalane, which is what I recommend, and then [...] slowly up titrate that concentration as time goes by. You wouldn't use the retinol on the days that you use the salicylic acid and the azelaic acid, you could just use it once or twice a week and use a lower concentration."

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"Start with a lower concentration and then slowly up titrate. There's a great up titration process with The Ordinary where you can go up slowly. I recommend the squalane based ones because they won't irritate the surface of the skin. With retinols you've got your lifetime to increase that concentration, so maybe when you're starting to use it use it once or twice within a week within an equal gap."

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"You've got squalene, caprylic triglycerides, jojoba seed oils, and some fruit extract in here as well, so this is actually a nice formulation mainly because you've got retinol but then you've also got a few things to help with your skin barrier as well. So it's a great formulation for someone that's got a little bit sensitive skin and worried about some of the retinoid reactions that you can get. Retinol for starters, this is the one that I would use."

Caroline Hirons

250k subs

✓Nay

"I did that with the new Ordinary Retinol, but it's so yellow. There's yellow and then there's this yellow. It's like my book yellow and staining yellow. It's 0.2%, so it's like the [...] equivalent of medicates' Crystal Retinal 20. [...] Yes, it's cheaper, yes by all means try it, but if you're going to go down that road why don't you get a slightly even more sophisticated product and do a dermatologist or a skincare professional and get a prescription?"

All 2 takes from Caroline Hirons

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"I did that with the new ordinary retinol but it's so yellow. There's yellow and then there's this yellow. It's like my book yellow. [...] It's the same as Medicaid well the equivalent. It's not the same as Medicate's Crystal retinal. So 0.2% you know retinal but people like us have had to get past that barrier of people thinking you're just trying to get people to buy something expensive and slagging off the ordinary and it's not. It's trying to show you that formula is queen. Yes, it's cheaper."

Nipun Kapur

413k subs

✓Yay

"If you're wanting to use a serum form you can opt in for The Ordinary 0.2% Retinol. You will always start by using a retinol two times a week, maybe once a week initially, and gradually you're going to work your skin's tolerance to using it three to four times a week. Layering retinol and niacinamide is fabulous when it comes to fading melasma, boosting your overall skin complexion glow, anti-aging, all of those good things."

All 5 takes from Nipun Kapur

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"0.2 percent Retinol you get in The Ordinary"

Translated from the guru's original language.

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"Solution by the ordinary because yeah as you know wrinkles fine lines go biblical beautifully and I actually like to use it here under my eyes if you're seeing me right now without makeup maybe the lines but as soon as I apply makeup the lines become more prominently I just apply the organized solution"

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"I like to use my argireline with my retinol pretty much three to four times a week sometimes more"

Translated from the guru's original language.

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"The ordinary advanced retinol is a really good eye cream"

Translated from the guru's original language.

Doctorly

3.59M subs

✓Yay

"It's inexpensive, it's a retinol that also has some ingredients to help with really just most aging concerns, uneven tone, dark spots, etc. While it's probably not the most effective and aesthetically it's good but not like lights out, I wouldn't take the time to talk about how good it feels."

All 2 takes from Doctorly

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"I don't know what type of retinol The Ordinary is using, so maybe it's a very stable one. Since it comes in a dropper, that makes me feel like it might be a bit more stable, [...] but I still have no idea whether the formula is stable. [...] The other question I have is whether that formula is really two percent retinol. Two percent is very high, so I imagine they're not even using a pure two percent retinol."

Sincerely Miss Ash

196k subs

✓Yay

"I really do like the retinol from The Ordinary. I feel like it is very moisturizing although it does have that oil like texture it is quite lightweight on the skin. I never experienced peeling with this formulation either and I did find it quite gentle as well. So I always used the 1%, even the 1% I did find was quite gentle. But of course we are all different, you might experience irritation and some dryness which is common as your skin becomes more accustomed to it."

Dr. Daniel Sugai

723k subs

✓Nay

"If you wanted to go with The Ordinary, that's quite popular. I actually did not like their retinols. Their retinols felt too oily, greasy. It just didn't feel nice going on on my skin."

Nadine Baggott

164k subs

✓Yay

"If you want a beginner retinol, I would probably recommend The Ordinary Retinol 0.2% in Squalane."

Dr. Aanchal MD

3.50M subs

✓Yay

"The Ordinary Retinol is a good option. It has a little bit of a thicker texture but it is a potent antioxidant and can help in protecting the skin against UV R. If you don't want to go for any vitamin C serum or a skin lightening agent then retinol is a good option."

Mad About Skin

734k subs

✓Yay

"I don't use it anymore because I switched to the Indeed Labs Synoxin, [...] but this is still a great option. You apply it to your dynamic fine lines and wrinkles like the crow's feet, the elevenses, the laughter lines, and it over time it'll just lessen the appearance and depth of any of those wrinkles that you have. It gives an immediate plumping but long-term benefit too, and a study actually showed 17% reduction on average in the depth of wrinkles. That's really good for the price point."

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All 3 takes from Mad About Skin

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Cassandra Bankson

2.46M subs

✓Yay

"Everyone needs a retinoid in their routine as long as their skin can handle it. [...] If you're just starting, get one that's called retinol, which is over the counter. This one from The Ordinary is under 10 bucks. This is great, and this one's actually an oily solution, so if you feel like you have dry skin and acne, this can help lock in moisture from your other products and it can help prevent your skin from drying out while still treating the acne. So this is fantastic."

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All 10 takes from Cassandra Bankson

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"I absolutely love some of the over-the-counter retinoids, one of my favorites is from The Ordinary. They have retinol and squalane, so it's an oil so it doesn't dry out your skin, but then it has retinoids in it that your skin can absorb and use. These are fantastic, and The Ordinary has been monumental in me getting clear, healthy skin."

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"I could find products from the ordinary or the inky-less super solution retinol that was a little bit less expensive and gave me a really good run for my money"

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"Another option you can always go for is a retinol in oil. This is one from The Ordinary that I love, it's retinol and squalane. This mimics what your skin creates naturally and especially if you are struggling with dryness the oil in here can really help to soothe over the skin. Remember that retinoids are basically vitamin A and vitamin A, just like vitamins D, E, and K, are oil soluble, meaning that retinoids absolutely love oil formulas."

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"If I'm ever looking for a one ingredient thing that I can mix in with others or that I can just really easily isolate and layer in a routine, The Ordinary is where I go to get it."

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"The Ordinary's retinol and squalene is fantastic. These retinol oils are best for a drier skin type or somebody who wants to glow. If you're normal and you want a glow or if you're oily and you want to glow this is for you. If you're dry and you find that your skin just lacks moisture, using a moisturizer underneath one of these retinol oils is going to be fantastic. Oils are for the people who want to lock that moisture in and tend to be a little bit more on the dry side."

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"You know I love The Ordinary. They have retinol and squalane, which is fantastic."

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"The Ordinary's retinol in squalene is great because it is an oil formula but because it also has that retinoid in there, it really helps with those fine lines, with wrinkles, and with acne and blemishes. You're doing kind of two in one because you're treating as well as providing your skin that oily layer. [...] For the price of this it's still under ten bucks, this is an absolute favorite I cannot recommend this enough."

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"This is the retinol in squalane, which I love. So again, I have repurchased this and I have one that I do love."

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"If you're looking for a really good retinoid oil, Dermalogica has a great one, but The Ordinary's is really inexpensive and it's a great way to get your hands on a basic one if you are on a budget. If you are trying to use a retinoid, this is one of the best budget-friendly options. There are other ones as mentioned—Dermalogica, Apostrophe, other brands that I actually recommend a bit more—but Acne-Free and The Ordinary have some of the best low-cost options."

James Welsh

1.58M subs

✓Yay

"I've seen a lot of hate for their retinols online which I don't understand because they're very good beginner-friendly retinols. [...] They go up to a high enough percentage for those who've been using retinol for years. They're delivered in squalane so they're less irritating and less drying - your skin's not going to start flaking and peeling. [...] I don't think they're that bad - I think they're decent beginner-friendly retinols."

HotandFlashy

1.23M subs

✓Yay

"The Ordinary retinol is probably the least expensive one you can get, retailing for about six or seven dollars for a one ounce container. They have a few different retinols, I don't really see a huge difference between them, but they're good."