The Ordinary Retinol 1% in Squalane: a Guru Score of 85%

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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✓Yay

"If you have sensitive skin and haven't used a lot of retinoids, this is a nice one. It's just got 1% retinol, which is kind of a standard amount, but squalane is a great antioxidant and hydrating and skin identical ingredient. They paired it with that, as well as tomato extract, which is also a good antioxidant. So this one would be a nice nighttime oil. It's got a nice oil texture to it, so it's very hydrating at the same time as fighting wrinkles and fine lines. It's a really nice formula. No fragrance, short ingredient list, very nice product."

All 3 takes from No BS Beauty

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"Their retinol one percent in squalane I've repurchased a few times and it's really wonderful. I use tretinoin or prescription retinoids, but I slowly work my way up using products like this. The retinol and squalane is a little heavy, but if you're using it in your evening routine it doesn't become as big of a deal because you're going to sleep usually after you do your evening routine, so the aesthetic feel of it in my evening routine isn't as big of a deal as opposed to if it were in my morning routine."

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"If you have sensitive skin and haven't used a lot of retinoids, this is a nice one. It's just got 1% retinol, which is kind of a standard amount, but squalane is a great antioxidant and hydrating and skin identical ingredient. They paired it with that, as well as tomato extract, which is also a good antioxidant. So this one would be a nice nighttime oil. It's got a nice oil texture to it, so it's very hydrating at the same time as fighting wrinkles and fine lines. It's a really nice formula. No fragrance, short ingredient list, very nice product."

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"This contains 1% retinol"

Darnell Cox | 50+ Healthy Aging Expert

55k subs

✓Yay

"The Ordinary makes a 1% retinol in squalane, so it helps with moisture as well. You don't have to use prescription strength tretinoin that's going to eat up your whole face like battery acid. You [...] can start with something like an over-the-counter retinoid."

All 7 takes from Darnell Cox | 50+ Healthy Aging Expert

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"This for example is by The Ordinary, this is a 1% retinol in squalane which helps to moisturize the skin. [...] Not only is it the number of steps away from being prescription that is going to change the effectiveness of that retinol, but how are those other active ingredients playing [...] with your skin to where they're going to be more effective. The formulations also are important."

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"I like a retinoid with squalane in it. This is by The Ordinary, this is Retinol 1% in Squalane. This is one of the options for a nonprescription strength retinoid that I really love because it's super creamy and a lot of retinoids are not creamy. I like this because it's moisturizing with the squalane, and so it's really great for the body and often times the face as well."

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"The Ordinary makes a 1% retinol in squalane, so it helps with moisture as well. You don't have to use prescription strength tretinoin that's going to eat up your whole face like battery acid. You [...] can start with something like an over-the-counter retinoid."

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"The Ordinary Retinol 1% in Squalane, these are over-the-counter that are great starters and even great forever. It's not like you have to go big or go home with retinoids, especially if you have super sensitive skin."

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"This is a great starter retinol. [...] I love this because [...] it's very watery, so it's in squalane which is like a moisturizing component. When you put this on, [...] a couple of little drops and [...] you can spread this on your whole arms. This is great because it comes in various strengths, so this is the strongest of the ones that The Ordinary offers over-the-counter retinol in squalane. The squalane is a [...] natural moisturizer, so it's very moisturizing. If you've got dry skin or you don't want that dry cracked feel, that redness that normally happens, there's a lot of ingredients in here that help to diminish that and makes it a lot easier to use."

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"The Ordinary makes a great one percent retinol in squalane."

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"I really like The Ordinary, um because this is The Ordinary 1% it comes in like three different strengths but this is the highest strength that they make. It's in squalane so it actually helps to moisturize. It's a serum here, so if you're treating, if you have dry skin this is great. If you're treating hyperpigmentation and sunspots on large areas like your arms this is fantastic because it smooths in."

Dr. Daniel Sugai

720k subs

✓Yay

"It's a 1% pure retinol and they have peptides in the retinol to help boost collagen further. I like that. The thing that gave me good feedback is that it dried my face when I put it on consistently for a whole week, and when I have dryness from a retinoid it does remind me of tretinoin, which is increasing cell turnover like no other. When I start getting dryness it actually gives me feedback saying hey it's doing something. If I put a retinol on and I use it consistently every night and it's not doing much, I'm going to think is it doing anything? So if I'm getting dried out with an over-the-counter retinol that means it's doing something. You don't want irritation though, that's different. Really just a pea size amount to your entire face is all you need, maybe a little bigger than that, but usually just a pump sized amount is all you need. Just connect the dots after you put some dots on your face and it blends in really nicely."

Sincerely Miss Ash

195k 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. I always used the 1%, and even the 1% I did find was quite gentle. Of course, we are all different, you might experience irritation and some dryness, which is common as your skin becomes more accustomed to it. Then of course you may not experience the dryness and irritation."

All 3 takes from Sincerely Miss Ash

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"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. I always used the 1%, and even the 1% I did find was quite gentle. Of course, we are all different, you might experience irritation and some dryness, which is common as your skin becomes more accustomed to it. Then of course you may not experience the dryness and irritation."

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"I do enjoy the retinol one percent in squalane once in a while. I don't exactly like the texture of it; it is a little bit oily. I much prefer to use a cream-based retinol. [...] With the retinol, if you're gonna [...] go with the one percent, I feel like it's very gentle. I did not experience any irritation or dryness whatsoever, and I think it's because it's in that squalane base, so it does help to moisturize the skin and keep the skin comfortable. But again, I really don't like that oily feel on my skin. [...] I used to use the ordinary one percent retinol on my neck and chest, and my skin tolerated it well, but I just feel like there are better options out there that have nicer textures and that work quicker."

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"The Ordinary Retinol 1% in Squalane is the most affordable to be honest with you. I used to use this back in the past and I really like how it performs. It's moisturizing. I also like the way that it layers up with my skincare products. I've never had an issue with pilling, but also I feel like this is a very gentle formulation as well because it's in that squalane base. Of course, we all react differently to retinol, so you should always be cautious, and if you're new to retinol it's best to start with one or two days a week and then gradually increase your usage depending on how your skin is tolerating that product."

Nadine Baggott

164k subs

✓Yay

"I recently mentioned the 1% retinol in squalane on TV as being the best value for money 1% retinol on the market."

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All 2 takes from Nadine Baggott

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"I recently mentioned the 1% retinol in squalane on TV as being the best value for money 1% retinol on the market."

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"If you're really on a budget, absolutely a gold standard is The Ordinary Retinol 1% in Squalane, and I would go with retinol rather than Granactive because I think Granactives are unproven."

Dr. Somji Skin

359k subs

✓Yay

"It's the strongest one out there in the whole ordinary range. [...] It's got squalane in it which is going to help with the skin barrier, but you have to [...] exercise caution when using this retinol, especially if you're going to be using other chemical exfoliants within the range as well. [...] You can start at 0.2, 0.5, and then slowly go up to 1%. That might take you a year to do, that might take you about three months to do, but it all depends on your skin type. The oilier your skin type, the more higher up the ladder you can start. You get some really good results from it, especially for anti-aging."

Mixed Makeup

1.46M subs

✓Yay

"Going up a little bit in price but I still think is a really great value is the one percent Retinol in Squalane. This one's really cool to me because it has a combination of retinaldehyde and also an encapsulated retinol so you've got the A retinol and the O retinol combined together. It also just feels like a nice light serum and it has some really nice light soothing ingredients in it. I just feel like if you are trying to get more bang for your buck you might want to try something like that that combines the two different types of retinoids."

Mad About Skin

727k subs

✓Nay

"The Ordinary retinols in squalane, there's 0.5 and the one percent, will be gone again because it reaches that 0.3 concentration."

Cassandra Bankson

2.46M subs

✓Yay

"The Ordinary has the actual retinol, not phytoretinol or bokuchiol, in different concentrations in squalene oil. It's water free, it's a stable solution. This is a great introduction to a retinoid. The Ordinary does have different concentrations, they have a one percent, they have a half percent, they have a whole bunch of different ones. The one percent is one that I like personally and this actually gives my skin a benefit as well as being wonderful and absorbable on the skin. This is a kind of dryer oil as well because it has that little dry touch that it leaves behind but it's also fragrance free so it doesn't irritate the skin and it actually has the benefit of a retinoid like this do what it said it would do. Also when you just compare The Ordinary to a lot of these other products, the price is a no-brainer, this is under ten bucks. Holy do I love this so much, simple, effective, targeted and makes my skin feel good."

Top Pick: retinol in squalane

What the evidence says.

Independent of what the gurus think, this is what the published research supports about the main active ingredients here.

Retinoids

Retinoids are among the best studied ingredients in dermatology, with solid evidence for acne and for the fine lines and rough texture that come from sun exposure. Dryness and flaking in the first few weeks are common and usually settle.

Source: DermNet

Humectants and emollients

Ingredients like these draw water into the surface layers and slow how fast it leaves. The evidence is for comfort, softness and hydration rather than for changing the structure of the skin.

Source: DermNet

Frequently asked.

What is The Ordinary Retinol 1% in Squalane?

A lightweight retinol treatment combining 1% retinol with squalane, designed to reduce fine lines and support anti-aging while maintaining skin hydration.

Is The Ordinary Retinol 1% in Squalane worth it?

Mostly yes. 8 of the 9 gurus who reviewed it give it their stamp of approval, for a Guru Score of 85%.

What is The Ordinary Retinol 1% in Squalane's Guru Score?

The Ordinary Retinol 1% in Squalane holds a Guru Score of 85%. That is our read on how warmly the experts talk about it, based on the verdicts of 9 expert reviewers we have collected. It is also Guru Certified, our mark for products that hold broad approval across many expert reviewers.