The Ordinary Retinol 0.2% in Squalane is the brand's own mild first step into retinol. Here is the ladder it sits on, plus the comfort pieces and gentle retinols from other labels that make a night easier.
Easing Into The Ordinary Retinol 0.2% in Squalane
The Ordinary Retinol 0.2% in Squalane is a product name that reads like a label on a lab shelf, which is the whole idea. The Ordinary launched in August 2016 with 27 products from Deciem, the Toronto company founded by Brandon Truaxe, and the products are named after their ingredients and strengths. Truaxe built the company name from decima, Latin for tenth, because he wanted to launch ten brands at once. That plainness is handy with a retinoid, because strength is the one thing you need to know before you open the bottle. The brand's own tip is to start with Retinol 0.2% in Squalane and slowly work up to the 0.5% and then the 1%. It also says to refrigerate the bottle after opening and use it within three months. So here is how I would build around it: the ladder itself, a few soft things that make a retinol night easier, and other brands whose retinols start gently too. One note before anything else. The American Academy of Dermatology says retinoids should not be used during pregnancy, so anyone who is pregnant or trying to be should ask a doctor first.
Comfort first, then gentle starters
Grid two is comfort first, then two more gentle starts. The Ordinary's Natural Moisturizing Factors + PhytoCeramides is a cream for dry skin, and the Squalane + Amino Acids Lip Balm is the brand's multi-use balm for lips, elbows and cuticles, which is exactly what I want within reach on a retinol night. The Inkey List was founded in 2018 by Colette Laxton and Mark Curry, and its labels explain what an ingredient is, who it suits and how to use it. Its Starter Retinol Serum is written for first-time users and sensitive skin. Facile grew out of a dermatology boutique that Danielle Nadick Levy and Dr. Nancy Samolitis opened in West Hollywood in 2016, and its Reverse serum pairs 0.2% encapsulated retinol with niacinamide. If you are looking at retinol for beginners, the AAD advises starting with the least intense product and using it every other night before building up.
Night creams, eyes and one habit to skip
Grid three widens the frame. Fig.1 is a dermatologist-founded brand, started by Dr. Courtney Rubin with entrepreneur Kimmy Scotti and launched in 2021 around a three-level retinol system, and the 0.15% Night Cream is level one. Summer Fridays launched in 2018 with the Jet Lag Mask, and its Overnight Eye Serum pairs retinol and retinyl linoleate with licorice root. First Aid Beauty came from Lilli Gordon, who spent years in finance and on the board of the skincare company Fresh before building her own sensitive-skin line, and its Ultra Repair Retinol Eye Cream uses encapsulated retinol with squalane. Biossance makes its squalane from fermented sugarcane, and a drop of the oil under a cream is a nice cushion. What I would skip is stacking: a retinol serum, a retinol eye cream and a retinol night cream all in the same week. The Ordinary's directions say not to use Retinol 0.2% with other retinoids, and I would follow that. Pick one, and add the next only when skin feels calm.
Low, slow and quiet
If I had to boil this shelf down, it is one retinol at one strength, and everything else dull on purpose. Retinol 0.2% is the place the brand itself points beginners, with the 0.5% and 1% waiting if skin ever asks for more. Use retinol at night, moisturize after, put sunscreen on every morning, and give it weeks before you judge anything. The AAD notes that retinoids make skin more sensitive to sun, so that last part is not optional. The Ordinary is at its best when it lets you read a label and make your own small decisions. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together The Blouse Test and Chanel Mini Flap.
