Mixing skincare can be precarious, but with the right steps and combos your skin can reap wonderful results. For our beautiful butterflies, we have compiled a list of skincare products from the Ordinary that compliment each other when combined. Upon mixing them, the following formula combos increase the efficacy of antioxidants, moisturization, and antiaging ingredients.
Boosting Your Antioxidants
The Ordinary Caffeine Solution 5% + EGCG - $7.70
The Ordinary Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA -$6.70
One of the best times to combine formulas is at night. Doing this can help repair the skin, and it can even reduce morning puffiness. Applying the Ordinary Caffeine Solution at night gives the antioxidants within it a chance to work overnight. During the day, antioxidants get degraded by the Sun, but applying them at night gives them a chance to repair the skin even more.
Caffeine gives an antioxidant boost to the skin, and it can potentially help circulation and nutrients become more available to the surface layers of the skin. It also constricts blood vessels which plays a major part in reducing vascular dark circles and bags.
Additionally, the “EGCG” in the caffeine serum is epigallocatechin gallate, and this does an amazing job at refreshing, hydrating, and evening the skin. When you apply this serum under The Ordinary’s Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA, the moisturizer protects and locks this serum into the skin, and the hyaluronic acid, a humectant, pulls water into the skin making it more moist and likewise better equipped to absorb the caffeine and EGCH. From there, the products work in tandem to hydrate, moisturize, repair, and depuff your skin.
Boosting Your Sunscreen
The Ordinary Mineral UV Filters SPF 15 with Antioxidants - $11
The Ordinary Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate 10% - $9.60
Preventing skin complications from the sun is much easier than treating them. This sunscreen from the ordinary has antioxidants, an SPF of 30, and mineral filters which work together fantastically because SPF only does so much. The number after the SPF indicates that you need to reapply the sunscreen throughout the day, but this can be difficult to remember. However, vitamin C can really boost up your sunscreen. Although you still need to reapply SPF throughout the day, adding vitamin C will help to boost antioxidant levels and protect your skin even more.
When the sun hits our skin, it shoots UVA and UVB rays into our faces. These go into the layers of our skin, and they can cause damage and create radical oxygen species. These free radicals can destroy our skin from the inside out, but SPF blocks this process. Vitamin C also plays a role in combatting free radicals because vitamin C gives itself up to the free radicals instead of allowing your skin to do so. Many studies demonstrate the way that vitamin C boosts sunscreen, and The Ordinary Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate 10% is a great vitamin C to pair with sunscreen. This vitamin C is at 10%, and it’s very stable in comparison to others. Plus, it has a nice, creamy formula that blends in really well with the sunscreen.
As a note, mixing these two products in your hands and applying them to your face is not recommended because this will dilute the sunscreen. It’s best to first layer on theMagnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate ashydrator and then cover it with a protective layer of SPF.
Boosting Your Moisturization
The Ordinary Resveratrol 3% + Ferulic Acid 3% - $7.90
The Ordinary 100% Plant-Derived Hemi-Squalane -$7.90
Two of the best antioxidants are resveratrol and ferulic acid. Resveratrol comes from grapes and ferulic acid comes from the cell walls of plants. These are fantastic antioxidants, and they work best when put into a solution that delivers them into your skin properly. Unfortunately, these ingredients are often put into water-based formulas which isn’t inherently bad, but you won’t get your full money’s worth, and antioxidants are not as impactful or efficacious in water formulas. Because antioxidants are less stable and degrade within water formulas, mixing the resveratrol and ferulic acid withThe Ordinary 100% Plant-Derived Hemi-Squalane, a waterless formula, creates an antioxidant moisturizer that won’t degrade easily.
In comparison to regular squalane, the Hemi-squalane is a little bit lighter on the skin because the product is put through a process so it doesn’t feel as greasy and hydrates better. The Ordinary says you can use this for hair, skin, and nails, but it’s fantastic for skin.When you mix it with ferulic acid, it creates a beautiful blend that absorbs into the skin nicely. Plus, the antioxidants are able to penetrate better because there’s no water in the formula, and they will not degrade.
Overall, these combos work great, but be careful when you mix products because certain combinations can make your skin more sensitive or potentially cancel or render certain ingredients impotent.
Clickhere for a video explanation on these combinations from Cassandra.