💎 Serum
The Ordinary Ascorbic Acid 8% + Alpha Arbutin 2%
79
The OrdinaryB
✨Brightening🌿Soothing💦Hydrating
🐰Cruelty-Free🌱Vegan👃Fragrance-Free🫧Non-Comedogenic💚Allergen-Free✅Paraben-Free
The Ordinary The Ordinary Ascorbic Acid 8% + Alpha Arbutin 2% is a serum with 1 active ingredient. Key actives: Ascorbic Acid, Alpha-Arbutin. Fragrance-free.
View product ↗Warnings
- •4 potential irritants in the formula — introduce gradually.
Ingredient Breakdown (8 INCI · 2 active)
- 0Aqua/Water
- 1Ascorbic AcidACTIVE
- 2Propanediol
- 3Alpha-ArbutinACTIVE
- 4Glycerin
- 5Triethanolamine
- 6Panthenol
- 7Sodium Hyaluronate
Product Info
Type
Serum
Price
$10.99
Certifications
🐰 Cruelty-Free🌱 Vegan👃 Fragrance-Free🫧 Non-Comedogenic💚 Allergen-Free✅ Paraben-Free
Score Breakdown
Efficacy
79
🧪Ingredient Quality33.5 / 45
- ✓1 high-impact active: Alpha Arbutin
- ✓5 supporting actives (Tier 2)
🎯Concentration Signal15 / 15
- ⚠No % concentrations on the label — strength inferred from INCI order
- ↑Disclose the % of each headline active
🏆Evidence Backing12.9 / 15
- ✓Average evidence 86/100 across 9 matched actives
- ✓7 actives with strong evidence (≥80/100)
🧬Formulation Sophistication9.5 / 12
- ✓6 distinct ingredient classes — well-rounded formula
- ✓Synergy: Hyaluronic Acid + Glycerin
📋Functional Completeness8 / 8
- ✓Carries the active classes expected for this product type
🛡️Base Formula Credit0 / 5
Safety
98
Starts at 100; each row below subtracts points up to its cap.
🔥Irritation Risk−5.5 / 18
- ⚠1 moderate-irritation ingredient: Ascorbic Acid
🌿Fragrance0 / 10
- ✓Fragrance-free
⚠️Allergens0 / 10
- ✓No EU 26 fragrance allergens detected
🚫Endocrine Concern0 / 15
- ✓No ingredients flagged for endocrine activity
💎Comedogenicity0 / 7
- ✓No pore-clogging ingredients detected
🔀Formulation Conflicts0 / 10
- ✓No antagonistic ingredient combinations
✨Clean-Formula & Transparency+4 / 8
- ✓Short-ingredient-list bonus: +2.0
- ✓Transparency bonus: +2.0 (clear INCI disclosure)
Overall Score79/100
Overall = 50% Efficacy + 50% Safety. No bonus pad — hitting 100 requires both dimensions to be near-perfect. How scoring works →