REVIEW: The Ordinary Granactive Retinoid 2% Emulsion

Retinoids are my favorite skincare ingredients, but they’re quite tricky to use. After reading my review of The Ordinary Granactive Retinoid 2% Emulsion you’ll realize why it’s a great product to begin using retinoids and you’ll learn how to use it, where to buy it and everything it can do to improve your skin’s health.

Hi! I had not shared a review of The Ordinary for a while, and today is finally the day. Many of you have asked me about retinol and retinoids (later I will share an informative post on the subject, talking in depth about this topic), so today I am going to talk about a serum composed from a retinol derivative: Granactive Retinoid 2 % Emulsion of The Ordinary. Do you want to meet him and know if I liked it? Let’s check it!

BRAND: THE ORDINARY
PRODUCT: GRANACTIVE RETINOID 2% EMULSION
SKIN TYPE: ALL
RECOMMENDED FOR: UNISEX

You can get the serum The Ordinary Granactive Retinoid 2% Emulsion on DECIEM (recommended) and on SkinStore.

As I said, this Granactive Retinoid 2% Emulsion is developed from a retinol derivative. Retinol (vitamin A) is one of the great pillars of skincare. It is the ingredient with the most studies that support its effectiveness in helping us improve skin texture, reduce acne and improve wrinkles and fine lines (increasing the production of collagen and elastin, responsible for our skin’s firmness and elasticity).

If you are considering starting to use retinol to help your skin with any of the problems I have mentioned, you should keep in mind that it is a potentially irritating ingredient, so we should always start using it from lower concentrations and increasing the dose progressively. That’s precisely when this Granactive Retinoid 2% Emulsion comes into play. This product gives us the benefits of retinol without the possible irritation associated to it, so it is a great way to start adding this ingredient into our routines.

And now that you know what it can bring you, let’s talk about the texture of this serum. The product is an emulsion (as the name tells us) and has a milky, slightly creamy texture, which is quickly absorbed and leaves a very soft and pleasant sensation on the skin. This serum is cream colored and has a very pleasant, but light aroma.

As for ingredients, in its composition we find, of course, Hydroxypinacolone Retinoate (granactive retinoid) and retinol, which help us improve wrinkles and fine lines, as well as skin texture. In addition, the Tasmannia Lanceolata extract provides us with antioxidant properties to indirectly help us maintain the elasticity and firmness of the skin, fighting the free radicals that damage elastin fibers.

As I said, this product is a fantastic solution to start progressively incorporating retinoids into our routines. In addition, since it’s not irritating you can even use it on sensitive skin. I am very happy with the results it provides and it has made me want to continue testing other products with retinoids. Would you buy it again? Yes, although now I want to move towards other products with a greater concentration. I think it is a good product to start in the world of retinol, and the next step (in terms of strength and possible irritation) would be to use The Ordinary Granactive Retinoid 2% in Squalane and then The Ordinary Granactive Retinoid 5 % in Squalane and, finally, the different concentrations of Retinol in Squalane (from lowest to highest concentration, as you know).

HOW TO USE:

This serum should always be applied after cleaning and using a good tonic that helps us balance the skin’s pH. Then apply your favorite moisturizer. It is better to use this serum in your PM routines, since retinoids sensitize us to ultraviolet radiation and it is not convenient to expose to the sun directly after using it. In addition, it is incompatible with other retinoids, so do not use others in the same routine. Although you already know that you must do it daily, do not forget to apply a good sunscreen in your morning routines after using retinoids.

This graphic aims to help you understand in which part of your skincare routine you should use each product.
You don’t need to do all the steps from this routine (but you should always cleanse, moisturize and use sunscreen).
Remember it’s key to do a patch test every time you consider adding new products to your skincare routine.

You can get the serum The Ordinary Granactive Retinoid 2% Emulsion on DECIEM (recommended) and on SkinStore.

Have you used retinol or any of its derivates? Have you tried this serum? What is your favorite product to help you fight wrinkles and fine lines? Tell me in the comments section!

If you liked this post and want to continue learning about how to keep your skin firm and elastic, check out these other articles:

• How to choose the best sunscreen.
• Moisturizer: what it is and how it works.

Do you want to learn to take better care of your skin? You can see an index of all my informative posts here. 

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