The Ordinary
granactive retinoid 2% emulsion
serum30mltypically under $12GTIN 0769915190045
Cleaner pick · Safest serums & essences we have rated
Africology Skincare & Spa
Aloe Ferox Serum+26 on ingredient safety
30ml · 569 ZAR · 1896.67 ZAR/100 ml
Ingredient safetyRaters agree
Ranked by safety only. Greenlens earns from qualifying purchases. Payout never affects a rating, a ranking, or the cleaner pick.
Raters split
Ingredient safety
A 33-point gap between the two loudest voices.
65California Proposition 65Government
vs98Greenlens Precautionary ScreenIndependent
050100
See why, ingredient by ingredientAll 1785 cleaner options, safest first We show the best 12, including the strongest on each axis.
Every rater, every axis
Ingredient safety
33 pts apartA government authority. Auto-linked to this product, not yet human-reviewed. Checked this week. about this rater →
Independent — not funded by the brands it rates. Auto-linked to this product, not yet human-reviewed. Checked this week. about this rater →
Independent — not funded by the brands it rates. Auto-linked to this product, not yet human-reviewed. Checked this week. about this rater →
A government authority. Auto-linked to this product, not yet human-reviewed. Checked this week. about this rater →
Independent — not funded by the brands it rates. Auto-linked to this product, not yet human-reviewed. Checked this week. about this rater →
Also screened, nothing found: ECHA SVHC Candidate List · US NTP Report on Carcinogens · EU Harmonised Classification (CLP Annex VI) · ANSES Endocrine Disruptors · IARC Monographs
Environmental
Also screened, nothing found: EU Microplastics Restriction
Labor
Run by a nonprofit. Auto-linked to this product, not yet human-reviewed. This rates The Ordinary as a company and applies to everything they make, not this product alone. Checked this week. about this rater →
Packaging
Independent — not funded by the brands it rates. Auto-linked to this product, not yet human-reviewed. Checked this week. about this rater →
Coverage & match quality
7 ratings · 3 of 4 axes
- Some ratings rest on an automatic match that has not been human-reviewed.
- Fewer raters reach smaller-brand products, so a missing rating is not a clean bill of health, only a gap.
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composite recomputes live
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Environmentalno rating
No rater covers this axis for this product, so its weight can't move the score.
1.0×
1.0×
0 means ignored. Higher = more weight in your composite.
Ingredients, decoded
Data availability
Robust29 of 31 characterized
Our sources have reference data on 29 of 31 listed ingredients; 2 are uncharacterized in our data — a gap, not a clean bill.
Worth a look (3)
Prop 65-listedflagged by 4 of 9 lists →
EU-restricted (with limits)flagged by 2 of 9 lists →
Mild sensitizer for someflagged by 1 of 9 lists →
No flags in our sources (26)
- GLYCERINhumectant
- ETHYL LINOLEATEfragrance material
- CAPRIC TRIGLYCERIDE
- DIMETHYL ISOSORBIDE
- CETEARYL ISONONANOATE
- BISABOLOLsoothing
- HYDROXYPINACOLONE RETINOATE
- TASMANNIA LANCEOLATA FRUIT LEAF EXTRACT
- INULIN LAURYL CARBAMATE
- GLYCERYL STEARATE
- CETEARETH 20
- CETEARYL ALCOHOL
- CARRAGEENAN
- XANTHAN GUM
- ACACIA SENEGAL GUMfragrance material
- CETYL PALMITATE
- SUCROSE LAURATE
- POLYSORBATE 20
- ISOCETETH 20
- TRISODIUM ETHYLENEDIAMINE DISUCCINATE
- DISODIUM EDTA
- DEHYDROACETIC ACID
- BENZOIC ACID
- ETHYLHEXYLGLYCERIN
- CHLORPHENESIN
- water
No data in our sources (2)
Not a verdict — our authorities simply have no reference for these.
What these ingredient tags mean (3)
These describe what an ingredient is, not whether it is a problem. The stance marks above are the ratings; these are not.
retinoidretinol
- retinol: A vitamin A derivative that speeds skin turnover; dryness and flaking while skin adjusts are its usual accompaniment. SCCS Opinion on Vitamin A (Retinol, Retinyl Acetate, Retinyl Palmitate), SCCS/1576/16, final version of 6 October 2016; Commission Regulation (EU) 2024/996 added the group to EU Regulation (EC) 1223/2009 Annex III entry 376, capping it at 0,05% retinol equivalent in body lotion and 0,3% in other leave-on and rinse-off products, with the label statement "Contains Vitamin A. Consider your daily intake before use."
humectantGLYCERIN
- GLYCERIN: A humectant, and one of the two ingredients a comparison of moisturiser components found made a significant difference to skin hydration. FDA OTC skin protectant monograph, 21 CFR 347.10(h), lists glycerin as a skin protectant at 20 to 45%. On the humectant half: Jeong CB, Han JY, Cho JC, Suh KD, Nam GW, "Analysis of electrical property changes of skin by oil-in-water emulsion components", Int J Cosmet Sci 2013;35(4):402-410, DOI 10.1111/ics.12059, PMID 23621673, found that "glycerine and urea showed significant skin hydration effects compared with other humectants".
soothingBISABOLOL
- BISABOLOL: The main soothing component isolated from chamomile. Eddin LB et al., "Health Benefits, Pharmacological Effects, Molecular Mechanisms, and Therapeutic Potential of alpha-Bisabolol", Nutrients 2022;14(7):1370, DOI 10.3390/nu14071370, PMID 35405982, open access: it "is integrated in many cosmetic formulations due to its skin soothing effects, well documented dermal absorption and the absence of dermal irritations or photosensitivity following its application". The EMA HMPC assessment report on Matricaria recutita (EMA/HMPC/55837/2011) discusses its anti-inflammatory data.