The Ordinary Multi-Peptide + HA Serum On your shelf ✓
Our read, in one look
Hyaluronic acid is the reason to consider this serum, with Urea behind it.
The case for it
- Hyaluronic acid, strong evidence for hydration
- Urea, strong evidence for hydration
- No fragrance, alcohol, silicones or parabens
Mind this
- Morning or evening, whichever suits your routine
- Add it on its own for a week or two, so you know what your skin is answering to
Maya's readThe Ordinary Multi-Peptide + HA Serum is a serum built around Glycerin, Crosslinked sodium HA and Hyaluronic acid. It leans strongest on hydration, barrier repair. Best suited to dry, dehydrated and very dry skin. Nothing in it we'd flag for most people.
Skip it if you already own something similar: it's a solid, honest basic rather than a must-have upgrade.
The formula, drawn
Every ingredient in label order, coloured by the job it does here.
39 of the 51 sit above the 1% line. The other 12, hatched, are each under 1%. Widths show the ORDER on the label and nothing else: the label never discloses amounts, so we never draw them.
- Actives & signals
- Hydrators
- Texture & base
- Preservation
- Not in our library yet
- No fragrance anywhere on the label
What it delivers
How it feels A light, fast-absorbing texture that layers cleanly under the rest of your routine, with no greasy film. (estimated from the formula)
What's in it that matters
Classic humectant with strong evidence for improving skin hydration and supporting barrier when combined with emollients.
Crosslinked sodium hyaluronate that forms a hydrated gel matrix at the surface. Used in serums for longer lasting hydration that visibly softens fine lines while it is in place.
Water-binding molecule that increases hydration; works best under occlusive/emollient layers to reduce evaporation.
Humectant that at low levels hydrates and at higher levels gently dissolves built-up dead skin cells on rough, dry areas.
Component of skin’s natural moisturizing factor that helps attract and hold water in the stratum corneum.
Soothing ingredient that helps calm irritation and support surface healing in compromised skin.
How to use it
Morning and/or night, after your thinner water-based steps and before heavier creams.
Where it acts
The same cross-section as our 500 dalton page, with this formula's actives on the layer each one works on. Depth is the anatomy's, never an ingredient's.
Skin surface
The stratum corneum
- Crosslinked sodium HAderived from what it is
- Glycerinderived from what it is
- Hyaluronic acidderived from what it is
- Sodium PCAderived from what it is
- Ureaderived from what it is
5 of this product's actives have a layer we can defend. 1 did not, so it is not on the diagram: no source and no honest derivation means no dot.
Against the average serum
It scores lower than the median serum on brightening.
On hydration, barrier repair, oil control and anti-aging it is level with the median, so that is not what sets it apart.
A median, not an average: one unusual formula should not move the middle. The numbers are the same 0 to 10 reads the comparison pages use.
The full ingredients list, decoded
Every ingredient on the label, in the order it appears (highest amount first). We link the 29 our library knows, name what each one does, and flag anything that can irritate or clog. The rest we leave plain, nothing is hidden.
All 51 ingredients, decoded
- Aqua (Water)Solvent (base)
- GlycerinHumectant
- Lactococcus Ferment LysateSoothing
- Acetyl Hexapeptide-8Neuromodulating peptide
- Pentapeptide-18Neuromodulating peptide
- Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1Signal peptide
- Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7Signal peptide
- Palmitoyl Tripeptide-38Signal peptide
- Dipeptide Diaminobutyroyl Benzylamide DiacetateNeuromodulating peptide
- Acetylarginyltryptophyl DiphenylglycineSignal peptide
- Sodium Hyaluronate CrosspolymerHumectant
- Sodium HyaluronateHumectant
- AllantoinSoothing
- GlycineAmino acid (NMF)
- AlanineAmino acid (NMF)
- SerineAmino acid (NMF)
- Valine
- Isoleucine
- ProlineAmino acid (NMF)
- Threonine
- Histidine
- Phenylalanine
- ArginineHumectant
- Aspartic Acid
- TrehaloseHumectant
- FructoseHumectant
- GlucoseHumectant (sugar)
- Maltose
- UreaHumectantmild irritant
- Sodium PCAHumectant
- PCAAmino acid (NMF)
- Sodium LactateHumectant
- Citric AcidExfoliantmild irritant
- Hydroxypropyl Cyclodextrin
- Sodium ChlorideThickener (salt)
- Sodium HydroxidePh adjustermild irritant
- Butylene GlycolHumectant
- Pentylene GlycolHumectant
- Acacia Senegal Gum
- roughly the 1% lineThe rules only require descending order above 1%. From Xanthan Gum down, these 12 can be listed in any order the brand likes, so position stops telling you anything.
- Xanthan GumThickener
- CarbomerThickener
- Polysorbate 20Emulsifiermild irritant
- PPG-26-Buteth-26
- PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor OilEmulsifier
- Trisodium Ethylenediamine DisuccinateChelator (stabiliser)
- EthoxydiglycolSolvent
- Sodium BenzoatePreservative
- Caprylyl GlycolPreservative booster
- EthylhexylglycerinPreservative booster
- PhenoxyethanolPreservativemild irritant
- ChlorphenesinPreservative
Copy the raw INCI list
Aqua (Water), Glycerin, Lactococcus Ferment Lysate, Acetyl Hexapeptide-8, Pentapeptide-18, Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1, Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7, Palmitoyl Tripeptide-38, Dipeptide Diaminobutyroyl Benzylamide Diacetate, Acetylarginyltryptophyl Diphenylglycine, Sodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer, Sodium Hyaluronate, Allantoin, Glycine, Alanine, Serine, Valine, Isoleucine, Proline, Threonine, Histidine, Phenylalanine, Arginine, Aspartic Acid, Trehalose, Fructose, Glucose, Maltose, Urea, Sodium PCA, PCA, Sodium Lactate, Citric Acid, Hydroxypropyl Cyclodextrin, Sodium Chloride, Sodium Hydroxide, Butylene Glycol, Pentylene Glycol, Acacia Senegal Gum, Xanthan Gum, Carbomer, Polysorbate 20, PPG-26-Buteth-26, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate, Ethoxydiglycol, Sodium Benzoate, Caprylyl Glycol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Phenoxyethanol, Chlorphenesin
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We don't make or sell skincare of our own. So there's nothing here we're trying to push, just an honest read of whether this formula suits your skin.
Against your shelf
Read from your own shelf, in your browser. We never see it.
Compare it with…
All 15 comparisons
- Multi-Peptide + HA Serum vs The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%
- Multi-Peptide + HA Serum vs The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5 (Original Formulation)
- Multi-Peptide + HA Serum vs The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5 (with Ceramides)
- Multi-Peptide + HA Serum vs The Ordinary Vitamin C Suspension 23% + HA Spheres 2%
- Multi-Peptide + HA Serum vs The Ordinary Retinol 0.5% in Squalane
- Multi-Peptide + HA Serum vs CeraVe Resurfacing Retinol Serum
- Multi-Peptide + HA Serum vs The Ordinary Azelaic Acid Suspension 10%
- Multi-Peptide + HA Serum vs La Roche-Posay Hyalu B5 Suractivated Serum
- Multi-Peptide + HA Serum vs Eucerin Anti-Pigment Dual Serum
- Multi-Peptide + HA Serum vs The Ordinary Caffeine Solution 5% + EGCG Eye Serum
- Multi-Peptide + HA Serum vs Medik8 Crystal Retinal 6
- Multi-Peptide + HA Serum vs The Ordinary Granactive Retinoid 2% Emulsion
- Multi-Peptide + HA Serum vs The Ordinary Granactive Retinoid 5% in Squalane
- Multi-Peptide + HA Serum vs Geek & Gorgeous A-Game 10
- Multi-Peptide + HA Serum vs Celimax The Vita A Retinal Shot Tightening Booster
Common questions
Is The Ordinary Multi-Peptide + HA Serum good for dry skin?
By our read of the formula, it suits dry, dehydrated, very dry skin. The Ordinary Multi-Peptide + HA Serum is a serum built around Glycerin, Crosslinked sodium HA and Hyaluronic acid. It leans strongest on hydration, barrier repair. Best suited to dry, dehydrated and very dry skin. Nothing in it we'd flag for most people.
How do you use The Ordinary Multi-Peptide + HA Serum?
Morning and/or night, after your thinner water-based steps and before heavier creams.
What are the key ingredients in The Ordinary Multi-Peptide + HA Serum?
The actives that do the work are Glycerin, Crosslinked sodium HA, Hyaluronic acid, Urea, Sodium PCA, Allantoin. The rest of the list is texture, preservatives and emulsifiers that hold the formula together.
Does The Ordinary Multi-Peptide + HA Serum contain fragrance?
No. By our reading of the ingredient list it is fragrance-free, which is a plus for sensitive or reactive skin.
What the 3D scene shows
The scene shows The Ordinary Multi-Peptide + HA Serum beside a cross-section of skin, with 2 of its ingredients drawn at the layer each one acts on and at one shared molecular scale: Glycerin and Urea in the stratum corneum, the dead outer layer where most skincare works. Depths come from the same sourced layer data as the rest of this site, and any ingredient whose layer is not established is left out rather than guessed.
