La Roche Posay Hyalu B5 Serum VS. The Ordinary 2% HA+B5 Serum VS. L`oreal Revitalift 1, 5% HA Serum: Review
If you`re not sure which one to get out of these three serums, L`oreal Revitalift 1, 5% HA Serum, La Roche Posay Hyalu B5 Serum, or The Ordinary 2% HA+B5 Serum, this blog post is for you. I have tried all of these serums out and in today`s blog post I will give you my opinion on which one I think is the best and which one I recommend.
I will go through the main active ingredients, controversial ingredients, the effect on the skin, sensitive skin suitability (is the serum suitable for sensitive skin or not), price point, and in the end I will give you my final verdict and tell you which serum I recommend.
ACTIVE INGREDIENTS
Loreal Revitalift 1, 5% HA Serum
The main active ingredient of L`oreal Revitalift 1,5% HA Serum is: 1,5 % of HA (Hyaluronic Acid) and you get both high and low molecular Hyaluronic Acid which is great. If you don`t know already it is very important to get serum with both types of Hyaluronic Acid because the low molecular Hyaluronic Acid actually has a higher chance of penetrating deeper into your skin and actually reducing wrinkles while the high molecular Hyaluronic Acid is just there to hydrate the skin. Next, this serum has Glycerin, a humectant that binds water and because of that, this serum is going to be very hydrating. Another important ingredient that I would like to mention is Dipeptide Diaminobutyroyl Benzylamide Diacetate, this peptide belongs to the “botox in the jar” type of peptide and it can actually reduce the wrinkles. There is a study showing a 74% wrinkle reduction!
La Roche Posay Hyalu B5 Serum
This one also has low and high molecular Hyaluronic Acid, I`m just not sure what is the percentage of Hyaluronic Acid since it`s not stated on the package. It also has Glycerin, Vitamin E which is a great antioxidant that helps with fighting the free radicals. Then it has Vitamin B5 (Panthenol). Vitamin B5 is another great moisturizer and humectant.
Another ingredient that I would like to emphasize is Madecassoside, this is an ingredient that has wound-healing properties, acts anti-inflammatory and it stimulates collagen production which slows down aging. And the last but not the least ingredient that I would like to mention is Dimethicone. Dimethicone is an occlusive and it is important to emphasize that Dimethicone is not a very common ingredient for Hyaluronic Acid Serums. Dimethicone, besides having an occlusive effect, can also give an instant plumped-up effect. It can instantly plump up the fine lines and give you that plumped-up look. So that`s another ingredient that I thought would be worth mentioning, because as I said it`s not very common for hyaluronic acid serums to have occlusives in them.
The Ordinary 2% HA+B5 Serum
This one has the highest concentration of Hyaluronic Acid, it has 2% of Hyaluronic Acid. And it has three types of Hyaluronic Acid: low, medium, and high molecular Hyaluronic Acid.
And it also has Vitamin B5 (Panthenol) same as La Roche Posay Hyalu B5.
And of course, we again have Glycerin, another humectant.
I think that The Ordinary 2% HA+B5 Serum is like a simplified version of La Roche Posay Hyalu B5 Serum which of course is not a bad thing.
Finally, based on the active ingredients I would say that the La Roche Posay Hyalu B5 Serum will win this round because of Vitamin E and Madecassoside. Don’t get me wrong, I think that L`oreal and The Ordinary also have good ingredients, it`s just that when you compare them, I would say that La Roche Posay wins in this round.
CONTROVERSIAL INGREDIENTS
L`oreal Revitalift 1, 5% HA Serum
This serum has the most controversial ingredients!
First of all, it has HEPES (Hydroxyethylpiperazine Ethane Sulfonic Acid). This one is found controversial by some people because it does have one study showing that it can cause free radical damage in the presence of Oxygen, but it does not have any studies showing the direct impact on the skin, so if you ask me I wouldn`t avoid this serum just because of that ingredient.
The second controversial ingredient is Fragrance and this one is heavily fragranced because it has a really strong smell. Fun fact, I was using all of these serums at the time when I was using Retinaldehyde Anti-Wrinkle Serum by Avene. I do have a video review on that product you can watch it below.
And even though my skin isn`t naturally sensitive to fragranced products, it becomes sensitive when I use Retinoids (or in this case Retinaldehyde). And I`m telling you this because I could not use L`oreal Revitalift 1,5% Serum at the time when I was using Retinaldehyde because it was burning my skin. Right after application, I would get burning sensations and I would have to remove it right away. Based on this, this serum is not going to be good for sensitive skin.
La Roche Posay Hyalu B5 Serum
This one has Alcohol and Fragrance as controversial ingredients.
Now just a little disclaimer, FOR ME Alcohol isn`t a controversial ingredient because it`s a penetration enhancer, it helps the active ingredients penetrate deeper into your skin, it`s a solvent and it can help with improving the effect of the serum on the skin.
But since I know that a lot of people are against Alcohol I`m emphasizing it here.
The second controversial ingredient in this product is again Fragrance.
It does have Fragrance and you can sense it when you smell the product, but surprisingly this one didn`t burn my skin. Even though I was using this La Roche Posay Hyualu B5 Serum at the same time as I was using Retinaldehyde by Avene, it did not burn my skin.
So there you go, it does have Fragrance, but it did not cause me any problems. I cannot tell you though if it will burn your skin or not, that will definitely depend on how sensitive your skin is. That is individual, you will have to figure that out on your own, or with your dermatologist.
The Ordinary 2% HA+B5 Serum
And then we have The Ordinary 2% HA+B5 Serum with absolutely no controversial ingredients. This is great and BRAVO Ordinary! No Alcohol, no Fragrance, no HEPES. This serum is safe for everyone.
Based on this, the winner of this category is definitely The Ordinary 2% HA+B5 Serum because it has no controversial ingredients.
EFFECT
I would say that these are all great regarding the effect on the skin. They all nourish and hydrate the skin very well.
My favorite regarding the effect would be La Roche Posay Hyalu B5 Serum because I noticed with that one my skin feels nourished, moisturized, and hydrated even in the morning. When I apply it in the evening, the next day I wake up with nourished skin and I didn`t notice that with the other two serums.
Because of that, I think La Roche Posay Hyalu B5 Serum wins this round.
SENSITIVE SKIN SUITABILITY
The only serum suitable for sensitive skin here is The Ordinary 2% HA+B5 Serum, this is the winner of this round. I can`t recommend La Roche Posay Hyalu B5 Serum because it does have fragrance (even though it didn`t cause me any trouble, I can`t recommend it for sensitive skin).
If you have really sensitive skin definitely go for The Ordinary 2% HA+B5 Serum.
PRICE POINT
I was comparing the prices on Amazon and L`oreal Revitalift 1,5% HA Serum ranges from 17$ to 30$, one retailer sells it for 30$ and another for 17$, so just be careful and explore your options on Amazon.
The most expensive serum is La Roche Posay Hyalu B5 Serum. This one really retails for 35$, you cannot get it cheaper than that, or at least I couldn`t find it.
And the most affordable one is The Ordinary 2% HA+B5 Serum, this one retails for around 10$. This one is the winner because you get a great serum for your money!
FINAL VERDICT
Which serum do I recommend?
Effect wise, my favourite one is La Roche Posay Hyalu B5 Serum, I think that this serum has the best effect on the skin, but I cannot recommend it to people who have sensitive skin, if you have sensitive skin go for The Ordinary one, that`s the safest option!
And if you don`t mind the price point of La Roche Posay Hyalu B5 Serum and you can handle a little bit of fragrance, then go for La Roche Posay Hyalu B5 Serum.
Let me know have you tried any of these serums and which one is your favorite!
Also, let me know if this was helpful!
Thanks for reading!
Text adapted from Pharmacy&Makeup’s Youtube Video by Marija Malenović
Pharmacist Specialized In Cosmetology