The Ordinary Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA On your shelf ✓
Our read, in one look
Hyaluronic acid is the reason to consider this moisturizer, 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 Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA is a moisturizer built around Glycerin, Hyaluronic acid and Sodium PCA. It leans strongest on hydration, barrier repair, oil-control & blemishes. Best suited to dry, dehydrated and rough 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.
34 of the 46 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 middleweight lotion, enough to comfort without feeling heavy. (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.
Water-binding molecule that increases hydration; works best under occlusive/emollient layers to reduce evaporation.
Component of skin’s natural moisturizing factor that helps attract and hold water in the stratum corneum.
Humectant that at low levels hydrates and at higher levels gently dissolves built-up dead skin cells on rough, dry areas.
Essential fatty acid that helps correct sebum imbalance supports barrier lipids and acts as a comedolytic agent in mild acne.
Light emollient ester that improves slip and reduces transepidermal water loss; may be problematic for some fungal-acne-prone users.
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
- Caprylic/Capric Triglyceridederived from what it is
- Glycerinderived from what it is
- Hyaluronic acidderived from what it is
- Linoleic Acidderived from what it is
- Sodium PCAderived from what it is
- Ureaderived from what it is
6 of this product's actives have a layer we can defend.
Against the average moisturizer
It scores higher than the median moisturizer on oil control.
On hydration, barrier repair, brightening 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 38 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 46 ingredients, decoded
- Aqua (Water)Solvent (base)
- Caprylic/Capric TriglycerideEmollient
- Cetyl AlcoholEmollient
- PropanediolHumectant
- Stearyl AlcoholEmollient
- GlycerinHumectant
- Sodium HyaluronateHumectant
- ArginineHumectant
- Aspartic AcidHumectant
- GlycineHumectant
- AlanineHumectant
- SerineHumectant
- ValineHumectant
- IsoleucineHumectant
- ProlineHumectant
- ThreonineHumectant
- HistidineHumectant
- PhenylalanineHumectant
- GlucoseHumectant
- Maltose
- FructoseHumectant
- TrehaloseHumectant
- Sodium PCAHumectant
- PCAAmino acid (NMF)
- Sodium LactateHumectant
- UreaHumectantmild irritant
- AllantoinSoothing
- Linoleic AcidBarrier lipid
- Oleic Acid
- Phytosteryl Canola GlyceridesSkin-identical lipid
- Palmitic Acid
- Stearic Acid
- LecithinEmulsifier
- Triolein
- roughly the 1% lineThe rules only require descending order above 1%. From Tocopherol down, these 12 can be listed in any order the brand likes, so position stops telling you anything.
- TocopherolAntioxidantmild irritant
- CarbomerThickener
- Isoceteth-20Emulsifier
- Polysorbate 60Emulsifier
- Sodium ChlorideThickener
- Citric AcidExfoliantmild irritant
- Pentylene GlycolHumectant
- TriethanolaminePh adjuster
- Sodium HydroxidePh adjustermild irritant
- PhenoxyethanolPreservativemild irritant
- ChlorphenesinPreservative
Copy the raw INCI list
Aqua (Water), Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Cetyl Alcohol, Propanediol, Stearyl Alcohol, Glycerin, Sodium Hyaluronate, Arginine, Aspartic Acid, Glycine, Alanine, Serine, Valine, Isoleucine, Proline, Threonine, Histidine, Phenylalanine, Glucose, Maltose, Fructose, Trehalose, Sodium PCA, PCA, Sodium Lactate, Urea, Allantoin, Linoleic Acid, Oleic Acid, Phytosteryl Canola Glycerides, Palmitic Acid, Stearic Acid, Lecithin, Triolein, Tocopherol, Carbomer, Isoceteth-20, Polysorbate 60, Sodium Chloride, Citric Acid, Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate, Pentylene Glycol, Triethanolamine, Sodium Hydroxide, Phenoxyethanol, Chlorphenesin
Read enough? Find it on amazon.com →
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 12 comparisons
- Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA vs CeraVe Moisturizing Cream
- Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA vs CeraVe Daily Moisturizing Lotion
- Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA vs CeraVe PM Facial Moisturizing Lotion
- Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA vs Cetaphil Moisturizing Cream
- Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA vs La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Baume B5+
- Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA vs Bioderma Atoderm Intensive Baume
- Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA vs CeraVe SA Lotion for Rough & Bumpy Skin
- Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA vs Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel
- Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA vs Cetaphil Moisturizing Lotion
- Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA vs La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo+ M
- Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA vs NIVEA Creme
- Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA vs Eau Thermale Avène Cicalfate+ Restorative Protective Cream
Common questions
Is The Ordinary Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA good for dry skin?
By our read of the formula, it suits dry, dehydrated, rough skin. The Ordinary Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA is a moisturizer built around Glycerin, Hyaluronic acid and Sodium PCA. It leans strongest on hydration, barrier repair, oil-control & blemishes. Best suited to dry, dehydrated and rough skin. Nothing in it we'd flag for most people.
How do you use The Ordinary Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA?
Morning and/or night, after your thinner water-based steps and before heavier creams.
What are the key ingredients in The Ordinary Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA?
The actives that do the work are Glycerin, Hyaluronic acid, Sodium PCA, Urea, Linoleic Acid, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride. The rest of the list is texture, preservatives and emulsifiers that hold the formula together.
Does The Ordinary Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA 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 Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA beside a cross-section of skin, with 3 of its ingredients drawn at the layer each one acts on and at one shared molecular scale: Glycerin and Linoleic Acid and Sodium PCA 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.
