Why Does The Ordinary Retinol 0.5% in Squalane Score So Badly on Yuka?

Yuka reads The Ordinary Retinol 0.5% in Squalane at 24 out of 100, in the red "Bad" band. The reading was taken in the app on 12 October 2026, searching by name; the listing it returned, "THE Ordinary Retinol 0.5% In Squalane", was created by a Yuka user from photos of the bottle. One ingredient is flagged. Every other ingredient is risk-free, the retinol included.

European cosmetics law looks at the same eight-ingredient list and reaches nearly the opposite conclusion. That disagreement is the most useful thing to know about this product.

The Flag Is the Antioxidant, Not the Retinol

• BHT, high risk. Butylated hydroxytoluene, the last ingredient on the list.

Retinol breaks down when it meets air and light. BHT is in the bottle to slow that down, alongside a second antioxidant, hydroxymethoxyphenyl decanone, which Yuka passes. The rest of the list is three oils (squalane, caprylic/capric triglyceride and jojoba), the retinol, and tomato and rosemary extracts.

Yuka's rule is that a single high-risk ingredient puts a product in the red band, between 0 and 24, whatever else it contains. Nothing else here is flagged, so the serum sits at the top of that band: 24. The whole score is one line on the label, and it is the last line.

What European Law Says About BHT

The EU has regulated BHT in cosmetics since Commission Regulation (EU) 2022/2195, which added it to Annex III of Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 as entry 325. The limits are 0.001% in mouthwash, 0.1% in toothpaste and 0.8% in other leave-on and rinse-off products, binding on products placed on the EU market from 1 July 2023.

So BHT is permitted in a face serum, up to a ceiling. The Ordinary does not publish the concentration, and its position at the end of the list tells you only that it is among the smallest components. Yuka does not explain its high-risk rating in the scan, and we are not going to invent its reasoning for it.

What European Law Says About the Retinol

This is the part Yuka leaves out entirely.

Commission Regulation (EU) 2024/996 added retinol, retinyl acetate and retinyl palmitate to Annex III as entry 376. The maximum is 0.3% retinol equivalent in face and other leave-on or rinse-off products, and 0.05% in body lotion, and every product containing them must carry the warning "Contains Vitamin A. Consider your daily intake before use". A product that does not comply may not be placed on the EU market from 1 November 2025, and may not be sold there at all from 1 May 2027.

The Ordinary labels this serum as 0.5% pure retinol. On the label's own figure, that is above the EU limit for a face product. We read the entry from the published text of the regulation on 13 October 2026. We have not checked what The Ordinary currently sells in EU shops, whether it has reformulated for Europe or withdrawn the product there, and we will not guess. If you are buying in the EU, check the strength and the vitamin A warning on the box in front of you.

Put the two halves together and the score points the wrong way. Yuka marks the trace antioxidant as the hazard and passes the active ingredient that the EU decided to cap. If you are worried about this product, the retinol strength is the thing to think about, and the 24 will not tell you that.

Where It Sits in The Ordinary Range

At the bottom, and for a reason none of its siblings share. The Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5, the Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% and the Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA are all held below 50 by phenoxyethanol. This serum contains no water and no phenoxyethanol, and it scores lower than all of them. The full pattern is in why The Ordinary scores so unevenly on Yuka, with every reading on The Ordinary's brand page.

Who This Is Still Fine For

If a dermatologist put you on retinol and this one suits your skin, a red score from an antioxidant flag is not a reason to stop. The app is not scoring what retinol does, only what is on its hazard list.

Two groups should think harder. Anyone new to retinol, because The Ordinary's own US product page sells 0.5% as its moderate-strength retinol, not its starting one. And anyone in the EU who wants to stay inside the 2024 limit, since this label is above it.

Higher-Scoring Options We Have Read, and Their Limits

We do not hold a good Yuka score for any retinol product, so there is no like-for-like swap on this site. These are the nearest things, and neither is a retinoid.

• Facetheory Bakuchiol Firming Daily Moisturiser, 86/100. Bakuchiol is a plant compound marketed as a gentler alternative to retinol. It is not a retinoid, so treat it as a different product rather than a substitute.
• The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution, 93/100. If texture rather than ageing is your reason for retinol, an acid works by a different route and scores far better.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Yuka score for The Ordinary Retinol 0.5% in Squalane?

24/100, "Bad", read in the app on 12 October 2026. BHT is flagged at high risk; every other ingredient, retinol included, is risk-free.

Is 0.5% retinol legal in the EU?

Not in a new face product. Regulation (EU) 2024/996 caps retinol at 0.3% retinol equivalent in leave-on face products. Non-compliant products may not be placed on the EU market from 1 November 2025, and may not be sold there from 1 May 2027.

Does Yuka penalise retinol?

Not in this reading. The retinol was rated risk-free; the whole penalty comes from BHT.

Our Verdict

The lowest score in The Ordinary range we have read, for the least interesting ingredient in the bottle. The 24 is a verdict on BHT, which the EU permits up to 0.8%. The question worth asking about this serum is the one Yuka does not ask: whether 0.5% retinol is the strength you want, and, in Europe, whether it is still the strength you can buy.