skin repair formulation to date and is designed with growth factors to repair visible skin damage and regenerate the look of aging skin. “After making an initial commitment to commoditising well-known skincare ingredients so that they could not be sold to consumers as innovation, we focused on the democratisation of access to lesser-known ingredients being sold at a premium,” Rita Silva, The Ordinary’s scientific communications and brand engagement manager, told Inside Retail. “GF 15% Solution was the perfect representation of this, and so we felt like it warranted a brand-led initiative that showcased to our community our continued commitment to our founding values,” she continued. The new website will not sell products but instead, be an information hub where the company’s scientists will summarise white papers into 500 words or less in the hopes of answering pressing consumer questions. From gatekeeping to gatebreaking  The Ordinary has earned a reputation in the beauty industry for breaking down barriers and making ingredients accessible to consumers that competitor brands have been gatekeeping with high price points. Its new growth serum is the latest addition to its range of “gatebreaking” products, The Ordinary strategised that it would need an educational component to accompany the launch of a newer ingredient. “Because growth factors are newer ingredients when compared to other active molecules, the misconception existed that a higher price point was warranted, but this is not always the case,” explained Silva. “With this launch, we wanted to focus on the concepts of ‘gatebreaking’ breakthroughs and clearing up misconceptions, and how we could continue to remove barriers and democratise skincare science,” she added. The dual launch of The Ordinary’s new serum and website of scientific white papers demonstrates its tunnel vision for breaking accessibility barriers around both price and information. “While economic barriers have always existed in beauty, particularly when it comes to innovation, The Ordinary has been historically committed to removing them,” said Silva. “With our Truth Drops, we focused on also removing knowledge barriers, which can lead consumers to buy into misinformation disguised as a product benefit,” she added. The antidote to misinformation  The Ordinary believes that it’s not only beauty consumers who benefit from greater access to science, but society as a whole. “We live in a post-truth society that has people questioning everything they’re told, be it by governments, organisations, or companies,” stated Silva. “This means that individuals are a lot quicker to question a brand’s statements, making it much harder to reap long-term benefits from using misconceptions to sell a product, rather than selling it for what it is,” she added. “It works in the short-term, but ultimately consumers are a lot more clued-up and curious, so sales based on mistruths are temporary, and do not inspire brand loyalty.” Since its founding, The Ordinary has worked to be the antithesis and antidote to an industry that is cluttered with misinformation. “When The Ordinary was founded, it was born out of frustration with the smoke and mirrors of traditional marketing; for example, at the time, technologies that were familiar to formulators were being sold to consumers as innovation, and charged a premium for that,” Silva shared.  “We wanted to call out key ingredients, and the percentages at which they are included, to inspire consumers to demand the right ingredients for their skin concerns, at efficacious concentrations,” she added. When asked if The Truth Should Be Ordinary website would continue to publish content after the launch of its new GF 15% Solution Silva teased that, “this is still to be confirmed”. “However, we want to continue engaging with our community, so we have asked people what misinformation they would like to be cleared up through science next,” she concluded.  “We are also looking into research funding opportunities in the future, with a particular focus on open access to scientific research.”