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The Ordinary vs DHC

Rated by Lovi · Unbiased, science-based skincare AI trained on real user outcomes · How the Fit score works

The Ordinary and DHC are well-regarded skincare brands offering serums, moisturizers, cleansers, and makeup removers built around soothing ingredients like hyaluronic acid, glycerin, and squalane. The Canadian brand suits dry and sensitive skin best, while the Japanese brand fits dry, normal, combination, and oily skin with its nourishing formulas. Both lines address specific concerns through targeted daily care, though they differ in their foundational approaches and regional origins.

The Ordinary is a Canadian skincare brand founded in 2016 and owned by The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. since 2021.

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DHC is a Japanese skincare brand founded in 1980 and owned by ORIX Corporation since 2023.

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This page compares some of the most popular The Ordinary and DHC products; for every product of both brands, with a fit score for your own skin, use the Lovi app.

Popular The Ordinary vs DHC products

Questions and answers

The Ordinary or DHC: which is better?

The Ordinary offers a much wider range of products that are affordable and great value serums, fitting dry skin, sensitive skin, and skin with dark spots best. Lovi fit ratings show that DHC is more limited on this page with only two cleansing options, while The Ordinary provides a comprehensive routine.

What is the difference between The Ordinary and DHC?

The Ordinary offers a large range of specialized serums, toners, and moisturizers that Lovi finds best fit dry and sensitive skin as well as skin with dark spots. In contrast, DHC features a smaller selection focused entirely on makeup removers.

Which is more affordable, The Ordinary or DHC?

The products on this page from The Ordinary are often noted by reviewers as affordable and offering great value serums, whereas DHC has no such mentions on this page.

Which causes fewer breakouts, The Ordinary or DHC?

The Ordinary products on this page have mixed fit levels for acne-prone skin, ranging from Superior to Low depending on the specific product, while DHC offers Pore Cleansing Oil which has a high fit for acne-prone skin. Reviewers often mention that The Ordinary includes acne-clearing serums, but it also features heavier oils like Moroccan Argan Oil which may cause breakouts in some users.

When were The Ordinary and DHC founded, and who currently owns them?

The Ordinary was founded in Canada in 2016 and is currently owned by The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. DHC was founded in Japan in 1980 and is currently owned by ORIX Corporation.

Do products from The Ordinary or DHC contain any fragrance ingredients?

Every product from both The Ordinary and DHC on this page lists no fragrance in its ingredients.

Which brand offers more products listed on the page for dry skin and acne-prone skin?

The Ordinary offers more products listed on this page for dry skin and acne-prone skin, with dozens of options compared to just two cleansing oils from DHC.

Research behind their key ingredients

Behind this comparison

Lovi compares products by their fit scores, calculated from the full ingredient list with brand-independent rules our dermatologists and cosmetic chemists build and review, and personalizes every pick with AI trained on the real results of millions of users. Lovi trains its fit score models on a proprietary dataset built from more than 10,000 expert-labeled products and more than 100,000 simulated examples, following an internally consistent methodology presented at Cosmoprof, AMWC, and Skin of Color Update.

  • Nadia Kapleva, MS

    Nadia Kapleva, MS

    Co-founder, Medical Director

    Cosmetic chemist, cosmetologist, aesthetic products developer

  • Alexey Shagraev, PhD

    Alexey Shagraev, PhD

    Co-founder, CEO and CTO

    PhD in computer science, 3x US patent holder, ex-Google, ex-Yandex

  • Dr. Sofía Perea Pérez, MD, MSc

    Dr. Sofía Perea Pérez, MD, MSc

    Medical Board

    Aesthetic medicine practitioner, MSc in Longevity and Anti-Aging Medicine

  • Aishani Shah, MD

    Aishani Shah, MD

    Medical Board

    Specialist dermatologist, MBBS, MD, IFAAD

  • Asya Zubkova, MS

    Asya Zubkova, MS

    Medical Board

    Cosmetic chemist, SCS, IFSCC member

  • Hanna Kurets, MD

    Hanna Kurets, MD

    Medical Board, Medical Advisor

    Dermatology MD

  • Elina Nazarenko, MD

    Elina Nazarenko, MD

    Medical Board

    Dermatology and diagnostic consultant

  • Victoria Derkova, MS

    Victoria Derkova, MS

    Medical Board

    Cosmetic chemist, cosmetic development technologist

How does it fit your skin?

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