Ole Henriksen Banana Bright Vitamin C Serum for sensitive skin
Ascorbic Acid
Phas
Sodium Hyaluronate
Glycerin
Citrus Aurantium Dulcis Extract
Average
- HighNormal Skin Fit
- AverageEffectiveness
- HighSafety
Works for sensitive skin; other serums fit it better.
This fit is calculated for the concerns frequently associated with sensitive skin: redness, stinging, and reactions to new products. For scores and recommendations based on your full skin profile, including your 12D face scan results and any goals or preferences you have, please use the Lovi app.
Page built Nov 8, 2026How the Fit score works
Lovi Assistant explains
- Offers moderate brightening and smoothing for your normal skin due to the presence of 3-O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid and Gluconolactone, which provide antioxidant activity and mild exfoliation.
- While Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate offers some anti-inflammatory benefits, the concentrations are mild and may not fully address your primary concerns of redness and irritation.
- The product is safe for your sensitive skin as it lacks harsh ingredients and prohibited substances, ensuring no risk of irritation.
How to apply
- Use your serum in the PM routine, starting 3 times a week before building up to daily use if your skin is happy.
- Apply the serum after cleansing and toning, but before putting on your moisturizer for the best results.
- Gently press 2-3 drops of the serum into your skin and wait a minute ⏱ for it to soak in.
- Since your skin is sensitive and easily irritated, apply the serum on completely dry skin to help keep it calm.
- Always do a patch test before your first use and avoid getting the serum too close to your eyes .
People Say
★4.4Overall rating based on 2.7k+ reviewsBased on a very large amount of data, users with dull or aging skin frequently praise this serum for its ability to instantly brighten the complexion and provide a glass skin glow, often noting improvements in texture and hydration. A moderate number of users report severe allergic reactions, including redness and swelling, suggesting it may be potent or irritating for sensitive skin types.
Highlights
Instant brightening Mostly Mentioned
- “gives a beautiful radiant glow”
- “skin looks glass-like”
- “instantly brightens dull areas”
- “complexion felt clearer and bouncier”
Lightweight texture Often Mentioned
- “absorbs fast without being sticky”
- “layers well under SPF”
- “makeup glides right over it”
- “feels lightweight going on”
Pleasant scent Often Mentioned
- “smells like fresh orange juice”
- “scent is lightly sweet”
- “refreshing citrus smell”
- “mood-boosting scent”
Hydrating and plumping Sometimes Noted
- “plumps the skin”
- “feels like a drink of water for my face”
- “helped with dryness”
- “skin feels dewier”
Allergic reactions Sometimes Noted
- “eyes and face were swollen”
- “red burning rash around nose”
- “tiny blistering pimples”
- “caused chemical burn”
Sticky residue Sometimes Noted
- “leaves face sticky for hours”
- “can't stand the stickiness”
- “feels tacky on the skin”
- “hair sticks to my face”
Misleading name Rarely Noted
- “expected banana scent”
- “smells nothing like bananas”
- “misleading name”
- “just smells like vitamin C”
Orange tint Rarely Noted
- “looks like orange juice”
- “stained my hands orange”
- “left an orange cast”
- “oxidized quickly”
Sources: lovi.care, influenster.com, ulta.com, sephora.com, olehenriksen.com, boots.com, and more
Questions and answers
How well does Ole Henriksen Banana Bright Vitamin C Serum work for sensitive skin?
This serum works for sensitive skin, though other products fit it better because its mild ingredients may not fully address redness and irritation. Treatments that fit this skin well need effective ingredients like niacinamide and snail secretion filtrate to calm redness and irritation without causing discomfort.
Which ingredients make this serum a good fit for sensitive skin?
This serum works for sensitive skin because it contains soothing ingredients like dipotassium glycyrrhizate along with hydrating components that help keep skin calm. To be a better fit for this skin type, a product of this type needs effective ingredients that target redness and irritation while remaining highly compatible and gentle.
What does Vitamin C do for sensitive skin?
Vitamin C helps brighten skin, smooth out fine lines, and fade dark spots. Clinical studies show it is generally safe and well-tolerated when improving overall skin quality.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2020Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2023
What do PHAs do for sensitive skin?
PHAs help make sensitive skin smooth and soft while keeping it calm and comfortable without irritation. These gentle acids hydrate well and provide antioxidant benefits that are very well tolerated by easily upset skin.
Cutis, 2004The Journal of Clinical and Aesthetic Dermatology, 2011
Where does this serum go in a skincare routine for sensitive skin?
This serum goes in your evening routine, applied after your cleanser and soothing toner and before your moisturizer. Treatments are placed in the evening for simplicity and extra safety around sun exposure. Because this is an average fit for your sensitive skin, a product of this type needs calming and soothing ingredients like centella asiatica or aloe vera to better manage redness and irritation.
Can I use this serum with retinol, and in what order?
You can use this serum with retinol by applying the serum in the morning and retinol at night, or by spacing them out on different days to keep your skin calm. Using strong active ingredients together like this may increase the chance of dryness or redness, so it is best to introduce them slowly. Sensitive skin needs gentle soothing ingredients like centella asiatica and ceramides to help protect the skin barrier and prevent irritation.
How often should I use this serum?
This serum works safely for sensitive skin, but since it is an average fit, it is best to start using it just once a week in your evening routine to see how your skin responds. If your skin handles it well, you may carefully use it more often, and a product for this skin needs stronger soothing and calming ingredients to truly target redness and irritation.
Can this serum clog pores, cause breakouts or purging for sensitive skin?
This serum is unlikely to cause breakouts or clog pores on sensitive skin because it lacks heavy ingredients, though some users report allergic reactions and sticky residue. To properly care for sensitive skin prone to redness, a treatment needs soothing ingredients like ceramides and centella asiatica to calm irritation.
Is this serum fragrance-free and alcohol-free?
It has no drying alcohol and contains fragrance (limonene, linalool, and citral).
What the research says
A multi-component dissolving microneedle patch loaded with glabridin, 3-O-ethyl-L-ascorbic acid, and tranexamic acid effectively reduced chloasma and age spots while demonstrating safety in clinical evaluation, alongside significant antioxidant, anti-tyrosinase, and melanin-reduction effects in vitro and in vivo.
Polymers, 2023A topical serum containing vitamin C, vitamin E, and raspberry leaf cell culture extract improved skin color, elasticity, radiance, smoothness, scaliness, and wrinkles compared to the untreated contralateral side in fifty female volunteers.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2020Dissolving microneedles loaded with 3-O-ethyl ascorbic acid and acetyl hexapeptide-8 achieved higher cumulative transdermal delivery than aqueous solutions and significantly reduced photoaging signs while restoring oxidative balance in a UV/D-galactose-induced mouse model.
International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, 2026Topical application of 5% vitamin C cream significantly improved global clinical scores, increased skin microrelief density, and induced elastic tissue repair in photoaged skin compared to excipient control in healthy female volunteers.
Experimental Dermatology, 2003Ascorbic acid 2-glucoside gel significantly reduced gingival melanin pigmentation after 4 weeks compared to placebo in 73 subjects with symmetric pigmentation.
Journal of Periodontology, 2009Topical application of VC-IP cream twice daily for 8 weeks reduces periorbital wrinkles in female subjects compared to a placebo cream.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2022Topical application of 0.1% hyaluronic acid formulations of different molecular weights led to significant improvements in skin hydration and elasticity, with low-molecular-weight formulations also significantly reducing wrinkle depth in seventy-six female subjects compared to a vehicle control.
Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 2011Topical application of hyaluronic acid in conjunction with free gingival graft significantly reduced donor site postoperative pain until day 7 compared to normal saline, with no significant differences in graft dimensions or patient satisfaction.
Clinical Oral Investigations, 2022Treatment with a hyaluronic acid-containing mouth rinse or topical gel led to significant lesion reduction, pain relief, and normalization of lesion color in adult patients with minor recurrent aphthous stomatitis, with the gel formulation showing an earlier healing onset at 3 days.
BMC Oral Health, 2019A single application of a moisturizing fluid containing hyaluronic acid 1%, glycerin 5%, and Centella asiatica stem cells extract significantly increased skin hydration by 29% and reduced transepidermal water loss at 24 hours compared to baseline and an untreated control site in twenty healthy women.
Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology, 2017The emollient V0034CR significantly reduced TEWL compared to vehicle and vehicle plus glycerol, and significantly increased corneometry scores compared to vehicle and vehicle plus petrolatum in healthy volunteers with dry skin, demonstrating combined barrier function improvement from petrolatum and hydration improvement from glycerol.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2020Ten days of treatment with a cream containing 20% glycerin significantly increased skin hydration measured by corneometer values in 17 healthy volunteers compared to a placebo cream, but showed no influence on transepidermal water loss or skin sensitivity to an irritating surfactant.
International Journal of Cosmetic Science, 2001
Why other serums fit sensitive skin better
Topical application of TAT-SOD significantly suppresses UVB-induced erythema formation, blood flow rise, and apoptotic sunburn cell formation in human volunteers compared to a vehicle control.
European Journal of Pharmaceutics and Biopharmaceutics, 2016
Ingredients
Water, 3-O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid, Neopentyl Glycol Diheptanoate, Gluconolactone, Cetearyl Olivate, Sorbitan Olivate, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis Oil, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis Peel Oil, Triethyl Citrate, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis Fruit Extract, Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil Sunflower Seed Oil, Potassium Hydroxide, Betaine, Panthenol, Phenoxyethanol, Hydroxyacetophenone, Aminomethyl Propanol, Acrylates C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Gluconic Acid, Tocopherol, Glycerin, Succinoglycan, Phytic Acid, Mica, Sodium Metabisulfite, Sodium Hyaluronate, Caramel, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Sodium Polyacrylate, Pentaerythrityl Tetra-Di-T-Butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate, Sodium Phytate, Lemon Fruit Extract, Rosa Canina Fruit Extract, Hippophae Rhamnoides Extract, Lycium Barbarum Fruit Extract, Leuconostoc Radish Root Ferment Filtrate, Limonene, Linalool, Citral, Titanium Dioxide Ci 77891, Yellow 5 Ci 19140, Red 4 Ci 14700
Behind this fit score
Lovi calculates every fit score 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.
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Co-founder, Medical Director
Cosmetic chemist, cosmetologist, aesthetic products developer
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Co-founder, CEO and CTO
PhD in computer science, 3x US patent holder, ex-Google, ex-Yandex
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Dr. Sofía Perea Pérez, MD, MSc
Medical Board
Aesthetic medicine practitioner, MSc in Longevity and Anti-Aging Medicine
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Medical Board
Specialist dermatologist, MBBS, MD, IFAAD
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Medical Board
Cosmetic chemist, SCS, IFSCC member
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Medical Board, Medical Advisor
Dermatology MD
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Elina Nazarenko, MD
Medical Board
Dermatology and diagnostic consultant
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Victoria Derkova, MS
Medical Board
Cosmetic chemist, cosmetic development technologist
How does it fit your skin?
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