Kiehl's Rare Earth Deep Pore Daily Cleanser for combination skin
Amazonian White Clay
Salicylic Acid
Glycerin
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf JuiceHigh
- HighCombination Skin Fit
- HighEffectiveness
- ExcellentSafety
A great choice for combination skin; a few cleansers fit it even better.
This fit is calculated for the concerns frequently associated with combination skin: an oily T-zone, enlarged pores, and dry cheeks. 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 exfoliation for your oily shine and combination skin, as salicylic acid and diatomaceous earth work to cleanse pores and regulate oil production. Kaolin further aids in absorbing excess sebum, contributing to a less shiny appearance.
- The inclusion of aloe barbadensis leaf juice and oat kernel flour provides soothing benefits, enhancing overall skin comfort.
- The product is safe for your combination skin, with no harsh ingredients and a formulation designed to minimize irritation.
How to apply
- Use this cleanser AM and PM as part of your daily routine. Start 3×/week and build up to daily use if your skin tolerates it well.
- Apply this cleanser as the very first step in your morning routine and right after your pre-cleanser in the evening.
- Gently massage a small amount of cleanser onto your skin using circular motions. Rinse thoroughly with lukewarm water.
- For the best results , apply the cleanser directly onto slightly damp skin to help lift away excess oil.
- Avoid the immediate eye area and do a patch test before your first use to check for any sensitivity.
People Say
★4.6Overall rating based on 3.2k+ reviewsBased on a very large amount of data, users with oily and combination skin frequently praise this cleanser for its ability to deeply purify pores and control excess sebum without being overly harsh. Many report a visible reduction in pore size and a smoother, matte complexion, while a minority of users experienced dryness or breakouts after use.
Highlights
Deeply cleanses pores Often Mentioned
- “skin feeling like it can breathe”
- “thoroughly cleaned after every use”
- “getting my skin completely clean”
- “removes all the make up”
Minimizes pore appearance Often Mentioned
- “pores are less noticeable”
- “pores... reduced or become smaller”
- “visibly minimized pores”
- “pores look smaller and cleaner”
Controls oil/shine Sometimes Noted
- “shine to be gone”
- “kept my oils at bay”
- “skin looked matte”
- “leaves a fresh feeling”
Gentle exfoliation Sometimes Noted
- “mildly grainy cream feel”
- “gentle exfoliation”
- “smooths skin texture”
- “mildest physical abrasive”
Drying or stripping Sometimes Noted
- “skin felt tight”
- “dry out my skin”
- “felt stripped”
- “left dry patches”
Efficient usage Rarely Noted
- “a little goes a long way”
- “tube last over 10 months”
- “foams/lathers up enough”
Caused breakouts Rarely Noted
- “spots all over my forehead”
- “bumpy breakouts on cheeks”
- “caused acne”
- “skin reacted with bumps”
Expensive Rarely Noted
- “expensive side”
- “pricier side for face wash”
- “price increased twice”
Ineffective for some Rarely Noted
- “didn't work for me”
- “pores still visible”
- “no difference seen”
Sources: lovi.care, kiehls.com, sephora.co.uk, ulta.com, johnlewis.com, cultbeauty.co.uk, and more
Questions and answers
What makes Kiehl's Rare Earth Deep Pore Daily Cleanser a great fit for combination skin?
This cleanser is a great fit for your combination skin because it helps control oily shine and cleanses pores with salicylic acid and kaolin while keeping skin comfortable with soothing aloe and oat flour. It is safe for your skin type with a gentle formula designed to minimize irritation.
Which ingredients make this cleanser a good fit for combination skin?
Salicylic acid and diatomaceous earth help clear pores and control oily shine, while kaolin absorbs extra oil for a less shiny look. Aloe vera leaf juice and oat kernel flour also help soothe the skin and keep it comfortable.
What does Amazonian White Clay do for combination skin?
Amazonian White Clay helps improve skin evenness and hydration while reducing excess oil and shine for combination skin. Twice-weekly use of a clay mask is well tolerated and may also help reduce breakouts and dryness.
What does Salicylic Acid do for combination skin?
Salicylic acid helps clear clogged pores and balance oily areas while remaining gentle enough for dry spots on combination skin. It reduces breakouts and oiliness effectively with a low likelihood of irritation.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2024Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 2023
Where does this cleanser go in a skincare routine for combination skin?
This cleanser goes in your morning and evening routine before your toner and moisturizer. It helps clear pores and control oil on your combination skin while keeping it comfortable.
Can I use this cleanser with retinol, and in what order?
You can use this cleanser in your routine when using retinol, but use it in separate routine steps or at different times of day to prevent irritation. The cleanser provides deep pore cleansing and exfoliation, so pairing it directly with strong treatments like retinol at the exact same time may be too harsh for your skin.
How often should I use this cleanser?
You can use this cleanser daily in the morning and evening as part of your routine. It is formulated to cleanse pores and manage oil without harsh ingredients, making it safe for regular use on combination skin.
Can this cleanser clog pores, cause breakouts or purging for combination skin?
This cleanser is unlikely to clog pores or cause breakouts for combination skin, as it contains salicylic acid and clay to help clear pores and regulate oil. While reviewers occasionally mention dryness, the formula includes soothing ingredients like aloe to help keep your skin comfortable.
BioMed Research International, 2020Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2024
Can I use this cleanser around the eyes or on my body?
This cleanser is too harsh for the very thin skin around the eyes and is generally meant for the face rather than the body. Its exfoliating ingredients and clays are designed to control oil and clear pores in facial areas, which may easily dry out or irritate thinner skin.
Surgical and Radiologic Anatomy, 2002BioMed Research International, 2020
Is this cleanser fragrance-free and alcohol-free?
It has no fragrance and contains drying alcohol (alcohol denat).
What the research says
A moisturizer containing licochalcone A, 1,2-decanediol, L-carnitine, and salicylic acid significantly reduced noninflammatory, inflammatory, and total acne lesion counts compared to a vehicle control in Thai patients during a 12-week maintenance phase.
BioMed Research International, 2020Twice daily application of a multitargeted dermocosmetic cream provided comparable efficacy to benzoyl peroxide 5% gel in reducing inflammatory, non-inflammatory, and total lesions in 150 Caucasian subjects with mild-to-moderate acne over 56 days, while demonstrating superior skin tolerability.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2024The use of a salicylic acid-based dermocosmetic significantly reduces the needed quantity of benzoyl peroxide without impacting efficacy in mild to moderate acne, and as maintenance post-benzoyl peroxide allows a significant reduction of acne relapse compared to vehicle.
Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 2023Vectorization of high molecular weight hyaluronic acid with clay enabled its penetration into deeper skin layers and led to a significant clinical reduction in fine lines in the crow's feet area compared to placebo after 28 days.
Skin Research and Technology, 2024Twice-weekly use of a clay mask over 4 weeks in 75 adults with oily or combination skin improved acne-related outcomes, sebum content, skin evenness, hydration, and reduced dryness and irritation.
Skin Research and Technology, 2023Clay jojoba oil facial masks reduced total skin lesions by a mean of 54% after 6 weeks in 133 participants with acne-prone, lesioned skin and mild acne compared to baseline.
Forschende Komplementarmedizin, 2012Cryotherapy with liquid nitrogen achieved a higher cure rate (39%) than salicylic acid (24%) and a wait-and-see approach (16%) for cutaneous warts at 13 weeks in primary care patients.
CMAJ, 2010Treatment with 2% supramolecular salicylic acid hydrogel resulted in a regression and markedly improvement rate of 51.01% compared to 43.10% for Adapaline gel in patients with mild to moderate facial acne vulgaris, showing no significant difference in efficacy.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2024Topical 5% benzoyl peroxide plus salicylic acid achieved the greatest lesion reduction at early 2 to 4 week time points compared to benzoyl peroxide, clindamycin, and combination benzoyl peroxide/clindamycin, while 5% benzoyl peroxide plus salicylic acid and combination benzoyl peroxide/clindamycin showed similar efficacy at 10 to 12 weeks in acne patients.
Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 2010A 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, 2001A cream combining propolis, tea tree oil, and Aloe vera reduced erythema scars, acne severity index, and total lesion count better than erythromycin cream in sixty patients with mild to moderate acne vulgaris compared to placebo.
Clinical Pharmacology, 2018Topical aloe vera gel significantly accelerated split-thickness skin graft donor-site healing compared to placebo in 12 patients, but showed no significant difference in pain relief.
Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, 2018Topical application of Aloe vera cream reduced postoperative pain at rest and during defecation, accelerated wound healing at two weeks, and decreased analgesic requirements in patients after open hemorrhoidectomy compared to placebo.
Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 2010
Ingredients
Water, Kaolin, Glycerin, Alcohol Denat, Sodium Cocoyl Glycinate, Coco-Betaine, Acrylates Copolymer, Sodium Chloride, Ci 77891 Titanium Dioxide, Solum Diatomeae Diatomaceous Earth, Phenoxyethanol, Peg-14m, Glycol Distearate, Sodium Benzoate, Aloe Barbadensis Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Salicylic Acid, Avena Sativa Oat Kernel Flour, Tocopherol, Sodium Hydroxide, Allantoin
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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