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La Roche-Posay vs Kiehl's

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

La Roche-Posay and Kiehl's are prominent skincare brands owned by L'Oréal S.A. The French brand is loved for its nourishing serums, rich moisturizers, gentle cleansers, and targeted eye products formulated with glycerin, soothing thermal water, and niacinamide, suiting mature skin and skin with dark spots best. Meanwhile, the American brand is beloved for its moisturizers, serums, toners, and eye products featuring glycerin and squalane, which suit dry skin and sensitive skin best. While both brands rely on glycerin to significantly increase hydration and restore barrier function, they differ in their heritage, specific formulations, and targeted complexions.

La Roche-Posay is a French skincare brand founded in 1975 and owned by L'Oréal S.A. since 1989.

laroche-posay.com.aufr.wikipedia.org

Kiehl's is an American skincare brand founded in 1851 and owned by L'Oréal S.A. since 2000.

loreal.comen.wikipedia.org

This page compares some of the most popular La Roche-Posay and Kiehl's products; for every product of both brands, with a fit score for your own skin, use the Lovi app.

Popular La Roche-Posay vs Kiehl's products

People Say

La Roche-PosayKiehl's
  • Texture Improvement and Skin Softness Mostly MentionedMostly Mentioned
    • “skin feels incredibly soft afterwards — Kiehl's Rare Earth Deep Pore Cleansing Masque”
    • “feels like nothing — Kiehl's Better Screen UV Serum”
    • “absorbs instantly without residue — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Oil-Free Gel Cream”
    • “lightweight and absorbs quickly — La Roche-Posay Mela B3 Serum”
  • Skin Sensitivity and Irritation Mostly MentionedMostly Mentioned
    • “Great retinol for beginners — La Roche-Posay Retinol B3 Serum”
    • “Only cream that doesn't sting — La Roche-Posay Toleriane Dermallergo Eye Cream”
    • “experienced zero irritation — Kiehl's Retinol Skin-Renewing Daily Micro-Dose Serum”
    • “works on dark skin — Kiehl's Better Screen UV Serum”
  • Hydration and Moisture Mostly MentionedMostly Mentioned
    • “absorbs instantly — La Roche-Posay Toleriane Double Repair Face Moisturizer”
    • “skin feels plump — La Roche-Posay Hyalu B5 Serum”
    • “Keeps skin moisturized for 24+ hours — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
    • “Feels like a drink of water — Kiehl's Hydro-Plumping Serum Concentrate”
  • Brightening and Dark Spots Sometimes NotedOften Mentioned
    • “Acne marks are gone — Kiehl's Clearly Corrective™ Dark Spot Solution”
    • “woke up glowing — Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate”
    • “Skin looks radiant — Kiehl's Clearly Corrective™ Dark Spot Solution”
    • “skin looks brighter — La Roche-Posay Mela B3 Serum”
  • Tint and Makeup Compatibility Rarely NotedSometimes Noted
    • “concealer glides on smoothly — Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado”
    • “no pilling — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
    • “no pilling — Kiehl's Better Screen UV Serum”
    • “makeup sits perfectly — La Roche-Posay Anthelios”
  • Value and Pricing Sometimes NotedMostly Mentioned
    • “expensive for the size — La Roche-Posay Hyalu B5 Serum”
    • “Too expensive for the size — La Roche-Posay Toleriane Dermallergo Eye Cream”
    • “Tube is tiny for the price — La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Gel B5”
    • “pricy daily staple — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
  • Texture and Pilling Issues Often MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “pills like crazy — La Roche-Posay Toleriane Double Repair Face Moisturizer”
    • “Very sticky — La Roche-Posay Pure Vitamin C10 Serum”
    • “hard to spread — Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado”
    • “too radiant for oily skin — Kiehl's Better Screen UV Serum”
  • Stinging and Adverse Reactions Sometimes NotedSometimes Noted
    • “burns my eyes — La Roche-Posay Anthelios”
    • “burned my face — La Roche-Posay Toleriane Double Repair Face Moisturizer”
    • “burned my face immediately — Kiehl's Rare Earth Deep Pore Cleansing Masque”
    • “stings my face and feels like burning — Kiehl's Super Multi-Corrective Cream”
  • Packaging and Design Issues Often MentionedRarely Noted
    • “dipping fingers is unsanitary — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
    • “Dropper doesn't reach bottom — Kiehl's Clearly Corrective™ Dark Spot Solution”
    • “pump stops working — La Roche-Posay Lipikar AP+M Triple Repair Moisturizing Cream”

La Roche-Posay vs Kiehl's routines for dry skin

Buy La Roche-Posay routine · A$226.43 · 88% fitBuy Kiehl's routine · A$685.63 · 86% fitSee multi-brand routine · 97% fit

La Roche-Posay vs Kiehl's routines for oily skin

Buy Kiehl's routine · A$767.92 · 85% fitBuy La Roche-Posay routine · A$296.27 · 84% fitSee multi-brand routine · 96% fit

La Roche-Posay vs Kiehl's routines for combination skin

Buy Kiehl's routine · A$693.88 · 83% fitBuy La Roche-Posay routine · A$282.65 · 81% fitSee multi-brand routine · 95% fit

Questions and answers

La Roche-Posay or Kiehl's: which is better?

La Roche-Posay and Kiehl's are both great choices, offering a High routine fit for almost all skin types, while La Roche-Posay reaches a Superior fit for mature skin. Kiehl's does better on texture improvement, brightening, and makeup compatibility, whereas La Roche-Posay is better for value and pricing.

What is the difference between La Roche-Posay and Kiehl's?

La Roche-Posay and Kiehl's are both owned by L'Oréal S.A., with La Roche-Posay founded in France in 1975 and Kiehl's founded in the United States in 1851. For overall routine fit, La Roche-Posay has a Superior fit for mature skin, while Kiehl's has a High fit. Reviewers note that Kiehl's performs better for texture improvement, skin softness, brightening, and dark spots, whereas La Roche-Posay offers better value and pricing.

La Roche-Posay or Kiehl's for dry skin?

Both brands offer a High routine fit for dry skin, making them equally good options. La Roche-Posay products on this page frequently feature glycerin and thermal water, while Kiehl's relies heavily on glycerin and squalane to help hydrate and soften dry skin.

La Roche-Posay or Kiehl's: which cleanser is better?

La Roche-Posay and Kiehl's both offer high fit levels for cleansers across several skin types. Review themes show that neither brand stands out as better for overall skin sensitivity and irritation or for stinging and adverse reactions.

Which is more affordable, La Roche-Posay or Kiehl's?

La Roche-Posay is more affordable, as Kiehl's faces frequent review concerns about its high price point. Reviewers also indicate that La Roche-Posay does better with value and pricing.

La Roche-Posay or Kiehl's: which brand is better for mature skin?

La Roche-Posay is better for mature skin, as Lovi rates its routine fit as Superior compared to High for Kiehl's. Retinol helps stimulate collagen accumulation in naturally aged human skin.

The Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 2000

La Roche-Posay or Kiehl's: which brand has more fragrance-free products?

La Roche-Posay has more fragrance-free products on the products on this page, with 21 out of 35 items listing no fragrance compared to 26 out of 28 for Kiehl's.

La Roche-Posay or Kiehl's: which brand is better for reducing dark spots?

Kiehl's does better than La Roche-Posay for brightening and dark spots. Niacinamide helps reduce cutaneous pigmentation and suppresses melanosome transfer.

The British Journal of Dermatology, 2002Antioxidants, 2021

La Roche-Posay or Kiehl's for oily skin?

Both La Roche-Posay and Kiehl's offer a High routine fit for oily skin on the products on this page. Reviewers note that both brands provide lightweight and non-greasy moisturizers that help control shine.

La Roche-Posay or Kiehl's: which moisturizer is better?

Both La Roche-Posay and Kiehl's offer excellent moisturizers with high routine fit levels for various skin types on the products on this page. La Roche-Posay achieves a Superior fit level for mature skin with products like Pure Vitamin C Cream, while Kiehl's provides deeply hydrating options like Hydro-Plumping Serum Concentrate. Topical hyaluronic acid helps improve skin quality and signs of aging.

Dermatologic Therapy, 2022

La Roche-Posay or Kiehl's for sensitive skin?

Both La Roche-Posay and Kiehl's offer a High fit for sensitive skin on the products on this page. Reviewers report that both brands provide equal performance regarding skin sensitivity and irritation.

La Roche-Posay or Kiehl's: which sunscreen is better?

La Roche-Posay Anthelios achieves a Superior Lovi fit level for sunscreen across most skin types on this page, whereas Kiehl's sunscreen options are generally rated High or Average. Niacinamide and other key ingredients in the products on this page help manage skin pigmentation and barrier support.

The British Journal of Dermatology, 2002Antioxidants, 2021

La Roche-Posay or Kiehl's for acne-prone skin?

Both La Roche-Posay and Kiehl's have a High routine fit for acne-prone skin. The products on this page help address concerns for this skin type using ingredients like niacinamide, which helps reduce pigmentation.

The British Journal of Dermatology, 2002

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

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