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Neutrogena vs Kiehl's

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

Neutrogena and Kiehl's are American skincare brands offering moisturizers, sunscreens, cleansers, toners, serums, and eye products. The first brand is universally loved for formulations with glycerin, hyaluronic acid, and dimethicone, while the second is beloved for products featuring glycerin and squalane. Both brands suit sensitive skin best, with the first also suiting mature skin and the second suiting dry skin. They differ through their ownership, founding years, and targeted solutions, as the first relies on science for barrier restoration and wrinkle reduction, whereas the second utilizes ingredients to counteract oxidative stress and stimulate fibroblast migration.

Neutrogena is an American skincare brand founded in 1930 and owned by Kimberly-Clark Corporation since 2026.

investor.kimberly-clark.comen.wikipedia.orginvestors.kenvue.com

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 Neutrogena and Kiehl's products; for every product of both brands, with a fit score for your own skin, use the Lovi app.

Popular Neutrogena vs Kiehl's products

People Say

NeutrogenaKiehl's
  • Deep and intense hydration Mostly MentionedMostly Mentioned
    • “Skin looked plumper and radiant — Neutrogena HYDRO BOOST WATER CREAM”
    • “Quenches dry skin instantly — Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hydrating Hydrogel Mask”
    • “Keeps skin moisturized for 24+ hours — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
    • “Feels like a drink of water — Kiehl's Hydro-Plumping Serum Concentrate”
  • Acne-safe and gentle formulas Mostly MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “leaves skin soft and balanced — Neutrogena Ultra Gentle Daily Cleanser”
    • “love that it has no scent — Neutrogena Ultra Gentle Daily Cleanser”
    • “calms my acne prone skin — Neutrogena Ultra Gentle Daily Cleanser”
    • “experienced zero irritation — Kiehl's Retinol Skin-Renewing Daily Micro-Dose Serum”
  • Lightweight and non-greasy texture Often MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “Absorbs instantly without sticky residue — Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel”
    • “absorbs instantly — Neutrogena COLLAGEN BANK Moisturizer”
    • “Absorbs into skin without residue. — Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hyaluronic Acid Serum”
    • “absorbs instantly without residue — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Oil-Free Gel Cream”
  • Makeup base and compatibility Sometimes NotedSometimes Noted
    • “Foundation glides right over it — Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel”
    • “Concealer doesn't cake or get stuck in crevices — Neutrogena Hydro Boost Eye Gel-Cream”
    • “concealer glides on smoothly — Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado”
    • “no pilling — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
  • Skin texture improvement and anti-aging Sometimes NotedOften Mentioned
    • “leaves skin feeling silky — Kiehl's Powerful-Strength Line-Reducing Concentrate”
    • “skin feels smoother — Kiehl's Retinol Skin-Renewing Daily Micro-Dose Serum”
    • “skin looked & felt smoother — Kiehl's Super Multi-Corrective Cream”
    • “Skin is looking smoother — Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle Repair Regenerating Cream”
  • Radiant glow and brightening Rarely 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”
    • “Gave me a glass-skin glow — Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hydrating Hydrogel Mask”
  • Price and quantity concerns Sometimes NotedMostly Mentioned
    • “Jar is too small for the price — Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel”
    • “Runs out quickly — Neutrogena HYDRO BOOST WATER CREAM”
    • “Tube is tiny for the cost — Neutrogena Hydro Boost Eye Gel-Cream”
    • “pricy daily staple — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
  • Packaging and design issues Often MentionedSometimes Noted
    • “dipping fingers is unsanitary — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
    • “hard to spread — Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado”
    • “Dropper doesn't reach bottom — Kiehl's Clearly Corrective™ Dark Spot Solution”
    • “Kept sliding off my face — Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hydrating Hydrogel Mask”
  • Eye and skin irritation Often MentionedSometimes Noted
    • “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”
    • “left my face bright red — Kiehl's Rare Earth Deep Pore Cleansing Masque”
    • “burns my eyes terribly — Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunscreen”
  • Strong fragrance and scent issues Sometimes NotedRarely Noted
    • “smells clinical — Kiehl's Retinol Skin-Renewing Daily Micro-Dose Serum”
    • “faint lab smell — Kiehl's Better Screen UV Serum”
    • “smell is overpowering — Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate”
    • “Smell is too overpowering and lingering — Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel”

Neutrogena vs Kiehl's routines for dry skin

Buy Kiehl's routine · A$685.63 · 86% fitBuy Neutrogena routine · A$116.40 · 81% fitSee multi-brand routine · 97% fit

Neutrogena vs Kiehl's routines for oily skin

Buy Kiehl's routine · A$767.92 · 85% fitBuy Neutrogena routine · A$244.80 · 75% fitSee multi-brand routine · 96% fit

Neutrogena vs Kiehl's routines for combination skin

Buy Kiehl's routine · A$693.88 · 83% fitBuy Neutrogena routine · A$195.25 · 80% fitSee multi-brand routine · 95% fit

Questions and answers

Neutrogena or Kiehl's: which is better?

Both Neutrogena and Kiehl's are good options, as they offer equally high routine fits across all skin types on this page. Neutrogena tends to do better for acne-safe and gentle formulas as well as lightweight textures, while Kiehl's performs better for skin texture improvement, anti-aging, and brightening.

What is the difference between Neutrogena and Kiehl's?

Neutrogena is better for acne-safe and gentle formulas as well as lightweight textures, whereas Kiehl's is better for skin texture improvement, anti-aging, radiant glow, and brightening. Both brands offer high routine fit levels across all skin types.

Neutrogena or Kiehl's for dry skin?

Both Neutrogena and Kiehl's offer a High routine fit for dry skin. The products on this page help provide deep and intense hydration for dry skin types.

Neutrogena or Kiehl's: which cleanser is better?

Neutrogena is better for acne-safe and gentle formulas across the products on this page. Kiehl's and Neutrogena both offer cleansers with high fit levels for various skin types.

Which is more affordable, Neutrogena or Kiehl's?

Neutrogena is more affordable, as Kiehl's is frequently noted by reviewers for its high price point. Review themes also indicate that Neutrogena does better on price and quantity concerns.

Between Neutrogena and Kiehl's, which brand offers more fragrance-free options?

Neutrogena offers more fragrance-free options, as 35 of the 39 products on this page list no fragrance compared to 26 of 28 for Kiehl's.

Neutrogena or Kiehl's: which is better for anti-aging and skin texture improvement?

Kiehl's does better than Neutrogena for skin texture improvement and anti-aging. Ingredients like retinol help stimulate collagen accumulation in naturally aged human skin.

The Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 2000

Which brand has more products rated Superior for sensitive skin?

Neutrogena has more products rated Superior for sensitive skin, offering options like the Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunscreen and Ultra Gentle Daily Cleanser. Kiehl's features fewer options at that top fit level for sensitive skin on this page, with the Cucumber Herbal Alcohol-Free Toner standing out.

Neutrogena or Kiehl's for oily skin?

Both Neutrogena and Kiehl's are rated High for oily skin on the products on this page. Reviewers note that Neutrogena offers better acne-safe and gentle formulas as well as lightweight and non-greasy textures.

Neutrogena or Kiehl's: which moisturizer is better?

Both Neutrogena and Kiehl's offer deeply hydrating moisturizers that fit dry, sensitive, and mature skin well. Neutrogena delivers lightweight, non-greasy moisture with ingredients like hyaluronic acid and glycerin, whereas Kiehl's provides rich nourishment.

Journal of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2015Dermatologic Therapy, 2022

Neutrogena or Kiehl's for sensitive skin?

Both Neutrogena and Kiehl's offer products that are well-suited for sensitive skin, as the routine fit for sensitive skin is High for both brands. Neutrogena is noted for acne-safe and gentle formulas, while Kiehl's provides deep hydration.

Neutrogena or Kiehl's: which sunscreen is better?

Both Neutrogena and Kiehl's offer sunscreens with strong options depending on skin type, with the products on this page featuring sunscreens like Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunscreen and Better Screen UV Serum.

Neutrogena or Kiehl's for acne-prone skin?

Neutrogena is better for acne-prone skin because the products on this page offer more acne-safe and gentle formulas compared to Kiehl's.

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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