Adapalene

What to combine adapalene with

Ingredient	Together	How to use them
Niacinamide	Depends	Use them at different times of day, applying niacinamide in the morning and adapalene at night, because low-strength retinoids pair well with niacinamide. Adapalene and niacinamide
Glycolic acid	Keep apart	Use them on alternate nights, with glycolic acid on one evening and adapalene the next, because combining them causes skin irritation. Adapalene and glycolic acid
Benzoyl peroxide	Keep apart	Use them at different times of day, applying benzoyl peroxide in the morning and adapalene at night, because they cancel each other out. Adapalene and benzoyl peroxide
Vitamin C	Keep apart	Use them at different times of day with vitamin C in the morning and adapalene at night, because combining them causes skin irritation. Adapalene and vitamin C
AHA blend glycolic and citric acids	Keep apart	Use them on alternate nights because they are both strong and can irritate skin when combined. Adapalene and aha blend glycolic and citric acids
Salicylic acid	Keep apart	Use adapalene and salicylic acid on alternate nights, applying salicylic acid one night and adapalene the next, because combining them causes irritation. Adapalene and salicylic acid
Bio-placenta peptides	Keep apart	Use them at different times of day by applying your peptides in the morning and adapalene at night, to prevent skin irritation. Adapalene and bio-placenta peptides
Hexapeptide	Keep apart	Use them at different times of day by applying your peptide product in the morning and adapalene at night to avoid skin irritation. Adapalene and hexapeptide
Lactic acid	Keep apart	Use them on alternate nights because they are both strong and can irritate your skin when mixed. Adapalene and lactic acid
Acetyl hexapeptide-3	Keep apart	Use them at different times of day by applying acetyl hexapeptide-3 in the morning and adapalene at night, because strong retinoids should not be mixed with peptides in the same routine. Adapalene and acetyl hexapeptide-3
Mandelic acid	Keep apart	Use them on alternate nights because they are both strong and can irritate your skin when used together. Adapalene and mandelic acid
Collagen peptide	Keep apart	Use them at different times of day, applying collagen peptides in the morning and adapalene at night, to prevent skin irritation. Adapalene and collagen peptide
Copper peptide	Keep apart	Use them at different times of day, applying copper peptides in the morning and adapalene at night, to prevent skin irritation. Adapalene and copper peptide
Citric acid	Keep apart	Use them on alternate nights because combining them can cause skin irritation. Adapalene and citric acid
Hexapeptide-9	Keep apart	Use them at different times of day by applying hexapeptide-9 in the morning and adapalene at night, because combining them in the same routine causes skin irritation. Adapalene and hexapeptide-9
Peptide-rich plasma	Keep apart	Use them at different times of day by applying peptides in the morning and adapalene at night, because combining them in the same routine causes irritation. Adapalene and peptide-rich plasma
Triple peptide blend	Keep apart	Use them at different times of day by applying your peptide product in the morning and your adapalene at night to prevent irritation. Adapalene and triple peptide blend
Palmitoyl pentapeptide-4	Keep apart	Use them at different times of day, applying the peptide product in the morning and adapalene at night, to avoid extra skin irritation. Adapalene and palmitoyl pentapeptide-4
Palmitoyl tripeptide-1	Keep apart	Use them at different times of day by applying palmitoyl tripeptide-1 in the morning and adapalene at night. Adapalene and palmitoyl tripeptide-1

From the ingredient rules behind the "Works well with" and "Don't mix with" notes on every product in the Lovi app.

Questions and answers

Research on adapalene

• Prevention and Reduction of Atrophic Acne Scars with Adapalene 0.3%/Benzoyl Peroxide 2.5% Gel in Subjects with Moderate or Severe Facial Acne: Results of a 6-Month Randomized, Vehicle-Controlled Trial Using Intra-Individual Comparison

  Adapalene · American Journal of Clinical Dermatology, 2018

• Efficacy and Safety of a Fixed-Dose Clindamycin Phosphate 1.2%, Benzoyl Peroxide 3.1%, and Adapalene 0.15% Gel for Moderate-to-Severe Acne: A Randomized Phase II Study of the First Triple-Combination Drug

  Adapalene · American Journal of Clinical Dermatology, 2022

• A topical gel of tea tree oil nanoemulsion containing adapalene versus adapalene marketed gel in patients with acne vulgaris: a randomized clinical trial

  Adapalene · Archives of Dermatological Research, 2022

• Clindamycin phosphate 1.2%/adapalene 0.15%/benzoyl peroxide 3.1% gel for moderate-to-severe acne: Efficacy and safety results from two randomized phase 3 trials

  Adapalene · Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 2023

Behind this ingredient guide

Lovi checks every ingredient 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.