Avène Tolerance Control Soothing Skin Recovery Balm for oily skin
Avène Thermal Spring Water
Glycerin
Caprylic Capric Triglyceride
Squalane
Butyrospermum Parkii Butter Shea Butter
Average
- AverageOily Skin Fit
- AverageEffectiveness
- HighSafety
Works for oily skin; other moisturizers fit it better.
This fit is calculated for the concerns frequently associated with oily skin: shine, enlarged pores, blackheads, and blemishes. 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 suitability for oily skin as squalane and caprylic capric triglyceride provide emollient action, but it lacks sufficient ingredients for optimal oil control to address your oily shine.
- The formula provides excellent moisturizing benefits due to shea butter and squalane, enhancing barrier resilience and hydration, which is supportive for oily skin.
- The safety profile is good, with no risks of irritation for your oily skin due to the absence of prohibited or harsh ingredients.
How to apply
- Could be used as part of your AM or PM routine every day to keep your face fresh.
- Apply this moisturizer after cleansing and toning, but right before your SPF in the morning.
- Gently press a small amount into your skin and let it absorb fully.
- Apply on clean, slightly dry skin to help control that oily shine.
- Avoid the eye area and do a quick patch test before your first use.
People Say
★4.4Overall rating based on 4.5k+ reviewsBased on a very large amount of data, this product is highly effective at calming and hydrating hypersensitive, reactive, and allergy-prone skin, with users frequently reporting relief from redness, tightness, and irritation. It is also often praised for its ability to restore the skin barrier and for being fragrance-free and gentle. A moderate number of users note that it absorbs quickly without greasiness, while some find the price to be high. A low number of reviews mention breakouts or insufficient hydration.
Highlights
Soothes irritated skin Mostly Mentioned
- “Nothing has ever worked to soothe or heal my skin like these before.”
- “My skin immediately feels soothed and settled.”
- “This balm is very soothing to irritated red skin.”
Fragrance-free and gentle Often Mentioned
- “Love that there is no scent at all!”
- “I have no irritation from this product.”
- “Fragrance-free and contains minimal, gentle ingredients.”
- “No burning, itching, or tight feeling!”
Restores skin barrier Often Mentioned
- “This repairs my skin barrier without fail.”
- “The only moisturiser that my skin tolerates when my skin barrier is compromised or absolutely destroyed.”
- “Great for post peel or winter time also.”
- “It makes a good barrier for the skin and protects the skin.”
Absorbs quickly Sometimes Noted
- “Absorbs into skin without residue.”
- “Provides a non-greasy texture that absorbs well into skin.”
- “Lightweight yet nourishing texture that absorbs well.”
- “Hydrates with a mess free application bonus.”
High price Sometimes Noted
- “Its a bit pricey but so worth it!!”
- “But it's soooo expensive for an ounce of product.”
- “It's a bit pricey for the amount of product.”
- “This Tolerance Skin Recovery Cream is pricey, but it's a life saver.”
Causes breakouts Rarely Noted
- “When I first tried it, I woke up to two pimples on my 58-year-old dry skin.”
- “After using it twice... the next day i had 5 new BIG pimples, small bumps around my jaw.”
- “Leaves bumps and redness.”
- “It stings my face upon application... and leaves bumps and redness.”
Not hydrating enough Rarely Noted
- “Not hydrating enough and my skin feels so dry even right after applying the cream.”
- “This lotion dried out my skin.”
- “I think the consistency is not very rich... not enough to hydrate dry skin in my opinion.”
- “It will not fix the fundamental problems that dry skin has.”
Sources: lovi.care, walmart.com, target.com, aveneusa.com, dermstore.com, boots.com, and more
Questions and answers
How well does Avène Tolerance Control Balm work for oily skin?
Avène Tolerance Control Soothing Skin Recovery Balm works reasonably well for oily skin, but other products may fit it better because this formula lacks enough oil-controlling ingredients to manage shiny skin. It helps keep skin soft and hydrated using glycerin and shea butter without causing irritation. To truly thrive, oily skin needs a lightweight moisturizer with peptides and hydrating agents that balance moisture while keeping oil and breakouts under control.
Which ingredients make this cream a good fit for oily skin?
Shea butter and squalane make this cream a good fit by providing great moisture and strengthening your skin barrier without causing irritation. Oily skin also needs lightweight textures, oil control ingredients, and peptides to manage shine and hydration without clogging pores.
What does Avène Thermal Spring Water do for oily skin?
Avène Thermal Spring Water helps calm and soothe the skin while reducing redness and sensitivity. It has a very gentle profile that is unlikely to clog pores, making it comfortable for oily skin types.
Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology, 2020
What does Glycerin do for oily skin?
Glycerin helps keep oily skin hydrated without feeling heavy and supports the skin barrier. Because this product is a weak fit for your skin, an ideal product of this type needs lightweight hydrators and ingredients that balance oil while protecting the skin.
The British Journal of Dermatology, 2008International Journal of Toxicology, 2019
Where does this cream go in a skincare routine for oily skin?
This cream goes in the morning and evening routine as a moisturizer after your cleanser and toner. It is unlikely to cause irritation for your oily skin, but because it lacks ingredients for oil control, an oily skin routine needs ingredients like niacinamide or oil-absorbing minerals to manage shine.
Can I use this cream with retinol, and in what order?
You can use this cream with retinol by applying the retinol first and following it with the moisturizer to help soothe the skin. Using a moisturizer with retinol is unlikely to cause irritation and may help improve your skin's comfort and barrier strength during treatment.
How often should I use this cream?
You can use this moisturizer twice a day as part of your morning and evening routine. Daily application helps keep your skin hydrated and supports your skin barrier without causing irritation. Oily skin also needs lightweight ingredients that help control shine and balance oil production.
Health Science Reports, 2021Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2020
Can this cream clog pores, cause breakouts or purging for oily skin?
This cream is unlikely to cause breakouts for oily skin, as it has a safe formula with no harsh or irritating ingredients. However, because it provides rich moisture rather than oil control, an oily skin type needs a product with ingredients that balance shine and clear pores.
Can I use this cream around the eyes or on my body?
You can safely use this moisturizer around the eyes and on the body because it has a gentle formula without harsh ingredients, though the eyelid skin is quite thin and the back is thick. A product of this type needs lightweight hydrators and oil-controlling ingredients to properly suit oily skin.
Is this cream fragrance-free and alcohol-free?
Yes, it has no fragrance and no drying alcohol. Cetearyl alcohol is a fatty alcohol, which soften the skin.
What the research says
Topical application of an emollient emulsion containing 15.0% caprylic/capric triglyceride doubled the amount of urocanic acid isomers and increased skin hydration with reduced transepidermal water loss in healthy subjects, though it did not prevent ultraviolet-induced urocanic acid isomerization.
Life, 2023A combination cream of stimu-tex AS and saccharide isomerate reduced erythema, increased skin capacitance, and reduced transepidermal water loss compared to placebo in 20 subjects after fractional CO2 laser procedure without causing serious adverse events.
Lasers in Medical Science, 2025Topical application of a vitamin C-squalene bioconjugate significantly increased epidermal thickness, type III collagen production, and glycosaminoglycans production in human skin explants compared to free vitamin C and vitamin C-palmitate.
Scientific Reports, 2020Balneotherapy with thermal water altered specific skin microbiota at genus and species levels in healthy female volunteers compared to tap water, which produced no significant microbiome changes.
Life, 2023Malaysian thermal spring water as an adjunct to standard acne therapy improved skin hydration, reduced dryness and stinging, enhanced overall tolerability, and improved the acne disability index in patients with mild to moderate acne.
The Medical Journal of Malaysia, 2024A 2% Sphingomonas xenophaga ferment extract cream applied twice daily for 4 weeks significantly decreased facial vascular disorder scores compared to vehicle in 86 Caucasian female subjects, alongside dose-dependent inhibition of pre-kallikrein activity in vitro.
International Journal of Cosmetic Science, 2025A 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, 2001Squalane at 0.005-0.015% counteracts UVA-induced oxidative stress, inflammation, and collagen metabolism inhibition while stimulating fibroblast migration in human dermal fibroblasts.
Molecules, 2025Plant-derived squalane protected human dermal fibroblasts against UVA-induced damage by counteracting ROS formation, suppressing apoptosis-related proteins p53, caspase-3, caspase-9, and PARP, and restoring the pro-survival p-Akt/mTOR pathway.
Antioxidants, 2025A skin barrier restoring cream with shea butter, silkflo, and vitamin E increased type I procollagen synthesis, enhanced antioxidant enzyme activity, decreased reactive oxygen species generation, and promoted hyaluronic acid production in H2O2-stimulated human keratinocyte cells compared to untreated cells.
International Journal of Cosmetic Science, 2025
Why other moisturizers fit oily skin better
A panthenol-enriched mask improved skin hydration, regulated sebum, and reduced redness and TEWL across dry sensitive, oily sensitive, and oily acne skin subgroups with excellent tolerance and no adverse reactions.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2024
Ingredients
Avene Thermal Spring Water Avene Aqua Avene Aqua, Caprylic Capric Triglyceride, Glycerin, Cetearyl Alcohol, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter Shea Butter, Squalane, Beeswax Cera Alba Cera, Cetearyl Glucoside, Cetyl Esters, Aquaphilus Dolomiae Extract Filtrate, Arginine, Citric Acid, Tromethamine, Water, Xanthan Gum
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.
-
Co-founder, Medical Director
Cosmetic chemist, cosmetologist, aesthetic products developer
-
Co-founder, CEO and CTO
PhD in computer science, 3x US patent holder, ex-Google, ex-Yandex
-
Dr. Sofía Perea Pérez, MD, MSc
Medical Board
Aesthetic medicine practitioner, MSc in Longevity and Anti-Aging Medicine
-
Medical Board
Specialist dermatologist, MBBS, MD, IFAAD
-
Medical Board
Cosmetic chemist, SCS, IFSCC member
-
Medical Board, Medical Advisor
Dermatology MD
-
Elina Nazarenko, MD
Medical Board
Dermatology and diagnostic consultant
-
Victoria Derkova, MS
Medical Board
Cosmetic chemist, cosmetic development technologist
How does it fit your skin?
Scan your face, then any product: Lovi shows how well it fits you and what fits even better.