La Mer The Cleansing Foam for oily skin
Glycerin
Algae Extract
Sodium Hyaluronate
Sesamum Indicum Seed Oil
CaffeineAverage
- AverageOily Skin Fit
- AverageEffectiveness
- HighSafety
Works for oily skin; other cleansers 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 cleansing for your oily skin due to the presence of myristic acid and lauric acid, which help lift impurities, while glycerin and sodium hyaluronate provide essential hydration. The formula lacks sufficient ingredients for strong oil control, which is a primary concern for your oily shine.
- The inclusion of algae extract and sea salt offers supportive skincare benefits for oily skin, contributing to a generally balanced feel.
- The product is safe for your oily skin, with no risks of irritation from harsh ingredients and the presence of soothing components.
How to apply
- Use your cleanser AM and PM every day to keep your skin fresh. Always make sure to follow with a good SPF in the morning.
- Apply your cleanser as the first step in the morning or the second step in the evening before your toner.
- Gently massage a small amount onto your face using circular motions, then rinse well with water .
- You can apply this cleanser safely on damp skin for a refreshing and easy wash.
- Avoid getting the product directly into your eyes and stop use if irritation occurs.
People Say
★4.6Overall rating based on 500+ reviewsUsers with oily and combination skin appreciate this cleanser's rich lather and effective cleansing, leaving skin feeling refreshed. However, some users with dry or sensitive skin find it to be stripping, and a few long-time users have noted changes in recent reformulations.
Highlights
Luxurious texture Mostly Mentioned
- “soft creamy lather”
- “texture is exquisite”
- “foams up so much”
Very expensive Mostly Mentioned
- “ridiculous price point”
- “not worth the money”
- “too pricey for a cleanser”
Effective cleansing Often Mentioned
- “removes mascara easily”
- “face feels squeaky clean”
- “takes off all impurities”
Lasts long Often Mentioned
- “pea size for whole face”
- “little goes a long way”
- “tube lasts a year”
Pleasant scent Sometimes Noted
- “smells heavenly”
- “clean calming scent”
- “classic La Mer smell”
Soft post-wash feel Sometimes Noted
- “skin feels silky”
- “leaves face soft”
- “refreshed and bright”
Drying for skin Sometimes Noted
- “stripped all oils”
- “face felt parched”
- “too drying for sensitive skin”
Eye irritation Rarely Noted
- “stings my eyes”
- “irritating to eye area”
- “burns if it gets in eyes”
Reformulation issues Rarely Noted
- “formula seems watery”
- “quality has lowered”
- “not as good as the old version”
Unpleasant scent Rarely Noted
- “smells like cheap soap”
- “overpowering perfume”
- “smells like grandma”
Sources: lovi.care, influenster.com, macys.com, nordstrom.com, sephora.com, cremedelamer.com, and more
Questions and answers
How well does La Mer The Cleansing Foam work for oily skin?
This cleanser works moderately well for oily skin by lifting impurities and providing hydration, but it lacks sufficient ingredients for strong oil control. Cleansers for oily skin need effective formulations that promote a clear complexion and manage oiliness without causing irritation.
Which ingredients make this cleanser a good fit for oily skin?
Myristic acid and lauric acid help lift impurities from oily skin, while glycerin and sodium hyaluronate provide essential hydration without extra heaviness. For this skin type, a cleanser of this type needs an effective formulation that promotes a clear complexion and manages oiliness without any risk of irritation.
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
What does Algae Extract do for oily skin?
Algae extract helps balance oily skin by providing lightweight hydration and powerful antioxidants that calm the skin. This ingredient may also help reduce excess shine and protect against daily environmental stress without feeling heavy.
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 2004Marine Drugs, 2020
Where does this cleanser go in a skincare routine for oily skin?
This cleanser goes in your morning and evening routine as the first cleansing step, helping lift impurities while glycerin and sodium hyaluronate provide essential hydration. Because it lacks sufficient ingredients for strong oil control, oily skin of this type needs products containing targeted sebum-regulating ingredients to properly manage shine.
Can I use it with retinol, and in what order?
You can use this cleanser in your routine with retinol, applying it first to wash your face before putting on your retinol treatment. This cleanser is unlikely to cause irritation on oily skin, but to properly manage oily shine, this skin needs ingredients that provide strong oil control.
How often should I use this cleanser?
You can use this cleanser daily in the morning and evening as part of your routine. It offers moderate cleansing and essential hydration, though oily skin of this type needs stronger oil control ingredients to manage shine effectively.
Can it clog pores, cause breakouts or purging for oily skin?
La Mer The Cleansing Foam is unlikely to clog pores or cause breakouts for oily skin, as it has a safe formula with no harsh ingredients that typically cause irritation. However, because it lacks strong oil-control ingredients, oily skin generally needs cleansers with mattifying agents, clay, or salicylic acid to better manage excess shine and keep pores clear.
Can I use it around the eyes or on my body?
You can use this cleanser on your body, but it is not ideal for the very thin skin around the eyes because cleansers can easily dry out that delicate area. An eye product or body wash needs gentle hydrators and lightweight soothing ingredients to keep those areas comfortable.
Is this cleanser fragrance-free and alcohol-free?
It has no drying alcohol and contains fragrance (parfum, linalool, and limonene).
What the research says
A 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, 2017Topical application of 1% Fucus vesiculosus extract gel twice daily for five weeks significantly decreased skin thickness and improved elasticity in human cheek skin compared with controls.
Journal of Cosmetic Science, 2002The 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, 2001Niacinamide/glycerin body moisturizers provided better rapid and prolonged improvement of cosmetic xerosis through functional improvement of stratum corneum barrier function compared to no treatment and conventional moisturizers in female subjects.
Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 2012Treatment with lipid algae extract reduced the level of oxidized proteins in human keratinocytes and stratum corneum skin cells.
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 2004Topical astaxanthin-loaded algae extract hydrogel and lipogel formulations exhibited the highest antioxidant activity and successful in vitro release, suggesting their potential as anti-aging formulations.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2019Antarctic marine algae extracts increased cell viability, protected against inflammation, and enhanced the barrier integrity of human intestinal and keratinocyte cell lines damaged by lipopolysaccharide or ultraviolet radiation.
Marine Drugs, 2022Topical application of 0.1% hyaluronic acid formulations of different molecular weights led to significant improvements in skin hydration and elasticity, with low-molecular-weight formulations also significantly reducing wrinkle depth in seventy-six female subjects compared to a vehicle control.
Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 2011Topical application of hyaluronic acid in conjunction with free gingival graft significantly reduced donor site postoperative pain until day 7 compared to normal saline, with no significant differences in graft dimensions or patient satisfaction.
Clinical Oral Investigations, 2022Treatment with a hyaluronic acid-containing mouth rinse or topical gel led to significant lesion reduction, pain relief, and normalization of lesion color in adult patients with minor recurrent aphthous stomatitis, with the gel formulation showing an earlier healing onset at 3 days.
BMC Oral Health, 2019Topical application of sesame oil combined with standard care significantly reduced infusion-related phlebitis in adults compared to a control condition, with a risk ratio of 0.54.
Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 2025Sesamol loaded silver nanoparticles gel showed a twofold increase in skin permeation and higher antioxidant activity compared to conventional formulations, demonstrating potential for topical wound healing delivery.
Current Pharmaceutical Design, 2024Treatment with moderately ozonated sesame oil accelerates cutaneous wound closure and enhances cell response, angiogenesis, and VEGF and cyclin D1 expression in SKH1 mice compared to oil with lower or higher peroxide values and controls.
Wound Repair and Regeneration, 2011A topical cosmetic slimming product containing tetrahydroxypropyl ethylenediamine, caffeine, carnitine, forskolin and retinol significantly reduced body circumferences and improved skin aspect compared with placebo in 78 women over 12 weeks.
International Journal of Cosmetic Science, 2011Topical sunscreen formulations containing caffeine combined with UV filters increased in vivo anti-UVB protection by approximately 25% and showed higher SPF values compared to caffeine-free sunscreen, while being well tolerated by the skin of healthy subjects.
Frontiers in Physiology, 2019Caffeine gel combined with choline geranate showed high skin permeation capacity and superior clinical results in cellulite treatment compared to caffeine gel without ionic liquid.
AAPS PharmSciTech, 2021
Why other cleansers fit oily skin better
A botanical face cleanser with hops and willow bark extract continuously reduced skin sebum levels without reactive seborrhea after treatment in 21 healthy volunteers compared to a sodium laureth sulfate cleanser, with neither cleanser causing skin irritation.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2019Combined ascorbyl palmitate and sodium ascorbyl phosphate treatment significantly reduced facial sebum secretions in healthy female volunteers compared to a placebo control over 90 days.
Drug Research, 2017
Ingredients
Declustered Water, Myristic Acid, Glycerin, Behenic Acid, Palmitic Acid, Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate, Potassium Hydroxide, Lauric Acid, Stearic Acid, Algae Extract, Sesamum Indicum Seed Oil, Medicago Sativa Seed Powder, Helianthus Annuus Seedcake Sunflower Seedcake, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Seed Meal Seed, Eucalyptus Globulus Oil Leaf Eucalyptus Oil Leaf, Sodium Gluconate, Copper Gluconate, Calcium Gluconate, Magnesium Gluconate, Zinc Gluconate, Tocopheryl Succinate, Niacin, Quartz Powder, Nephrite Powder, Pearl Powder, Caffeine, Sea Salt, Humic Acids, Sodium Hyaluronate, Sucrose, Tourmaline, Macrocystis Pyrifera Protein Kelp Protein, Polyquaternium-51, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Water, Trehalose, Cellulose, Butylene Glycol, Sodium Coco Pg-Dimonium Chloride Phosphate, Sodium Bicarbonate, Sodium Pca, Peg-3 Distearate, Urea, Parfum, Disodium Edta, Linalool, Limonene, Phenoxyethanol, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone, Yellow 5 Ci 19140, Ci 15985, Blue 1 Ci 42090, Green 5 Ci 61570
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
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