Estée Lauder Soft Clean Moisture Rich Foaming Cleanser for oily acne-prone skin
Sodium Hyaluronate
Glycerin
Potassium Cocoyl Glycinate
Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate
Passiflora Incarnata Flower Extract
Caution
- CautionOily Skin Fit
- HighEffectiveness
- ConcerningSafety
A poor match for oily acne-prone skin; the cleansers alongside fit it better.
This fit is calculated for the concerns frequently associated with oily acne-prone skin: shine, breakouts, blemishes, and enlarged pores. 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 excellent cleansing for your oily skin with potassium cocoyl glycinate and sodium coceth sulfate, but glycerin and sodium hyaluronate may overwhelm oily skin by providing too much humectant action.
- While Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate and Urea offer soothing benefits, the product's primary function is cleansing, which is not directly targeted at your acne, blemishes, and breakouts.
How to apply
- Use this cleanser as part of your AM and PM routine. Start using it daily to help clear your breakouts.
- Apply this cleanser as the first step in the morning and right after your pre-cleanser in the evening. Follow it with your toner and moisturizer.
- Gently massage a small amount of the cleanser onto your face using circular motions. Rinse thoroughly with lukewarm water and pat dry.
- Apply the cleanser on slightly damp skin to help clean deeply and remove excess oil. This works best for oily skin types.
- Avoid the sensitive eye area during application. Do a patch test before your first use.
People Say
★4.6Overall rating based on 700+ reviewsUsers with dry to normal skin find this cleanser provides a deep, effective cleanse without stripping moisture, creating a luxurious lather that leaves skin feeling soft. Some users report the tube packaging is difficult to use and the fragrance may be too strong for sensitive individuals.
Highlights
Rich lather Mostly Mentioned
- “Lathers well”
- “creamy with a light scent”
- “foams a lot”
Long-lasting product Often Mentioned
- “A little goes a long way”
- “lasts a long time”
- “tube will last eons”
Non-drying formula Often Mentioned
- “Doesn't strip my skin”
- “doesn't make skin feel stiff”
- “leaves skin moisturized”
Effective cleansing Sometimes Noted
- “Leaves my skin very clean”
- “removes makeup”
- “no residue”
Difficult tube Sometimes Noted
- “Impossible to get out”
- “tube is very uncomfortable”
- “needs a pump”
High price Rarely Noted
- “Brings very little product for its price”
- “price hike”
Strong fragrance Rarely Noted
- “Fragrance a bit too strong”
- “not for those sensitive to scent”
Sources: lovi.care, influenster.com, nordstrom.com, esteelauder.com, solonelyingorgeous.com, soco.id, and more
Questions and answers
Why does Lovi advise caution with the Estée Lauder Soft Clean Moisture Rich Foaming Cleanser for oily acne-prone skin?
Lovi advises caution because while it cleans oily skin well, ingredients like glycerin and sodium hyaluronate may provide too much moisture and overwhelm this skin type. It also focuses on cleansing rather than directly targeting acne and breakouts. A cleanser for oily acne-prone skin needs gentle surfactants, powerful ingredients to address blemishes, and a strong focus on oil control or exfoliation.
Which ingredients make this cleanser a poor fit for oily acne-prone skin?
Glycerin and sodium hyaluronate may overwhelm oily skin by providing too much moisture. Cleansers for this skin type need gentle cleansers, soothing extracts, and ingredients that control oil and prevent breakouts.
What does Hyaluronic Acid do for oily acne-prone skin?
Hyaluronic acid helps calm oily acne-prone skin by reducing sebum production and lipid synthesis in sebaceous glands. It also supports skin barrier function and improves hydration while helping deliver treatments without causing irritation.
The Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 2017Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2022
What does Glycerin do for oily acne-prone skin?
Glycerin helps keep oily acne-prone skin hydrated without feeling heavy. It draws moisture into the skin while supporting the skin barrier so it stays soft and balanced.
The British Journal of Dermatology, 2008Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology, 2017
Where does this cleanser go in a skincare routine for oily acne-prone skin?
This cleanser fits into both your morning and evening routine as a cleansing step, but it is a poor match for oily acne-prone skin because heavy ingredients like glycerin and sodium hyaluronate may provide too much moisture. Oily skin of this type needs a cleanser with oil-controlling ingredients and gentle blemish-targeting actives instead.
Can I use this cleanser with retinol, and in what order?
You may use this cleanser alongside retinol, applying the cleanser first on damp skin and following with your retinol treatment once dry. Because this cleanser is not tailored for breakouts and may feel too heavy for oily skin, an acne-prone routine needs a gentle foaming cleanser with salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide to clear pores.
How often should I use this cleanser?
This cleanser is a poor match for oily acne-prone skin because heavy hydrators like glycerin and sodium hyaluronate may overwhelm your skin, and it does not target breakouts. To properly care for oily, breakout-prone skin, a cleanser of this type needs ingredients that effectively remove excess oil while helping keep pores clear.
Can this cleanser clog pores, cause breakouts or purging for oily acne-prone skin?
This cleanser is a poor match for oily acne-prone skin because its primary function is washing rather than treating breakouts, and ingredients like glycerin and sodium hyaluronate may overwhelm oily skin with too much moisture. Oily acne-prone skin needs cleansers with gentle purifying agents and soothing ingredients that directly target blemishes without feeling heavy.
Can I use this cleanser around the eyes or on my body?
This cleanser may be used on the body, but it is best to avoid the very thin skin around the eyes where cleansers can easily cause dryness and irritation. Cleansers for this skin need gentle cleansing ingredients that clean without stripping natural moisture.
Is this cleanser fragrance-free and alcohol-free?
It has no drying alcohol and contains fragrance (parfum).
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 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, 2019The 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, 2012Combining 755 nm alexandrite laser with topical licorice gel significantly reduces terminal hair counts compared to alexandrite laser with placebo in women with idiopathic hirsutism.
Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2015Licochalcone A activated Nrf2 signaling, elevated cytoprotective enzymes, increased the reduced-to-oxidized glutathione ratio, and decreased reactive oxygen species in human fibroblasts and neutrophils, while a LicA-rich licorice extract lowered UVA-induced oxidative processes in vivo.
Experimental Dermatology, 2015Bioactive glycyrrhizic acid and oxymatrine ionic liquid self-assembled nanomicelles significantly promoted the transdermal permeation, subcutaneous retention, and anti-photoaging efficacy of palmitoyl pentapeptide-4 in cellular and animal models compared to unformulated peptide.
Advanced Science, 2025Topical chrysin nanoemulgel improved percutaneous absorption and in vitro cytotoxicity on A375 and SK-MEL-2 cell lines compared to unformulated chrysin, demonstrating effective localized transcutaneous delivery.
Pharmaceutics, 2021Chrysin attenuated apoptosis, ROS production, COX-2 expression, and AQP-3 down-regulation induced by UVB and UVA in HaCaT keratinocytes, while showing efficient percutaneous absorption and no skin irritation in animal studies.
Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 2011Chrysin treatment reduced injury area and inflammation while increasing bFGF secretion, promoting the healing of amiodarone extravasation-induced skin injury in rats compared to control and 10% DMSO groups.
Microvascular Research, 2022
Ingredients
Potassium Cocoyl Glycinate, Water, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, Decyl Glucoside, Potassium Myristoyl Glutamate, Glycol Stearate, Peg-40 Glyceryl Cocoate, Citric Acid, Sodium Pca, Sodium Coceth Sulfate, Parfum, Passiflora Incarnata Flower Extract, Leontopodium Alpinum Extract, Lythrum Salicaria Extract, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Ethylhexylglycerin, Sodium Hyaluronate, Caffeine, Trehalose, Sucrose, Urea, Caprylyl Glycol, Polyquaternium-51, Phenoxyethanol
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.