Olay Retinol24 for sensitive skin
Dimethicone
GlycerinLow
- HighNormal Skin Fit
- AverageEffectiveness
- HighSafety
A weak match for sensitive skin; the moisturizers alongside fit it better.
This fit is calculated for the concerns frequently associated with sensitive skin: redness, stinging, and reactions to new products. 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 moisturizing and anti-aging benefits for your normal skin due to glycerin and retinol, which hydrate and minimize fine lines.
- While niacinamide and retinol offer antioxidant activity and desquamation regulation, the formula's hydration focus with dimethicone and glycerin is largely irrelevant to your redness and irritation concerns.
- The product is safe for your sensitive skin, as it lacks prohibited or harsh ingredients that could cause irritation.
How to apply
- Use this soothing AM and PM routine every day to keep your normal skin calm. Always remember to apply SPF in the morning after your moisturizer.
- Apply your moisturizer after your toner in the morning, and after your serum in the evening. This step locks in hydration and protects your skin.
- Gently press a small amount of the moisturizer evenly across your face. Avoid rubbing to keep your sensitive skin happy and calm.
- You can apply this gentle formula on dry or slightly damp skin for the best comfort. It works wonderfully on clean skin to soothe redness and irritation.
- Do a patch test before your very first use to check your skin's reaction. Avoid getting the product directly into your eyes .
People Say
★4.5Overall rating based on 5.0k+ reviewsBased on a very large amount of data, users consistently report waking up to noticeably smoother and softer skin, with many praising the product's ability to hydrate without feeling heavy or greasy. While effective for brightening dullness and reducing fine lines over time, some users with sensitive skin experienced initial irritation or breakouts typical of retinol products.
Highlights
Smoother skin Mostly Mentioned
- “skin feels baby soft”
- “woke up to smoother skin”
- “texture is silky smooth”
- “face feels like velvet”
Deep hydration Often Mentioned
- “very hydrating”
- “no dryness at all”
- “skin feels plump”
- “great moisture barrier”
Lightweight feel Often Mentioned
- “absorbs instantly”
- “no greasy residue”
- “lightweight formula”
- “doesn't feel heavy”
Brightening effect Sometimes Noted
- “skin looks brighter”
- “glowy in the morning”
- “helped with dullness”
- “complexion looks more even”
Fragrance-free Sometimes Noted
- “love that it's fragrance-free”
- “no strong smell”
- “great for sensitive noses”
- “zero scent is a plus”
Initial breakouts Sometimes Noted
- “caused cystic acne”
- “broke me out bad”
- “skin started purging”
- “clogged my pores”
Jar packaging Rarely Noted
- “hate the jar”
- “wish it was a pump”
- “unsanitary packaging”
- “exposed to air”
Skin irritation Rarely Noted
- “burned my skin”
- “red and itchy”
- “stinging sensation”
- “too harsh for me”
Slow results Rarely Noted
- “didn't see a difference”
- “no change in wrinkles”
- “takes months to work”
- “expected faster results”
Unpleasant smell Rarely Noted
- “smells like plastic”
- “weird chemical smell”
- “scent is off-putting”
- “smells like glue”
Sources: lovi.care, target.com, ulta.com, olay.com, amazon.com, goodhousekeeping.com, and more
Questions and answers
Why is Olay Retinol24 a weak match for sensitive skin?
Olay Retinol24 is a weak match because its focus on hydration and anti-aging ingredients does little for redness and irritation, even though it is generally safe and unlikely to irritate. A product of this type needs effective hydrating and soothing ingredients that calm redness while keeping the skin barrier strong, along with skin-friendly extracts or vitamins like pro vitamin B5 and hyaluronic acid.
Which ingredients make this cream a poor fit for sensitive skin?
This cream is a weak match for sensitive skin because its focus on moisture and retinol does not address redness and irritation. A product of this type needs soothing ingredients to calm irritation and hydrating ingredients to strengthen the skin barrier.
What does Water do for sensitive skin?
Using cool water for facial cleansing preserves skin barrier integrity and lowers skin surface pH in healthy adults. This helps keep skin calm and hydrated without causing the irritation associated with warmer water.
What does Dimethicone do for sensitive skin?
Dimethicone helps protect sensitive skin against irritants and can keep it feeling calm and comfortable. It is generally well tolerated and unlikely to cause adverse reactions on delicate or reactive skin.
Where does it go in a skincare routine for sensitive skin?
This treatment goes in the evening routine after toner and before moisturizer, but since it is a weak match for sensitive skin, it needs gentle hydrators and calming ingredients to soothe redness and irritation.
Can I use it with vitamin C, and in what order?
This product is unlikely to cause irritation on sensitive skin, but because it focuses mainly on hydration and anti-aging rather than calming redness, you may want to introduce it carefully alongside vitamin C. Applying vitamin C in the morning and this treatment at night helps prevent overwhelming your skin.
How often should I use it?
This treatment is unlikely to cause irritation on sensitive skin, but it is a weak match because its focus on hydration does not address redness. To care for sensitive skin, this type of product needs ingredients that soothe irritation and calm redness.
Can this cream clog pores, cause breakouts or purging for sensitive skin?
This cream is unlikely to cause irritation for your sensitive skin, but reviewers do mention moderate initial breakouts. To prevent breakouts and irritation, a product for this skin needs calming ingredients and lightweight hydrators that do not trap oil in your pores.
Can I use it around the eyes or on my body?
This product is safe to use around the eyes or on the body because it lacks harsh ingredients, though it is a weak match for sensitive skin. Skin on the body and around the eyes needs gentle, hydrating ingredients and soothing plant extracts to stay soft and smooth without getting red or irritated.
Is it fragrance-free and alcohol-free?
Yes, it has no fragrance and no drying alcohol.
What the research says
Topical 0.4% retinol significantly increased epidermal thickness, dermal vascularity, and extracellular matrix production by stimulating keratinocyte proliferation, endothelial cell proliferation, and fibroblast activation in naturally aged human skin compared to vehicle.
International Journal of Cosmetic Science, 2017Topical bakuchiol 0.5% applied twice daily compared with retinol 0.5% applied daily significantly decreased wrinkle surface area and hyperpigmentation with no statistical difference between the compounds in 44 patients over 12 weeks, while retinol users reported more facial skin scaling and stinging.
The British Journal of Dermatology, 2019Wearing an N95 mask alone compared to using dimethicone cream or hydrocolloid dressing caused more adverse skin reactions among 73 military health care workers, with no significant differences in fit test failure rates between groups.
Military Medicine, 2024A dimethicone skin protectant lotion significantly decreased visual scoring and transepidermal water loss compared to vehicle control and SLS-only treated sites in 12 healthy humans exposed to sodium lauryl sulfate.
Skin Research and Technology, 2000Treatment with a moisturizer containing dimethicone and glycerine increased epidermal thickness by 0.019 mm, improved barrier function by decreasing transepidermal water loss by 13%, decreased melanin intensity, and induced keratins 6 and 16 in fifteen women with moderately photoaged forearms.
Clinical and Experimental Dermatology, 2007A 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, 2001
Why other moisturizers fit sensitive skin better
Topical dexpanthenol acts as a moisturizer, improves stratum corneum hydration, accelerates wound healing and epidermal regeneration, reduces erythema, and improves symptoms of skin irritation compared to vehicle or no pretreatment.
American Journal of Clinical Dermatology, 2002A dexpanthenol-containing cream accelerated skin barrier repair, increased stratum corneum hydration, reduced skin roughness, and decreased skin redness compared to vehicle and untreated controls in sodium lauryl sulphate-irritated skin.
The Journal of Dermatological Treatment, 2002
Ingredients
Water, Dimethicone, Glycerin, Niacinamide, Retinol, Aminopropyl Ascorbyl Phosphate, Palmitoyl Pentapeptide-4, Polyacrylamide, C13-14 Isoparaffin, Laureth-7, Dimethiconol, Caprylyl Glycol, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin
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
How does it fit your skin?
Scan your face, then any product: Lovi shows how well it fits you and what fits even better.