Sofie Pavitt Face Mandelic Clearing Serum for acne-prone skin
Mandelic Acid
Sodium Hyaluronate
Panthenol
Glycerin
Sodium Hydroxide
High
- SuperiorCombination Skin Fit
- HighEffectiveness
- HighSafety
A great choice for acne-prone skin; a few moisturizers fit it even better.
This fit is calculated for the concerns frequently associated with acne-prone skin: breakouts, blackheads, and post-acne marks. 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 treatment for your acne-prone combination skin as mandelic acid effectively exfoliates and clears pores, while panthenol and glycerin provide essential hydration.
- The serum's formulation is safe for your combination skin, containing no harsh ingredients that could cause irritation.
- This product is well-suited for your skin type and concerns, offering moderate exfoliation for blemishes and breakouts.
How to apply
- Use your moisturizer twice a day in your AM and PM routines. Apply it daily to help keep breakouts under control.
- Apply after your cleanser and toner, and make sure to use your SPF right after in the morning.
- Gently spread a small amount of moisturizer over your face using soft motions. Let it absorb into the skin for a minute before getting dressed or applying makeup.
- Apply on slightly damp skin to help lock in extra moisture. This keeps your combination skin balanced without feeling heavy.
- Avoid the eye area and do a patch test before your first use. Stop using if you feel any irritation.
People Say
★4.9Overall rating based on 700+ reviewsIt is very effective at clearing breakouts and improving skin texture, with many users noting its quick absorption and gentle feel. Some users occasionally experience dryness or find the price point high.
Highlights
Clears acne breakouts Mostly Mentioned
- “Only one thing has kept all of the cystic acne away and it has been this product right here!!”
- “She no longer struggles with recurring breakouts.”
- “It helped me get rid of my closed comedones.”
- “I was breaking out less frequently, and the blemishes that did occur were much easier to manage.”
Gentle on sensitive skin Mostly Mentioned
- “So gentle and I have sensitive dehydrated skin.”
- “It's gentle on my skin, lightweight, and not at all sticky.”
- “The redness in my face has toned down significantly.”
Improves skin texture Often Mentioned
- “My skin feels smoother and less textured after using.”
- “Within the first week, my skin felt much smoother.”
- “It's been great for evening out my skin tone and keeping texture away.”
- “Gently smooths bumpy, uneven texture.”
Absorbs very quickly Sometimes Noted
- “The serum absorbs quickly and doesn't leave my skin feeling sticky, tacky or tight.”
- “It's very watery... soaks into my skin super fast, and doesn't leave any uncomfortable residue.”
- “I found the texture to be watery and it sank nicely into the skin.”
- “The product itself is a very runny serum and absorbs into the skin rather quickly.”
Can cause dryness Rarely Noted
- “I experienced some slight dryness after 3 days of continued use.”
- “So drying if you use it too often, definitely not meant for every day use.”
- “I find this too harsh for daily use.”
Expensive price point Rarely Noted
- “At just under an ounce, this is a splurge, no way around it.”
- “Expensive 60%”
- “I did a lot to get my hand on it”
Requires additional moisturizer Rarely Noted
- “I wouldn't rely on this mandelic serum to act as a main hydrator.”
- “You will want to layer a moisturizer on top of it to get that dewiness.”
- “Slightly present on skin... does best with a night cream on top.”
Sources: lovi.care, sofiepavittface.com, violetgrey.com, tnuck.com, skinsort.com, forbes.com, and more
Questions and answers
What makes Sofie Pavitt Face Mandelic Clearing Serum a great fit for acne-prone skin?
This serum is a great fit because mandelic acid exfoliates and clears pores to help with breakouts, while panthenol and glycerin keep your skin hydrated. Its formula avoids harsh ingredients, making it very unlikely to cause irritation on your skin.
The Journal of Dermatological Treatment, 2017Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2020
Which ingredients make this serum a good fit for acne-prone skin?
Mandelic acid makes this serum a great fit by exfoliating and clearing pores to help manage blemishes and breakouts, while panthenol and glycerin keep acne-prone skin hydrated without irritation.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2020The Journal of Dermatological Treatment, 2017
What does Mandelic Acid do for acne-prone skin?
Mandelic acid helps clear acne and smooth the skin by gently exfoliating and calming breakouts with fewer side effects than many other acids. It is unlikely to cause heavy irritation, and combining it with other treatments may improve stubborn acne and dark spots even further.
What does Hyaluronic Acid do for acne-prone skin?
Hyaluronic acid helps acne-prone skin by soothing irritation, calming redness, and keeping the skin balanced without clogging pores. When combined with targeted ingredients like zinc oxide, it may also help reduce breakouts.
Where does this serum go in a skincare routine for acne-prone skin?
This serum goes in your evening routine as a treatment step after cleansing and toning, and before moisturizing. Lovi routines start exfoliating steps like this once a week, and you can carefully use them more often if your skin tolerates them well.
Can I use it with retinol, and in what order?
You can use it with retinol by applying this treatment first and following with your retinol on separate nights or spaced apart to prevent irritation, as combining strong actives may be too intense for your skin.
How often should I use it?
Use this serum in your evening routine once a week to start, and if your skin handles it well, you may carefully use it more often. It helps clear pores and smooth breakouts while keeping your skin calm.
Can it clog pores, cause breakouts or purging for acne-prone skin?
Sofie Pavitt Face Mandelic Clearing Serum is a great fit for acne-prone skin because mandelic acid effectively exfoliates and clears pores without harsh ingredients that cause irritation. It helps keep skin smooth and clear, though it may occasionally cause mild dryness for some users.
Can I use it around the eyes or on my body?
This serum is designed for facial blemishes and breakouts, and is not recommended for the thin, delicate skin around the eyes or general body use. If you want to treat acne on the body or delicate areas, you should look for gentle formulas specifically made for those areas.
Is it fragrance-free and alcohol-free?
Yes, it has no fragrance and no drying alcohol.
What the research says
A new topical panthenol-containing emollient significantly improved transepidermal water loss reduction, stratum corneum hydration, and intercellular lipid lamellae length compared with control in healthy subjects without negatively impacting bacterial viability.
The Journal of Dermatological Treatment, 2017Treatment with 45% mandelic acid peel showed nearly equal overall efficacy as 30% salicylic acid peel in patients with mild-to-moderate facial acne vulgaris, but with fewer adverse effects.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2020Topical 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 panthenol-enriched mask significantly decreased erythema and hyperpigmentation, increased sebum and stratum corneum moisture, and reduced transepidermal water loss compared to a saline dressing in 60 subjects undergoing facial laser treatment.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2025Chemical peels using 35% glycolic acid, 20% salicylic-10% mandelic acid, and phytic acid reduce acne scores by 70.55%, 74.14%, and 69.7% respectively, and significantly decline the postacne hyperpigmentation index in Asian patients with mild to moderate acne.
Journal of Cutaneous and Aesthetic Surgery, 2019Commonly used chemical peels showed no significant differences in effectiveness for acne vulgaris in most comparisons, though combined salicylic and mandelic acid peeling was superior to glycolic acid and glycolic acid was superior to placebo, based on twelve randomized controlled trials.
BMJ Open, 2018Treatment with 30% lactic acid peel showed a significantly greater reduction in pigmentation and higher patient satisfaction compared to 30% mandelic acid peel in patients with periorbital melanosis.
Indian Dermatology Online Journal, 2025Topical 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, 2019Moisturizer containing 5% panthenol, madecassoside, and copper-zinc-manganese decreased adverse reactions and downtime after ablative fractional carbon dioxide laser resurfacing with comparable efficacy to 0.02% triamcinolone acetonide cream in 20 subjects.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2019Topical dexpanthenol formulated in lipophilic vehicles improved stratum corneum hydration and reduced transepidermal water loss compared to vehicle control in humans.
Arzneimittel-Forschung, 2000Hyaluronic acid, hyaluronic acid plus dexpanthenol, and isotonic saline nasal sprays all significantly improved dry nose symptoms over four weeks in 240 patients, with hyaluronic acid plus dexpanthenol providing superior nasal moisturisation compared to the other two.
Auris, Nasus, Larynx, 2020A 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
Ingredients
Water, Mandelic Acid, Propanediol, Sodium Hydroxide, Panthenol, Glycerin, Polyacrylate Crosspolymer-6, Xanthan Gum, Butylene Glycol, Glyceryl Acrylate Acrylic Acid Copolymer, Hydrolyzed Sodium Hyaluronate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Silanetriol, Sorbic Acid, Citric Acid, Disodium Edta, Hexylene Glycol, Caprylyl Glycol, Phenoxyethanol, Caramel
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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