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Cetaphil vs Kiehl's

Rated by Lovi · Unbiased, science-based skincare AI trained on real user outcomes · How the Fit score works

Cetaphil and Kiehl's are two American skincare brands offering distinct approaches to daily regimens. The former features cleansers, moisturizers, serums, and sunscreens with glycerin, niacinamide, and panthenol, suiting combination and acne-prone skin best. Conversely, the latter provides dependable moisturizers, serums, toners, and eye products incorporating glycerin and squalane, which suit mature skin and skin with dark spots best. While both utilize nourishing glycerin to increase hydration and restore barrier function, they ultimately differ in their secondary ingredients, target concerns, and founding eras.

Cetaphil is an American skincare brand founded in 1947 and owned by Galderma Group AG.

en.wikipedia.orgcetaphil.co.uk

Kiehl's is an American skincare brand founded in 1851 and owned by L'Oréal S.A. since 2000.

loreal.comen.wikipedia.org

This page compares some of the most popular Cetaphil and Kiehl's products; for every product of both brands, with a fit score for your own skin, use the Lovi app.

Popular Cetaphil vs Kiehl's products

People Say

CetaphilKiehl's
  • Hydration and moisture Mostly MentionedMostly Mentioned
    • “cleared up flaky skin — Cetaphil Moisturizing Cream”
    • “healed my dry patches — Cetaphil Moisturising Cream”
    • “Keeps skin moisturized for 24+ hours — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
    • “Feels like a drink of water — Kiehl's Hydro-Plumping Serum Concentrate”
  • Gentle on sensitive skin Mostly MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “The only thing my reactive skin tolerates. — Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser”
    • “No breakouts since switching to this. — Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser”
    • “cleans without stripping — Cetaphil Daily Facial Cleanser”
    • “experienced zero irritation — Kiehl's Retinol Skin-Renewing Daily Micro-Dose Serum”
  • Lightweight and non-greasy feel Often MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “absorbs instantly — Cetaphil Moisturizing Lotion”
    • “Absorbs quickly into skin without residue — Cetaphil Daily Hydrating Lotion”
    • “feels like nothing — Kiehl's Better Screen UV Serum”
    • “works on dark skin — Kiehl's Better Screen UV Serum”
  • Skin smoothing and texture improvement Sometimes NotedOften Mentioned
    • “skin feels incredibly soft afterwards — Kiehl's Rare Earth Deep Pore Cleansing Masque”
    • “leaves skin feeling silky — Kiehl's Powerful-Strength Line-Reducing Concentrate”
    • “skin feels smoother — Kiehl's Retinol Skin-Renewing Daily Micro-Dose Serum”
    • “Skin felt softer after one use — Cetaphil Gentle Exfoliating SA Cleanser”
  • Versatile and effective daily use Often MentionedSometimes Noted
    • “great for face and body — Cetaphil Moisturizing Cream”
    • “recommended by my derm — Cetaphil Daily Facial Cleanser”
    • “removes excess oil — Cetaphil Daily Facial Cleanser”
    • “concealer glides on smoothly — Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado”
  • Brightening and complexion enhancement Rarely NotedOften Mentioned
    • “Acne marks are gone — Kiehl's Clearly Corrective™ Dark Spot Solution”
    • “woke up glowing — Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate”
    • “Skin looks radiant — Kiehl's Clearly Corrective™ Dark Spot Solution”
    • “skin looks more radiant — Cetaphil Vitamin C Serum”
  • Sensory and finish complaints Often MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “Overpowering masking fragrance — Cetaphil Gentle Cleansing Bar”
    • “smells like masking fragrance — Cetaphil Daily Facial Cleanser”
    • “skin felt tight after an hour — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Oil-Free Gel Cream”
    • “oil slick in summer — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
  • High price point Rarely NotedMostly Mentioned
    • “expensive for drugstore — Cetaphil Moisturizing Cream”
    • “pricy daily staple — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
  • Lather, texture, and packaging issues Sometimes NotedSometimes Noted
    • “hate dipping fingers in — Cetaphil Moisturising Cream”
    • “Miss the bubbles, feels like washing with lotion. — Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser”
    • “dipping fingers is unsanitary — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
    • “hard to spread — Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado”

Cetaphil vs Kiehl's routines for dry skin

Buy Cetaphil routine · $134.48 · 83% fitBuy Kiehl's routine · $382.00 · 82% fitSee multi-brand routine · 99% fit

Cetaphil vs Kiehl's routines for oily skin

Buy Cetaphil routine · $331.64 · 85% fitBuy Kiehl's routine · $343.42 · 80% fitSee multi-brand routine · 98% fit

Cetaphil vs Kiehl's routines for combination skin

Buy Cetaphil routine · $285.23 · 89% fitBuy Kiehl's routine · $339.90 · 83% fitSee multi-brand routine · 97% fit

Questions and answers

Cetaphil or Kiehl's: which is better?

Both brands are great choices, with Cetaphil doing better for sensitive skin and Kiehl's doing better for skin smoothing and texture improvement. Reviewers mention that Cetaphil has a lower price point, while Kiehl's often has a high price point.

What is the difference between Cetaphil and Kiehl's?

Cetaphil stands out for being gentler on sensitive skin and having a lower price point, whereas Kiehl's performs better for skin smoothing and brightening. Both brands offer equally high routine fits for dry, oily, combination, sensitive, mature, and dark spot-prone skin, though Cetaphil fits acne-prone skin better with a High level compared to Kiehl's Average level.

Cetaphil or Kiehl's for dry skin?

Both brands offer a High routine fit for dry skin. Reviewers note that Cetaphil is gentler on sensitive skin, while Kiehl's is better for skin smoothing and texture improvement.

Cetaphil or Kiehl's: which cleanser is better?

Both Cetaphil and Kiehl's offer effective cleansers, but Cetaphil is better known for gentle, non-stripping cleansers that are especially well-suited for sensitive skin. Kiehl's cleansers frequently receive praise for improving skin texture and providing specialized options like deep pore cleansing.

Which is more affordable, Cetaphil or Kiehl's?

Cetaphil is more affordable than Kiehl's, as high price points are frequently noted by reviewers for Kiehl's while Cetaphil does better in pricing.

Cetaphil or Kiehl's for dark spots?

Both Cetaphil and Kiehl's offer products with a high routine fit for skin with dark spots. Reviewers note that Kiehl's does better for brightening and fading dark spots. Lovi rates the routine fit for skin with dark spots as High for Cetaphil and High for Kiehl's.

Which brand has a better routine for acne-prone skin?

Cetaphil has a better routine for acne-prone skin, offering a High routine fit compared to Kiehl's Average level.

Cetaphil or Kiehl's for oily skin?

Both brands offer products on this page that achieve a High fit level for oily skin. Cetaphil is noted for being more gentle on sensitive skin, while Kiehl's is noted for skin smoothing and texture improvement.

Cetaphil or Kiehl's: which moisturizer is better?

Both brands offer moisturizers on this page that provide high routine fit levels for various skin types, but Cetaphil generally performs better on sensitive skin while Kiehl's is noted for skin smoothing and texture improvement. Cetaphil also tends to have a lower price point compared to Kiehl's.

Cetaphil or Kiehl's for sensitive skin?

Both brands offer High routine fit for sensitive skin, but Cetaphil does better on being gentle on sensitive skin. The products on this page list no fragrance in 26 of 27 Cetaphil products and 26 of 28 Kiehl's products.

Cetaphil or Kiehl's: which sunscreen is better?

Both brands offer sunscreens on this page with High or Superior fit levels across most skin types, so neither is definitively better than the other.

Cetaphil or Kiehl's for acne-prone skin?

For acne-prone skin, Cetaphil is the better choice because Lovi rates its routine fit as High compared to Kiehl's Average. Reviewers also note that Kiehl's can sometimes cause breakouts and skin irritation.

Cetaphil or Kiehl's for mature skin?

Both Cetaphil and Kiehl's fit mature skin at a High level on the products on this page. Reviewers note that Cetaphil provides versatile daily use, while Kiehl's is often noted for skin smoothing and texture improvement.

Research behind their key ingredients

Behind this comparison

Lovi compares products by their fit scores, calculated 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.

  • Nadia Kapleva, MS

    Nadia Kapleva, MS

    Co-founder, Medical Director

    Cosmetic chemist, cosmetologist, aesthetic products developer

  • Alexey Shagraev, PhD

    Alexey Shagraev, PhD

    Co-founder, CEO and CTO

    PhD in computer science, 3x US patent holder, ex-Google, ex-Yandex

  • Dr. Sofía Perea Pérez, MD, MSc

    Dr. Sofía Perea Pérez, MD, MSc

    Medical Board

    Aesthetic medicine practitioner, MSc in Longevity and Anti-Aging Medicine

  • Aishani Shah, MD

    Aishani Shah, MD

    Medical Board

    Specialist dermatologist, MBBS, MD, IFAAD

  • Asya Zubkova, MS

    Asya Zubkova, MS

    Medical Board

    Cosmetic chemist, SCS, IFSCC member

  • Hanna Kurets, MD

    Hanna Kurets, MD

    Medical Board, Medical Advisor

    Dermatology MD

  • Elina Nazarenko, MD

    Elina Nazarenko, MD

    Medical Board

    Dermatology and diagnostic consultant

  • Victoria Derkova, MS

    Victoria Derkova, MS

    Medical Board

    Cosmetic chemist, cosmetic development technologist

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