🇺🇸United States

Kiehl's vs Grown Alchemist

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

Kiehl's and Grown Alchemist are skincare brands that offer distinct approaches to daily care. The American enterprise founded in 1851 is beloved for dependable moisturizers, serums, toners, and eye products incorporating nourishing glycerin and squalane, which suit mature skin and skin with dark spots best. Meanwhile, the other maker is loved for cleansers and serums, as well as its formulas, which suit sensitive, dry, and combination skin best. They differ primarily in their product types, key ingredients, and targeted skin types.

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 Kiehl's and Grown Alchemist products; for every product of both brands, with a fit score for your own skin, use the Lovi app.

Popular Kiehl's vs Grown Alchemist products

People Say

Kiehl'sGrown Alchemist
  • Gentle for sensitive skin Often MentionedMostly Mentioned
    • “Perfect for sensitive skin — Grown Alchemist Gentle Gel Facial Cleanser”
    • “calms my skin down — Grown Alchemist Hydra-Restore Cream Cleanser”
    • “experienced zero irritation — Kiehl's Retinol Skin-Renewing Daily Micro-Dose Serum”
  • Deep hydration Often MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “Keeps skin moisturized for 24+ hours — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
    • “Feels like a drink of water — Kiehl's Hydro-Plumping Serum Concentrate”
    • “Skin version of chugging water — Grown Alchemist Instant Smoothing Serum”
  • Lightweight texture Often MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “feels like nothing — Kiehl's Better Screen UV Serum”
    • “absorbs instantly without residue — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Oil-Free Gel Cream”
    • “Absorbs quickly — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
    • “Very light weight — Grown Alchemist Instant Smoothing Serum”
  • Non-stripping and gentle cleansing Not notedMostly Mentioned
    • “Doesn't dry out my skin — Grown Alchemist Gentle Gel Facial Cleanser”
    • “doesn't strip at all — Grown Alchemist Hydra-Restore Cream Cleanser”
  • Relaxing and pleasant scent Rarely NotedMostly Mentioned
    • “Smells amazing — Grown Alchemist Gentle Gel Facial Cleanser”
    • “smell is divine — Grown Alchemist Hydra-Restore Cream Cleanser”
    • “calming lavender smell — Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate”
  • Cleanses and controls oil Sometimes NotedOften Mentioned
    • “Gets everything nice and clean — Grown Alchemist Gentle Gel Facial Cleanser”
    • “sucked the gunk out of my pores — Kiehl's Rare Earth Deep Pore Cleansing Masque”
  • High price Mostly MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “expensive for what it is — Grown Alchemist Hydra-Restore Cream Cleanser”
    • “A bit pricey — Grown Alchemist Instant Smoothing Serum”
    • “pricy daily staple — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
  • Packaging and application issues Sometimes NotedOften Mentioned
    • “dipping fingers is unsanitary — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
    • “hard to spread — Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado”
    • “Dropper doesn't reach bottom — Kiehl's Clearly Corrective™ Dark Spot Solution”
    • “tube cracks easily — Grown Alchemist Hydra-Restore Cream Cleanser”
  • Makeup removal and compatibility issues Not notedOften Mentioned
    • “Isn't going to be your makeup remover — Grown Alchemist Gentle Gel Facial Cleanser”

Questions and answers

Kiehl's or Grown Alchemist: which is better?

Grown Alchemist does better at being gentle for sensitive skin and providing non-stripping and gentle cleansing, whereas Kiehl's does better at providing a lightweight texture across the products on this page.

What is the difference between Kiehl's and Grown Alchemist?

Grown Alchemist provides gentler cleansing for sensitive skin with its fragrance-free range, while Kiehl's offers a much wider product selection that tends to have lightweight textures.

Kiehl's or Grown Alchemist: which cleanser is better?

Grown Alchemist does better for non-stripping and gentle cleansing compared to Kiehl's. Lovi finds Grown Alchemist products like Hydra-Restore Cream Cleanser achieve High fits for sensitive skin, while Kiehl's cleansers like the Ultra Facial Oil-Free Cleanser feature a Low fit for dry sensitive skin.

Which is more affordable, Kiehl's or Grown Alchemist?

Grown Alchemist has a higher price according to the review themes on this page, whereas reviewers frequently mention a high price point for Kiehl's as well.

Which causes fewer breakouts, Kiehl's or Grown Alchemist?

Grown Alchemist is generally better for gentle care, but when looking at the products on this page, Grown Alchemist is unlikely to cause breakouts as review themes note it provides gentle, non-stripping cleansing, whereas reviewers often note that Kiehl's causes breakouts and skin irritation.

How do the founding years and corporate ownerships of Kiehl's and Grown Alchemist compare?

Kiehl's was founded in 1851 in the United States and has been owned by L'Oréal S.A. since 2000, whereas Grown Alchemist was founded later in 2008 and became independently owned in 2024.

Which brand has more products listed without fragrance, and how do their fragrance-free options differ?

Kiehl's features more products on this page without fragrance, with 26 out of 28 options being fragrance-free compared to all 3 products for Grown Alchemist. Lovi rates Kiehl's fragrance-free options with a wide range of fit levels depending on the specific product and skin type, while Grown Alchemist's fragrance-free cleansers and serums mostly achieve Average to High Lovi fits.

What specific skin types do Kiehl's brand-focused routines best fit compared to Grown Alchemist?

Kiehl's brand-focused routines best fit mature skin, skin with dark spots, and combination skin, whereas Grown Alchemist does not list specific skin types that its routines fit best on this page.

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

How does it fit your skin?

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