Vichy Normaderm Phytosolution for oily acne-prone skin

Salicylic Acid
Bifida Lysate Ferment
Zinc Sulfate
Ascorbyl Glucoside
Sodium Hyaluronate
High
- HighOily Skin Fit
- HighEffectiveness
- ExcellentSafety
A great choice for oily acne-prone skin; a few serums fit it even 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 treatment for your acne-prone and oily skin, as salicylic acid and zinc sulfate work to exfoliate and decongest pores, effectively targeting blemishes and reducing shine.
- Bifida Lysate Ferment and Biosaccharide Gum-1 provide soothing benefits, ensuring comfort for your oily skin without irritation.
- The product is safe for your skin, with no risks of irritation due to the absence of harsh ingredients and the presence of beneficial soothing components.
How to apply
- Could be used as part of your PM routine. Start 3 times a week and build up to daily use if your skin tolerates it well.
- Apply your serum after cleansing and toning, but before putting on your moisturizer.
- Gently press 2 to 3 drops of the serum into your skin and let it absorb for a minute.
- Apply the serum on clean, dry skin to help manage your blemishes safely.
- Do a patch test before your first use and avoid the delicate eye area.
People Say
★4.7Overall rating based on 500+ reviewsUsers with oily and acne-prone skin widely praise this moisturizer for its ability to reduce breakouts and control sebum without drying out the face. The lightweight, water-based texture is frequently highlighted as a standout feature, leaving skin feeling fresh and hydrated, though the strong herbal scent is a polarizing aspect for some.
Highlights
Lightweight & fast-absorbing Mostly Mentioned
- “absorbs in a heartbeat”
- “feels like thick water”
- “non-greasy finish”
- “perfect makeup base”
Effective acne control Often Mentioned
- “pimples vanished in two days”
- “cleared my maskne”
- “skin looks smoother”
- “reduces redness”
Hydrating without grease Often Mentioned
- “leaves skin soft”
- “hydrated but not shiny”
- “plump feel”
- “controls oil all day”
Refreshing scent Sometimes Noted
- “fresh herbal scent”
- “smells like spa”
- “cooling sensation”
- “minty aroma”
Strong fragrance Sometimes Noted
- “smells like toothpaste”
- “too much perfume”
- “scent lingers too long”
- “irritating for sensitive noses”
Insufficient moisture Rarely Noted
- “need another cream on top”
- “cheeks felt dry”
- “not enough for winter”
- “skin felt tight”
Skin irritation Rarely Noted
- “stung my face”
- “caused redness”
- “burning sensation”
- “broke me out”
Sticky residue Rarely Noted
- “leaves a sticky layer”
- “feels tacky to touch”
- “pilling under makeup”
- “slimy texture”
Sources: lovi.care, lookfantastic.com, walmart.com, boots.com, reddit.com, vichy.co.uk, and more
Questions and answers
What makes Vichy Normaderm Phytosolution a great fit for oily acne-prone skin?
Vichy Normaderm Phytosolution is a great fit because salicylic acid and zinc sulfate clear out pores and reduce shine, while soothing ingredients keep your oily skin calm and comfortable. This combination effectively targets blemishes with a low likelihood of irritation, helping to maintain a clear and healthy complexion.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2024Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 2023
Which ingredients make this cream a good fit for oily acne-prone skin?
Salicylic acid and zinc sulfate make this cream a great fit for your oily acne-prone skin because they help clear clogged pores and reduce shine. At the same time, soothing ingredients like bifida lysate ferment keep your skin comfortable and calm without causing irritation.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2024Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2023
What does Salicylic Acid do for oily acne-prone skin?
Salicylic acid helps clear breakouts and keeps oily skin balanced by reducing oil levels and calming inflammation. It is well suited for oily, acne-prone skin because it targets pimples while helping keep the skin hydrated and protected.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2025Experimental Dermatology, 2019
What does Bifida Ferment Lysate do for oily acne-prone skin?
Bifida Ferment Lysate helps calm oily acne-prone skin by strengthening your skin barrier and lowering irritation. It is unlikely to clog pores and may help keep your skin feeling smooth and balanced.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2023Experimental Dermatology, 2010
Where does this cream go in a skincare routine for oily acne-prone skin?
This treatment goes in the evening routine after cleansing and before moisturizing. It may also be used once a week as part of an exfoliating routine, depending on how well your skin handles it.
Can I use this cream with retinol, and in what order?
You can use this treatment with retinol by applying your retinol in your evening routine and using this cream at a different time or alternating nights to prevent irritation. This product helps clear blemishes and reduce shine with salicylic acid while keeping your skin calm, but layering strong actives together may increase the likelihood of dryness or sensitivity.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2024Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 2023
How often should I use this cream?
Use this treatment in your evening routine, starting once a week and slowly increasing frequency if your skin tolerates it well. Salicylic acid and zinc sulfate help clear pores and reduce blemishes, while soothing ingredients keep your oily skin comfortable and calm.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2024Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 2023
Can this cream clog pores, cause breakouts or purging for oily acne-prone skin?
This cream is unlikely to clog pores or cause breakouts because it uses salicylic acid and zinc to help clear out pores and reduce blemishes. It may cause a little initial purging as it helps clear congestion, but soothing ingredients help keep irritation low.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2024Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 2023
Is this cream fragrance-free and alcohol-free?
Yes, it has no fragrance and no drying alcohol.
What the research says
Twice daily application of a multitargeted dermocosmetic cream provided comparable efficacy to benzoyl peroxide 5% gel in reducing inflammatory, non-inflammatory, and total lesions in 150 Caucasian subjects with mild-to-moderate acne over 56 days, while demonstrating superior skin tolerability.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2024The use of a salicylic acid-based dermocosmetic significantly reduces the needed quantity of benzoyl peroxide without impacting efficacy in mild to moderate acne, and as maintenance post-benzoyl peroxide allows a significant reduction of acne relapse compared to vehicle.
Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 2023A moisturizer containing licochalcone A, 1,2-decanediol, L-carnitine, and salicylic acid significantly reduced noninflammatory, inflammatory, and total acne lesion counts compared to a vehicle control in Thai patients during a 12-week maintenance phase.
BioMed Research International, 2020Topical application of Bifida Ferment Lysate strengthens the skin barrier function by upregulating barrier and antimicrobial peptide genes, exhibiting strong antioxidant properties, and decreasing inflammatory cytokine secretion in vitro.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2023Cryotherapy with liquid nitrogen achieved a higher cure rate (39%) than salicylic acid (24%) and a wait-and-see approach (16%) for cutaneous warts at 13 weeks in primary care patients.
CMAJ, 2010Treatment with 2% supramolecular salicylic acid hydrogel resulted in a regression and markedly improvement rate of 51.01% compared to 43.10% for Adapaline gel in patients with mild to moderate facial acne vulgaris, showing no significant difference in efficacy.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2024Topical 5% benzoyl peroxide plus salicylic acid achieved the greatest lesion reduction at early 2 to 4 week time points compared to benzoyl peroxide, clindamycin, and combination benzoyl peroxide/clindamycin, while 5% benzoyl peroxide plus salicylic acid and combination benzoyl peroxide/clindamycin showed similar efficacy at 10 to 12 weeks in acne patients.
Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 2010Topical 10% zinc sulphate solution achieved an 85.7% full response rate in plane warts compared to 42.8% for 5% zinc sulphate and 10% for distilled water, while showing no significant efficacy in common warts.
Saudi Medical Journal, 2007Topical zinc sulfate augmentation significantly increased the cutaneous delayed hypersensitivity response to Candida antigen in subjects with normal plasma zinc concentrations compared to Aquaphor alone.
Acta Dermato-venereologica, 1985A hydrogel containing pomegranate rind extract and zinc sulphate delivered punicalagin and zinc across porcine epidermal, buccal, and vaginal membranes while achieving a 2.5 log reduction against HSV-1 and a 64% reduction in COX-2 expression in ex vivo skin.
European Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2017Topical application of 5% vitamin C cream significantly improved global clinical scores, increased skin microrelief density, and induced elastic tissue repair in photoaged skin compared to excipient control in healthy female volunteers.
Experimental Dermatology, 2003Ascorbic acid 2-glucoside gel significantly reduced gingival melanin pigmentation after 4 weeks compared to placebo in 73 subjects with symmetric pigmentation.
Journal of Periodontology, 2009Topical application of VC-IP cream twice daily for 8 weeks reduces periorbital wrinkles in female subjects compared to a placebo cream.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2022Topical 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, 2019
Ingredients
Water, Glycerin, Salicylic Acid, Isononyl Isononanoate, Butylene Glycol, Kaolin, Zinc Sulfate, Bifida Lysate Ferment, Sodium Hydroxide, Sodium Polyacrylate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Sodium Benzoate, Phenoxyethanol, Ascorbyl Glucoside, Caprylyl Glycol, Hydrolyzed Algin, Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate, Biosaccharide Gum-1, Acrylates C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer
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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