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Neutrogena vs Kiehl's

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

Neutrogena and Kiehl's are American skincare brands known for their thoughtful moisturizers, sunscreens, cleansers, toners, serums, and eye products. The first brand relies on trusted ingredients like glycerin, hyaluronic acid, and dimethicone, suiting dry skin and mature skin best. Meanwhile, the second brand incorporates nourishing glycerin and squalane, suiting skin with dark spots and combination skin best. They differ primarily in their specific targeted formulations and key ingredients designed to address varying skin needs.

Neutrogena is an American skincare brand founded in 1930 and owned by Kimberly-Clark Corporation since 2026.

investor.kimberly-clark.comen.wikipedia.orginvestors.kenvue.com

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

Popular Neutrogena vs Kiehl's products

People Say

NeutrogenaKiehl's
  • Deep and intense hydration Mostly MentionedMostly Mentioned
    • “Skin looked plumper and radiant — Neutrogena HYDRO BOOST WATER CREAM”
    • “Quenches dry skin instantly — Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hydrating Hydrogel Mask”
    • “Keeps skin moisturized for 24+ hours — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
    • “Feels like a drink of water — Kiehl's Hydro-Plumping Serum Concentrate”
  • Acne-safe and gentle formulas Mostly MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “leaves skin soft and balanced — Neutrogena Ultra Gentle Daily Cleanser”
    • “love that it has no scent — Neutrogena Ultra Gentle Daily Cleanser”
    • “calms my acne prone skin — Neutrogena Ultra Gentle Daily Cleanser”
    • “experienced zero irritation — Kiehl's Retinol Skin-Renewing Daily Micro-Dose Serum”
  • Lightweight and non-greasy texture Often MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “Absorbs instantly without sticky residue — Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel”
    • “absorbs instantly — Neutrogena COLLAGEN BANK Moisturizer”
    • “Absorbs into skin without residue. — Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hyaluronic Acid Serum”
    • “absorbs instantly without residue — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Oil-Free Gel Cream”
  • Makeup base and compatibility Sometimes NotedSometimes Noted
    • “Foundation glides right over it — Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel”
    • “Concealer doesn't cake or get stuck in crevices — Neutrogena Hydro Boost Eye Gel-Cream”
    • “concealer glides on smoothly — Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado”
    • “no pilling — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
  • Skin texture improvement and anti-aging Sometimes NotedOften Mentioned
    • “leaves skin feeling silky — Kiehl's Powerful-Strength Line-Reducing Concentrate”
    • “skin feels smoother — Kiehl's Retinol Skin-Renewing Daily Micro-Dose Serum”
    • “skin looked & felt smoother — Kiehl's Super Multi-Corrective Cream”
    • “Skin is looking smoother — Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle Repair Regenerating Cream”
  • Radiant glow and brightening 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”
    • “Gave me a glass-skin glow — Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hydrating Hydrogel Mask”
  • Price and quantity concerns Sometimes NotedMostly Mentioned
    • “Jar is too small for the price — Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel”
    • “Runs out quickly — Neutrogena HYDRO BOOST WATER CREAM”
    • “Tube is tiny for the cost — Neutrogena Hydro Boost Eye Gel-Cream”
    • “pricy daily staple — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
  • Packaging and design issues Often MentionedSometimes Noted
    • “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”
    • “Kept sliding off my face — Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hydrating Hydrogel Mask”
  • Eye and skin irritation Often MentionedSometimes Noted
    • “burned my face immediately — Kiehl's Rare Earth Deep Pore Cleansing Masque”
    • “stings my face and feels like burning — Kiehl's Super Multi-Corrective Cream”
    • “left my face bright red — Kiehl's Rare Earth Deep Pore Cleansing Masque”
    • “burns my eyes terribly — Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunscreen”
  • Strong fragrance and scent issues Sometimes NotedRarely Noted
    • “smells clinical — Kiehl's Retinol Skin-Renewing Daily Micro-Dose Serum”
    • “faint lab smell — Kiehl's Better Screen UV Serum”
    • “smell is overpowering — Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate”
    • “Smell is too overpowering and lingering — Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel”

Neutrogena vs Kiehl's routines for dry skin

See multi-brand routine · 98% fit

Neutrogena vs Kiehl's routines for oily skin

See multi-brand routine · 97% fit

Neutrogena vs Kiehl's routines for combination skin

See multi-brand routine · 96% fit

Questions and answers

Neutrogena or Kiehl's: which is better?

Neutrogena is generally better for acne-safe and gentle formulas as well as lightweight textures, whereas Kiehl's performs better for skin texture improvement and anti-aging. Both brands offer high routine fit levels for dry, oily, combination, sensitive, mature, and dark spot skin types on this page.

What is the difference between Neutrogena and Kiehl's?

Neutrogena is better for acne-safe and gentle formulas as well as lightweight textures, while Kiehl's is better for skin texture improvement and brightening. Both brands offer high routine fit levels for most skin types, but Neutrogena has better fit for acne-prone skin and Kiehl's is better for dry sensitive skin.

Neutrogena or Kiehl's for dry skin?

Both Neutrogena and Kiehl's offer a High routine fit for dry skin. The products on this page for both brands help provide deep hydration.

Neutrogena or Kiehl's: which cleanser is better?

Neutrogena is better for acne-safe and gentle formulas among the cleansers on this page, whereas Kiehl's is frequently noted for skin irritation. For dry sensitive skin, Lovi rates Neutrogena cleansers as High and Kiehl's cleansers as ranging from Caution to Superior.

Which is more affordable, Neutrogena or Kiehl's?

Neutrogena is more affordable, whereas Kiehl's is noted by reviewers for a high price point.

Neutrogena or Kiehl's for anti-aging and skin texture improvement?

Kiehl's does better for anti-aging and skin texture improvement according to the review themes on this page. Retinol is one of the key ingredients found across the products to help address these skin concerns.

The Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 2000

Neutrogena or Kiehl's for dark spots and brightening?

For dark spots and brightening, Kiehl's is a strong choice as it is favored for brightening and fading dark spots, with products on this page like the Clearly Corrective Dark Spot Solution achieving high fit levels for skin with dark spots. Neutrogena also provides effective options for this concern, such as the Rapid Tone Repair Correcting Cream.

Which brand has fewer fragrance and scent issues, Neutrogena or Kiehl's?

Neutrogena has fewer fragrance and scent issues than Kiehl's, as reviewers sometimes note strong fragrance in Neutrogena products while Kiehl's faces more complaints about strong scents and irritation.

Neutrogena or Kiehl's for oily skin?

Both Neutrogena and Kiehl's offer products on this page that are a High fit for oily skin. Reviewers note that Neutrogena delivers a lightweight and non-greasy texture, while Kiehl's provides deep hydration.

Neutrogena or Kiehl's: which moisturizer is better?

Neutrogena is better for acne-prone skin, where the products on this page have an acne-safe fit, whereas Kiehl's is better for dry sensitive skin with a high fit. Both brands offer deeply hydrating moisturizers.

Neutrogena or Kiehl's for sensitive skin?

Neutrogena is a better fit for sensitive skin on this page, offering High routine fit compared to Kiehl's Average level. Reviewers indicate that Neutrogena products on this page have fewer eye and skin irritation issues than Kiehl's.

Neutrogena or Kiehl's: which sunscreen is better?

Both Neutrogena and Kiehl's offer sunscreens with good performance, but Neutrogena's Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunscreen and Clear Face Liquid Lotion Sunscreen achieve superior fit levels for a wider range of skin types on this page. Kiehl's Better Screen UV Serum also provides a high fit for skin with dark spots, combination skin, sensitive skin, acne-prone skin, and mature skin.

Neutrogena or Kiehl's for acne-prone skin?

Neutrogena is a better fit for acne-prone skin on this page, achieving a High routine fit compared to Kiehl's Average level. Reviewers state that Neutrogena offers more acne-safe and gentle formulas.

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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