COSRX AC Collection Calming Foam Cleanser for dry sensitive skin
Salicylic Acid
Centella Asiatica
Glycerin- Madecassic Acid
Lavandula Hybrida Oil
Low
- LowDry Skin Fit
- AverageEffectiveness
- ConcerningSafety
A weak match for dry sensitive skin; the cleansers alongside fit it better.
This fit is calculated for the concerns frequently associated with dry sensitive skin: flakiness, tightness, redness, fine lines, and wrinkles. 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 moderate exfoliation for your dry or flaky skin due to salicylic acid and madecassoside, which help decongest pores but may have a drying effect on your dry skin.
- The formula lacks deeply hydrating or emollient ingredients to counteract the potential dryness from salicylic acid, making it moderately unsuitable for your dry skin type.
How to apply
- Use your cleanser AM and PM every day to keep your face fresh. Start slowly once a day if your dry skin feels sensitive at first.
- Apply your cleanser first thing in your routine before any toner or moisturizer. Follow the usual steps for your AM or PM daily routine.
- Gently massage the cleanser onto your face using soft circular motions. Avoid harsh rubbing to protect your dry skin.
- Apply the cleanser to slightly damp skin to help it clean gently without stripping moisture. This method is very safe for sensitive and dry skin types.
- Rinse thoroughly with lukewarm water and avoid the delicate eye area. Always do a patch test before using the product for the first time.
People Say
★4.4Overall rating based on 600+ reviewsUsers with oily and acne-prone skin frequently praise this cleanser for its deep pore cleansing and breakout reduction. However, individuals with dry or sensitive skin often find it to be stripping and drying.
Highlights
Deep cleansing Mostly Mentioned
- “squeaky clean feel”
- “removes excess oil”
- “unclogs pores”
- “skin feels fresh”
Effective for acne Often Mentioned
- “clears active breakouts”
- “reduces redness”
- “helps back acne”
- “stopped random breakouts”
Drying finish Often Mentioned
- “skin feels tight”
- “stripping for dry skin”
- “drying after wash”
- “needs moisturizer immediately”
Rich lather Sometimes Noted
- “creamy foam texture”
- “lathers really well”
- “little goes a long way”
- “soft dense foam”
Soothing sensation Sometimes Noted
- “calms irritated skin”
- “cooling effect”
- “gentle on inflammation”
- “soothing ingredients”
Medicinal scent Sometimes Noted
- “strong herbal smell”
- “chemical scent”
- “smells like tea tree”
- “medicinal fragrance”
Potential irritation Rarely Noted
- “stung slightly”
- “caused redness”
- “mild purging”
- “tingling sensation”
Sources: lovi.care, iherb.com, yesstyle.com, reddit.com, sokoglam.com, amazon.com, and more
Questions and answers
Why is COSRX AC Collection Calming Foam Cleanser a weak match for dry sensitive skin?
This cleanser offers exfoliation that helps decongest pores, but it may have a drying effect on your dry skin. Because the formula lacks deeply hydrating or emollient ingredients to counteract that potential dryness, a product of this type needs rich hydrating and barrier-repairing ingredients like ceramides and hyaluronic acid to maintain moisture and protect dry skin.
Molecules, 2023Indian Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2016
Which ingredients make this cleanser a poor fit for dry sensitive skin?
Salicylic acid makes this cleanser a weak match for your dry sensitive skin because it may cause dryness. Because of this, a cleanser for this skin needs rich hydrating and barrier-repairing ingredients like ceramides and hyaluronic acid to maintain moisture and skin health.
What does Salicylic Acid do for dry sensitive skin?
Salicylic acid is generally a poor fit for dry, sensitive skin because it is designed to clear out pores by removing excess oil, which can easily leave dry skin irritated. A product of this type needs gentle exfoliating helpers paired with rich, soothing moisturizers and barrier-repairing ingredients to keep dry skin calm and comfortable.
What does Centella Asiatica do for dry sensitive skin?
Centella asiatica helps calm dry sensitive skin by improving moisture, reducing water loss, and soothing irritation. Using this ingredient helps repair the skin barrier and keeps the skin feeling soft and comfortable.
Indian Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2016Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2025
Where does this cleanser go in a skincare routine for dry sensitive skin?
This cleanser goes in your morning and evening routine as the first or second step to wash away dirt and makeup. Because this formula lacks deeply hydrating or softening ingredients to counteract potential dryness from salicylic acid, dry skin needs a gentle cleanser packed with rich moisturizers and soothing plant extracts instead.
Can I use this cleanser with retinol, and in what order?
You can use this cleanser with retinol, but it is unlikely to be a good fit since it may dry out your dry sensitive skin. A cleanser for this skin needs gentle hydrating ingredients and skin-softening moisturizers to prevent irritation.
How often should I use this cleanser?
This cleanser is a weak match for your dry sensitive skin because it contains salicylic acid, which may dry out your skin, and it lacks deep hydrators. A cleanser for this skin type needs to be very gentle, soap-free, and packed with rich moisturizers to keep the skin comfortable and hydrated. If you do use it, start by using it just once or twice a week to see how your skin reacts.
Can this cleanser clog pores, cause breakouts or purging for dry sensitive skin?
This cleanser is unlikely to clog pores since it contains salicylic acid to help decongest them, but it may cause dryness and irritation on your dry sensitive skin. A cleanser for this skin needs gentle, deeply hydrating and soothing ingredients like glycerin and Centella asiatica to keep skin soft and calm without stripping moisture.
Molecules, 2023Indian Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2016
Can I use this cleanser around the eyes or on my body?
This cleanser may be too drying for the thin skin around your eyes and is better suited for thicker body skin. A cleanser for dry skin needs extra hydrating and softening ingredients to keep skin comfortable.
Is this cleanser fragrance-free and alcohol-free?
It has no drying alcohol and contains fragrance (linalool and limonene).
What the research says
Co-delivery of paeonol and madecassoside via nanoemulsions improved transdermal delivery, promoted barrier repair proteins, inhibited inflammatory cytokine secretion in cellular and 3D models, and reduced transepidermal water loss and acne in human facial skin compared to free components.
Molecules, 2023Cosmetic formulations containing 5% Centella asiatica extract showed the best efficacy in improving skin moisture and decreasing transepidermal water loss, while also exhibiting antiinflammatory properties in 25 volunteers compared to baseline measurements.
Indian Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2016A 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, 2020Cryotherapy 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 application of 0.05% w/w ECa 233 gel reduced erythema index by 0.03 U and improved early crusting and general wound appearance compared to placebo in thirty individuals undergoing facial laser resurfacing.
Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 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, 2017Moisturizer 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, 2019The 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, 2001Niacinamide/glycerin body moisturizers provided better rapid and prolonged improvement of cosmetic xerosis through functional improvement of stratum corneum barrier function compared to no treatment and conventional moisturizers in female subjects.
Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 2012
Why other cleansers fit dry sensitive skin better
Phytosphingosine increased filaggrin metabolism and skin hydration in human skin by stimulating filaggrin biosynthesis and degradation leading to natural moisturizing factor formation.
Archives of Dermatological Research, 2017A cream containing panthenol, prebiotics, and probiotic lysate improved facial sensitive skin symptoms and skin barrier function in 110 participants over 28 days.
Skin Research and Technology, 2024A panthenol-enriched mask improved skin hydration, regulated sebum, and reduced redness and TEWL across dry sensitive, oily sensitive, and oily acne skin subgroups with excellent tolerance and no adverse reactions.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2024
Ingredients
Water, Glycerin, Stearic Acid, Myristic Acid, Peg-32, Potassium Hydroxide, Palmitic Acid, Lauric Acid, Glyceryl Stearate, Peg-100 Stearate, Lauramide Dea, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Lavandula Hybrida Oil, Pinus Sylvestris Oil Leaf, Potassium Cocoate, Salicylic Acid, Asiaticoside, Asiatic Acid, Madecassic Acid, Disodium Edta, Sodium Chloride, Arachidic Acid, Linalool, Oleic Acid, Limonene
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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