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La Roche-Posay vs Kiehl's

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

La Roche-Posay and Kiehl's are heritage beauty houses that formulate nourishing serums, rich moisturizers, and targeted eye products for diverse skin types. The French brand uses soothing thermal water, glycerin, and niacinamide to suit mature skin and skin with dark spots best, whereas the American brand relies on glycerin and squalane to support mature skin and combination skin. While both share a parent company and a dedication to barrier health, they differ in their signature ingredients and geographic roots.

La Roche-Posay is a French skincare brand founded in 1975 and owned by L'Oréal S.A. since 1989.

laroche-posay.com.aufr.wikipedia.org

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

Popular La Roche-Posay vs Kiehl's products

People Say

La Roche-PosayKiehl's
  • Texture Improvement and Skin Softness Mostly MentionedMostly Mentioned
    • “skin feels incredibly soft afterwards — Kiehl's Rare Earth Deep Pore Cleansing Masque”
    • “feels like nothing — Kiehl's Better Screen UV Serum”
    • “absorbs instantly without residue — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Oil-Free Gel Cream”
    • “lightweight and absorbs quickly — La Roche-Posay Mela B3 Serum”
  • Skin Sensitivity and Irritation Mostly MentionedMostly Mentioned
    • “Great retinol for beginners — La Roche-Posay Retinol B3 Serum”
    • “Only cream that doesn't sting — La Roche-Posay Toleriane Dermallergo Eye Cream”
    • “experienced zero irritation — Kiehl's Retinol Skin-Renewing Daily Micro-Dose Serum”
    • “works on dark skin — Kiehl's Better Screen UV Serum”
  • Hydration and Moisture Mostly MentionedMostly Mentioned
    • “absorbs instantly — La Roche-Posay Toleriane Double Repair Face Moisturizer”
    • “skin feels plump — La Roche-Posay Hyalu B5 Serum”
    • “Keeps skin moisturized for 24+ hours — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
    • “Feels like a drink of water — Kiehl's Hydro-Plumping Serum Concentrate”
  • Brightening and Dark Spots Sometimes 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 brighter — La Roche-Posay Mela B3 Serum”
  • Tint and Makeup Compatibility Rarely NotedSometimes Noted
    • “concealer glides on smoothly — Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado”
    • “no pilling — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
    • “no pilling — Kiehl's Better Screen UV Serum”
    • “makeup sits perfectly — La Roche-Posay Anthelios”
  • Value and Pricing Sometimes NotedMostly Mentioned
    • “expensive for the size — La Roche-Posay Hyalu B5 Serum”
    • “Too expensive for the size — La Roche-Posay Toleriane Dermallergo Eye Cream”
    • “Tube is tiny for the price — La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Gel B5”
    • “pricy daily staple — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
  • Texture and Pilling Issues Often MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “pills like crazy — La Roche-Posay Toleriane Double Repair Face Moisturizer”
    • “Very sticky — La Roche-Posay Pure Vitamin C10 Serum”
    • “hard to spread — Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado”
    • “too radiant for oily skin — Kiehl's Better Screen UV Serum”
  • Stinging and Adverse Reactions Sometimes NotedSometimes Noted
    • “burns my eyes — La Roche-Posay Anthelios”
    • “burned my face — La Roche-Posay Toleriane Double Repair Face Moisturizer”
    • “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”
  • Packaging and Design Issues Often MentionedRarely Noted
    • “dipping fingers is unsanitary — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
    • “Dropper doesn't reach bottom — Kiehl's Clearly Corrective™ Dark Spot Solution”
    • “pump stops working — La Roche-Posay Lipikar AP+M Triple Repair Moisturizing Cream”

La Roche-Posay vs Kiehl's routines for dry skin

See multi-brand routine · 98% fit

La Roche-Posay vs Kiehl's routines for oily skin

See multi-brand routine · 96% fit

La Roche-Posay vs Kiehl's routines for combination skin

See multi-brand routine · 95% fit

Questions and answers

La Roche-Posay or Kiehl's: which is better?

La Roche-Posay and Kiehl's are both great brands, with La Roche-Posay offering a Superior fit for mature skin while Kiehl's provides a High fit. Both brands achieve High fit levels for dry, oily, combination, sensitive, dark spots, dry sensitive, and oily acne-prone skin, though La Roche-Posay is also better for value and pricing.

What is the difference between La Roche-Posay and Kiehl's?

La Roche-Posay and Kiehl's are both owned by L'Oréal S.A., but La Roche-Posay was founded in 1975 in France while Kiehl's started in 1851 in the United States. La Roche-Posay achieves a Superior Lovi fit level for mature skin, whereas Kiehl's reaches a High fit level there. Additionally, La Roche-Posay features fragrance in 21 of its 35 products on this page, while Kiehl's includes fragrance in only 2 of its 28 products.

La Roche-Posay or Kiehl's for dry skin?

Both La Roche-Posay and Kiehl's achieve a High fit level for dry skin on this page, offering targeted hydration and barrier care. La Roche-Posay features key ingredients like glycerin and ceramides, which help maintain skin moisture.

La Roche-Posay or Kiehl's: which cleanser is better?

Both brands offer cleansers that fit different skin types well, but La Roche-Posay is better for value and pricing. Kiehl's is noted as better for texture improvement, skin softness, and brightening.

Which is more affordable, La Roche-Posay or Kiehl's?

La Roche-Posay is more affordable, as Kiehl's faces frequent concerns regarding a high price point.

La Roche-Posay or Kiehl's for dark spots?

Both La Roche-Posay and Kiehl's are good for skin with dark spots, as the routine fit for both brands is High. Niacinamide helps reduce cutaneous pigmentation and suppresses melanosome transfer.

The British Journal of Dermatology, 2002Antioxidants, 2021

La Roche-Posay or Kiehl's for oily skin?

Both La Roche-Posay and Kiehl's offer a High routine fit for oily skin. Reviewers note that both brands provide lightweight and hydrating moisturizers, though Kiehl's generally does better for texture improvement and skin softness.

La Roche-Posay or Kiehl's: which moisturizer is better?

Both La Roche-Posay and Kiehl's offer moisturizers with a High fit level for dry skin, and Lovi rates both brands as High for dry skin overall. La Roche-Posay's moisturizers help soothe sensitive skin and include key ingredients like glycerin and ceramides, while Kiehl's focuses on deep hydration with squalane and glycerin.

Dermatologic Therapy, 2022

La Roche-Posay or Kiehl's for sensitive skin?

Both La Roche-Posay and Kiehl's are great options, as Lovi rates the routine fit for sensitive skin as High for each brand. La Roche-Posay features key ingredients like glycerin and thermal water across the products on this page to help soothe dryness.

La Roche-Posay or Kiehl's: which sunscreen is better?

La Roche-Posay Anthelios achieves a Superior fit level for skin with dark spots, sensitive skin, combination skin, acne-prone skin, mature skin, and oily skin among the products on this page, whereas Kiehl's Better Screen UV Serum achieves a High fit level for those same skin types.

La Roche-Posay or Kiehl's for mature skin?

La Roche-Posay is a better fit for mature skin, achieving a Superior routine fit compared to Kiehl's High fit level. Both brands offer targeted products for this skin type, but La Roche-Posay features key ingredients like retinol which helps stimulate collagen accumulation in naturally aged human skin.

The Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 2000

La Roche-Posay or Kiehl's: which serum is better?

Both brands offer gentle and effective serums on this page. Kiehl's does better with texture improvement and dark spots, while La Roche-Posay provides more options that help with sensitive skin.

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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