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Galderma Benzac AC 5 for oily skin

High

  • HighOily Skin Fit
  • HighEffectiveness
  • HighSafety

A great choice for oily skin; a few serums fit it even better.

This fit is calculated for the concerns frequently associated with oily skin: shine, enlarged pores, blackheads, and blemishes. 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

  • Highly suitable for your oily skin, the benzoyl peroxide effectively targets acne-causing bacteria and offers keratolytic action to reduce acne lesions and oily shine.
  • Glycerin provides essential humectant action, balancing the drying effects of benzoyl peroxide and ensuring your skin remains hydrated.
  • The formulation is safe for your skin, with no harsh ingredients or risks of irritation.

How to apply

  • Use this serum in your PM routine. Start by applying it 3 times a week and build up to daily use if your skin tolerates it well.
  • Apply the serum after cleansing and toning, but right before your moisturizer for the best results.
  • Gently press 2-3 drops of the serum into your skin. Let it absorb ⏱ for a minute before applying the next product.
  • Apply the serum on clean and dry skin since your skin is not sensitive and you want to target oily shine. This helps control excess oil throughout the night.
  • Avoid the delicate eye area and do a patch test before using the serum for the very first time.

People Say

★4.5Overall rating based on 200+ reviews

Users report this gel is highly effective at drying out active acne and reducing inflammation, often showing results within a few days. It is frequently noted to be drying and can cause peeling or irritation, making it best suited for oily or tolerant skin types rather than sensitive skin.

Highlights

  • Causes dryness Mostly Mentioned
    • “skin peeling off”
    • “left my skin dry”
    • “cheeks felt sandy/dry”
  • Clears acne fast Often Mentioned
    • “cleared completely in 1 week”
    • “drastically improves blemish overnight”
    • “pimple free within a week”
  • Bleaches fabrics Often Mentioned
    • “bleached my towel”
    • “ruined my pillowcases”
    • “orange stains on clothes”
  • Prevents breakouts Sometimes Noted
    • “stopped all my acne”
    • “keeps face feeling smooth”
    • “rarely get pimples now”
  • Reduces redness Sometimes Noted
    • “angry redness tones down”
    • “reduces size and swelling”
    • “flattened angry pimples”
  • Causes stinging Sometimes Noted
    • “burning redness and pain”
    • “face felt tight/stripped”
    • “itchy and burning”
  • Effective on body Rarely Noted
    • “excellent for back/chest”
    • “cleared acne on back”
    • “works on thicker skin”
  • Initial purging Rarely Noted
    • “worse before it got better”
    • “breaking out first 4 weeks”
    • “purging phase”

Sources: lovi.care, clicks.co.za, 1mg.com, chemistwarehouse.co.nz, acne.org, skinsort.com, and more

Questions and answers

What makes Benzac AC 5 a great fit for oily skin?

Benzac AC 5 is a great fit for oily skin because it uses benzoyl peroxide to target acne-causing bacteria and reduce oily shine while clearing breakouts. Glycerin is also included to balance out any dryness and keep your skin hydrated.

The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2020Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology, 2017

Which ingredients make this cream a good fit for oily skin?

Benzoyl peroxide makes this cream a good fit because it targets acne-causing bacteria and reduces oily shine, while glycerin helps balance dryness by keeping your skin hydrated. This product is safe for your skin, with no harsh ingredients or risks of irritation.

The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2020Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology, 2017

What does Benzoyl Peroxide do for oily skin?

Benzoyl peroxide helps clear up acne on oily skin by targeting multiple causes of breakouts, though it may occasionally cause irritation. When used in treatments, it significantly reduces both inflamed and uninflamed pimples.

The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2020American Journal of Clinical Dermatology, 2022

What does Glycerin do for oily skin?

Glycerin helps keep oily skin hydrated without feeling heavy and supports the skin barrier. Because this product is a weak fit for your skin, an ideal product of this type needs lightweight hydrators and ingredients that balance oil while protecting the skin.

The British Journal of Dermatology, 2008International Journal of Toxicology, 2019

Where does this cream go in a skincare routine for oily skin?

This treatment goes in the evening routine step, as treatments with active ingredients are placed in the PM for simplicity and extra safety around sun exposure. It is safe for oily skin, helping to target acne-causing bacteria and reduce oily shine while glycerin balances the drying effects to keep skin hydrated.

Can I use it with retinol, and in what order?

You can use this treatment in your evening routine, but apply it carefully with retinol to avoid dryness. Using them together helps target acne effectively, and pairing them with a hydrating moisturizer keeps your skin soft and balanced.

Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2024American Family Physician, 2012

How often should I use this cream?

Use this treatment in the evening. It helps clear acne and oily shine while glycerol balances drying effects, and it is safe with a low risk of irritation.

The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2020Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology, 2017

Can it clog pores, cause breakouts or purging for oily skin?

This treatment is unlikely to clog pores and helps clear breakouts on oily skin, though you may experience initial purging. It is also common for benzoyl peroxide to cause dryness, while glycerin helps keep your skin hydrated.

The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2020Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology, 2017

Is this cream fragrance-free and alcohol-free?

Yes, it has no fragrance and no drying alcohol.

What the research says

  • Topical benzoyl peroxide may improve acne more effectively than placebo or no treatment, while showing little to no difference compared with adapalene or clindamycin, but with an increased risk of treatment discontinuation due to adverse effects compared to placebo.

    The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2020
  • Preoperative treatment with benzoyl peroxide significantly decreases the bacterial skin load of Cutibacterium acnes in patients undergoing elective shoulder surgery from skin incision until wound closure compared to preparation with soap.

    Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery, 2021
  • A 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, 2017
  • Formulating octyl methoxycinnamate into hybrid solid lipid-silica nanoparticles produced stable particles with high encapsulation efficiency and a non-irritation profile suitable for topical UV protection.

    Heliyon, 2020
  • 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, 2024
  • Once-daily fixed-dose clindamycin phosphate 1.2%/benzoyl peroxide 3.1%/adapalene 0.15% gel achieved superior treatment success (52.5%) and greater reductions in inflammatory and noninflammatory lesions compared to vehicle (8.1%) and dyad component gels in participants with moderate-to-severe acne over 12 weeks.

    American Journal of Clinical Dermatology, 2022
  • Topical clindamycin phosphate 1.2%/adapalene 0.15%/benzoyl peroxide 3.1% gel achieved significantly greater treatment success and lesion reductions compared to vehicle in participants with moderate-to-severe acne.

    Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 2023
  • The 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, 2020
  • Ten 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, 2001
  • Niacinamide/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
  • A functional cosmetic cream containing bioactive materials from Streptomyces sp. T65 embedded in SBA-15 decreased skin roughness by 4.670% and increased skin brightness by 0.472% after 4 weeks of application, while demonstrating antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-aging, and whitening activities.

    Antioxidants, 2020
  • Film-forming formulations containing porous silica achieved skin permeation rates comparable to immediate release formulations while confirming prolonged drug availability and causing no skin irritation in healthy volunteers.

    European Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2017
  • Topical treatment with silica mud and microalgae extracts from the Blue Lagoon improved skin barrier function by inducing epidermal gene expression and reducing transepidermal water loss in healthy humans, while preventing skin aging markers in vitro.

    Experimental Dermatology, 2008
  • Treatment with a combination of propylene glycol, ethanol, water, and shampoo was found effective, easy to use, and cosmetically attractive with no observed side effects in patients with dandruff.

    Cutis, 1988
  • A moisturizer containing glycerol and propylene glycol reduced transepidermal water loss, decreased epidermal thickness, increased stratum corneum thickness, and reduced dermal inflammatory infiltrate compared to untreated disrupted skin in six healthy beagle dogs.

    Veterinary Dermatology, 2020

Ingredients

Benzoyl Peroxide 50 Mg G, Docusate Sodium, Disodium Edetate, Poloxamer 182, Carbomer 940, Propylene Glycol, Acrylates Copolymer, Glycerin, Silicon Dioxide, Sodium Hydroxide, Water

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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