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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 esteemed skincare brands that offer gentle cleansers, nourishing moisturizers, and targeted serums for various skin concerns. The French brand relies on thermal water, glycerin, and niacinamide to suit mature and dry skin, while the American brand utilizes squalane and glycerin to comfort mature and sensitive skin. Both houses provide effective solutions for acne-prone skin, dark spots, and aging concerns through distinct formulations. Ultimately, the former emphasizes mineral-rich hydration and brightening benefits, whereas the latter focuses on antioxidant support and barrier reinforcement.

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 · 99% fit

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

See multi-brand routine · 95% 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 choices, as they offer an equal routine fit across most skin types, though La Roche-Posay is rated as having a Superior fit for mature skin. Kiehl's performs better for texture improvement, brightening, and tint compatibility, while La Roche-Posay offers better 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 France in 1975, while Kiehl's started in the United States in 1851. Lovi rates La Roche-Posay as having a Superior routine fit for mature skin, whereas Kiehl's has a High fit for that skin type. Additionally, the products on this page for La Roche-Posay are more fragrance-free overall, with 21 of 35 listing no fragrance compared to 26 of 28 for Kiehl's.

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

Both La Roche-Posay and Kiehl's are good options for dry skin, offering a High routine fit on the products on this page. La Roche-Posay fits best for dry skin among its core skin types, while Kiehl's provides deep hydration.

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

La Roche-Posay and Kiehl's both offer cleansers with high fit levels for oily, combination, and acne-prone skin, while Kiehl's also features superior options like the Calendula Deep Cleansing Foaming Face Wash and Rare Earth Deep Pore Daily Cleanser.

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

La Roche-Posay is more affordable than Kiehl's, as value and pricing concerns are a negative review theme for both brands while La Roche-Posay does better on value and pricing.

Between La Roche-Posay and Kiehl's, which brand has more products formulated without added fragrance?

Between La Roche-Posay and Kiehl's, Kiehl's has more products on this page formulated without added fragrance, with 26 of 28 products listing no fragrance compared to 21 of 35 products for La Roche-Posay.

Which brand performs better for skin texture improvement and softness according to reviewers?

Kiehl's performs better for skin texture improvement and softness according to reviewers. Both brands offer high routine fit levels for dry, oily, and sensitive skin types.

La Roche-Posay or Kiehl's: which brand is better suited for mature skin?

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

The Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 2000

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

Both La Roche-Posay and Kiehl's are a High fit for oily skin on the products on this page. Reviewers note that Kiehl's provides lightweight, non-greasy moisturizers, while La Roche-Posay offers products like Anthelios that are a Superior fit for oily skin.

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

La Roche-Posay and Kiehl's both offer high routine fit levels for moisturizers across most skin types, with La Roche-Posay reaching a superior fit for mature skin. Reviewers note that both brands provide lightweight and hydrating moisturizers, though La Roche-Posay does better with value and pricing.

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

Both La Roche-Posay and Kiehl's fit sensitive skin with a High routine fit level on the products on this page. La Roche-Posay products feature key ingredients like glycerin and thermal water, while Kiehl's relies on ingredients such as glycerin and squalane to help soothe and hydrate sensitive areas.

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

La Roche-Posay Anthelios has 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. Kiehl's Better Screen UV Serum has a High fit level for skin with dark spots, combination skin, sensitive skin, acne-prone skin, and mature skin.

La Roche-Posay or Kiehl's for acne-prone skin?

Both La Roche-Posay and Kiehl's are a High fit for acne-prone skin on the products on this page. La Roche-Posay is owned by L'Oréal S.A. and features key ingredients like niacinamide and salicylic acid, while Kiehl's is also owned by L'Oréal S.A. and utilizes ingredients such as vitamin C and squalane.

The British Journal of Dermatology, 2002Antioxidants, 2021

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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