Erno Laszlo Pore Cleansing Clay Mask for oily acne-prone skin
Kaolin
Bentonite
Glycerin
Calamine
Hibiscus Sabdariffa Flower ExtractAverage
- SuperiorOily Skin Fit
- AverageEffectiveness
- ExcellentSafety
Works for oily acne-prone skin; other cleansing masks fit it better.
This fit is calculated for the concerns frequently associated with oily acne-prone skin: shine, breakouts, blemishes, and enlarged pores. 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 cleansing and oil absorption for your oily skin, with kaolin and bentonite effectively drawing out impurities and excess sebum, while saccharum officinarum extract and malic acid provide mild exfoliation.
- While beneficial for general oiliness, the formula lacks specific active ingredients to directly target and treat your acne, blemishes, and breakouts.
- The product is safe for your oily skin, featuring soothing ingredients like Rosa Damascena Flower Water and Portulaca Oleracea Extract with no risk of irritation.
How to apply
- Use your cleansing mask PM as part of your weekly routine. Start 1×/week and increase carefully if your oily skin tolerates it well.
- Apply this step after your enzyme powder and before your hydrating toner. Follow the standard weekly order to keep your skin balanced.
- Spread an even layer of the cleansing mask across your face while avoiding the eye area. Let it sit for the recommended time without rubbing .
- Apply the mask on clean and dry skin for the best purifying effect on your breakouts. Clean skin allows the formula to target blemishes directly.
- Always do a patch test before your first use to check for sensitivity. Avoid combining this mask with strong acids or retinoids in the same routine .
People Say
★4.6Overall rating based on 200+ reviewsUsers with combination and oily skin types frequently praise this mask for effectively detoxifying pores without the harsh, cracking sensation typical of other clay treatments. The majority of reviewers report immediate improvements in skin texture and softness, noting that the formula leaves the face feeling hydrated and refreshed rather than stripped or tight.
Highlights
Non-drying formula Mostly Mentioned
- “doesn't crack”
- “skin feels hydrated”
- “not stripping at all”
- “comfortable dry down”
Effective pore cleansing Often Mentioned
- “pores look smaller”
- “draws out oil”
- “blackheads reduced”
- “clean T-zone”
High price point Often Mentioned
- “very expensive”
- “pricey for size”
- “luxury price tag”
- “wait for sale”
Gentle on sensitive skin Sometimes Noted
- “no redness”
- “soothing”
- “calms breakouts”
- “gentle detox”
Pleasant rose scent Sometimes Noted
- “smells like roses”
- “spa-like scent”
- “light floral smell”
- “refreshing fragrance”
Smooth application Sometimes Noted
- “creamy texture”
- “glides on”
- “easy to rinse”
- “silky feel”
Small quantity Sometimes Noted
- “small tube”
- “finished quickly”
- “travel size appearance”
- “not enough product”
Average results Rarely Noted
- “nothing special”
- “average clay mask”
- “expected more”
- “pores looked same”
Stains fabrics Rarely Noted
- “stained my washcloth”
- “hard to wash out of towels”
- “use dark towels”
- “pink residue”
Strong fragrance Rarely Noted
- “perfume is too strong”
- “smell lingers”
- “fragrance irritated nose”
- “too floral”
Sources: lovi.care, amazon.com, sephora.my, walmart.com, lookfantastic.ie, influenster.com, and more
Questions and answers
How well does the Erno Laszlo Pore Cleansing Clay Mask work for oily acne-prone skin?
This mask works moderately well for your oily skin by absorbing excess oil and clearing impurities with kaolin and bentonite, but it lacks specific active ingredients to treat breakouts. For this skin type, a product needs effective ingredients like salicylic acid and niacinamide to directly address acne and blemishes while providing balanced oil control and clarity.
Which ingredients make this mask a good fit for oily acne-prone skin?
This mask is an average fit for your oily acne-prone skin because kaolin and bentonite absorb excess oil, while willow bark extract, malic acid, and other fruit acids help clear pores. To be a better fit for this skin type, a cleansing mask needs to include targeted acne-fighting ingredients like salicylic acid or niacinamide to help treat breakouts.
What does Kaolin Clay do for oily acne-prone skin?
Kaolin Clay helps oily and acne-prone skin by absorbing excess oil, clearing out pores, and keeping skin feeling smooth and calm. Using it regularly helps improve skin evenness and hydration while keeping dryness and irritation unlikely.
What does Bentonite Clay do for oily acne-prone skin?
Bentonite clay absorbs excess oil and impurities from oily acne-prone skin, which helps reduce breakouts and clear up blemishes. It also helps calm redness and leaves skin feeling smoother with regular use.
Skin Research and Technology, 2023Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2025
Where does this mask go in a skincare routine for oily acne-prone skin?
This cleansing mask goes in your weekly routine after the cleanser and enzyme powder, and before your hydrating toner and moisturizer. Oily acne-prone skin of this type also needs dedicated active ingredients to directly target and treat breakouts.
Can I use this mask with retinol, and in what order?
You can use this mask in your weekly routine, but keep it on separate days from your retinol to avoid overdoing it. Oily acne-prone skin needs a mask of this type that also brings specific blemish-fighting active ingredients and soothing agents to help clear breakouts while keeping the skin calm.
How often should I use this mask?
This cleansing mask is suitable for weekly use as part of your routine. This frequency helps clear excess oil and impurities without overwhelming your skin, while a product of this type for oily acne-prone skin also needs targeted active ingredients to effectively treat breakouts.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2025Cutaneous and Ocular Toxicology, 2025
Can this mask clog pores, cause breakouts or purging for oily acne-prone skin?
This mask is unlikely to clog pores or cause breakouts on oily skin, as it uses kaolin and bentonite clays to absorb excess oil and clear impurities. However, because the formula lacks specific ingredients to directly treat active blemishes, oily acne-prone skin needs targeted acne-fighting ingredients like salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide for better results.
Is this mask fragrance-free and alcohol-free?
It has no drying alcohol and contains fragrance (parfum).
What the research says
A bentonite-based facial mask with Alcea sulphurea extract combined with oral azithromycin significantly reduced total lesion count and acne severity index while enhancing patient satisfaction in patients with moderate acne compared to placebo plus azithromycin over 8 weeks.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2025Facial masks containing low-temperature extracted Portulaca oleracea protect sensitive skin from photothermal stimulation and improve skin barrier function during photorejuvenation.
Cutaneous and Ocular Toxicology, 2025Portulaca oleracea extract ameliorated skin barrier damage and inflammation induced by combined exposure to glycolic acid and UVB in HaCaT cells.
Cutaneous and Ocular Toxicology, 2022Vectorization of high molecular weight hyaluronic acid with clay enabled its penetration into deeper skin layers and led to a significant clinical reduction in fine lines in the crow's feet area compared to placebo after 28 days.
Skin Research and Technology, 2024Twice-weekly use of a clay mask over 4 weeks in 75 adults with oily or combination skin improved acne-related outcomes, sebum content, skin evenness, hydration, and reduced dryness and irritation.
Skin Research and Technology, 2023Clay jojoba oil facial masks reduced total skin lesions by a mean of 54% after 6 weeks in 133 participants with acne-prone, lesioned skin and mild acne compared to baseline.
Forschende Komplementarmedizin, 2012Quaternized carboxymethyl chitosan/organic montmorillonite nanocomposite demonstrated superior moisture-adsorption and retention compared to hyaluronic acid, good UV-protection ability, negligible dermal irritation, and prominent moisture-retention efficacy on human stratum corneum when formulated into a cosmetic cream.
Carbohydrate Polymers, 2017A novel water-in-oil emulsion with a lecithin-modified bentonite prevented epidermal degradation and inflammatory protein secretion induced by urban dust and cedar pollen more effectively than a conventional water-in-oil emulsion in a reconstructed human epidermis model.
International Journal of Cosmetic Science, 2020Bentonite nanoparticles and honey co-administration improved skin wound healing in BALB/c mice by reducing inflammatory cell infiltration and increasing fibroblastosis, new epithelium thickness, granulation area, and collagen density compared to the untreated control group.
The International Journal of Lower Extremity Wounds, 2025A 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, 2017The 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, 2001Topical 0.5% hyaluronic-ZnO nanogel applied twice daily reduced inflammatory-lesion counts by 58% at week four in human subjects compared to baseline without causing erythema.
Biomedicines, 2025Topical zinc oxide 20% ointment achieved a complete cure in 50% of patients with warts compared to 42% in the salicylic acid-lactic acid group, with no serious side-effects.
International Journal of Dermatology, 2007Hibiscus syriacus ethanolic extract stimulated fibronectin and collagen synthesis, fibroblast contractility, and wound healing activity in human skin cells and explants, while increasing skin hydration gene expression.
BioMed Research International, 2017Polydeoxyribonucleotide derived from Hibiscus sabdariffa callus at 5 μg/mL promoted wound healing and upregulated related genes and proteins in human keratinocytes.
Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, 2024Water extracts from Roselle leaves and callus cells exhibited different biochemical components, transcriptome profiles, and effects on human skin cells, with the callus extract demonstrating anti-melanogenic, skin barrier, and antioxidant activities, while the plant extract affected angiogenesis, oxidation-reduction, and glycolysis.
International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 2023
Why other cleansing masks fit oily acne-prone skin better
Two percent supramolecular salicylic acid showed similar efficacy to 0.01% adapalene plus 5% benzoyl peroxide in reducing acne lesions in 31 patients over 28 days.
Cutaneous and Ocular Toxicology, 2019Chemical peels with 30% supramolecular salicylic acid effectively treated acne and reduced facial sebum secretion while improving skin hydration and barrier function in 25 patients.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2022Treatment 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, 2024
Ingredients
Water, Calamine, Kaolin, Glycerin, Glyceryl Stearate, Bentonite, Pentylene Glycol, Montmorillonite, Caprylic Capric Triglyceride, Chondrus Crispus Extract, Polyacrylamide, Saccharum Officinarum Extract, C13-14 Isoparaffin, Xanthan Gum, Caprylyl Glycol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Laureth-7, Propylene Glycol, Butylene Glycol, Disodium Edta, Rosa Damascena Flower Water, Parfum, Red 4 Ci 14700, Malic Acid, Citric Acid, Ascorbic Acid, Hibiscus Sabdariffa Flower Extract, Red 33 Ci 17200, Tartaric Acid, Crataegus Monogyna Flower Extract, Sodium Benzoate, Origanum Vulgare Leaf Extract, Potassium Sorbate, 1,2-Hexanediol, Willow Bark Extract, Chamaecyparis Obtusa Leaf Extract, Viola Tricolor Extract, Octanediol, Portulaca Oleracea Extract, Scutellaria Baicalensis Root Extract, Lactobacillus Soybean Extract Ferment, Cinnamomum Cassia Bark Extract
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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