Murad Clarifying Cleanser for combination skin
Salicylic Acid
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
Camellia Oleifera Leaf Extract
Menthol
Silver Citrate
Average
- AverageCombination Skin Fit
- HighEffectiveness
- HighSafety
Works for combination skin; other cleansers fit it better.
This fit is calculated for the concerns frequently associated with combination skin: an oily T-zone, enlarged pores, and dry cheeks. 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 combination skin, as salicylic acid and urea work to cleanse pores and provide mild chemical exfoliation while maintaining hydration. Yeast amino acids, trehalose, and betaine further support skin barrier function and hydration, balancing the cleansing action.
- The formulation is safe for your combination skin, with soothing ingredients like betaine and trehalose present and no harsh or prohibited substances.
- This cleanser provides excellent cleansing due to sodium c14-16 olefin sulfonate and salicylic acid, effectively addressing oily shine.
How to apply
- Use this cleanser AM and PM as part of your daily routine. Start 3×/week and build up to daily use if your skin tolerates it well.
- Apply this cleanser as the very first step in your morning routine and right after your pre-cleanser in the evening.
- Gently massage a small amount of cleanser onto your skin using circular motions. Rinse thoroughly with lukewarm water.
- For the best results , apply the cleanser directly onto slightly damp skin to help lift away excess oil.
- Avoid the immediate eye area and do a patch test before your first use to check for any sensitivity.
People Say
★4.2Overall rating based on 5.0k+ reviewsThis gel cleanser is widely praised by users with oily and acne-prone skin for its ability to significantly reduce breakouts and control excess oil using encapsulated salicylic acid. While effective for deep cleaning, it is potent and frequently cited as drying or stripping, making it less suitable for sensitive or dry skin types without careful hydration. The summary is based on a very large amount of data and should be definitely taken into account.
Highlights
Clears acne effectively Mostly Mentioned
- “significantly decreased my breakouts”
- “bumps and acne are smoothing out”
- “kills all bacteria on face”
- “cleared up my chin acne”
Controls oil and shine Often Mentioned
- “dissolves excess oil”
- “skin doesn't feel as oily”
- “keeps my face matte”
- “controls shine for hours”
Deep clean feeling Often Mentioned
- “pores feel like they are breathing”
- “feels squeaky clean”
- “removes all grime”
- “leaves skin fresh”
Drying and stripping Often Mentioned
- “dried me out like a prune”
- “skin feeling tight and dry”
- “left face flaky and red”
- “stripped my moisture barrier”
Cooling sensation Sometimes Noted
- “tingly cooling sensation”
- “cools your face”
- “feels refreshing and minty”
- “nice cooling effect”
Lathers well Sometimes Noted
- “little goes a long way”
- “lathers up really well”
- “rich foam”
- “only need a pea size”
Causes purging/breakouts Sometimes Noted
- “caused breakouts and cystic acne”
- “purging phase never stopped”
- “made things worse at first”
- “gave me huge pimples”
High price point Sometimes Noted
- “expensive for a face wash”
- “waste of money”
- “price is steep”
- “not worth the cost”
Medicinal scent Rarely Noted
- “smells like pine-sol”
- “strong chemical smell”
- “medicinal scent”
- “scent is overpowering”
Packaging issues Rarely Noted
- “paint coming off tube”
- “leaks in the shower”
- “hard to get product out”
- “packaging peels off”
Sources: lovi.care, sephora.com, ulta.com, amazon.com, dermstore.com, murad.com, and more
Questions and answers
How well does Murad Clarifying Cleanser work for combination skin?
Murad Clarifying Cleanser works reasonably well for combination skin by offering moderate exfoliation and addressing oily shine while maintaining hydration. However, combination skin needs a cleanser that is exceptionally safe with no risk of irritation, effectively balances oil production and maintains hydration for oily shine, performs its cleansing function extremely well with high-quality ingredients, and poses no risks of unsuitability.
Which ingredients make this cleanser a good fit for combination skin?
Salicylic acid and urea make this cleanser a good fit for combination skin by clearing pores and providing mild exfoliation while maintaining hydration, and betaine and trehalose add soothing benefits to help balance the skin.
What does Salicylic Acid do for combination skin?
Salicylic acid helps clear clogged pores and balance oily areas while remaining gentle enough for dry spots on combination skin. It reduces breakouts and oiliness effectively with a low likelihood of irritation.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2024Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 2023
What does Cocamidopropyl Betaine do for combination skin?
Cocamidopropyl Betaine helps clean combination skin without stripping natural moisture, making it a gentle option for daily use. It is widely used in cleansers to lift away excess oil while keeping dry areas comfortable.
Where does this cleanser go in a skincare routine for combination skin?
This cleanser fits into both your morning and evening routines as the first cleansing step. Combination skin requires a cleanser that provides moderate exfoliation to clear pores and balance oily shine while maintaining hydration.
Can I use this cleanser with retinol, and in what order?
You can use this cleanser with retinol, but since it is an average fit for your combination skin, it may sometimes feel too drying when paired together. To help prevent irritation, use this cleanser on alternate nights or separate it from your retinol routine, and look for a product of this type that also includes extra barrier-supporting ingredients like ceramides and soothing plant extracts.
How often should I use this cleanser?
You can use this cleanser daily as part of your morning and evening routine to help manage oily shine on your combination skin. To keep combination skin balanced, this skin type needs a cleanser that provides gentle chemical exfoliation while supporting hydration and barrier function.
Can this cleanser clog pores, cause breakouts or purging for combination skin?
Yes, this cleanser may cause purging or breakouts for your combination skin, as reviewers report this moderately often. A product of this type needs gentle exfoliating ingredients and soothing hydrators to clear pores without stripping your skin.
Can I use this cleanser around the eyes or on my body?
This cleanser is not ideal for the thin skin around your eyes, where skin is particularly delicate, but it works fine for cleansing the body. Combination skin needs a product formulated with gentler surfactants and soothing ingredients when applied to sensitive areas to prevent irritation.
Is this cleanser fragrance-free and alcohol-free?
It has no drying alcohol and contains fragrance (limonene and parfum).
What the research says
A combination of Aloe barbadensis leaf extract and trimethylglycine in a 1:1 mass ratio synergistically increased aquaporin 3 expression by up to 380% in keratinocytes and safely improved skin hydration in healthy volunteers.
Molecules, 2024Sodium trehalose sulfate decreased transepidermal water loss and increased stratum corneum water content in participants with low stratum corneum water content when applied for 4 weeks compared to placebo.
Skin Research and Technology, 2024Soaps containing betaine caused the least skin irritation compared to other tested soaps in twenty-eight healthy subjects, though irritation did not decrease with increasing concentrations of betaine.
Skin Research and Technology, 2003Twice 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, 2024Cryotherapy 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, 2010A 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, 2020Treatment 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, 2024The cytotoxic effect of sodium lauryl sulphate on normal human keratinocytes was significantly decreased when combined with cocamidopropyl betaine, Tween 20, and Tween 80 at concentrations well below the critical micelle concentration.
Skin Pharmacology and Applied Skin Physiology, 2003Topical green tea extract significantly improved clinical symptoms, tear breakup times, and meibomian gland health compared to standard treatment in patients with dry eye and Meibomian Gland Dysfunction.
Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research, 2017Topical low-dose green tea extract reduces UVB-induced p53 expression and apoptosis in human skin keratinocytes compared to placebo.
Experimental Dermatology, 2009An anti-acne hydrogel containing Aloe barbadensis, Garcinia mangostana, and Camellia sinensis extracts showed superior antiacne and antiblotch activities compared to 1% clindamycin gel in sixty subjects with mild-moderate acne.
Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology, 2019Coadministration of 40% topical L-menthol with 10% trans-cinnamaldehyde reduced spontaneous pain intensity, neurogenic inflammation, primary and secondary mechanical hyperalgesia, and heat hyperalgesia, but not cold hyperalgesia, in 14 healthy volunteers.
The Journal of Pain, 2016Topical application of menthol-based cooling gel decreased intramuscular temperature by 1.9 °C and increased cutaneous blood flow by 0.3 ml/min in healthy males compared to placebo gel.
International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy, 2018Cooling skin temperature or applying topical menthol reduced histamine-induced itch intensity and flare diameters in healthy male volunteers.
Neuroscience Letters, 1995
Ingredients
Water, Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Urea, Yeast Amino Acids, Trehalose, Inositol, Taurine, Betaine, Methyl Gluceth-20, Ppg-26-Buteth-26, Peg-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Butylene Glycol, Cimicifuga Racemosa Root Extract, Camellia Oleifera Leaf Extract, Silver Citrate, Peg-150 Distearate, Menthol, Zea Mays Starch, Hydrolyzed Corn Starch, Hydrolyzed Corn Octenylsuccinate Starch, Glyceryl Stearate, Cocamidopropyl Dimethylamine, Polysorbate 80, Citric Acid, Disodium Edta, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol, Chlorphenesin, Limonene, Citrus Reticulata Oil Leaf Tangerine Oil Leaf, Citronella Oil, Lemon Peel Oil, Citrus Aurantifolia Oil, Lavandula Hybrida Oil, Citrus Nobilis Peel Oil Mandarin Orange Peel Oil, Prunus Armeniaca Kernel Oil Apricot Kernel Oil, Parfum, Salicylic Acid
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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PhD in computer science, 3x US patent holder, ex-Google, ex-Yandex
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Dr. Sofía Perea Pérez, MD, MSc
Medical Board
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Specialist dermatologist, MBBS, MD, IFAAD
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Dermatology MD
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Elina Nazarenko, MD
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Dermatology and diagnostic consultant
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Victoria Derkova, MS
Medical Board
Cosmetic chemist, cosmetic development technologist
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