The Ordinary Lactic Acid 5% + HA for oily acne-prone skin
Lactic Acid
Sodium Hyaluronate
Glycerin
Tasmannia Lanceolata Leaf Extract Fruit
Acacia Senegal Gum
High
- HighOily Skin Fit
- HighEffectiveness
- HighSafety
A great choice for oily acne-prone skin; a few products fit it even 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 high suitability for your oily skin and acne, blemishes, and breakouts due to lactic acid's keratolytic action and glycerin's humectant properties, which effectively manage excess sebum and hydration.
- Tasmannia lanceolata leaf extract further aids in calming inflammation, complementing the primary exfoliating benefits for your skin.
- The product is safe for your skin, with no risks of irritation due to the absence of harsh ingredients.
How to apply
- Use this exfoliant as part of your PM routine once a week to start, increasing frequency only if your skin tolerates it well.
- Apply the exfoliant after cleansing and toning, but before your final moisturizer step.
- Gently press 2-3 drops of the exfoliant into your skin and let it absorb for a minute.
- Apply the product directly onto clean, dry skin for the best results against breakouts.
- Avoid the sensitive eye area and always use a daily SPF since exfoliating makes skin more sensitive to the sun.
People Say
★4.6Overall rating based on 7.4k+ reviewsBased on a very large amount of data, users with dry, sensitive, or textured skin frequently praise this serum for its ability to gently exfoliate without compromising the moisture barrier. The majority of reviews report a noticeable improvement in skin smoothness and radiance, with many noting it effectively reduces flakiness and mild acne scars over time.
Highlights
Gentle exfoliation Mostly Mentioned
- “perfect for sensitive skin”
- “no irritation occurred”
- “mild yet effective”
- “great beginner acid”
Smoother texture Mostly Mentioned
- “bumps are gone”
- “skin feels soft”
- “glass skin effect”
- “texture improved significantly”
Brightens skin Often Mentioned
- “woke up glowing”
- “skin looks radiant”
- “faded dark spots”
- “evened skin tone”
Hydrating Sometimes Noted
- “didn't dry me out”
- “feels very moisturizing”
- “plumps the skin”
- “good for dry skin”
Unpleasant scent Sometimes Noted
- “smells like cabbage”
- “weird sour smell”
- “scent is off-putting”
- “smells like spoiled milk”
Caused breakouts Rarely Noted
- “caused small bumps”
- “broke me out”
- “experienced bad purging”
- “worsened my acne”
Sticky finish Rarely Noted
- “leaves sticky residue”
- “feels tacky afterwards”
- “takes time to absorb”
- “slightly sticky texture”
Too mild Rarely Noted
- “didn't see results”
- “too weak for me”
- “prefer the 10%”
- “results take time”
Sources: lovi.care, amazon.com, sephora.com, ulta.com, theordinary.com, brandclub.com, and more
Questions and answers
What makes The Ordinary Lactic Acid 5% + HA a great fit for oily acne-prone skin?
The Ordinary Lactic Acid 5% + HA is a great fit for oily acne-prone skin because lactic acid helps clear out excess oil while glycerin brings in hydration. Tasmannia lanceolata leaf extract also helps calm redness, and the formula is unlikely to cause irritation.
Which ingredients make this exfoliant a good fit for oily acne-prone skin?
Lactic acid, glycerin, and tasmannia lanceolata leaf extract make this exfoliant a great fit for your oily, acne-prone skin. Lactic acid helps manage excess oil, while glycerin keeps your skin hydrated and tasmannia lanceolata leaf extract calms inflammation.
What does Lactic Acid do for oily acne-prone skin?
Lactic acid helps oily acne-prone skin by gently clearing pores and reducing breakouts, which supports a smoother and clearer face. Using appropriate cosmetic acids helps calm red bumps and works well alongside acne treatments.
Der Hautarzt; Zeitschrift Fur Dermatologie, Venerologie, und Verwandte Gebiete, 2010Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology, 2023
What does Hyaluronic Acid do for oily acne-prone skin?
Hyaluronic acid helps calm oily acne-prone skin by reducing sebum production and lipid synthesis in sebaceous glands. It also supports skin barrier function and improves hydration while helping deliver treatments without causing irritation.
The Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 2017Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2022
Where does this exfoliant go in a skincare routine for oily acne-prone skin?
This exfoliant goes in your evening routine after cleansing and before moisturizing, starting once a week and slowly using it more often if your skin tolerates it well.
Can I use this exfoliant with retinol, and in what order?
You can use this exfoliant with retinol by applying them on separate nights or alternating days to help prevent irritation on oily acne-prone skin. Because both ingredients renew the skin surface, separating them keeps your skin calm and balanced.
How often should I use this exfoliant?
Start by using this exfoliant once a week in your evening routine, and if your skin feels comfortable and you see good results, you can carefully use it more often. The lactic acid helps manage excess oil and breakouts while keeping your skin hydrated and calm.
Can this exfoliant clog pores, cause breakouts or purging for oily acne-prone skin?
This exfoliant is a great fit for your oily, acne-prone skin and is unlikely to cause breakouts because it helps manage excess oil while keeping your skin calm. A very small number of reviewers have mentioned breakouts, but the formula has a strong safety profile with no harsh ingredients.
Is this exfoliant fragrance-free and alcohol-free?
Yes, it has no fragrance and no drying alcohol.
What the research says
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, 2017Application of a cream containing lactic acid 12% and pramoxine HCl 1% significantly improved skin dryness, hydration, and itch compared with a nontreated control in 24 women with a history of dry itchy skin.
Cutis, 2004Topical 12% ammonium lactate produced a significant sparing of epidermal and dermal atrophy induced by clobetasol propionate in human volunteers, without influencing the corticosteroid's bioavailability or antiinflammatory properties.
Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 1992A lactic acid/ceramide lotion significantly improved skin moisturization and desquamation compared to no treatment in women with dry, rough skin on the anterior shins.
The Journal of Clinical and Aesthetic Dermatology, 2020Topical application of 0.1% hyaluronic acid formulations of different molecular weights led to significant improvements in skin hydration and elasticity, with low-molecular-weight formulations also significantly reducing wrinkle depth in seventy-six female subjects compared to a vehicle control.
Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 2011Topical application of hyaluronic acid in conjunction with free gingival graft significantly reduced donor site postoperative pain until day 7 compared to normal saline, with no significant differences in graft dimensions or patient satisfaction.
Clinical Oral Investigations, 2022Treatment with a hyaluronic acid-containing mouth rinse or topical gel led to significant lesion reduction, pain relief, and normalization of lesion color in adult patients with minor recurrent aphthous stomatitis, with the gel formulation showing an earlier healing onset at 3 days.
BMC Oral Health, 2019The 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, 2001Niacinamide/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, 2012Topical Tasmannia lanceolata extract reduced skin roughness, increased firmness, dermal density, and thickness of stabilized stretch marks compared to placebo in 29 women over 8 weeks, alongside increased pro-collagen I, elastin, and TGF-beta concentrations in ex vivo human skin explants.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2021Acacia gum and carbopol hydrogel wound dressings containing gentamicin showed faster wound healing, well-developed fibroblasts, and blood capillaries compared to open wounds in swiss albino mice.
International Journal of Pharmaceutics, 2013Barley beta-glucan films formulated with sorbitol and acacia gum demonstrated suitable mechanical properties and stimulated in vitro keratinocytes growth.
International Journal of Pharmaceutics, 2023Gum arabic and beta-cyclodextrin microencapsulated peony seed oil emulsion protected against ultraviolet radiation by inhibiting reactive oxygen species generation, increasing cell viability from 54.75% to 92.69% in UVB-damaged HaCaT cells, and repairing 95.56% of UVB-damaged skin within 7 days in animal experiments through regulation of the NF-kappaB signaling pathway.
International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, 2026
Ingredients
Water, Lactic Acid, Glycerin, Pentylene Glycol, Propanediol, Sodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer, Tasmannia Lanceolata Leaf Extract Fruit, Acacia Senegal Gum, Xanthan Gum, Isoceteth-20, Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate, Sodium Hydroxide, Ethylhexylglycerin, 1,2-Hexanediol, Caprylyl Glycol
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
How does it fit your skin?
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