Dermalogica Retinol Clearing Oil for acne-prone skin

How to apply

Questions and answers

What the research says

• 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

• The use of a salicylic acid-based dermocosmetic significantly reduces the needed quantity of benzoyl peroxide without impacting efficacy in mild to moderate acne, and as maintenance post-benzoyl peroxide allows a significant reduction of acne relapse compared to vehicle.

  Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 2023

• A 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, 2020

• Clay 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, 2012

• Topical application of jojoba wax reduced LPS-induced secretion of IL-6, IL-8, and TNFα by approximately 30% and increased the synthesis of pro-collagen III and hyaluronic acid compared to untreated skin in an ex-vivo human skin organ culture model.

  Frontiers in Pharmacology, 2024

• Topical 0.4% retinol significantly increased epidermal thickness, dermal vascularity, and extracellular matrix production by stimulating keratinocyte proliferation, endothelial cell proliferation, and fibroblast activation in naturally aged human skin compared to vehicle.

  International Journal of Cosmetic Science, 2017

• Topical bakuchiol 0.5% applied twice daily compared with retinol 0.5% applied daily significantly decreased wrinkle surface area and hyperpigmentation with no statistical difference between the compounds in 44 patients over 12 weeks, while retinol users reported more facial skin scaling and stinging.

  The British Journal of Dermatology, 2019

• Silicone particles encapsulating retinol increased its half-life by 9-fold and yielded 12-23% lower skin irritation in human subjects compared to Microsponge particles while maintaining biological activity.

  Journal of Controlled Release, 2018

• Cryotherapy 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, 2010

• Treatment 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

• Topical 5% benzoyl peroxide plus salicylic acid achieved the greatest lesion reduction at early 2 to 4 week time points compared to benzoyl peroxide, clindamycin, and combination benzoyl peroxide/clindamycin, while 5% benzoyl peroxide plus salicylic acid and combination benzoyl peroxide/clindamycin showed similar efficacy at 10 to 12 weeks in acne patients.

  Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 2010

• Topical jojoba oil application in male mice decreased exercise-induced pro-inflammatory gene expression (Il-1b and Il-6 in soleus, Il-1b in gastrocnemius) compared to untreated exercised mice.

  Biomolecules, 2025

• Nanolipidgel formulations with argan or jojoba oil and humectants demonstrate good sensory attributes, instrumental properties, and moisturizing efficacy for cosmetic application.

  International Journal of Cosmetic Science, 2014

• Topical treatments containing rosehip extract may reduce the size and erythema of postsurgical scars through macrophage polarization and inflammatory cytokine inhibition, though current clinical evidence remains insufficient to recommend its routine use.

  Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2024

• Sunflower and rosehip oil nanoemulsions prepared with a mix of phospholipids and synthetic emulsifiers permeated intact skin to the dermis and showed a more prominent healing effect in a human organotypic skin explant culture wound model compared to nanoemulsions prepared only with phospholipids.

  Pharmaceutics, 2023

• A nanoemulsion containing 1 mg/mL kojic dipalmitate and 5% rosehip oil demonstrated high incorporation efficiency, suitable physicochemical stability, antioxidant and depigmenting efficacy close to 1 mM ascorbic acid, and no cytotoxicity at concentrations from 0.06% to 1% in vitro.

  Pharmaceutics, 2023

• A combination cream of stimu-tex AS and saccharide isomerate reduced erythema, increased skin capacitance, and reduced transepidermal water loss compared to placebo in 20 subjects after fractional CO2 laser procedure without causing serious adverse events.

  Lasers in Medical Science, 2025

• Topical application of an argan oil NLC-based hydrogel formulation increased skin hydration in healthy volunteers over a one-month period through a synergistic effect of NLC occlusion and argan oil hydration.

  International Journal of Nanomedicine, 2014

• Incorporating allantoin into argan oil enriched liposomes improved its accumulation in the dermis (~8.7μg/cm(2)) and permeation through the skin (~33μg/cm(2)) compared to conventional liposomes, water dispersion, and a commercial gel.

  International Journal of Pharmaceutics, 2016

Ingredients

Coconut Alkanes, Ppg-15 Stearyl Ether, Rosa Canina Oil Fruit, Jojoba Seed Oil, C13-15 Alkane, Coco-Caprylate Caprate, Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil, Salicylic Acid, Caprylic Capric Triglyceride, Isopropyl Lauroyl Sarcosinate, Retinyl Propionate, Butyl Avocadate, Phenylethyl Resorcinol, Tanacetum Annuum Oil Flower, Sclareolide, Triolein, Cetyl Alcohol, Hydroxymethoxyphenyl Decanone, Tocopherol, Bht, Propyl Gallate

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.