e.l.f. Holy Hydration! Daily Cleanser for oily acne-prone skin

Sodium Hyaluronate
Ceramides
Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1
Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7
Glycerin
High
- AverageOily Skin Fit
- AverageEffectiveness
- ExcellentSafety
A great choice for oily acne-prone skin; a few cleansers 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 moderate suitability for your oily skin due to the humectant action of glycerin and sodium hyaluronate, though it lacks strong seboregulating ingredients to directly address your oiliness.
- The cleansing agents decyl glucoside and cocamidopropyl betaine effectively remove impurities without stripping your skin, providing general hydration and cleansing benefits.
- The product is safe for your oily skin, with no risks of irritation due to the absence of harsh ingredients and the inclusion of soothing ceramides and sodium hyaluronate.
How to apply
- Use this cleanser as part of your AM and PM routine. Start using it daily to help clear your breakouts.
- Apply this cleanser as the first step in the morning and right after your pre-cleanser in the evening. Follow it with your toner and moisturizer.
- Gently massage a small amount of the cleanser onto your face using circular motions. Rinse thoroughly with lukewarm water and pat dry.
- Apply the cleanser on slightly damp skin to help clean deeply and remove excess oil. This works best for oily skin types.
- Avoid the sensitive eye area during application. Do a patch test before your first use.
People Say
★4.7Overall rating based on 900+ reviewsThis gel-based cleanser is highly praised for its gentle, non-stripping formula that effectively removes makeup while leaving skin feeling soft and hydrated. While many users with sensitive skin find it suitable due to ingredients like hyaluronic acid and ceramides, a small number report experiencing stinging or disliking the distinct fragrance.
Highlights
Hydrating and softening Mostly Mentioned
- “Leaves skin feeling hydrated, soft and comfortable”
- “Makes my skin so soft and hydrated”
- “Skin feels smooth and has a beautiful glow”
Gentle and non-stripping Often Mentioned
- “Never stripped my skin or made it feel tight”
- “Feels super gentle, takes off leftover makeup”
- “Cleans without over drying your skin”
Great value Often Mentioned
- “Simple, affordable, and great for everyday use”
- “Great product without costing a fortune”
- “For $6 you really can't go wrong”
Effective makeup remover Sometimes Noted
- “Effective at taking off all my makeup”
- “Removes makeup so well”
- “Does an amazing job of removing my (even waterproof) makeup”
Good for sensitive skin Sometimes Noted
- “Great for sensitive skin”
- “Works well for my sensitive and combination skin”
- “It didn't sting my skin which quite a lot of cleansers do”
Strong scent Sometimes Noted
- “Smells exactly like hair dye”
- “Fragrance is rather strong”
- “Scent is pretty overwhelming”
Irritation reported Rarely Noted
- “Sometimes it stings right here or here”
- “Experienced dryness and itching”
- “Caused burning for sensitive skin”
Not hydrating enough Rarely Noted
- “Experienced dryness”
- “Left skin feeling tight”
- “Not as rich as expected”
Packaging issues Rarely Noted
- “Package design is a point of frustration”
- “Hard to get product out”
- “Tube packing is decent since I prefer pump bottles”
Sources: lovi.care, walmart.com, influenster.com, target.com, ulta.com, reddit.com, and more
Questions and answers
What makes e.l.f. Holy Hydration! Daily Cleanser a great fit for oily acne-prone skin?
This cleanser is a great fit because its gentle cleansing agents lift away impurities while glycerin and sodium hyaluronate help keep your skin hydrated without feeling stripped. It is also very safe for your skin, as it leaves out harsh ingredients and includes soothing ceramides to help calm and protect your skin barrier.
Which ingredients make this cleanser a good fit for oily acne-prone skin?
Glycerin, sodium hyaluronate, and ceramides make this cleanser a great fit by providing gentle hydration and supporting the skin barrier without causing irritation. These ingredients help keep your skin feeling calm and smooth while effectively washing away impurities.
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
What do Ceramides do for oily acne-prone skin?
Ceramides help restore the protective barrier of oily, acne-prone skin, which often lacks these vital lipids and suffers from moisture loss and irritation. Using products with ceramides supports skin hydration, calms redness, and improves overall texture while managing breakouts.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2026Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2023
Where does this cleanser go in a skincare routine for oily acne-prone skin?
This cleanser is used in both the morning and evening routines as the first or second step to wash away dirt and oil. It removes impurities safely without drying out the skin, thanks to gentle cleansing ingredients and soothing ceramides.
Can I use this cleanser with retinol, and in what order?
Yes, you can use this cleanser with retinol by applying it as the first step to gently wash your face before putting on your retinol treatment. Using a gentle cleanser that contains soothing ceramides helps keep your skin calm and is unlikely to cause irritation while you use retinol.
Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 2023Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 2012
How often should I use this cleanser?
You can use this cleanser twice a day as part of your morning and evening routine. It gently washes away impurities without stripping your skin, and is unlikely to cause irritation.
Can this cleanser clog pores, cause breakouts or purging for oily acne-prone skin?
This cleanser is unlikely to clog pores or cause breakouts for oily acne-prone skin because it uses gentle cleansers that lift away dirt without stripping your skin. It also includes soothing ceramides and sodium hyaluronate to keep your skin calm and safe from irritation.
Can I use this cleanser around the eyes or on my body?
This cleanser is gentle enough to use on your body and around the eyes because its mild cleansing agents wash away impurities without stripping your skin. It is safe and unlikely to cause irritation due to the soothing ceramides and sodium hyaluronate.
Is this cleanser fragrance-free and alcohol-free?
It has no drying alcohol and contains fragrance (parfum).
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 Body Lotion for 5 weeks on cosmetic dry skin improved barrier properties, increased levels of cholesterol, ceramides, and long-chain fatty acids, increased beneficial skin bacteria, and enhanced microbiome functional potential compared to baseline.
Scientific Reports, 2022Topical 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, 2019A multi-modal methodology combining MALDI-MSI, in vivo RCM, echography, and histology revealed age-related decreases in extracellular matrix and epidermal-dermal junction proteins and undulation depth, while a blend of palmitoyl oligopeptide and palmitoyl tetrapeptide-7 improved subepidermal low-echogenic band thickness, density, and extracellular matrix structure compared to placebo.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2015Chronomodulated daytime application of baicalin and nighttime application of palmitoyl tripeptide-1 synergistically improved skin luminance by 16.29%, nasolabial fold depth by -36.35%, and firmness by 24.35% in 30 female participants.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2026Palmitoyl tetrapeptide-7, acetyl hexapeptide-8, palmitoyl tripeptide-1, and palmitoyl tetrapeptide-10 significantly increased type III collagen levels in human dermal fibroblasts following UV exposure, with their combination demonstrating a greater effect in vitro and enhancing type I, III, and IV collagen levels in ex vivo skin tissues compared to individual components.
International Journal of Cosmetic Science, 2026The 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, 2012
Ingredients
Water, Decyl Glucoside, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Glycerin, Sodium Chloride, Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1, Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7, Ceramide Np, Ceramide Ap, Ceramide Eop, Sodium Hyaluronate, Parfum, Phenoxyethanol, Propanediol, Xanthan Gum, Acrylates Beheneth-25 Methacrylate Copolymer, Hydroxyacetophenone, 1,2-Hexanediol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Caprylhydroxamic Acid, Disodium Edta, Citric Acid, Tromethamine, Butylene Glycol, Sodium Lauroyl Lactylate, Carbomer, Phytosphingosine, Cholesterol, Polysorbate 20
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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