La Roche-Posay Toleriane Sensitive Crème for oily acne-prone skin
Thermal Water
Niacinamide
Glycerin
Squalane
Ammonium Polyacryloyldimethyl Taurate
High
- AverageOily Skin Fit
- AverageEffectiveness
- ExcellentSafety
A great choice for oily acne-prone skin; a few moisturizers 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 oily skin as niacinamide helps regulate sebum and hydrate, while glycerin and squalane provide essential moisture and support barrier function. This combination addresses general hydration needs without targeting acne or excessive oiliness.
- The formula is safe for your oily skin, with no harsh ingredients and the inclusion of soothing agents like niacinamide and glycerin to prevent irritation.
- While it provides general skincare benefits, it lacks targeted ingredients like salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide to effectively manage your acne, blemishes, and breakouts.
How to apply
- Use this AM and PM routine every day to help clear your skin. Always remember to finish with SPF in the morning.
- Apply the moisturizer after your cleanser and toner, right before your SPF during the day.
- Gently press a small amount into your skin and avoid rubbing to keep pores clear.
- Apply on clean, slightly damp skin to help the product absorb better and control oil.
- Avoid the sensitive eye area and do a simple patch test before your first use.
People Say
★4.4Overall rating based on 800+ reviewsUsers with sensitive, reactive, and combination skin widely praise this moisturizer for its ability to instantly soothe irritation, reduce redness, and alleviate tightness without clogging pores. While the lightweight, fragrance-free formula is celebrated for restoring the skin barrier and sitting well under makeup, some users with extremely dry skin find it insufficiently hydrating, often suggesting the "Riche" version instead.
Highlights
Lightweight texture Mostly Mentioned
- “Absorbs quickly without grease”
- “Light and airy on skin”
- “Non-sticky and leaves no residue”
- “Perfect base under makeup”
Gentle & safe Often Mentioned
- “Safe enough for my baby”
- “Finally a cream that doesn't sting”
- “Completely fragrance and alcohol-free”
Soothing and calming Often Mentioned
- “Instantly calmed my stinging skin”
- “Redness disappeared within days”
- “Stopped the burning sensation immediately”
Price vs. quantity Often Mentioned
- “Tube is too small (40ml)”
- “Runs out in two weeks”
- “Expensive for the amount provided”
- “Wish it came in a larger size”
Restores skin barrier Sometimes Noted
- “Fixed my damaged skin barrier”
- “Skin feels less fragile now”
- “Helped repair over-exfoliated skin”
- “Skin feels plump and protected”
Not moisturizing enough Sometimes Noted
- “Skin felt dry again after an hour”
- “Not rich enough for winter”
- “Need to apply multiple layers”
- “Better for combo skin than dry”
Breakouts/reactions Rarely Noted
- “Caused small whiteheads”
- “Broke me out in cystic acne”
- “Stung my face upon application”
- “Caused a rash the next morning”
Packaging issues Rarely Noted
- “Pump stopped working halfway”
- “Hard to get the last bit out”
- “Tube feels half empty”
Sources: lovi.care, boots.com, superdrug.com, laroche-posay.co.uk, cocooncenter.co.uk, beautycrew.com.au, and more
Questions and answers
What makes La Roche-Posay Toleriane Sensitive Crème a great fit for oily acne-prone skin?
La Roche-Posay Toleriane Sensitive Crème is a great fit because niacinamide helps regulate oil while glycerin and squalane provide essential moisture without feeling heavy. Its gentle formula is safe and soothing for your skin, though it lacks targeted acne-fighting ingredients like salicylic acid.
Which ingredients make this cream a good fit for oily acne-prone skin?
Niacinamide, glycerin, and squalane make this cream a good fit by helping regulate oil, hydrate, and support the skin barrier without harsh ingredients. Niacinamide and glycerin may also soothe the skin to help prevent irritation.
What does Thermal Water do for oily acne-prone skin?
Thermal water helps calm oily, acne-prone skin by reducing dryness, stinging, and redness while improving overall skin comfort. It is useful as an extra step in your routine because it supports hydration and makes acne treatments more gentle on the skin.
The Medical Journal of Malaysia, 2024Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2007
What does Niacinamide do for oily acne-prone skin?
Niacinamide helps balance oil production, calms redness, and is unlikely to irritate oily, acne-prone skin while improving blemishes. Clinical tests show it reduces excess oil and helps clear up both inflammatory and non-inflammatory acne breakouts.
Journal of Cosmetic and Laser Therapy, 2006Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2024
Where does this cream go in a skincare routine for oily acne-prone skin?
This cream goes in the morning routine after your hydrating toner and before your sunscreen, and in the evening routine as your final step after any treatment. It is a great fit for your skin, as niacinamide helps balance oil while glycerin and squalane provide gentle moisture without clogging pores.
International Journal of Cosmetic Science, 2020Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology, 2017
Can I use this cream with retinol, and in what order?
You can use this cream with retinol by applying it either before or after your retinol treatment to help keep your skin calm and moisturized. Using a gentle moisturizer with ingredients like glycerin and squalane is unlikely to interfere with your treatment and may help reduce dryness or irritation.
How often should I use this cream?
You can use this cream daily in your morning and evening routines to keep your skin hydrated and calm. Consistent daily application helps maintain your skin barrier without clogging pores.
Health Science Reports, 2021Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology, 2017
Can this cream clog pores, cause breakouts or purging for oily acne-prone skin?
This cream is unlikely to cause breakouts or clog pores on oily acne-prone skin because it has a safe formula with no harsh ingredients and includes soothing agents like niacinamide and glycerin to prevent irritation. However, it lacks targeted blemish-fighting ingredients like salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide to actively manage acne.
Can I use this cream around the eyes or on my body?
You can use this cream safely on your body and around your eyes, as it is gentle and has a very good safety profile. However, because skin thickness varies across the body, the thin skin around your eyes and thicker skin on your body may absorb moisture and active ingredients differently.
Is this cream 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, 2017Balneotherapy with thermal water altered specific skin microbiota at genus and species levels in healthy female volunteers compared to tap water, which produced no significant microbiome changes.
Life, 2023Malaysian thermal spring water as an adjunct to standard acne therapy improved skin hydration, reduced dryness and stinging, enhanced overall tolerability, and improved the acne disability index in patients with mild to moderate acne.
The Medical Journal of Malaysia, 2024A 2% Sphingomonas xenophaga ferment extract cream applied twice daily for 4 weeks significantly decreased facial vascular disorder scores compared to vehicle in 86 Caucasian female subjects, alongside dose-dependent inhibition of pre-kallikrein activity in vitro.
International Journal of Cosmetic Science, 2025Topical post-laser application of human adipocyte-derived mesenchymal stem cell media combined with niacinamide significantly improved wrinkle index, melanin index, patient satisfaction, and investigator esthetic improvement scores compared to vehicle cream in patients with aging skin.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2021Topical nicotinamide prevented solar-simulated UV-induced immunosuppression in healthy volunteers, and men experienced immunosuppression at solar-simulated UV doses three times lower than those required for women.
The Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 2008Topical 5% niacinamide applied twice daily for 12 weeks reduced fine lines and wrinkles, hyperpigmented spots, red blotchiness, and skin sallowness, and improved skin elasticity compared to vehicle control in 50 female white subjects with facial photoaging.
Dermatologic Surgery, 2005The 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, 2012Squalane at 0.005-0.015% counteracts UVA-induced oxidative stress, inflammation, and collagen metabolism inhibition while stimulating fibroblast migration in human dermal fibroblasts.
Molecules, 2025Plant-derived squalane protected human dermal fibroblasts against UVA-induced damage by counteracting ROS formation, suppressing apoptosis-related proteins p53, caspase-3, caspase-9, and PARP, and restoring the pro-survival p-Akt/mTOR pathway.
Antioxidants, 2025
Ingredients
Water, Glycerin, Caprylic Capric Triglyceride, Propanediol, Pentylene Glycol, Niacinamide, Ammonium Polyacryloyldimethyl Taurate, Caprylyl Glycol, Citric Acid, Xanthan Gum, Squalane, Dimethicone, Zea Mays Corn Starch, Ceramide Np, Myristyl Myristate, Stearic Acid, Palmitic Acid, Capryloyl Glycine, Potassium Cetyl Phosphate, Sodium Hydroxide, Myristic 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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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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