Neutrogena clear face for combination skin
Avobenzone
Homosalate
OctisalateAverage
- HighCombination Skin Fit
- AverageEffectiveness
- HighSafety
Works for combination skin; other sunscreens 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
- Highly suitable for your combination skin due to Tocopheryl Acetate providing antioxidant activity and Silica offering mild mattifying effects, which are beneficial for your skin type.
- The product offers moderate UV protection with avobenzone and homosalate, addressing general skincare needs without targeting your oily shine specifically.
- The safety profile is excellent, with no risks of irritation for your combination skin due to the absence of prohibited or harsh ingredients.
How to apply
- Apply this sunscreen during your AM routine every single day. Make sure to reapply ⏱ every two hours if you stay outside.
- Apply this sunscreen as the very last step of your morning routine after your moisturizer. Allow your moisturizer to ⏳ sink in for a minute first.
- Smooth an even layer over your face and gently pat it into the skin without harsh rubbing. Be sure to cover all exposed areas thoroughly.
- For the best finish on your combination skin, apply the sunscreen on completely dry skin over your moisturizer. This helps control any oily shine throughout the day.
- Avoid getting the product directly into your eyes. Do a small patch test before your first full application.
People Say
★4.4Overall rating based on 5.5k+ reviewsBased on a very large amount of data, this sunscreen is highly recommended for oily and acne-prone skin due to its lightweight, non-comedogenic formula that prevents sunburn without causing breakouts. It generally provides a matte finish. However, a notable number of users with darker skin tones report a visible white cast, and some experience pilling when layering products.
Highlights
Lightweight and non-greasy Mostly Mentioned
- “feels very light”
- “absorbs quickly”
- “doesn't leave greasy residue”
Matte finish Often Mentioned
- “keeps me matte”
- “no greasy shine”
- “dries down matte”
No breakouts Often Mentioned
- “didn't break me out”
- “acne prone skin approved”
- “breakout free”
Good under makeup Sometimes Noted
- “works well under makeup”
- “layers really well”
- “great primer”
Eye irritation Sometimes Noted
- “burns my eyes”
- “stings if it runs”
- “eyes water bad”
Visible white cast Sometimes Noted
- “leaves a white layer”
- “giving ghost”
- “hard to blend in”
Pilling or flaking Rarely Noted
- “pilling up on face”
- “flakes off”
- “balls up”
Skin dryness Rarely Noted
- “dry patches accentuated”
- “felt tight”
- “not moisturizing enough”
Sources: lovi.care, target.com, neutrogena.com, ultabeauty.com, walmart.com, reddit.com, and more
Questions and answers
How well does Neutrogena Clear Face Sunscreen work for combination skin?
Neutrogena Clear Face Sunscreen works well for combination skin, providing moderate sun protection and gentle ingredients like silica and tocopheryl acetate that are unlikely to cause irritation. However, it does not target oily shine specifically, so sunscreens for this skin type need balancing ingredients that control oil and hydrate dry areas without clogging pores.
Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 2025Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications, 2021
Which ingredients make this sunscreen a good fit for combination skin?
Tocopheryl Acetate and Silica make this sunscreen a good fit by providing antioxidant activity and mild mattifying effects for your skin type. Chemical filters like avobenzone, homosalate, and octisalate are unlikely to cause irritation while offering sun protection. Sunscreens for combination skin need hydrating and soothing ingredients that balance the skin without making oily shine worse.
Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 2025Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications, 2021
What does Avobenzone do for combination skin?
Avobenzone helps protect combination skin from sun damage, but it is best used in a stable formulation because it can break down under sunlight. Encapsulating this ingredient or combining it with photostability boosters may reduce skin irritation and improve safety.
European Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2023Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology. B, Biology, 2015
What does Homosalate do for combination skin?
Homosalate helps protect combination skin from UV rays while generally being well tolerated without causing skin irritation. Chemical sunscreens containing this ingredient show a very low likelihood of causing redness or allergic reactions.
Where does this sunscreen go in a skincare routine for combination skin?
This sunscreen goes as the last step of your morning skincare routine, right after your moisturizer. It is unlikely to cause irritation on combination skin, but to better handle oily shine, this skin type needs a sunscreen with stronger oil-controlling ingredients.
Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 2025Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications, 2021
Can I use this sunscreen with retinol, and in what order?
You can use this sunscreen in the morning as the final step after your retinol routine and moisturizer. Because this product does not specifically target oily shine, combination skin of this type needs a formula with oil-controlling ingredients and lightweight hydration.
How often should I use this sunscreen?
You can use this sunscreen every morning as the final step of your daytime routine. Chemical sunscreens of this type are unlikely to cause irritation and provide reliable daily UV protection.
Can this sunscreen clog pores, cause breakouts or purging for combination skin?
This sunscreen is unlikely to clog pores or cause breakouts for your combination skin. It features tocopheryl acetate, which has been shown to have a low risk of causing blemishes, and contains no harsh or prohibited ingredients that typically trigger irritation. To best care for combination skin, a product of this type needs lightweight ingredients that balance oily shine while keeping dry areas comfortable.
Is this sunscreen fragrance-free and alcohol-free?
It has no drying alcohol and contains fragrance (benzyl alcohol).
What the research says
Dermatological products containing d-alpha tocopheryl acetate showed non-comedogenic potential with less than a 50% increase in microcomedones in 12 healthy male subjects compared to octyl palmitate.
Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications, 2021Encapsulating avobenzone in low-porosity TiO2-embedded mesoporous silica (TiO2/SBA-S) reduced cutaneous avobenzone absorption from 0.76 to 0.50 nmol/mg while providing effective pollutant adsorbability, UVA protection, and a two- to three-fold reduction in photoaged skin cytokines/chemokines compared to the non-treatment control.
European Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2023Chemical sunscreens containing avobenzone, octocrylene, homosalate, and octisalate showed no to minimal risks of dermal irritation, sensitization, photo-allergy, and photo-irritation in human subjects.
Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 2025Encapsulation of ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate and butyl methoxydibenzoylmethane in lipid microparticles significantly reduced their in vivo human skin penetration compared to nonencapsulated filters.
Skin Pharmacology and Physiology, 2011Microencapsulation of the BMDBM/HP-beta-CD complex in lipid microparticles significantly decreased the percutaneous penetration of the UV filter into the stratum corneum of human volunteers compared to the non-encapsulated sunscreen agent.
Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis, 2011Following human skin application of an O/W emulsion containing 2% BMDBM loaded in lipospheres, 15% of the sunscreen accumulated in the uppermost layers of the stratum corneum without remarkably modifying skin permeation compared to unencapsulated sunscreen.
Skin Pharmacology and Physiology, 2008Dermal application of a sunscreen containing 10% homosalate in four volunteers resulted in delayed elimination with terminal half-times around 24 h and a bioavailability of cis-homosalate a factor of 2 lower than trans-homosalate, while metabolite ratios supported using oral-route urinary excretion fractions for dermal exposure assessments.
Archives of Toxicology, 2024Homosalate exhibited the highest permeation among tested filters with a relative permeability rate of 4.2% and a depth of 60 um, and specific thickeners and emulsifiers successfully reduced its permeation without inhibiting the skin permeation of niacinamide.
Photodermatology, Photoimmunology & Photomedicine, 2026An online-SPE-LC-MS/MS method successfully quantified specific urinary homosalate metabolites for up to 96 hours after dermal sunscreen application in a volunteer and detected metabolites exclusively in three German pilot participants who had used sunscreen within five days.
Analytica Chimica Acta, 2021Simulated real-life dermal sunscreen exposure in twenty human volunteers leads to the systemic bioavailability and urinary excretion of the UV filter 2-ethylhexyl salicylate and its metabolite, reaching concentration peaks at 7 to 8 hours with 70-80% of overall excretion within 24 hours.
Archives of Toxicology, 2019The application of a sunscreen formulation containing ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate, ethylhexyl salicylate, methyl anthranilate, and octocrylene does not significantly affect critical acne-related species such as Cutibacterium acnes and Staphylococcus epidermidis, refuting the induction of facial dysbiosis in men.
Archives of Dermatological Research, 2024Controlled single dermal exposure to an EHS-containing sunscreen in three volunteers resulted in delayed systemic resorption with elimination half-lives between 6.6 and 9.7 hours, where the parent compound EHS occurred as the dominant urinary parameter.
Archives of Toxicology, 2024
Ingredients
Avobenzone, Homosalate, Octisalate, Octocrylene, Water, Silica, Styrene Acrylates Copolymer, Benzyl Alcohol, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Caprylyl Glycol, Dimethicone, Ethylhexylglycerin, Glyceryl Stearate, Peg-100 Stearate, Phenoxyethanol, Polyester-8, Sodium Polyacrylate, Steareth-21, Tocopheryl Acetate, Triethanolamine
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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Dr. Sofía Perea Pérez, MD, MSc
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Specialist dermatologist, MBBS, MD, IFAAD
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Elina Nazarenko, MD
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Victoria Derkova, MS
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Cosmetic chemist, cosmetic development technologist
How does it fit your skin?
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