Avène Cicalfate+ Restorative Protective Cream for acne-prone skin
Avène Thermal Spring Water
Zinc Oxide
Glycerin
Caprylic Capric Triglyceride
Beeswax
Average
- AverageCombination Skin Fit
- AverageEffectiveness
- HighSafety
Works for acne-prone skin; other moisturizers fit it better.
This fit is calculated for the concerns frequently associated with acne-prone skin: breakouts, blackheads, and post-acne marks. 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
- This product offers moderate moisturizing and barrier repair for your combination skin, as glycerin and zinc oxide hydrate and protect, though it lacks sufficient ingredients for optimal oil control on oily areas.
- It provides general skincare benefits like hydration and soothing for your acne, blemishes, and breakouts, with copper sulfate offering antimicrobial action.
- The safety profile is excellent, with no risks of irritation for your acne-prone skin due to the absence of prohibited or harsh ingredients.
How to apply
- Use your moisturizer twice a day in your AM and PM routines. Apply it daily to help keep breakouts under control.
- Apply after your cleanser and toner, and make sure to use your SPF right after in the morning.
- Gently spread a small amount of moisturizer over your face using soft motions. Let it absorb into the skin for a minute before getting dressed or applying makeup.
- Apply on slightly damp skin to help lock in extra moisture. This keeps your combination skin balanced without feeling heavy.
- Avoid the eye area and do a patch test before your first use. Stop using if you feel any irritation.
People Say
★4.1Overall rating based on 15.7k+ reviewsIt is also praised for its versatility in healing various skin concerns and its rich, protective texture. However, a significant number of recent reviews mention issues with the product separating into oil and water, and some users with oily or acne-prone skin report clogged pores.
Highlights
Soothes irritation Mostly Mentioned
- “Calmed my angry red skin overnight”
- “The only thing that doesn't sting my sensitive face”
- “Took the heat out of my sunburn.”
Repairs skin barrier Often Mentioned
- “Healed my over-exfoliated skin in days”
- “Saved my barrier after a bad reaction”
- “Restored my skin texture completely”
- “Magic for dry, cracking patches.”
Rich texture Often Mentioned
- “Thick but absorbs well eventually”
- “Creates a perfect seal for the night”
- “Love using this for slugging in winter”
- “Feels like a protective blanket on my face.”
Product separation Often Mentioned
- “Tube squirted water everywhere”
- “Separates into oil and solid chunks”
- “Have to shake it violently every time”
- “A watery mess despite being new.”
Versatile healing Sometimes Noted
- “Used it on my stitches and they healed beautifully”
- “Great for my baby's diaper rash”
- “Healed my chemical peel peeling faster”
- “Put it on a kitchen burn and it didn't blister.”
Causes breakouts Sometimes Noted
- “Woke up with tiny whiteheads all over”
- “Too heavy, caused deep cystic acne”
- “Triggered a bad breakout on my chin”
- “Not safe for fungal acne.”
Leaves white cast Sometimes Noted
- “Leaves a ghost-like cast”
- “Takes forever to rub in”
- “Looked pale and chalky after applying”
- “Can't wear this during the day due to the white cast.”
Packaging issues Rarely Noted
- “Tube cracked on the side”
- “Impossible to get the last bit out”
- “Metal tube splits and leaks product”
- “Cap broke off easily.”
Sources: lovi.care, amazon.com, aveneusa.com, dermstore.com, lovelyskin.com, ulta.com, and more
Questions and answers
How well does Avène Cicalfate+ Cream work for acne-prone skin?
This cream provides moderate moisture and helps soothe breakouts with glycerin and zinc oxide, though it lacks ingredients for oil control on oily areas. It has a very safe formula with no irritation risks, but an acne-prone skin type needs targeted ingredients that balance oil and hydrate without heavy textures.
Which ingredients make this cream a good fit for acne-prone skin?
Glycerin, zinc oxide, and copper sulfate make this cream a helpful fit for acne-prone skin by providing hydration, protection, and soothing action that calms breakouts. While it is very safe and gentle, this skin type also needs ingredients that offer stronger oil control.
What does Avène Thermal Spring Water do for acne-prone skin?
Avène Thermal Spring Water helps calm acne-prone skin by reducing dryness, stinging, pain, and itching when used alongside your regular acne treatments. It improves overall skin comfort and tolerability while keeping your face feeling soft and smooth.
The Medical Journal of Malaysia, 2024Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2007
What does Zinc Oxide do for acne-prone skin?
Zinc oxide helps calm acne-prone skin by reducing breakouts, redness, and the bacteria linked to pimples. Studies show that using it on your skin is generally safe and unlikely to cause irritation.
Where does this cream go in a skincare routine for acne-prone skin?
This cream goes as the moisturizer step in your morning routine, and as the final treatment or moisturizer step in your evening and weekly routines. It provides moderate hydration and a very safe routine fit, but acne-prone skin also needs ingredients that actively control oil and manage blemishes.
Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology, 2017Journal of Controlled Release, 2025
Can I use this cream with retinol, and in what order?
You can use this cream with retinol, applying it after your retinol treatment to help soothe your skin and protect your barrier. This type of skin needs a product that also provides oil control to balance oily areas.
How often should I use this cream?
You can use this moisturizing treatment daily to help keep your acne-prone skin hydrated and calm, though this skin type also needs ingredients for oil control.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2020Health Science Reports, 2021
Can this cream clog pores, cause breakouts or purging for acne-prone skin?
This cream may cause breakouts for acne-prone skin, as some reviewers report and the formula lacks sufficient ingredients for oil control on oily areas. However, it carries a very safe profile with no harsh ingredients to cause irritation, and this type of skin needs ingredients that provide oil control alongside hydration to prevent clogged pores.
Can I use this cream around the eyes or on my body?
You can use this moisturizing treatment safely around your eyes and on your body because it has a very safe formula with no harsh ingredients. To work best on acne-prone skin in those areas, a product needs gentle hydrators and oil-controlling ingredients.
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, 2017Biomimetic hyaluronic acid-stabilized zinc oxide nanoparticles selectively inhibited C. acnes, outperformed erythromycin in preclinical acne models, and safely reduced acne lesions and redness in a clinical trial.
Journal of Controlled Release, 2025A single application of a topical formulation containing copper sulfate pentahydrate and Hypericum perforatum effectively managed HSV-1 and HSV-2 lesions with lower odds of burning, stinging, acute pain, erythema, and vesiculation compared to topical 5% Acyclovir cream in adult patients.
Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 2012Balneotherapy 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 0.5% hyaluronic-ZnO nanogel applied twice daily reduced inflammatory-lesion counts by 58% at week four in human subjects compared to baseline without causing erythema.
Biomedicines, 2025Nels cream achieved a similar reduction in inflammatory and noninflammatory lesion counts compared to 5% benzoyl peroxide in acne vulgaris patients, but caused significantly fewer side-effects such as peeling and dryness.
Clinical and Experimental Dermatology, 2000Topically applied coated and uncoated zinc oxide nanoparticles under flexing and massage are retained in the stratum corneum with no significant penetration into the viable epidermis and no cellular toxicity in human skin.
Nanomedicine, 2016The 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 application of an emollient emulsion containing 15.0% caprylic/capric triglyceride doubled the amount of urocanic acid isomers and increased skin hydration with reduced transepidermal water loss in healthy subjects, though it did not prevent ultraviolet-induced urocanic acid isomerization.
Life, 2023Topical application of a honey, olive oil, and beeswax mixture three times daily for up to 4 weeks resulted in clinical responses in 86% of patients with pityriasis versicolor, 78% with tinea cruris, and 75% with tinea corporis.
Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 2004A prototype body cream containing bee venom, propolis, honey, beeswax, and royal jelly demonstrated stability for 90 days, high antioxidant capacity of 85.45%, lack of cytotoxicity with over 70% cell viability, and no irritation or allergic reaction in dermatological analysis, while improving skin parameters in a panel test.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2022MUD1 protected human dermal fibroblasts against AAPH-induced oxidative stress by increasing cell viability, reducing oxidative damage, improving mitochondrial functionality, and enhancing wound healing capacities.
International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 2018
Why other moisturizers fit acne-prone skin better
A panthenol-enriched mask improved skin hydration, regulated sebum, and reduced redness and TEWL across dry sensitive, oily sensitive, and oily acne skin subgroups with excellent tolerance and no adverse reactions.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2024Co-delivery of paeonol and madecassoside via nanoemulsions improved transdermal delivery, promoted barrier repair proteins, inhibited inflammatory cytokine secretion in cellular and 3D models, and reduced transepidermal water loss and acne in human facial skin compared to free components.
Molecules, 2023
Ingredients
Avene Thermal Spring Water Avene Aqua Avene Aqua, Caprylic Capric Triglyceride, Paraffinum Liquidum Mineral Oil, Glycerin, Hydrogenated Oil, Zinc Oxide, Propylene Glycol, Polyglyceryl-2 Sesquiisostearate, Peg-22 Dodecyl Glycol Copolymer, Aluminum Stearate, Aquaphilus Dolomiae Ferment Filtrate, Arginine, Beeswax Cera Alba Cera, Copper Sulfate, Magnesium Stearate, Magnesium Sulfate, Microcrystalline Wax Cera Microcristallina Wax Cera, Tromethamine, Zinc Sulfate
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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