Dr. Barbara Sturm Enzyme Cleanser for oily skin
Sodium Lauroyl Glutamate
Ascorbic Acid
Subtilisin
Lipase
Cellulose
High
- HighOily Skin Fit
- HighEffectiveness
- ExcellentSafety
A great choice for oily skin; a few products fit it even better.
This fit is calculated for the concerns frequently associated with oily skin: shine, enlarged pores, blackheads, and blemishes. 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 excellent cleansing for your oily skin due to subtilisin and lipase, which effectively exfoliate and decongest pores by breaking down impurities and excess sebum.
- Ascorbic acid further aids in brightening and providing antioxidant benefits, complementing the enzymatic exfoliation for smoother, clearer skin.
- The formula is safe for your skin, with no reported irritation risks and the inclusion of soothing ingredients.
How to apply
- Use your enzyme powder cleanser as part of your AM or PM weekly routine. Start using it 1x per week and increase to daily use if your skin tolerates it well.
- Apply this enzyme powder cleanser in your routine after the regular cleanser and before the hydrating toner, serum, and moisturizer.
- Gently mix the enzyme powder cleanser with water in your hands to create a lather. Massage it softly over your face without rubbing .
- Apply the enzyme powder cleanser to clean, slightly damp skin for the best results .
- Avoid the sensitive eye area and do a patch test before your first use to ensure your skin is happy.
People Say
★4.7Overall rating based on 400+ reviewsThis powder cleanser is highly praised for its ability to provide a deep yet gentle exfoliation, leaving skin feeling exceptionally smooth and refined. It is particularly effective for oily and combination skin types, helping to balance sebum and clear pores. However, users with dry or sensitive skin should use it with caution as it can cause dryness or tightness if applied too frequently.
Highlights
Smoother skin texture Mostly Mentioned
- “skin texture is immediately more even”
- “face feels so smooth”
- “soft exfoliation”
- “leaves complexion soft and revitalized”
Gentle deep clean Often Mentioned
- “deep yet gentle cleanse”
- “pores breathing again”
- “clean but not stripped”
- “removes makeup and pollution”
Ideal for oily/combo skin Sometimes Noted
- “great for combination skin”
- “reduces excess oil”
- “helps eliminate breakouts”
- “perfect for oily types”
Long-lasting product Sometimes Noted
- “lasts almost 5 months”
- “a little goes a long way”
- “lasts a very long time”
- “good value despite price”
Travel-friendly format Sometimes Noted
- “practical for travel”
- “easy to pour into travel container”
- “lighter than liquid cleanser”
- “no liquid restrictions”
Drying for dry skin Sometimes Noted
- “face feels a bit tight”
- “can be quite drying”
- “use with caution if dry skin”
- “felt constricted”
High price point Sometimes Noted
- “definitely expensive”
- “luxury price range”
- “overpriced”
- “investment product”
Messy application Rarely Noted
- “powder can be messy”
- “hard to control amount”
- “spills easily if open”
Risk of irritation Rarely Noted
- “quite red after”
- “face exploded”
- “overkill for my face”
Unpleasant smell Rarely Noted
- “smells a bit weird”
- “medicinal kind of cream smell”
- “scent is a negative”
- “funky odor”
Sources: lovi.care, nordstrom.com, spacenk.com, influenster.com, bluemercury.com, cultbeauty.com, and more
Questions and answers
What makes Dr. Barbara Sturm Enzyme Cleanser a great fit for oily skin?
Dr. Barbara Sturm Enzyme Cleanser is a great fit for oily skin because the subtilisin and lipase in it effectively exfoliate and clear out pores by breaking down excess oil and impurities. Ascorbic acid also helps brighten and smooth your skin while offering antioxidant benefits, and the formula is safe with a low risk of irritation.
Which ingredients make this cleanser a good fit for oily skin?
Subtilisin and lipase make this cleanser a great fit for your oily skin by breaking down excess oil and impurities to clear out pores. Ascorbic acid also helps brighten your skin, while soothing ingredients make the formula safe and unlikely to cause irritation.
European Journal of Pharmaceutics and Biopharmaceutics, 2014
What does Sodium Lauroyl Glutamate do for oily skin?
Sodium lauroyl glutamate helps cleanse oily skin gently while keeping the skin barrier calm and comfortable. It causes minimal changes to skin oils compared to harsher cleansers, making it a very safe and low-irritation choice for daily use.
What does Vitamin C do for oily skin?
Vitamin C helps brighten skin tone and smooth texture while providing antioxidant protection that prevents sebum oxidation. For oily skin, this type of product typically needs to be paired with oil-controlling or pore-clearing ingredients like salicylic acid or plant extracts.
Where does this cleanser go in a skincare routine for oily skin?
This enzyme powder cleanser goes in your weekly routine, where exfoliating steps start at once a week and can be carefully used more often if your skin tolerates them well. For daily cleansing in the morning and evening, the routine uses a standard gentle cleanser.
Can I use this cleanser with retinol, and in what order?
You can use this enzyme powder cleanser alongside retinol by using the cleanser on your weekly routine day and avoiding retinol on that same evening to prevent irritation. Using exfoliating enzymes and retinol together can be too harsh, so alternating them keeps your skin calm and smooth.
How often should I use this cleanser?
Start by using this enzyme powder once a week in your weekly routine. If your oily skin tolerates it well and shows good results, you can carefully use it more often.
Can this cleanser clog pores, cause breakouts or purging for oily skin?
This cleanser is unlikely to clog pores or cause breakouts on oily skin, as it contains enzymes that effectively clear away excess oil and impurities. It does not cause purging since it removes dead skin rather than speeding up cell turnover deep beneath the surface.
Is this cleanser fragrance-free and alcohol-free?
Yes, it has no fragrance and no drying alcohol.
What the research says
A topical serum containing vitamin C, vitamin E, and raspberry leaf cell culture extract improved skin color, elasticity, radiance, smoothness, scaliness, and wrinkles compared to the untreated contralateral side in fifty female volunteers.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2020Bacterial cellulose membranes with and without glycerin showed good skin compatibility and no barrier disruption in human subjects compared to a negative control, with glycerin-containing membranes additionally providing a statistically significant skin moisturizing effect (p=0.044).
European Journal of Pharmaceutics and Biopharmaceutics, 2014Topical application of 5% vitamin C cream significantly improved global clinical scores, increased skin microrelief density, and induced elastic tissue repair in photoaged skin compared to excipient control in healthy female volunteers.
Experimental Dermatology, 2003Ascorbic acid 2-glucoside gel significantly reduced gingival melanin pigmentation after 4 weeks compared to placebo in 73 subjects with symmetric pigmentation.
Journal of Periodontology, 2009Topical application of VC-IP cream twice daily for 8 weeks reduces periorbital wrinkles in female subjects compared to a placebo cream.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2022Nanofibrillar cellulose dressing provides efficient wound healing comparable to polylactide-based copolymer dressings at skin graft donor sites in 24 patients, with significant improvements in observer scar thickness and vascularity and skin elasticity.
Advances in Wound Care, 2020AgNP-BC exhibited over 99% reduction in Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa with no cytotoxicity, allowing epidermal cell attachment and growth compared to unmodified bacterial cellulose.
Carbohydrate Polymers, 2014Cellulose acetate and soy protein hydrolysate nanofibrous dressings promote fibroblast proliferation in vitro and accelerate wound healing with reduced scar formation in vivo.
Advanced Healthcare Materials, 2018
Ingredients
Sodium Lauroyl Glutamate, Talc, Cellulose, Maltodextrin, Water, Xanthan Gum, Ascorbic Acid, Subtilisin, Lipase
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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