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La Roche-Posay vs Kiehl's

Rated by Lovi · Unbiased, science-based skincare AI trained on real user outcomes · How the Fit score works

La Roche-Posay and Kiehl's are two esteemed skincare houses offering targeted daily care for diverse complexions. La Roche-Posay features comforting serums, moisturizers, cleansers, and eye products with glycerin, soothing thermal water, and brightening niacinamide, while Kiehl's provides a thoughtful array of moisturizers, serums, toners, and eye products anchored by nourishing glycerin and squalane. Both brands suit skin with dark spots and mature skin best through specialized formulations like Anthelios, Pure Vitamin C Cream, MELA B3 Facial Gel Cleanser, Calendula Herbal-Extract Toner, Calendula Deep Cleansing Foaming Face Wash, and Ultra Facial Toner. They primarily differ in their heritage and foundational ingredients, with the French brand utilizing mineral-rich thermal water and niacinamide alongside glycerin, and the American brand focusing its botanical-inspired approach on squalane and glycerin.

La Roche-Posay is a French skincare brand founded in 1975 and owned by L'Oréal S.A. since 1989.

laroche-posay.com.aufr.wikipedia.org

Kiehl's is an American skincare brand founded in 1851 and owned by L'Oréal S.A. since 2000.

loreal.comen.wikipedia.org

This page compares some of the most popular La Roche-Posay and Kiehl's products; for every product of both brands, with a fit score for your own skin, use the Lovi app.

Popular La Roche-Posay vs Kiehl's products

People Say

La Roche-PosayKiehl's
  • Texture Improvement and Skin Softness Mostly MentionedMostly Mentioned
    • “skin feels incredibly soft afterwards — Kiehl's Rare Earth Deep Pore Cleansing Masque”
    • “feels like nothing — Kiehl's Better Screen UV Serum”
    • “absorbs instantly without residue — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Oil-Free Gel Cream”
    • “lightweight and absorbs quickly — La Roche-Posay Mela B3 Serum”
  • Skin Sensitivity and Irritation Mostly MentionedMostly Mentioned
    • “Great retinol for beginners — La Roche-Posay Retinol B3 Serum”
    • “Only cream that doesn't sting — La Roche-Posay Toleriane Dermallergo Eye Cream”
    • “experienced zero irritation — Kiehl's Retinol Skin-Renewing Daily Micro-Dose Serum”
    • “works on dark skin — Kiehl's Better Screen UV Serum”
  • Hydration and Moisture Mostly MentionedMostly Mentioned
    • “absorbs instantly — La Roche-Posay Toleriane Double Repair Face Moisturizer”
    • “skin feels plump — La Roche-Posay Hyalu B5 Serum”
    • “Keeps skin moisturized for 24+ hours — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
    • “Feels like a drink of water — Kiehl's Hydro-Plumping Serum Concentrate”
  • Brightening and Dark Spots Sometimes NotedOften Mentioned
    • “Acne marks are gone — Kiehl's Clearly Corrective™ Dark Spot Solution”
    • “woke up glowing — Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate”
    • “Skin looks radiant — Kiehl's Clearly Corrective™ Dark Spot Solution”
    • “skin looks brighter — La Roche-Posay Mela B3 Serum”
  • Tint and Makeup Compatibility Rarely NotedSometimes Noted
    • “concealer glides on smoothly — Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado”
    • “no pilling — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
    • “no pilling — Kiehl's Better Screen UV Serum”
    • “makeup sits perfectly — La Roche-Posay Anthelios”
  • Value and Pricing Sometimes NotedMostly Mentioned
    • “expensive for the size — La Roche-Posay Hyalu B5 Serum”
    • “Too expensive for the size — La Roche-Posay Toleriane Dermallergo Eye Cream”
    • “Tube is tiny for the price — La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Gel B5”
    • “pricy daily staple — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
  • Texture and Pilling Issues Often MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “pills like crazy — La Roche-Posay Toleriane Double Repair Face Moisturizer”
    • “Very sticky — La Roche-Posay Pure Vitamin C10 Serum”
    • “hard to spread — Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado”
    • “too radiant for oily skin — Kiehl's Better Screen UV Serum”
  • Stinging and Adverse Reactions Sometimes NotedSometimes Noted
    • “burns my eyes — La Roche-Posay Anthelios”
    • “burned my face — La Roche-Posay Toleriane Double Repair Face Moisturizer”
    • “burned my face immediately — Kiehl's Rare Earth Deep Pore Cleansing Masque”
    • “stings my face and feels like burning — Kiehl's Super Multi-Corrective Cream”
  • Packaging and Design Issues Often MentionedRarely Noted
    • “dipping fingers is unsanitary — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
    • “Dropper doesn't reach bottom — Kiehl's Clearly Corrective™ Dark Spot Solution”
    • “pump stops working — La Roche-Posay Lipikar AP+M Triple Repair Moisturizing Cream”

La Roche-Posay vs Kiehl's routines for dry skin

Buy La Roche-Posay routine · £73.19 · 88% fitBuy Kiehl's routine · £181.95 · 82% fitSee multi-brand routine · 99% fit

La Roche-Posay vs Kiehl's routines for oily skin

Buy Kiehl's routine · £283.08 · 83% fitBuy La Roche-Posay routine · £164.76 · 81% fitSee multi-brand routine · 97% fit

La Roche-Posay vs Kiehl's routines for combination skin

Buy Kiehl's routine · £285.07 · 84% fitBuy La Roche-Posay routine · £181.95 · 83% fitSee multi-brand routine · 96% fit

Questions and answers

La Roche-Posay or Kiehl's: which is better?

La Roche-Posay and Kiehl's both fit all major skin types at a High level, but La Roche-Posay achieves a Superior fit level for skin with dark spots compared to Kiehl's High level. Reviewers mention that Kiehl's does better for texture improvement and brightening, while La Roche-Posay offers better value and pricing.

What is the difference between La Roche-Posay and Kiehl's?

La Roche-Posay and Kiehl's both offer high routine fit levels across major skin types, but Lovi rates La Roche-Posay as Superior for skin with dark spots compared to Kiehl's High. Reviewers note that Kiehl's does better with texture improvement and brightening, whereas La Roche-Posay offers better value and pricing.

La Roche-Posay or Kiehl's for dry skin?

Both La Roche-Posay and Kiehl's offer a High routine fit for dry skin. Reviewers find that both brands provide effective deep hydration and gentle moisturizers, though La Roche-Posay is generally viewed as better for value and pricing.

La Roche-Posay or Kiehl's: which cleanser is better?

Both brands offer cleansers that fit different skin types well, but La Roche-Posay achieves a Superior Lovi fit for sensitive skin with its Toleriane Hydrating Foaming Gel, whereas Kiehl's achieves a Superior Lovi fit for oily skin and oily acne-prone skin with its Calendula Deep Cleansing Foaming Face Wash. Reviewers mention that Kiehl's does better on texture improvement and skin softness, while La Roche-Posay does better on value and pricing.

Which is more affordable, La Roche-Posay or Kiehl's?

La Roche-Posay does better than Kiehl's on value and pricing, while Kiehl's has high price point concerns.

La Roche-Posay or Kiehl's: which brand is better for dark spots?

La Roche-Posay is better for dark spots, offering a Superior routine fit compared to Kiehl's High fit on this page. Ingredients like niacinamide help reduce cutaneous pigmentation and suppress melanosome transfer.

The British Journal of Dermatology, 2002

How do the fragrance options compare between La Roche-Posay and Kiehl's products?

La Roche-Posay offers more fragrance-free choices, as 21 of the 35 products on this page list no fragrance, whereas Kiehl's provides a higher proportion with 26 of 28 products listing no fragrance.

La Roche-Posay or Kiehl's: which brand performs better for texture improvement and skin softness?

Kiehl's performs better for texture improvement and skin softness according to reviewers on this page. Both brands offer high routine fit levels for various skin types, but Kiehl's is noted more favorably for texture and softness.

La Roche-Posay or Kiehl's for oily skin?

Both brands fit oily skin at a High level on the products on this page. Reviewers report that Kiehl's provides lightweight and non-greasy moisturizers, while La Roche-Posay offers gentle and effective serums.

La Roche-Posay or Kiehl's: which moisturizer is better?

Both La Roche-Posay and Kiehl's offer moisturizers with a High fit level for dry skin, and the products on this page help provide deep hydration. Niacinamide in these formulations helps reduce pigmentation, while sodium hyaluronate improves skin quality and signs of aging.

The British Journal of Dermatology, 2002Dermatologic Therapy, 2022

La Roche-Posay or Kiehl's for sensitive skin?

Both brands offer a High routine fit for sensitive skin, making them equally suitable choices. Reviewers also note that both brands perform equally well regarding skin sensitivity and irritation.

La Roche-Posay or Kiehl's: which sunscreen is better?

La Roche-Posay sunscreen is a Superior fit for skin with dark spots, sensitive skin, combination skin, acne-prone skin, mature skin, and oily skin, while Kiehl's sunscreen is a High fit for these types.

La Roche-Posay or Kiehl's for acne-prone skin?

Both La Roche-Posay and Kiehl's achieve a High routine fit level for acne-prone skin on the products on this page.

Research behind their key ingredients

Behind this comparison

Lovi compares products by their fit scores, calculated 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.

  • Nadia Kapleva, MS

    Nadia Kapleva, MS

    Co-founder, Medical Director

    Cosmetic chemist, cosmetologist, aesthetic products developer

  • Alexey Shagraev, PhD

    Alexey Shagraev, PhD

    Co-founder, CEO and CTO

    PhD in computer science, 3x US patent holder, ex-Google, ex-Yandex

  • Dr. Sofía Perea Pérez, MD, MSc

    Dr. Sofía Perea Pérez, MD, MSc

    Medical Board

    Aesthetic medicine practitioner, MSc in Longevity and Anti-Aging Medicine

  • Aishani Shah, MD

    Aishani Shah, MD

    Medical Board

    Specialist dermatologist, MBBS, MD, IFAAD

  • Asya Zubkova, MS

    Asya Zubkova, MS

    Medical Board

    Cosmetic chemist, SCS, IFSCC member

  • Hanna Kurets, MD

    Hanna Kurets, MD

    Medical Board, Medical Advisor

    Dermatology MD

  • Elina Nazarenko, MD

    Elina Nazarenko, MD

    Medical Board

    Dermatology and diagnostic consultant

  • Victoria Derkova, MS

    Victoria Derkova, MS

    Medical Board

    Cosmetic chemist, cosmetic development technologist

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