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Neutrogena vs Kiehl's

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

Neutrogena and Kiehl's are American skincare brands known for their thoughtful arrays of moisturizers, sunscreens, cleansers, toners, serums, and eye products. The first brand relies on glycerin, hyaluronic acid, and dimethicone, while the second anchors its formulas in glycerin and squalane. Both brands suit mature skin, though the former best serves dry skin with ingredients like hyaluronic acid, and the latter best addresses skin with dark spots using squalane.

Neutrogena is an American skincare brand founded in 1930 and owned by Kimberly-Clark Corporation since 2026.

investor.kimberly-clark.comen.wikipedia.orginvestors.kenvue.com

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 Neutrogena and Kiehl's products; for every product of both brands, with a fit score for your own skin, use the Lovi app.

Popular Neutrogena vs Kiehl's products

People Say

NeutrogenaKiehl's
  • Deep and intense hydration Mostly MentionedMostly Mentioned
    • “Skin looked plumper and radiant — Neutrogena HYDRO BOOST WATER CREAM”
    • “Quenches dry skin instantly — Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hydrating Hydrogel Mask”
    • “Keeps skin moisturized for 24+ hours — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
    • “Feels like a drink of water — Kiehl's Hydro-Plumping Serum Concentrate”
  • Acne-safe and gentle formulas Mostly MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “leaves skin soft and balanced — Neutrogena Ultra Gentle Daily Cleanser”
    • “love that it has no scent — Neutrogena Ultra Gentle Daily Cleanser”
    • “calms my acne prone skin — Neutrogena Ultra Gentle Daily Cleanser”
    • “experienced zero irritation — Kiehl's Retinol Skin-Renewing Daily Micro-Dose Serum”
  • Lightweight and non-greasy texture Often MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “Absorbs instantly without sticky residue — Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel”
    • “absorbs instantly — Neutrogena COLLAGEN BANK Moisturizer”
    • “Absorbs into skin without residue. — Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hyaluronic Acid Serum”
    • “absorbs instantly without residue — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Oil-Free Gel Cream”
  • Makeup base and compatibility Sometimes NotedSometimes Noted
    • “Foundation glides right over it — Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel”
    • “Concealer doesn't cake or get stuck in crevices — Neutrogena Hydro Boost Eye Gel-Cream”
    • “concealer glides on smoothly — Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado”
    • “no pilling — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
  • Skin texture improvement and anti-aging Sometimes NotedOften Mentioned
    • “leaves skin feeling silky — Kiehl's Powerful-Strength Line-Reducing Concentrate”
    • “skin feels smoother — Kiehl's Retinol Skin-Renewing Daily Micro-Dose Serum”
    • “skin looked & felt smoother — Kiehl's Super Multi-Corrective Cream”
    • “Skin is looking smoother — Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle Repair Regenerating Cream”
  • Radiant glow and brightening Rarely 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”
    • “Gave me a glass-skin glow — Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hydrating Hydrogel Mask”
  • Price and quantity concerns Sometimes NotedMostly Mentioned
    • “Jar is too small for the price — Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel”
    • “Runs out quickly — Neutrogena HYDRO BOOST WATER CREAM”
    • “Tube is tiny for the cost — Neutrogena Hydro Boost Eye Gel-Cream”
    • “pricy daily staple — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
  • Packaging and design issues Often MentionedSometimes Noted
    • “dipping fingers is unsanitary — Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream”
    • “hard to spread — Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado”
    • “Dropper doesn't reach bottom — Kiehl's Clearly Corrective™ Dark Spot Solution”
    • “Kept sliding off my face — Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hydrating Hydrogel Mask”
  • Eye and skin irritation Often MentionedSometimes Noted
    • “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”
    • “left my face bright red — Kiehl's Rare Earth Deep Pore Cleansing Masque”
    • “burns my eyes terribly — Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunscreen”
  • Strong fragrance and scent issues Sometimes NotedRarely Noted
    • “smells clinical — Kiehl's Retinol Skin-Renewing Daily Micro-Dose Serum”
    • “faint lab smell — Kiehl's Better Screen UV Serum”
    • “smell is overpowering — Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate”
    • “Smell is too overpowering and lingering — Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel”

Neutrogena vs Kiehl's routines for dry skin

Buy Neutrogena routine · £135.42 · 87% fitBuy Kiehl's routine · £181.95 · 82% fitSee multi-brand routine · 99% fit

Neutrogena vs Kiehl's routines for oily skin

Buy Kiehl's routine · £283.08 · 83% fitBuy Neutrogena routine · £154.72 · 77% fitSee multi-brand routine · 97% fit

Neutrogena vs Kiehl's routines for combination skin

Buy Kiehl's routine · £285.07 · 84% fitBuy Neutrogena routine · £177.52 · 80% fitSee multi-brand routine · 96% fit

Questions and answers

Neutrogena or Kiehl's: which is better?

Neutrogena is better for acne-safe and gentle formulas as well as lightweight and non-greasy textures, while Kiehl's is better for skin texture improvement, anti-aging, radiant glow, and brightening. For dry sensitive skin, Kiehl's has a High Lovi fit level, whereas Neutrogena has an Average Lovi fit level. Both brands offer an equal level of routine fit for dry skin, oily skin, combination skin, sensitive skin, acne-prone skin, mature skin, skin with dark spots, and oily acne-prone skin.

What is the difference between Neutrogena and Kiehl's?

Neutrogena is best for dry, mature, and sensitive skin, while Kiehl's best fits skin with dark spots, mature skin, and combination skin. Lovi shows both brands offer High routine fit for most skin types, though Kiehl's reaches High for dry sensitive skin compared to Neutrogena's Average.

Neutrogena or Kiehl's for dry skin?

Both Neutrogena and Kiehl's achieve a High routine fit level for dry skin. Reviewers note that Neutrogena offers deeply hydrating and lightweight moisturizers, while Kiehl's provides deep hydration.

Neutrogena or Kiehl's: which cleanser is better?

Neutrogena is better for acne-safe and gentle cleansers among the products on this page, while Kiehl's is better for skin texture improvement and anti-aging. Lovi fit levels for cleansers vary by product.

Which is more affordable, Neutrogena or Kiehl's?

Neutrogena is more affordable, whereas Kiehl's features a high price point among the products on this page.

Between Neutrogena and Kiehl's, which brand offers better results for skin with dark spots?

Kiehl's offers better results for skin with dark spots, as the products on this page fit this concern best. Kiehl's is noted by reviewers for brightening and fading dark spots, and niacinamide helps reduce cutaneous pigmentation.

The British Journal of Dermatology, 2002

Which brand has more fragrance-free products, Neutrogena or Kiehl's?

Neutrogena has more fragrance-free products on this page, with 35 out of 39 products listing no fragrance compared to 26 out of 28 for Kiehl's.

Neutrogena or Kiehl's: which is better suited for mature skin?

Both Neutrogena and Kiehl's are well suited for mature skin, achieving a High fit level for this skin type. Kiehl's further excels in this category with products that help improve skin texture and target signs of aging.

The Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 2000

Neutrogena or Kiehl's for oily skin?

Neutrogena and Kiehl's both fit oily skin at a High level on this page. Reviewers report that the products on this page from both brands offer lightweight and non-greasy textures.

Neutrogena or Kiehl's: which moisturizer is better?

Neutrogena is better for budget-friendly hydration, offering deeply hydrating and lightweight moisturizers that reviewers mention frequently, whereas Kiehl's focuses on advanced corrective treatments and richer anti-aging creams. Lovi rates the routine fit for moisturizers across both brands as High for dry skin, mature skin, sensitive skin, and oily skin.

Neutrogena or Kiehl's for sensitive skin?

Both Neutrogena and Kiehl's achieve a High Lovi fit level for sensitive skin. Neutrogena is frequently noted by reviewers for acne-safe and gentle formulas, while Kiehl's offers a higher routine fit specifically for dry sensitive skin.

Neutrogena or Kiehl's: which sunscreen is better?

Both Neutrogena and Kiehl's offer sunscreens with High or Superior Lovi fit levels depending on the skin type on this page. Kiehl's Better Screen UV Serum has a High fit for skin with dark spots, sensitive skin, and acne-prone skin, while Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunscreen has a Superior fit for combination and sensitive skin.

Neutrogena or Kiehl's for acne-prone skin?

Both Neutrogena and Kiehl's achieve a High routine fit level for acne-prone skin on the products on this page. Reviewers note that Neutrogena offers better acne-safe and gentle formulas.

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

How does it fit your skin?

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