🇬🇧United Kingdom

Paula's Choice vs Dermalogica

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

Paula's Choice and Dermalogica are American skincare brands founded in 1995 and 1986, respectively. The former is known for serums, cleansers, moisturizers, toners, and more built around hyaluronic acid, glycerin, and vitamin c, while the latter is loved for its targeted serums, nourishing moisturizers, gentle cleansers, purifying masks, and more formulated with powerful ingredients like hyaluronic acid, glycerin, and salicylic acid. Both brands suit oily skin best, with the first also fitting acne-prone skin and the second suiting combination skin. They differ in their specific formulations, as glycerin significantly increased skin hydration and restored barrier function for the first brand, whereas salicylic acid reduces acne lesion counts and hyaluronic acid lengthens the effect of anti-wrinkle toxin for the latter.

Paula's Choice is an American skincare brand founded in 1995 and owned by Unilever since 2021.

unilever.comtracxn.com

Dermalogica is an American skincare brand founded in 1986 and owned by Unilever since 2015.

en.wikipedia.orgcosmeticsbusiness.com

This page compares some of the most popular Paula's Choice and Dermalogica products; for every product of both brands, with a fit score for your own skin, use the Lovi app.

Popular Paula's Choice vs Dermalogica products

People Say

Paula's ChoiceDermalogica
  • Improving skin texture and smoothness Mostly MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “skin becomes very smooth — Paula's Choice 1% Retinol Treatment”
    • “skin is insanely soft — Paula's Choice Weightless Body Treatment 2% BHA”
    • “skin never been this silky — Paula's Choice Skin-Smoothing Retinol Body Treatment”
    • “skin feels smooth as silk — Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant”
  • Fast absorption and lightweight feel Often MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “Absorbs quickly and leaves no greasy residue behind. — Paula's Choice Clear Oil-Free Moisturizer”
    • “watery consistency — Paula's Choice 10% Niacinamide Booster”
    • “blends seamlessly — Dermalogica Dynamic Skin Recovery SPF 50”
    • “feels like nothing — Dermalogica Active Moist”
  • Glow, radiance and brightening Often MentionedSometimes Noted
    • “visible glow — Paula's Choice C15 Super Booster”
    • “Discoloration almost gone — Paula's Choice 25% Vitamin C + Glutathione Clinical Serum”
    • “spots barely visible — Paula's Choice Skin-Smoothing Retinol Body Treatment”
    • “immediately brighter looking — Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant”
  • Unclogging pores and clearing acne Mostly MentionedRarely Noted
    • “cleared my bumps — Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant”
    • “Helped clear my cystic acne — Paula's Choice CLEAR Pore Normalizing Cleanser”
    • “pores look smaller — Paula's Choice 10% Niacinamide Booster”
    • “Brings out all the gunk — Dermalogica Blackhead Clearing Fizz Mask”
  • Deep hydration and moisturization Not notedMostly Mentioned
    • “Saved my dry skin — Dermalogica Super Rich Repair”
    • “super hydrating — Dermalogica Multivitamin Power Recovery Masque”
    • “skin feels hydrated — Dermalogica Intensive Moisture Balance”
  • Reduces redness and soothes skin Sometimes NotedSometimes Noted
    • “helps calm and nourish my skin — Dermalogica Stabilizing Repair Cream”
    • “The redness is better — Dermalogica Stabilizing Repair Cream”
    • “Calms redness — Dermalogica Super Rich Repair”
    • “calmed redness immediately — Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster”
  • High price and expensive size Often MentionedMostly Mentioned
    • “tiny tube — Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster”
    • “Sooooo expensive — Paula's Choice 25% Vitamin C + Glutathione Clinical Serum”
    • “expensive for body lotion — Paula's Choice Skin-Smoothing Retinol Body Treatment”
    • “hefty price tag — Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant”
  • Unpleasant smell or scent Often MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “smells like grain — Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster”
    • “smells like hot dog water — Paula's Choice C15 Super Booster”
    • “smells like puke — Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant”
    • “smells like medicine — Dermalogica Dynamic Skin Recovery SPF 50”
  • Purging, breakouts and skin reactions Sometimes NotedSometimes Noted
    • “Cystic acne flare-ups — Dermalogica Precleanse”
    • “Caused cystic acne — Dermalogica Super Rich Repair”
    • “gave me acne — Dermalogica Special Cleansing Gel”
    • “skin purged — Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant”
  • Packaging issues and leaks Sometimes NotedSometimes Noted
    • “dropper leaks — Paula's Choice C15 Super Booster”
    • “dropper can be unpredictable — Paula's Choice Pro-Collagen Multi-Peptide Booster”
    • “Leaky pump — Dermalogica Precleanse”
    • “pump dispenses too much — Dermalogica Special Cleansing Gel”

Paula's Choice vs Dermalogica routines for dry skin

Buy Dermalogica routine · £244.49 · 87% fitBuy Paula's Choice routine · £210.78 · 86% fitSee multi-brand routine · 99% fit

Paula's Choice vs Dermalogica routines for oily skin

Buy Paula's Choice routine · £280.77 · 92% fitBuy Dermalogica routine · £375.97 · 90% fitSee multi-brand routine · 97% fit

Paula's Choice vs Dermalogica routines for combination skin

Buy Paula's Choice routine · £235.40 · 90% fitBuy Dermalogica routine · £431.36 · 90% fitSee multi-brand routine · 96% fit

Questions and answers

Paula's Choice or Dermalogica: which is better?

Paula's Choice is better for acne-prone, mature, and sensitive skin as well as skin with dark spots, where Lovi rates its routine fit as Superior compared to Dermalogica's High fit. Both brands are equally matched for dry, oily, combination, and dry sensitive skin routines.

What is the difference between Paula's Choice and Dermalogica?

Paula's Choice is better for improving skin texture, brightening, unclogging pores, and clearing acne, whereas Dermalogica is better for deep hydration and reducing redness. Both brands offer fragrance-free products, but Paula's Choice has a superior fit for sensitive, acne-prone, mature skin, and skin with dark spots, while both brands tie for a superior fit on oily and combination skin.

Paula's Choice or Dermalogica for dry skin?

Both brands are a strong match for dry skin, with Lovi rating Paula's Choice High and Dermalogica High. Niacinamide helps control skin aging, while hyaluronic acid helps improve skin quality and signs of aging.

Antioxidants, 2021Dermatologic Therapy, 2022

Paula's Choice or Dermalogica: which cleanser is better?

Both Paula's Choice and Dermalogica offer cleansers with high effectiveness, though Paula's Choice is rated Superior for oily acne-prone skin, oily skin, acne-prone skin, and combination skin. Dermalogica also achieves a Superior fit for specific cleansers like the Daily Glycolic Cleanser and Clear Start Breakout Clearing Foaming Wash in oily acne-prone routines.

Which is more affordable, Paula's Choice or Dermalogica?

Both brands are noted by reviewers for having a high price point, so neither is clearly more affordable than the other.

Paula's Choice or Dermalogica for unclogging pores and clearing acne?

Paula's Choice does better than Dermalogica for unclogging pores and clearing acne. Lovi rates Paula's Choice as Superior for acne-prone skin, while Dermalogica is rated High.

Paula's Choice or Dermalogica for oily skin?

Both brands reach a Superior routine fit for oily skin. Paula's Choice helps improve skin texture and clear pores, while Dermalogica offers deep hydration and soothing moisturizers.

Paula's Choice or Dermalogica: which moisturizer is better?

Both Paula's Choice and Dermalogica offer effective moisturizers, with Dermalogica doing better for deep hydration and moisturization while Paula's Choice works well for smoothing texture. Lovi rates the routine fit for dry skin as High for both brands.

Paula's Choice or Dermalogica for sensitive skin?

Paula's Choice is better for sensitive skin, as Lovi rates its routine as Superior compared to Dermalogica's High. Lovi also rates Paula's Choice as Superior for sensitive skin, acne-prone skin, mature skin, and skin with dark spots, and its products list no fragrance in their ingredients.

Paula's Choice or Dermalogica: which sunscreen is better?

Both brands offer solid sunscreen options that work well across various skin types on this page. Lovi rates the Dermalogica Dynamic Skin Recovery SPF 50 as Superior for mature skin and High for dry, combination, oily, and sensitive skin, while the Paula's Choice Youth-Extending Daily Hydrating Fluid SPF 50 is rated High for dry, combination, and dry sensitive skin.

Paula's Choice or Dermalogica for acne-prone skin?

For acne-prone skin, Paula's Choice is a superior fit compared to Dermalogica. Paula's Choice excels at unclogging pores and clearing acne, and reviewers note its positive effects on skin texture.

Paula's Choice or Dermalogica for mature skin?

Paula's Choice is better for mature skin, achieving a Superior routine fit compared to Dermalogica's High level. Paula's Choice also does better in review themes for improving skin texture and boosting radiance.

Paula's Choice or Dermalogica for skin with dark spots?

Paula's Choice is better for skin with dark spots, as Lovi rates its routine as Superior compared to Dermalogica's High level. Niacinamide helps reduce cutaneous pigmentation, which is a key ingredient featured across these products.

The British Journal of Dermatology, 2002Antioxidants, 2021

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?

Scan your face, then any product: Lovi shows how well it fits you and what fits even better.

QR code: get the Lovi app
Download on theApp Store Get it onGoogle Play