Dermalogica Multi Vitamin Thermafoliant for dry skin
Lactic Acid
Salicylic Acid
Retinol
Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate
Licorice Root ExtractAverage
- AverageDry Skin Fit
- AverageEffectiveness
- HighSafety
Works for dry skin; other products fit it better.
This fit is calculated for the concerns frequently associated with dry skin: flakiness, tightness, dehydration, fine lines, and wrinkles. 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 moderate exfoliation for your dry skin due to salicylic acid and lactic acid, which help smooth texture but do not fully address your primary concerns of dryness or flakiness.
- While the formula is safe for your dry skin and free of harsh irritants, it lacks sufficient emollient and humectant ingredients like hyaluronic acid or glycerin to adequately combat dryness.
- The product is safe for your dry skin as it contains no prohibited or harsh ingredients that would cause irritation.
How to apply
- Use this exfoliant as part of your PM routine once a week, increasing slowly to twice a week if your dry skin tolerates it well. Always remember to apply SPF every morning to protect your newly smoothed skin.
- Apply the exfoliant after cleansing and toning, but always before your rich moisturizer.
- Gently press 2-3 drops of the exfoliant into your skin and let it absorb for a minute. Avoid rubbing to prevent any irritation on flaky areas.
- Apply the product directly to dry clean skin to ensure the best possible tolerance for your dry type. This helps address flaky patches without causing extra stress.
- Avoid the sensitive eye area and do a quick patch test before your very first use. Do not mix this with other strong acids or retinoids on the same night.
Questions and answers
How well does MultiVitamin Thermafoliant work for dry skin?
This exfoliant treatment offers moderate exfoliation for your dry skin to help smooth texture, but it does not fully address your primary concerns of dryness or flakiness. While it is safe and free of harsh irritants, it lacks sufficient moisture-locking ingredients to adequately combat dryness. An exfoliant for dry skin needs soothing, highly hydrating ingredients like hyaluronic acid, glycerin, ceramides, or niacinamide to nourish and support the skin barrier.
Which ingredients make this exfoliant a good fit for dry skin?
Salicylic acid and lactic acid help smooth texture for your dry skin, though this product does not fully address dryness or flakiness. Because it lacks sufficient soothing and hydrating ingredients like hyaluronic acid or glycerin to combat dryness, a product of this type needs rich moisturizers, ceramides, and barrier-supporting ingredients to truly fit dry skin.
What does Lactic Acid do for dry skin?
Lactic acid helps relieve dry skin by drawing in moisture and strengthening the skin's barrier so it stays soft and smooth. This ingredient gently sheds dead cells and supports natural moisturizing factors, making it very useful for improving rough or flaky areas.
International Journal of Dermatology, 2025Skin Research and Technology, 2013
What does Salicylic Acid do for dry skin?
Salicylic acid is generally not a good fit for dry skin, as it is meant to clear out pores and remove dead skin rather than hydrate. Because dry skin needs soothing and moisture rather than exfoliation, a product for dry skin needs nourishing ingredients like urea to lock in moisture and keep the skin soft.
Where does this exfoliant go in a skincare routine for dry skin?
This exfoliant treatment fits in an evening routine once a week for dry skin, though people who tolerate it well may carefully use it more often. While it helps smooth texture, this type of product needs extra moisture-attracting and soothing ingredients like hyaluronic acid or glycerin to properly care for dry skin.
Can I use this exfoliant with niacinamide, and in what order?
You can use this exfoliant with niacinamide, applying the exfoliant first on clean skin and following with niacinamide after it absorbs to help calm any potential irritation. This combination is generally safe when paired with a good moisturizer to keep dry skin comfortable and hydrated.
How often should I use this exfoliant?
Start by using this exfoliant once a week, and if your dry skin tolerates it well and sees good results, you may carefully use it more often. Because this product offers moderate texture smoothing but lacks enough hydrating and moisture-trapping ingredients to combat dryness, your routine for dry skin needs extra hydrating toners, rich moisturizers, and nourishing masks.
Can this exfoliant clog pores, cause breakouts or purging for dry skin?
This exfoliant is unlikely to clog pores or cause breakouts on dry skin, as it contains no heavy oils or pore-clogging ingredients. However, because it contains salicylic acid, lactic acid, and retinol, you may experience mild skin shedding or purging as dead skin cells clear away.
Is this exfoliant fragrance-free and alcohol-free?
It has no drying alcohol and contains fragrance (citronellol, eugenol, geraniol, linalool, and limonene).
What the research says
Application of a cream containing lactic acid 12% and pramoxine HCl 1% significantly improved skin dryness, hydration, and itch compared with a nontreated control in 24 women with a history of dry itchy skin.
Cutis, 2004Topical 12% ammonium lactate produced a significant sparing of epidermal and dermal atrophy induced by clobetasol propionate in human volunteers, without influencing the corticosteroid's bioavailability or antiinflammatory properties.
Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 1992A lactic acid/ceramide lotion significantly improved skin moisturization and desquamation compared to no treatment in women with dry, rough skin on the anterior shins.
The Journal of Clinical and Aesthetic Dermatology, 2020Cryotherapy with liquid nitrogen achieved a higher cure rate (39%) than salicylic acid (24%) and a wait-and-see approach (16%) for cutaneous warts at 13 weeks in primary care patients.
CMAJ, 2010A moisturizer containing licochalcone A, 1,2-decanediol, L-carnitine, and salicylic acid significantly reduced noninflammatory, inflammatory, and total acne lesion counts compared to a vehicle control in Thai patients during a 12-week maintenance phase.
BioMed Research International, 2020Treatment with 2% supramolecular salicylic acid hydrogel resulted in a regression and markedly improvement rate of 51.01% compared to 43.10% for Adapaline gel in patients with mild to moderate facial acne vulgaris, showing no significant difference in efficacy.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2024Topical 0.4% retinol significantly increased epidermal thickness, dermal vascularity, and extracellular matrix production by stimulating keratinocyte proliferation, endothelial cell proliferation, and fibroblast activation in naturally aged human skin compared to vehicle.
International Journal of Cosmetic Science, 2017Topical bakuchiol 0.5% applied twice daily compared with retinol 0.5% applied daily significantly decreased wrinkle surface area and hyperpigmentation with no statistical difference between the compounds in 44 patients over 12 weeks, while retinol users reported more facial skin scaling and stinging.
The British Journal of Dermatology, 2019Silicone particles encapsulating retinol increased its half-life by 9-fold and yielded 12-23% lower skin irritation in human subjects compared to Microsponge particles while maintaining biological activity.
Journal of Controlled Release, 2018Topical 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, 2022Combining 755 nm alexandrite laser with topical licorice gel significantly reduces terminal hair counts compared to alexandrite laser with placebo in women with idiopathic hirsutism.
Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2015Licochalcone A activated Nrf2 signaling, elevated cytoprotective enzymes, increased the reduced-to-oxidized glutathione ratio, and decreased reactive oxygen species in human fibroblasts and neutrophils, while a LicA-rich licorice extract lowered UVA-induced oxidative processes in vivo.
Experimental Dermatology, 2015Bioactive glycyrrhizic acid and oxymatrine ionic liquid self-assembled nanomicelles significantly promoted the transdermal permeation, subcutaneous retention, and anti-photoaging efficacy of palmitoyl pentapeptide-4 in cellular and animal models compared to unformulated peptide.
Advanced Science, 2025
Why other products fit dry skin better
Treatment with cross-linked hyaluronic acid-based microneedle patches combined with acetyl hexapeptide-8 or epidermal growth factor significantly improved wrinkles and skin hydration compared to the patch alone in Korean females over 29 days.
Annals of Dermatology, 2019A lipid mixture enriched by ceramide NP with fatty acids of diverse chain lengths significantly improved skin barrier recovery rate, stratum corneum integrity, and hydration compared to a vehicle cream in healthy adult male volunteers with corticosteroid-impaired skin.
Skin Pharmacology and Physiology, 2022
Ingredients
Peg-6, Sodium Bicarbonate, Magnesium Oxide, C20-40 Pareth-10, Silica, Salicylic Acid, Retinol, Lactic Acid, Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate, Hydrolyzed Opuntia Ficus Flower Extract, Tocopherol, Citric Acid, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Glycine Soja Seed Oil Soybean Seed Oil, Glycyrrhiza Glabra Root Extract Licorice Root Extract, Bixa Orellana Seed Oil, Carthamus Tinctorius Seed Oil, Lemon Peel Extract, Olive Peg-7 Esters Oil, Caprylic Capric Triglyceride, Citronellol, Eugenol, Geraniol, Linalool, Limonene, Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil Sunflower Seed Oil, Rosa Damascena Oil Flower, Clove Oil Leaf, Pelargonium Graveolens Oil, Citrus Medica Peel Oil Lemon Peel Oil, Rosewood Oil Wood
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.
-
Co-founder, Medical Director
Cosmetic chemist, cosmetologist, aesthetic products developer
-
Co-founder, CEO and CTO
PhD in computer science, 3x US patent holder, ex-Google, ex-Yandex
-
Dr. Sofía Perea Pérez, MD, MSc
Medical Board
Aesthetic medicine practitioner, MSc in Longevity and Anti-Aging Medicine
-
Medical Board
Specialist dermatologist, MBBS, MD, IFAAD
-
Medical Board
Cosmetic chemist, SCS, IFSCC member
-
Medical Board, Medical Advisor
Dermatology MD
-
Elina Nazarenko, MD
Medical Board
Dermatology and diagnostic consultant
-
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.