🇬🇧United Kingdom

La Roche-Posay Lipikar Balm AP+ for acne-prone skin

Average

  • AverageCombination Skin Fit
  • HighEffectiveness
  • ConcerningSafety

Works for acne-prone skin; other moisturizers fit it better.

This fit is calculated for the concerns frequently associated with acne-prone skin: breakouts, blackheads, and post-acne marks. 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 moisturizing for your combination skin due to shea butter and glycerin, which hydrate and enhance barrier resilience, but lacks targeted ingredients for your acne, blemishes, and breakouts.
  • While glycerin provides humectant action suitable for combination skin, the formula does not offer sufficient oil control for your oily areas.

How to apply

  • Use your moisturizer twice a day in your AM and PM routines. Apply it daily to help keep breakouts under control.
  • Apply after your cleanser and toner, and make sure to use your SPF right after in the morning.
  • Gently spread a small amount of moisturizer over your face using soft motions. Let it absorb into the skin for a minute before getting dressed or applying makeup.
  • Apply on slightly damp skin to help lock in extra moisture. This keeps your combination skin balanced without feeling heavy.
  • Avoid the eye area and do a patch test before your first use. Stop using if you feel any irritation.

People Say

★4.6Overall rating based on 4.8k+ reviews

Highlights

  • Deep hydration Mostly Mentioned
    • “keeps skin hydrated all day”
    • “healed my dry winter skin”
    • “moisture lasts 48 hours”
  • Defective pump design Mostly Mentioned
    • “pump stopped working halfway”
    • “have to cut the bottle open”
    • “wasteful packaging”
  • Gentle & unscented Sometimes Noted
    • “no stinging on broken skin”
    • “great for my baby”
    • “truly fragrance-free”
  • Restores skin barrier Sometimes Noted
    • “repaired my moisture barrier”
    • “skin feels stronger”
    • “less cracking and bleeding”
  • Greasy/sticky finish Sometimes Noted
    • “feels sticky for hours”
    • “too greasy for daytime”
    • “leaves a film on skin”
  • Causes breakouts (face) Rarely Noted
    • “gave me cystic acne”
    • “too heavy for my face”
    • “clogged my pores”
  • Thick consistency Rarely Noted
    • “hard to spread”
    • “too thick for the pump”
    • “takes work to rub in”

Sources: lovi.care, dermstore.com, cocooncenter.co.uk, ulta.com, target.com, lovelyskin.com, and more

Questions and answers

How well does La Roche-Posay Lipikar Balm AP+ work for acne-prone skin?

La Roche-Posay Lipikar Balm AP+ works reasonably well for acne-prone skin, though other products fit it better because this formula lacks targeted ingredients for blemishes and oil control. A moisturizer for this skin needs soothing extracts and ingredients that target breakouts while providing hydration without irritation.

Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology, 2017

Which ingredients make this cream a good fit for acne-prone skin?

Shea butter and glycerin make this cream a good fit by hydrating dry areas and keeping skin soft. Acne-prone skin needs a moisturizer with ingredients that target blemishes, control oil, and calm breakouts.

What does Shea Butter do for acne-prone skin?

Shea butter can feel quite heavy on acne-prone skin, as it is very rich and may clog pores and lead to breakouts. If you have acne-prone skin, a product of this type needs lightweight, non-clogging ingredients that hydrate without trapping oil.

What does Niacinamide do for acne-prone skin?

Niacinamide helps acne-prone skin by reducing both inflamed and uninflamed breakouts and calming redness. It is also very helpful for keeping oily skin balanced by cutting down on excess oil production, and it is well tolerated by most people.

Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2024Cureus, 2024

Where does it go in a skincare routine for acne-prone skin?

La Roche-Posay Lipikar Balm AP+ goes in your routine as your moisturizer, applied after your hydrating toner in the morning and after your treatment in the evening. While it provides good moisture with shea butter and glycerin, acne-prone skin needs a moisturizer that also offers oil control and targeted blemish-clearing ingredients.

Can I use this cream with retinol, and in what order?

You can use this cream alongside retinol, applying it after your retinol treatment to help soothe dryness and protect your skin barrier. Using a moisturizer alongside acne treatments like retinol or retinoids is unlikely to reduce their effectiveness and may help keep your skin comfortable and smooth.

Cutis, 2006The Journal of Dermatology, 2014

How often should I use it?

You can use this moisturizer twice a day, morning and night, to keep your skin hydrated and comfortable. Daily application helps maintain moisture and supports the skin barrier, though acne-prone skin also needs targeted ingredients for blemishes and oil control.

Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2020Health Science Reports, 2021

Can this cream clog pores, cause breakouts or purging for acne-prone skin?

This cream is unlikely to cause purging, but it may cause breakouts for acne-prone skin because it lacks targeted ingredients for blemishes and does not offer sufficient oil control for oily areas. A product for this skin needs oil-controlling ingredients and blemish-targeting actives to keep pores clear.

Can I use it around the eyes or on my body?

This moisturizer is safe to use on the body and around the eyes, though the skin there is much thinner than on other areas. It helps hydrate dry spots effectively, but an acne-prone skin type needs a product that also provides oil control and targeted blemish-fighting ingredients.

Surgical and Radiologic Anatomy, 2002

Is this cream fragrance-free and alcohol-free?

Yes, it has no fragrance and no drying alcohol. Cetearyl alcohol is a fatty alcohol, which soften the skin.

What the research says

  • A single application of a moisturizing fluid containing hyaluronic acid 1%, glycerin 5%, and Centella asiatica stem cells extract significantly increased skin hydration by 29% and reduced transepidermal water loss at 24 hours compared to baseline and an untreated control site in twenty healthy women.

    Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology, 2017
  • A combination cream of stimu-tex AS and saccharide isomerate reduced erythema, increased skin capacitance, and reduced transepidermal water loss compared to placebo in 20 subjects after fractional CO2 laser procedure without causing serious adverse events.

    Lasers in Medical Science, 2025
  • A skin barrier restoring cream with shea butter, silkflo, and vitamin E increased type I procollagen synthesis, enhanced antioxidant enzyme activity, decreased reactive oxygen species generation, and promoted hyaluronic acid production in H2O2-stimulated human keratinocyte cells compared to untreated cells.

    International Journal of Cosmetic Science, 2025
  • Topical post-laser application of human adipocyte-derived mesenchymal stem cell media combined with niacinamide significantly improved wrinkle index, melanin index, patient satisfaction, and investigator esthetic improvement scores compared to vehicle cream in patients with aging skin.

    Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2021
  • Topical nicotinamide prevented solar-simulated UV-induced immunosuppression in healthy volunteers, and men experienced immunosuppression at solar-simulated UV doses three times lower than those required for women.

    The Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 2008
  • Topical 5% niacinamide applied twice daily for 12 weeks reduced fine lines and wrinkles, hyperpigmented spots, red blotchiness, and skin sallowness, and improved skin elasticity compared to vehicle control in 50 female white subjects with facial photoaging.

    Dermatologic Surgery, 2005
  • Balneotherapy with thermal water altered specific skin microbiota at genus and species levels in healthy female volunteers compared to tap water, which produced no significant microbiome changes.

    Life, 2023
  • Malaysian thermal spring water as an adjunct to standard acne therapy improved skin hydration, reduced dryness and stinging, enhanced overall tolerability, and improved the acne disability index in patients with mild to moderate acne.

    The Medical Journal of Malaysia, 2024
  • A 2% Sphingomonas xenophaga ferment extract cream applied twice daily for 4 weeks significantly decreased facial vascular disorder scores compared to vehicle in 86 Caucasian female subjects, alongside dose-dependent inhibition of pre-kallikrein activity in vitro.

    International Journal of Cosmetic Science, 2025
  • The emollient V0034CR significantly reduced TEWL compared to vehicle and vehicle plus glycerol, and significantly increased corneometry scores compared to vehicle and vehicle plus petrolatum in healthy volunteers with dry skin, demonstrating combined barrier function improvement from petrolatum and hydration improvement from glycerol.

    Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2020
  • Ten days of treatment with a cream containing 20% glycerin significantly increased skin hydration measured by corneometer values in 17 healthy volunteers compared to a placebo cream, but showed no influence on transepidermal water loss or skin sensitivity to an irritating surfactant.

    International Journal of Cosmetic Science, 2001
  • Niacinamide/glycerin body moisturizers provided better rapid and prolonged improvement of cosmetic xerosis through functional improvement of stratum corneum barrier function compared to no treatment and conventional moisturizers in female subjects.

    Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 2012
  • Wearing an N95 mask alone compared to using dimethicone cream or hydrocolloid dressing caused more adverse skin reactions among 73 military health care workers, with no significant differences in fit test failure rates between groups.

    Military Medicine, 2024
  • A dimethicone skin protectant lotion significantly decreased visual scoring and transepidermal water loss compared to vehicle control and SLS-only treated sites in 12 healthy humans exposed to sodium lauryl sulfate.

    Skin Research and Technology, 2000
  • Treatment with a moisturizer containing dimethicone and glycerine increased epidermal thickness by 0.019 mm, improved barrier function by decreasing transepidermal water loss by 13%, decreased melanin intensity, and induced keratins 6 and 16 in fifteen women with moderately photoaged forearms.

    Clinical and Experimental Dermatology, 2007

Why other moisturizers fit acne-prone skin better

Ingredients

Water, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Shea Butter, Glycerin, Dimethicone, Niacinamide, Cetearyl Alcohol, Brassica Campestris Seed Oil, Glyceryl Stearate, Ammonium Polyacryloyldimethyl Taurate, Peg-100 Stearate, Propandiol, Ophiopogon Japonicus Root Extract, Peg-20 Methyl Glucose Sesquistearate, Sorbitan Tristearate, Dimethiconol, Sodium Chloride, Mannose, Coco-Betaine, Disodium Edta, Capryloyl Glycine, Caprylyl Glycol, Vitreoscilla Ferment, Citric Acid, Maltodextrin, Xanthan Gum, Tocopherol, Pentaerythrityl Tetra-Di-T-Butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate

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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Prices checked 10 Oct – 2 Nov 2026

The Lovi Fit is the same in every country; only the stores and prices differ, and the ones here are for the United Kingdom.

How does it fit your skin?

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