Versus

Galderma Differin Cream Versus La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo (+) Dual Action Acne Treatment

Prescription
Facial Treatment
Swiss Brand Switzerland
French Brand France

Updated on January 20, 2025

Overview

Suited For

They're both likely to be good for fighting acne, dry skin and brightening skin

Free From

They both do not contain any harsh alcohols, common allergens, fragrances, oils, silicones or sulfates

We independently verify ingredients, and our claims are backed by peer-reviewed research. Spot a product that needs an update? Let us know.

Ingredient Info

Click any item below to learn more and see relevant ingredients

What's inside (and what isn't)

What's inside (and what isn't)

At a glance

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Key Ingredients

Benefits

Concerns

Key Ingredients

Benefits

Concerns

Ingredients Explained

These ingredients are found in both products.

Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.

Emulsion Stabilising, Gel Forming

Carbomer is a polymer of acrylic acid. Its main role is to create a gel consistency.

A high amount of carbomer can cause pilling or balling up of products. Don't worry, most products contain 1% or less of carbomer.

Humectant, Skin Conditioning, Skin Protecting

Glycerin is already naturally found in your skin. It helps moisturize and protect your skin.

A study from 2016 found glycerin to be more effective as a humectant than AHAs and hyaluronic acid.

As a humectant, it helps the skin stay hydrated by pulling moisture to your skin. The low molecular weight of glycerin allows it to pull moisture into the deeper layers of your skin.

Hydrated skin improves your skin barrier; Your skin barrier helps protect against irritants and bacteria.

Glycerin has also been found to have antimicrobial and antiviral properties. Due to these properties, glycerin is often used in wound and burn treatments.

In cosmetics, glycerin is usually derived from plants such as soybean or palm. However, it can also be sourced from animals, such as tallow or animal fat.

This ingredient is organic, colorless, odorless, and non-toxic.

Glycerin is the name for this ingredient in American English. British English uses Glycerol/Glycerine.

Learn more about Glycerin

Disodium EDTA plays a role in making products more stable by aiding other preservatives.

It is a chelating agent, meaning it neutralizes metal ions that may be found in a product.

Disodium EDTA is a salt of edetic acid and is found to be safe in cosmetic ingredients.

Learn more about Disodium EDTA

When to use

234 Routines
7% use in am
93% use in pm
73% use every day
When to use See routines that use it ->
755 Routines
39% use in am
61% use in pm
82% use every day
When to use See routines that use it ->

Reviews

Here's what our community thinks

Galderma Differin Cream 10 ingredients

4.5 /5
from 4 ratings
Works Well (4) No Scent (3) Absorbs Well (2)
ChienYun_CY's avatar

Chien Yun Ang

10 months ago
Review

This cream is prescribed to me and I LOVE it. It isn't drying for me and I don't suffer any side effects from using it. I only need a fairly thin layer of this cream on my affected areas. It cleared up most possible developing whiteheads for me and leave my skin really bright and even.

#absorbs well
#no scent
#works well
Khang69's avatar

K

3 months ago
Review

I used this as a spot treatment for my stubborn/hidden acne and allergy pimples. It works great and the result might be visible after 1 or 2 days of use. The problem is it burned the area when I applied the cream with redness, it took weeks to get rid of the redness

#great value
#absorbs well
#no scent
#works well

La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo (+) Dual Action Acne Treatment 13 ingredients

3.6 /5
from 22 ratings
Irritating (7) No Scent (6) Works Well (5)
Alllisda_idiot's avatar

Alllisda_idiot

10 months ago
Review

I don't really have a lot of cystic acne or large noticeable skin issues so honestly, I didn't see very obvious results or large differences. But, however, I have noticed my skin feeling smoother, the skin tone feeling more even, and a lack of newly developed acne after using this every day for 3 weeks. This product is a good preventative measure and overall well formulated however you have to Show more

#no scent
SiriMiri's avatar

SiriMiri

7 months ago
Review

My holy grail for pimples, any red pustules gets flatten down, reduce and disappear with this.

#expensive
#works well