Versus

La Roche-Posay Effaclar Adapalene Gel 0.1% Topical Retinoid For Acne Versus COSRX The Retinol 0.1 Cream

Facial Treatment
Facial Treatment
French Brand France
Korean Brand South Korea

Updated on June 01, 2024

Overview

What they are

These products are both facial treatments. They have a total of 3 ingredients in common

Cool Features

They both contain retinoid

Suited For

They're both likely to be good for fighting acne, anti aging, dry skin, oily skin, reducing pores, scar healing and better texture

Free From

They both do not contain any harsh alcohols, common allergens, fragrances 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

Click on any of the items below to learn more

Key Ingredients

Benefits

Concerns

Key Ingredients

Benefits

Concerns

Ingredients Side-by-side

found in both products
The Retinol 0.1 Cream

Water

Skin Conditioning

Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride

Masking
Helps hydrate Dry Skin Icon

Propanediol

Solvent
Helps hydrate Dry Skin Icon

Glycerin

Humectant
0 / 0 Helps hydrate Dry Skin IconGood for Scar Healing IconHelps brighten skin Icon

Tocopheryl Acetate

Antioxidant
0 / 0 Vitamin E IconAntioxidant Icon

Cetearyl Alcohol

Emollient
2 / 1 Fatty Alcohol IconMay worsen Oily Skin IconBad for Acne Prone Skin IconNot safe for Fungal Acne Icon

Butyrospermum Parkii Butter

Skin Conditioning
Helps hydrate Dry Skin IconMay worsen Oily Skin IconBad for Acne Prone Skin IconNot safe for Fungal Acne Icon

Panthenol

Skin Conditioning
0 / 0 Helps hydrate Dry Skin IconHelps reduce Skin Redness IconHelps reduce irritation IconGood for Scar Healing Icon

Trehalose

Humectant
Helps hydrate Dry Skin Icon

Glycine Soja Oil

Emollient
3 / 0 Oil IconHelps hydrate Dry Skin IconHelps reduce irritation IconGood for Dark Spots IconBad for Acne Prone Skin IconNot safe for Fungal Acne Icon

Ammonium Acryloyldimethyltaurate/Vp Copolymer

Dimethicone

Emollient
1 / 0 Silicon Icon

Glyceryl Polymethacrylate

Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil

Emollient
0 / 0 Oil IconHelps hydrate Dry Skin IconNot safe for Fungal Acne Icon

Polyglyceryl-10 Stearate

Skin Conditioning
Not safe for Fungal Acne Icon

Hydrogenated Lecithin

Emulsifying
Helps hydrate Dry Skin Icon

Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer

Emulsion Stabilising

Carbomer

Emulsion Stabilising
1 / 0

Tromethamine

Buffering

Glyceryl Stearate

Emollient
1 / 0 Not safe for Fungal Acne Icon

Polysilicone-11

Sodium Sulfite

Preservative
Preservative Icon

Tocopherol

Antioxidant
0-3 / 0-3 Vitamin E IconAntioxidant IconHelps hydrate Dry Skin IconHelps with Anti-Aging IconGood for Scar Healing Icon

Daucus Carota Sativa Root Extract

Skin Conditioning
Helps reduce irritation Icon

Allantoin

Skin Conditioning
0 / 0 Helps hydrate Dry Skin IconHelps reduce Skin Redness IconHelps reduce irritation IconGood for Scar Healing Icon

Glyceryl Caprylate

Emollient

Oryza Sativa Bran Wax

Skin Conditioning
Helps hydrate Dry Skin IconNot safe for Fungal Acne Icon

Retinol

Skin Conditioning
Retinoid IconGood for Oily Skin IconGood for Skin Texture IconGood for Minimizing Pores IconHelps with Anti-Aging IconGood for Dark Spots IconGood for Scar Healing IconHelps fight Acne IconHelps brighten skin IconMay worsen Rosacea Icon

Tocotrienols

Skin Conditioning

Stearic Acid

Cleansing
2-3 / 0 May worsen Oily Skin IconNot safe for Fungal Acne Icon

Polyglyceryl-3 Methylglucose Distearate

Emulsifying
Not safe for Fungal Acne Icon

Palmitic Acid

Emollient
2 / 0 May worsen Oily Skin IconNot safe for Fungal Acne Icon

Disodium EDTA

Ethylhexylglycerin

Skin Conditioning

Adenosine

Skin Conditioning
Helps hydrate Dry Skin IconHelps reduce irritation IconGood for Minimizing Pores IconHelps with Anti-Aging IconGood for Scar Healing Icon

Sorbitan Isostearate

Emulsifying
1-2 / 0 Not safe for Fungal Acne Icon

Elaeis Guineensis Oil

Emollient
Oil IconHelps hydrate Dry Skin IconNot safe for Fungal Acne Icon

BHT

Antioxidant
Antioxidant Icon

Beta-Carotene

Skin Conditioning

Myristic Acid

Cleansing
3 / 0 Bad for Acne Prone Skin IconNot safe for Fungal Acne Icon

Lauric Acid

Cleansing
4 / 1 May worsen Oily Skin IconBad for Acne Prone Skin IconNot safe for Fungal Acne Icon

3-O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid

Skin Conditioning
Vitamin C IconHelps reduce Skin Redness IconGood for Skin Texture IconGood for Minimizing Pores Icon

Ascorbic Acid

Antioxidant
Vitamin C IconAntioxidant IconHelps reduce Skin Redness IconGood for Skin Texture IconGood for Minimizing Pores IconHelps with Anti-Aging IconGood for Dark Spots IconGood for Scar Healing IconHelps brighten skin Icon

Glutathione

Good for Dark Spots Icon

Limnanthes Alba Seed Oil

Skin Conditioning
Oil IconHelps hydrate Dry Skin IconNot safe for Fungal Acne Icon

Sodium Hyaluronate

Humectant
0 / 0 Hyaluronic Acid IconHelps hydrate Dry Skin Icon

1,2-Hexanediol

Skin Conditioning
Helps hydrate Dry Skin Icon

Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid

Humectant
Hyaluronic Acid IconHelps hydrate Dry Skin IconHelps with Anti-Aging IconGood for Scar Healing IconHelps brighten skin Icon

Sodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer

Humectant
Hyaluronic Acid IconHelps hydrate Dry Skin IconGood for Scar Healing Icon

Hyaluronic Acid

Humectant
Hyaluronic Acid IconHelps hydrate Dry Skin IconHelps with Anti-Aging IconGood for Scar Healing IconHelps brighten skin Icon

Sodium Acetylated Hyaluronate

Humectant
Hyaluronic Acid Icon

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.

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
Skin Conditioning, Solvent

Water. It's the most common cosmetic ingredient of all. You'll usually see it at the top of ingredient lists, meaning that it makes up the largest part of the product.

So why is it so popular? Water most often acts as a solvent - this means that it helps dissolve other ingredients into the formulation.

You'll also recognize water as that liquid we all need to stay alive. If you see this, drink a glass of water. Stay hydrated!

Learn more about Water

When to use

406 Routines
6% use in am
94% use in pm
67% use every day
When to use See routines that use it ->
341 Routines
5% use in am
95% use in pm
56% use every day
When to use See routines that use it ->

Reviews

Here's what our community thinks

La Roche-Posay Effaclar Adapalene Gel 0.1% Topical Retinoid For Acne 8 ingredients

4.5 /5
from 6 ratings
Drying (1) Irritating (1) No Scent (1)
Petrichoria's avatar

Petrichoria

2 years ago
Review

Tremendously helped me control my acne due to PCOS and is fungal-acne safe. It caused a bit of a purge in the first few weeks as my skin acclimated, but it definitely calmed any active acne down, as well controlled my oily skin. 100/10.

Wren1358's avatar

Wren P

8 months ago
Review

update: i did not find the right balance, my skin became too dry and irritated to use any makeup while using this, even while moisturizing a lot, and i also realized this was a rosacea trigger for me. i'm sure it's a good product for some people, just didn't work for me. it did seem to help with my acne.

original review: seems to really help with my acne, and I tolerate it much better than Show more

#drying
#irritating
#no scent
#works well

COSRX The Retinol 0.1 Cream 51 ingredients

4.3 /5
from 4 ratings
Absorbs Well (2) Light (2) Works Well (2)
sarahabma's avatar

sarahabma

2 years ago
Review

Wonderful beginner retinol
Ny first ever retinol but 2nd time using a retinoid. for context I have highly acne-prone skin.

I've been using this every other night for a couple weeks now and I see that my acne is healing much faster than usual, i.e. less redness and irritation on acne that I would usually experience.

Though there are ingredients rated by SkinSort as not good for acne-prone Show more

AshN.'s avatar

AshN.

1 year ago
Review

(Started Dec 2023) This was a bit of an impulse buy with a friend, but I'm honestly glad I got it! I have previous experience with using retinoids (specifically from The Ordinary Line) and wanted to try something a bit stronger. On Amazon it is priced at $13, so I would say this is a wonderful budget buy. The formulation is very gentle given the strength and I experienced no problems with Show more

#great value
#light
#absorbs well
#light scent