La Roche-Posay Effaclar Micro-Peeling Purifying Gel Versus La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo (+) Dual Action Acne Treatment
Updated on July 20, 2023
Overview
What they are
These products are both reef safe . They have a total of 3 ingredients in common
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, fragrances, oils, parabens or silicones
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
La Roche-Posay Effaclar Micro-Peeling Purifying Gel 18 ingredients
La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo (+) Dual Action Acne Treatment 13 ingredients
At a glance
Click on any of the items below to learn more
La Roche-Posay Effaclar Micro-Peeling Purifying Gel 18 ingredients
La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo (+) Dual Action Acne Treatment 13 ingredients
Notable Ingredients
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Benefits
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Concerns
This product contains 3 ingredients that may have this attribute:
This product contains 1 ingredient that may have this attribute:
This product contains 2 ingredients that may have this attribute:
This product contains 3 ingredients that may have this attribute:
This product contains 1 ingredient that may have this attribute:
Notable Ingredients
This product contains 1 ingredient that may have this attribute:
This product contains 1 ingredient that may have this attribute:
This product contains 1 ingredient that may have this attribute:
Benefits
This product contains 1 ingredient that may have this attribute:
This product contains 1 ingredient that may have this attribute:
This product contains 2 ingredients that may have this attribute:
Concerns
This product contains 1 ingredient that may have this attribute:
This product contains 1 ingredient that may have this attribute:
This product contains 2 ingredients that may have this attribute:
This product contains 2 ingredients that may have this attribute:
Ingredients Side-by-side
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.
Can worsen Dry Skin
Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES) is a foaming, cleansing, and emulsifying ingredient. It is created from palm kernel oil or coconut oil. SLES is not the same as sodium lauryl sulfate. It is much milder and less likely to irritate.
Decyl Glucoside is a glucose-based surfactant. Surfactants help clean the skin by trapping oil, sebum, and dirt to be washed away.
Glycerin is already naturally found in your skin. It helps moisturize and protect your skin.
Chances are, you eat sodium chloride every day. Sodium Chloride is also known as table salt.
Coco-Betaine is the natural version of Cocamidopropyl Betaine. It is often derived from coconuts.
Preservative 5 Benefits 4 Concerns
Salicylic Acid (also known as beta hydroxy acid or BHA) is one of the most well-known ingredients for treating skin that struggles with blackheads and acne. It helps to exfoliate both the skin's surface and pores, and also acts as an anti-inflammatory agent.
Peg-150 Pentaerythrityl Tetrastearate isn't fungal acne safe.
This ingredient is derived from caprylic and capric acids. It is an emulsifier with emollient properties.
Sodium Hydroxide is also known as lye or caustic soda. It is used to adjust the pH of products; many ingredients require a specific pH to be effective.
Capryloyl Salicylic Acid comes from salicylic acid, the famous acne-fighting BHA.
Tetrasodium EDTA is the salt formed from neutralizing ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid with sodium hydroxide. It is a chelating agent and used to prevent metal ions from binding to other ingredients. This helps keep the product and ingredients stable.
4 Benefits 2 Concerns
Citric Acid is an AHA derived from citrus fruits (think oranges, lemons, and limes!).
Menthol is a compound found in mint plants, such as peppermint. In its pure form, it is a clear crystalline substance.
Hexylene Glycol is a surfactant. Glycols are a class of alcohols. Hexylene Glycol is a surfactant and emulsifier.
Sodium Benzoate is a preservative. It's used in both cosmetic and food products to inhibit the growth of mold and bacteria. It is typically produced synthetically.
Water, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Decyl Glucoside, Glycerin, Sodium Chloride, Coco-Betaine, Salicylic Acid, Peg-150 Pentaerythrityl Tetrastearate, Peg-6 Caprylic/Capric Glycerides, Zinc Gluconate, Sodium Hydroxide, Capryloyl Salicylic Acid, Tetrasodium EDTA, Citric Acid, Menthol, Polyquaternium-47, Hexylene Glycol, Sodium Benzoate
Helps fight Acne 4 Concerns
Benzoyl Peroxide is famous for fighting acne. This is because it does a variety of tasks on the skin: it helps reduce excess oil, kill bacteria, and clear out dead skin cells. In other words, it is effective at unclogging pores.
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.
A type of fatty alcohol. Fatty Alcohols are most often used as an emollient or to thicken a product. They are usually derived from natural fats and oils and therefore do not have the same drying or irritating effect as traditional alcohols.
Glycerin is already naturally found in your skin. It helps moisturize and protect your skin.
Pentylene glycol is typically used within a product to thicken it. It also adds a smooth, soft, and moisturizing feel to the product. It is naturally found in plants such as sugar beets.
2 Concerns
Silica is a mineral naturally found in our skin. It helps to thicken and smooth the texture of a product. It also acts as an agent for other ingredients by increasing the absorption of other ingredients into the skin.
Carbomer is a polymer of acrylic acid. Its main role is to create gel consistency within products.
Capryloyl Salicylic Acid comes from salicylic acid, the famous acne-fighting BHA.
Potassium hydroxide is commonly known as caustic potash. It is used to fix the pH of a product or as a cleaning agent in soap. In cleansers, it is used for the saponification of oils.
Antioxidant Helps brighten skin
Tocopheryl Acetate is AKA Vitamin E. It is an antioxidant and protects your skin from free radicals. Free radicals damage the skin by breaking down collagen.
Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer is a synthetic polymer. It is used to thicken and improve the texture of products.
Disodium EDTA plays a role in making products more stable by aiding other preservatives.
We don't have a description for Epilobium Angustifolium Flower/Leaf/Stem Extract.
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
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 WaterGlycerin 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 GlycerinCapryloyl Salicylic Acid comes from salicylic acid, the famous acne-fighting BHA.
It usually goes by a more common name of LHA, or lipohydroxy acid.
Like salicylic acid, this ingredient is a chemical exfoliant that can help break down the oil in your pores and reduce inflammation.
Though studies for LHA do show it to be less effective than salicylic acid. To be fair, salicylic acid is the reigning monarch of acne treatments.
However, a study from 2009 found LHA to be comparable to BPO, making it a good alternative for people with sensitive skin. Another study of 14 patients found a significant decrease in comedones after using LHA.
Another pro of LHA? It is less irritating than salicylic acid due to its large molecule size.
Large molecules cannot penetrate skin as well, so they are gentler on the skin. LHA is much less penetrative than salicylic acid.
An in-vitro study (not done on a living organism) found only 6% of LHA penetrated past the statum corneum compared to 58% of salicylic acid. An in-vivo (done on a living organism) analysis revealed ~17% of LHA was still present in the top layer of skin after 4 days, versus ~9% of salicylic acid.
Interestingly, a study from 2008 found LHA comparable to another famous acid, glycolic acid.
This study found about 10% of LHA is as effective as 20-50% of glycolic acid in treating hyperpigmentation and fine-lines.
Hydroxy acids have been found to stimulate skin protein, lipids, and thermal thickening. This may have anti-aging benefits.
Learn more about Capryloyl Salicylic AcidIngredient Ratings
Here's what our community thinks of the ingredients in these products.
When to use
La Roche-Posay Effaclar Micro-Peeling Purifying Gel 18 ingredients
La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo (+) Dual Action Acne Treatment 13 ingredients
Reviews
Here's what our community thinks
La Roche-Posay Effaclar Micro-Peeling Purifying Gel 18 ingredients
specialuniquesnowflake
This is my staple basic cleanser - big bottle for a few bucks, lasts for ~7 months (the 400ml bottle). Tiny drop is enough to clean the whole face,...
This is my staple basic cleanser - big bottle for a few bucks, lasts for ~7 months (the 400ml bottle). Tiny drop is enough to clean the whole face, nice and foamy. Neutral smell. Gentle and effective ingredients. Probably won't clear your acne alone, but it's definitely a nice addition to the routine if you're looking for something simple.
YousifShamoon
meh
this was a very boring cleanser. it had a very slight fragrance but nothing off putting and it was stripping, but not a lot. i'm not sure if it...
meh
this was a very boring cleanser. it had a very slight fragrance but nothing off putting and it was stripping, but not a lot. i'm not sure if it did anything good for my skin and i don't wanna give it too much credit since it's just a cleanser. i moved on from this and i think there is much better out there, but it's not that important since you wash it off anyway. if this is an accessible option for you, go for the normal effaclar cleanser instead, since it will be less stripping.
La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo (+) Dual Action Acne Treatment 13 ingredients
Alllisda_idiot
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,...
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 keep using it for a good while to start seeing long-term skin benefits.
