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Naturium Niacinamide Cleansing Gelée 3% Versus La Roche-Posay Effaclar Purifying Foaming Gel Face Cleanser For Oily Skin

Face Cleanser
Face Cleanser
American Brand United States
French Brand France

Updated on March 06, 2025

Overview

What they are

These products are both reef safe face cleansers. They have a total of 3 ingredients in common

Suited For

They're both likely to be good for fighting acne, oily skin and scar healing

Free From

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

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

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.

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
Preservative

Phenoxyethanol is a preservative that has germicide, antimicrobial, and aromatic properties. Studies show that phenoxyethanol can prevent microbial growth. By itself, it has a scent that is similar to that of a rose.

It's often used in formulations along with Caprylyl Glycol to preserve the shelf life of products.

Buffering, Masking

Citric Acid is an AHA derived from citrus fruits (think oranges, lemons, and limes!).

As an AHA, Citric Acid removes the top layer of skin cells from the newer layer of skin underneath. This helps skin to remove dark spots and even out skin tone.

If you spot Citric Acid near the end of an ingredient list, it's likely there as a pH adjuster rather than an active ingredient.

Read more about some other popular AHA's here:

Learn more about Citric Acid

When to use

643 Routines
46% use in am
54% use in pm
95% use every day
When to use See routines that use it ->
2,150 Routines
45% use in am
55% use in pm
98% use every day
When to use See routines that use it ->

Reviews

Here's what our community thinks

Naturium Niacinamide Cleansing Gelée 3% 15 ingredients

5.0 /5
from 3 ratings
Works Well (3) Drying (1) Great Value (1)
ichigoluvah's avatar

ichigoluvah

5 months ago
Review

I love this gelee! Feels cool, silky, and moisturizing on the skin, and skin feels clean afterward. Might be a bit drying for dry skin, but my normal sensitive skin loves it!

#great value
#works well
lizmena's avatar

Liz Mena

1 month ago
Review

On my second bottle of this cleanser. I like how it brightens my face. I used to use Cetaphil oily to combination fragrance free cleanser and it felt like it wasn’t cleansing my face well but this one is perfect.

#drying
#no scent
#works well

La Roche-Posay Effaclar Purifying Foaming Gel Face Cleanser For Oily Skin 14 ingredients

2.4 /5
from 31 ratings
Drying (12) Irritating (10) Expensive (6)
wonyonnieoilygirl's avatar

wonyonnieoilygirl

2 years ago
Review

Too much work
My skin is a combination type so I struggle with a lot of oil production BUT dehydration-prone type. So, I was actually skeptical about this product. However, it did the job for me just fine at the end? It actually reduced all the redness around my T-Zone. Also it is really effective against new appearing pimples. Like, give it two days and it will heal just because of this cleanser. Show more

RAINSTORM's avatar

RAINSTORM

4 months ago
Review

(for context i have very dry sensitive-ish acne prone skin) i tried this when i was just getting into skincare and didnt know my skin type and what would and wouldnt work and thought that everyone that had acne automatically had the same skin type and someone recommended this cleanser to me they said that it helped them get rid of their acne (they have oily acne prone skin) and i used it it was Show more

#drying
#irritating
#strong scent