Dr. Somji Skin has reviewed oily skin products from a doctor's point of view, and his record across more than 10 products is a good one. He approved most of them, with an approval rate of 83%. That leaves very few mixed takes and almost no outright skips.
What does Dr. Somji Skin recommend for oily skin?
The thread running through his approving takes is the skin barrier. He praises the CeraVe Foaming Facial Cleanser because its ceramides clean without stripping. He says much the same about the La Roche-Posay Toleriane Purifying Foaming Cleanser, noting its barrier-supporting oils mean it won't damage the skin, even if it's not quite strong enough to remove a full face of makeup on its own. For exfoliation, he picks the Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 25% AHA + 2% BHA Exfoliating Peel as the one to reach for if budget allows. He explains that the AHA and BHA combination degrease the skin, lift dead skin cells to soften the surface, and help other products sink in better afterwards. He also rates the Dermalogica Active Clay Cleanser highly for oily skin, saying the clay mix draws out oil slowly and helps the skin produce less of it over time, without causing any damage along the way.
Dr. Somji Skin's oily skin picks, in his words
"CeraVe is a good one because it's got the ceramides in there so you're going to cleanse the skin but the ceramides are going to feed your skin barrier so you don't over strip it. It's really really quite nice."
"It's a water-based cleanser that's great for the skin barrier. It's got jojoba seed oil in it, mafengpro seed oil in it, also nice triglycerides and things that will just help with the skin barrier. There's nothing really terrible here. It's not going to really get rid of absolutely everything, so you probably need a double cleanse to get rid of a full face of makeup, but it's not going to damage the skin and that's the main thing."
"The Ordinary Salicylic Acid [...] is fantastic for acne prone skin. [...] If you've [...] got slightly darker skin type and you've got really a lot of congestion then salicylic acid is going to be a good option."
"La Roche-Posay's Effaclar Ultra Concentrated Serum not only helps with anti-imperfection, which is more for acne, helps with dark marks as well as daily peeling. This has got salicylic acid in there which is great for acne, glycolic acid which is also great for pigmentation, and it's also got soothing niacinamide so it's going to help people with sensitive skin and impaired skin barriers."
"The La Roche-Posay Pure Niacinamide Serum 10% is formulated for this purpose. If you were using your hyaluronic acid and you had some dry skin, you'd want to use this serum. The key is you don't want to just use one serum; you can combine those two serums with different ingredients to get more of a result. Niacinamide can help with things like pigmentation, so if you've got mild pigmentation and some dryness within the skin, you're going to choose hyaluronic acid and niacinamide."
"You can use the iS Clinical Cleansing Complex which is a little bit more of a higher price point but it's got a great blend of lactic acid salicylic acid glycolic acid it's going to really remove that debris from the area and it's also going to loosen the area so if you're really extracting and you want to just prep the area you can use a salicylic acid based cleanser."
How many products has Dr. Somji Skin reviewed for oily skin?
Dr. Somji Skin has reviewed 18 products for oily skin, for an approval rate of 83%. 15 approved, 1 mixed, and 2 skipped.
What has Dr. Somji Skin skipped for oily skin?
His skips are rare, and one tells you what he watches for. He passed on the Clinique Clarifying Lotion One, pointing out that witch hazel in the formula can make sensitive skin more reactive over time. He also flagged the yellow and blue colouring as an unnecessary addition he found disappointing. That mix of a potentially irritating ingredient and cosmetic dyes was enough for him to move on.
"So while this smells nice, feels nice, a significant proportion of people have got problems with this. When you look at some of the posts I did on Instagram and TikTok, I've got so many comments of people saying oh my God this is the reason why my skin has suddenly gone bad. It's even got [...] color in there which I don't think is good for the skin. You can use a glycolic acid serum instead of this, without all the nasties."
"On their website it's designed for people with very dry sensitive skin. [...] If we look at the ingredients of this clarifying lotion, it does have witch hazel in it, which [...] I'm not a big fan of because of the tannins involved and how it can actually make sensitive skin like this a little bit more sensitive over time. It does have coloring in there with yellow coloring and blue coloring, which is a little bit disappointing."
What should you take from Dr. Somji Skin's picks?
Dr. Somji Skin's record on oily skin products is a positive one, with most products earning his approval. His clearest steer is to look for barrier-supporting ingredients alongside any exfoliants or oil-control actives, and to watch out for witch hazel and added colouring, which he sees as doing more harm than good.
Watch Dr. Somji Skin say it
Every verdict here comes from a video. These are the moments themselves, each one jumping straight to the bit about that product.
- Pixi Glow TonicSkipped itWatch at 6:22
- Clinique Clarifying Lotion OneSkipped itWatch at 5:49
- CeraVe Foaming Facial CleanserRated itWatch at 1:43
- La Roche-Posay Toleriane Purifying Foaming CleanserRated itWatch at 1:16
- The Ordinary Salicylic Acid 2% SolutionRated itWatch at 4:31
- La Roche-Posay Effaclar Ultra Concentrated SerumRated itWatch at 5:55
- La Roche-Posay Niacinamide 10 SerumRated itWatch at 3:19
- iS Clinical Cleansing ComplexRated itWatch at 3:05
- Dermalogica Active Clay CleanserRated itWatch at 2:32
- The Ordinary AHA 2% + BHA 2% Exfoliating SerumRated itWatch at 4:30
- The INKEY List Niacinamide Serum with Hyaluronic AcidRated itWatch at 3:54
- Drunk Elephant Beste No. 9 Jelly CleanserRated itWatch at 6:17
- The Ordinary Salicylic Acid 2% MaskRated itWatch at 5:40
- The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%Rated itWatch at 5:50
- CeraVe Renewing SA CleanserRated itWatch at 3:25
- The Ordinary AHA 30% + BHA 2% Peeling SolutionRated itWatch at 10:04
- The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning SolutionRated itWatch at 8:37
About this expert
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This guide reflects what Dr. Somji Skin said across his videos about 18 products for oily skin, aggregated by The Guru Index. Sponsored takes are excluded. The approval rate is the share of these products he approved. It is general information, not medical advice.