Dr. Somji Skin has reviewed oily skin products from a doctor's point of view, and his record across at least 20 products is a good one. He approved most of them, with an approval rate of 80%. That leaves only a handful of 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.
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."
"You can use like this cream one from cave which is quite nice"
"I've compared both of these, and if I'm going to use one and I've got the budget, then I'd probably use Paula's Choice one over the ordinary one. When you're doing the exfoliation with the AHA and BHA, you're degreasing skin, you're softening skin by removing that keratinized layer, which allows more ingredients to penetrate through with other products. You're also improving skin cell turnover by encouraging those cells to turn over and promoting new cell growth."
"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."
"I love that mix in terms of the cleanser. What that does is slowly draw out the oil from the skin but also reduces some of the oil that you're going to produce a little bit later on, so therefore will help you with that delay when you get that oil surge. [...] It also sinks slowly into the skin so it doesn't actually damage anything as well."
How many products has Dr. Somji Skin reviewed for oily skin?
Dr. Somji Skin has reviewed 20 products for oily skin, for an approval rate of 80%. 16 approved, 3 mixed, and 1 skipped.
What has Dr. Somji Skin skipped for oily skin?
His only skip 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.
"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.
- 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
- CeraVe Hydrating Cream-to-Foam CleanserRated itWatch at 8:12
- Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 25% AHA + 2% BHA Exfoliating PeelRated itWatch at 2:38
- 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 T.L.C. Framboos Glycolic Night SerumRated itWatch at 3:30
- 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
- The Ordinary AHA 30% + BHA 2% Peeling SolutionRated itWatch at 2:35
- CeraVe Renewing SA CleanserRated itWatch at 3:25
- The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning SolutionRated itWatch at 8:37
- La Roche-Posay Effaclar Ultra Concentrated SerumRated itWatch at 5:55
About this expert
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This guide reflects what Dr. Somji Skin said across his videos about 20 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.