With tons of reviews and opinions on the brand, you may be wondering, “is La Roche-Posay good?” Today, we’ll answer that question and get into why I’ve been loving this brand for a couple of years now.
La Roche-Posay is an affordable skincare brand that’s been around since 1975. Headquartered in New York, La Roche-Posay was initially founded in La Roche, France where the brand still manufactures some of its products today. It’s accessible, utilitarian, and close to a household name at this point.
We’ll discuss:
- Ingredients
- EWG score
- My results using these two La Roche-Posay products in my skincare routine:
- Cicaplast Balm B5 $16 (on amazon)
- Toleriane Hydrating Gentle Cleanser $17 (on amazon)
Some links in this post are affiliate links. Meaning, if you buy using one of these links, I may get a small commission that doesn’t cost you anything but does help support my website.
Disclaimer
As a necessary disclaimer, this post is opinion-based and meant for informational purposes only. I’m simply sharing my personal thoughts on these products and a basic overview of the ingredients and opinions that I’ve seen from people more qualified than myself while researching these products. Nothing here should be taken as skincare advice for you or anyone else.
Ingredients
We can’t get to the bottom of deciding if La Roche-Posay is good without discussing the ingredients used in the product formula.
The main ingredient in La Roche-Posay products is antioxidant thermal-rich water. You may be thinking, “Water? Really?”, but apparently the water is from a thermal spring in France that is supposedly high in antioxidants and something called Selenium.
Selenium
Selenium is a mineral that naturally appears in water that is high in antioxidants. It’s good for the skin because antioxidants help neutralize free radicals that our skin encounters daily, due to pollution and other environmental stressors. Free radicals are bad news and antioxidants can help protect the skin by neutralizing some of the free radicals.
Fragrance Free
As a clinical skincare brand, La Roche-Posay steers clear of using fragrance in its products. This is good news since many fragrance ingredients, like essential oils, can cause irritation to the skin despite the delicious scents.
Having said that, there are a couple of products that contain menthol, according to the La Roche-Posay review that Hyram did on his YouTube channel. Since menthol is commonly used as a sensation/fragrance ingredient, he considers La Roche-Posay to not be totally fragrance free.
Toleriane Hydrating Gentle Cleanser
This gentle hydrating cleanser is formulated with Glycerin and Niacinamide, which are both really good ingredients. Glycerin helps to gently cleanse the skin without stripping it and Niacinamide, a form of vitamin B3, helps to hydrate the skin. This cleanser also contains other gentle surfactants that work to remove excess oils and dirt from the skin for a clean, yet not stripped result.
This product has been a staple of mine for over year now. Get the Toleriane Hydrating Gentle Cleanser on Amazon for $17.
Full List of Ingredients
If you’re anything like me, skincare ingredients feel like a foreign territory. It all sounds like another language and can be disconcerting to know how to discern what’s good vs. what’s not.
The ingredients in the Toleriane Hydrating cleanser, for the most part, have good EWG ratings and have come recommended by skincare gurus such as Hyram and Dr. Dray. Feel free to conduct your own research of course.
Ingredients:
Water • Glycerin • Pentaerythrityl Tetraethylhexanoate • Propanediol • Ammonium Polyacryloyldimethyl Taurate • Polysorbate 60 • Ceramide Np • Niacinamide • Sodium Chloride • Coco-Betaine • Disodium Edta Caprylyl Glycol • Panthenol • Tocopherol (Code Fil: D242855/1)
EWG Rating
The Toleriane cleanser has an overall EWG rating of 1, with only two of the ingredients ranking a 3 on the EWG-verified scale. The scale is based on measuring the risk of:
- Cancer
- Allergies and immunotoxicity
- Developmental and reproductive toxicity
- User Restrictions
As far as the organization, EWG is a nonprofit activist group that focuses on researching toxic chemicals, agriculture, and drinking water pollutants, to name a few.
I think of the EWG as a third-party entity to cross-check products against.
Cicaplast Balm B5
The La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Balm B5 (also called Baume) is a rich moisturizer that is formulated with various soothing ingredients that help repair dry or irritated skin. Get it on Amazon for around $16. (Be aware that this item is routinely sold out and unavailable on Amazon at times, so if it’s in stock, you may want to stock up.)
Based on Dr. Dray’s review of the product, the Cicaplast Balm B5 moisturizer is formulated with Madecassoside, an ingredient derived from Centella that has anti-inflammatory properties and can help with healing and repairing the skin barrier.
Centella is an interesting base ingredient. It has been shown to improve scarring and later research has also shown that it can help improve collagen production.
The next ingredient is Panthenol, or vitamin B5, which helps with moisture retention. It is also anti-inflammatory and soothing to the skin. Shea butter is another prominent ingredient in the Cicaplast Balm, a naturally occurring fat source found in a tree in Sub-Saharan and Eastern Africa. The essential fatty acids and antioxidants in shea butter help with moisturizing and protecting the skin.
Full List of Ingredients – Cicaplast Balm
Water • Hydrogenated Polyisobutene • Dimethicone • Glycerin • Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter • Panthenol • Aluminum Starch Octenylsuccinate • Butylene Glycol • Propanediol • Cetyl Peg/Ppg-10/1 Dimethicone • Trihydroxystearin • Zinc Gluconate • Madecassoside • Manganese Gluconate • Silica • Aluminum Hydroxide • Magnesium Sulfate • Disodium Edta • Copper Gluconate • Citric Acid • Acetylated Glycol Stearate • Polyglyceryl-4 Isostearate • Tocopherol • Pentaerythrityl Tetra-Di-T-Butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate • Sodium Benzoate • Phenoxyethanol • Chlorhexidine Digluconate Titanium Dioxide
EWG Rating
The Cicaplast Balm B5 has an overall EWG rating of 3. This rating is not as good as the cleanser and is mainly due to 7 of the ingredients scoring higher than a 2 on the EWG scale. In particular, this is due to the use restrictions of some ingredients used in the product. I’d imagine this is due to the product being manufactured in France and not in the more regulated U.S.
Ingredients are the main thing to consider when trying to discern if La Roche-Posay is good. Certainly take your time to research ingredients and talk to your dermatologist, if needed to understand if the product is for you.
See the full EWG breakdown here.
My Results Using the La Roche-Posay Cleanser and Balm
I have had great results using both the La Roche-Posay products I’ve discussed today.
The cleanser is formulated for dry skin, like mine, and works really well for me. I feel like it cleanses my face very well, but it doesn’t strip my skin in the least. It leaves me with a clean face but doesn’t dry me out or leave my skin feeling tight and stripped after the cleansing process.
As for the Cicaplast Balm B5, I enjoy the richness of this product and the deep moisturizing and soothing effects it has had on my skin. I only use this product as an evening moisturizer as it can leave a bit of a white cast. Overall, I have enjoyed how the balm has made my skin feel and appear after use. It’s like a nice lush night cream that soothes redness, blemishes, and hydrates.
Some people even use the Cicaplast Balm B5 to treat diaper rash for babies or even as a lip treatment for cracked lips. Even though this product is more widely used as a spot treatment, it has worked for me as a solid night cream that I apply under my other lighter moisturizer.
My Skin Type
For reference, my skin type is dry. I’ve never had problems with oily skin. Also, I’ve never had issues with using certain products. So, I wouldn’t classify my skin as sensitive.
Then again, even though I have always had some sort of skincare routine from a young age, I mainly used a simple two-step process for most of my life. Simple as in step 1: cleanse and in step 2: moisturize with coconut oil. That was my skincare routine for years, so I can’t say I’ve tried a ton of products. I’ve actually tried very little.
Is La Roche-Posay Good? What Others Are Saying
For more in-depth reviews, check out Hyram’s review of the La Roche-Posay product line and brand as a whole. He even listed the La Roche-Posay cleanser as one of his favorites in a best in drugstore skincare video.
Also, check out Dr. Dray’s video where she gets detailed about why the Cicaplast Baume B5 is one of her favorite spot treatment products to have on hand.
Bottom Line
Well, is La Roche-Posay good? The bottom line is, I’d say yes.
This brand offers a good line of clinical products to the skincare market. They are minimal and accessible with a price range of under $20.
Hopefully, this post helped you decide if La Roche-Posay is a product worth trying.
