La Roche Posay® Effaclar Foaming Gel Reviews

First things first, my skin type is as follows - combination/oily, acne prone (hormonal, whiteheads and blackheads), sensitive, rough cheeks and sun damage. So you could say I have a wee bit of everything going on but my main concern currently is getting my breakouts under control and finding products that WORK without hurting my skin.

Cleansers are usually the product that I react to the most which is frustrating when you want something to help with breakouts but also have sensitive skin! Acne cleansers are usually harsh, full of alcohol and drying ingredients & often contain menthol or peppermint oils that seriously mess with sensitive skin so hearing that this was for acne prone AND sensitive skin made my heart sing!

The packaging is fairly simple, a bright blue bottle with simple white writing, half of it’s in French but it’s fairly easy to figure out what the product is after a few seconds of scanning the writing! It’s a huge bottle too which is fantastic as the cleanser is priced higher than my usual $15 Neutrogena cleanser. I can already tell this is going to last me a long time so for the price it’s actually great. The cleanser itself is a clear thick gel, it could almost be mistaking for one of those jumbo hair gel jars! You need a little force to squeeze the gel out as it’s so thick and the hole is teeny but I like this because you’re not wasting any product.

It foams beautifully and I love nothing more than a really good foaming cleanser! The scent isn’t too strong, just light and fresh which is nice, (side note - a sensitive skin product shouldn’t have added fragrance as this is one of the main ingredients that actually causes reactions but in this case I haven’t had any problems.) Just be cautious if you do experience reactions from fragrance in skin care.

The cleanser leaves my skin feeling SO soft and clean and it hasn’t once stripped my skin either, I don’t feel like I’ve had all the moisture sucked from my face - instead I feel amazingly clean and fresh. I’ve been able to skip my exfoliater the last few days because my skin is improving so much. The last of my current breakouts cleared away 2 days ago and I’ve had no new ones since! Not even one!

I cannot recommend this cleanser highly enough, I honestly think this would work for all skin types (except for very dry skin) because it’s just so perfect. I will be buying this myself when this bottle runs out and I can’t see myself going back to my old cleanser every again!

I used to use this all the time in my teenage years, I was very very prone to acne and had terrible oily skin. I loved using it back then as it cleansed my face really well and also mattified it without drying my skin.

Fast forward 10 years and my skin is now on the normal/drier side, yet I still have hormonal breakouts. I picked this up again, just to try on the days I’m getting pimples and it still works amazing for my skin. Although not using daily, just when I need it, it still works, calming my skin, reducing breakouts, but does not dry my skin. I usually foam it up on my face, concentrating on the breakout-prone areas, leave the foam for a few seconds to sit on my skin and then rinse it off with lukewarm water, sometimes using a wet face cloth. I didn’t think it’d work so well on my face anymore due to me having a totally different skin type now, I’m so glad I picked it up again!

Firstly, I love how this doesn't have any nasties in it (alcohol, paraben and alcohol-free) so that is a big plus! This cleanser is great as it makes your skin feel clean and refreshed, without that tight, dry feeling afterwards. After rinsing, it left my skin feeling supple and soft. This is a great basic cleanser that does a great job of removing oil and makeup. Really keen to try out more products in the range. Will repurchase!

I found the Effaclar gel excellent. The 200 ml will go a long way as you only need small amount (5 cent piece squirt) in one use. My skin definitely feels softer, less oily and as a result I have had less acne after using this product. Acne does dry out quicker which is great. The smell is fresh and subtle, so not too offensive while using. The alcohol-free, colourant-free is a plus too. I did find a little tingling of my skin after use and as I have combination skin, I did get dry patches on my face, particularly on and around my nose and cheeks.

I have very oily skin and I think this cleanser is really working for me!

Firstly, the size of the cleanser is massive which helps you feel better about the price. Although the small nozzle makes it really difficult to squeeze enough product out. My skin has benefited from this cleanser because my face is less oily and it's gentle enough to not cause me to have a burning reaction, like other products have. I still have pimples but that's because I squeeze any sign of a pink bump. The product lathers up well and feels very clean and simple. After I rinse it off my face feels soft, and not overly dry or tight.

Overall I have high hopes for this product because it is on the more expensive end of cleansers and is specifically made for treating pimples and excess sebum.

My skin at the moment is oily/sensitive, constant break outs and overall dull complexion.

I used this cleanser twice daily- morning and night for the first week and then once a day the week after.

During the first week I had a noticable change in first 24hours, By this I mean complexion was smoother and brighter.

Throughout the week my skin would break out and then clear up but my acne was coming back less and less, which I didn't mind because I knew the cleanser was working.

The second week I either used the cleanser in the morning or night as by this stage my skin had cleared up alot! My overall skins appearance is smooth, brighter and refreshed.

I would most definitely recommend this cleanser to anyone prone to acne/skin sensitivity.

The cleanser itself is very gentle, light and you only need a small amount- when mixed with water has a slight foam and the subtle scent reminds me of a cucumber peel off mask.

This is the one i've been searching for! Thanks BR x

I have an oily face but it can can be sensitive to harsh chemicals. This product worked so well. The squeeze bottle is easy to use. There is no strong perfume smell and it washes off all my makeup. The best part is that my skin stayed that way, there was no over drying or oil build up a couple of hours later. It has cleared up most of the adult acne too!

I had never heard of La Roche-Posey before which told me one thing: this wasn’t one of those $10 supermarket face washes that I usually gravitate towards. This was the good stuff! The packaging was minimal which I liked but being visually challenged I did find the labeling hard to read especially with the steam of the shower further clouding my sight. However, I quickly worked out how to use it - wet face, lather, rinse. Someone call Mensa. It is also a decent sized bottle which means it will last a while. The smell of this product took me back to 1995 when I would steal petals off my granny’s flowers to make perfume and unsuccessfully try to sell it to her neighbours. My perfume career didn’t take off because my petal perfume didn’t smell that good - nor did this product. But it was nice to regress to a more simple time for a few minutes every day. As for how the gel worked - I was pleasantly surprised. I have challenging skin and have made my way through various gels, soaps and scrubs over the years to no avail. Immediately after using the gel my face felt cleaner, softer and clearer. After a few days I started to notice a remarkable difference in the quality of my skin - less spots and blackheads. This is one product I WILL buy again.

While I never suffered from oily skin in the past, as I've gotten older my skin has gotten greasier in places. I get the odd spot from time to time which I never used to either. This makes it tricky having some dry areas and some oily along with sensitive skin. Most products more suited to oily skin tend to dry my skin out, leaving it red and tight feeling. Roche Posay Effaclar did not do that. It left my skin looking clean and fresh and has really helped balance my skin out with no irritation. I was worried it was going to be overkill for me as I don't really have a huge oil or spot problem but it's great, I alternate it with my regular skin cleansers and it seems to really be helping. The product has more of a medicinal smell I think that most cleansers but no different to other cleansers of its kind and it is not a bad smell. It lathers nicely, I would call it a soft feeling as you wash your face and it leaves the skin soft with no residue feel. I found I didn't need to use a lot of it as a little went a long way.

I have reviewed quite a few face washes in my time and to be honest this has been the best one I have used in quite a long time! First off, I'm an oily individual - my face creates quite a bit of oil and by the end of the day the amount of oil that appears on the surface of my face - you could use it to do some cooking. It's pretty gross. I have noticed that since using this face wash (and the moisturiser that goes along with it) my face is not creating much oil at all. My make up by the end of the day has stayed on as well...definitely an added bonus.

In terms of the face wash itself, a little goes a long way. I am using the tiniest bit of product and it foams up quite a bit. It's a little bit drying but to be honest I feel that this is beneficial as it helps control the natural oils on your skin. There is a slight scent, hard to describe. It's not overpowering, it sort of has a "clean" smell to it. Not chemically, just an average facial cleaner smell I guess. Because you don't need much I can see this is going to last a rather long time. In the past couple of weeks I haven't even used a quarter of it - and I've been using it two times a day.

Will I use it again? Heck yeah! It ticks all the boxes to be a standout facial cleanser that has definitely made its way into my beauty routine. I will be using it again for sure!!!!