La Roche Posay vs Vichy 2024 (The Definitive Guide)

We're positive you've seen La Roche Posay and Vichy on the shelves at your local drugstore before. But which one should you choose?

Previously, we took a look at two luxury skincare titans: Lancome and Estee Lauder; today, we will be comparing La Roche Posay vs Vichy to help you figure out which brand better suits you!

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La Roche Posay vs Vichy Thermal Spring Water

It wouldn't be a La Roche Posay vs Vichy review without first comparing the skin-quenching thermal spring water that forms the foundation of almost all of their cult-favourite products.

La Roche-Posay sources the selenium-rich water they use in all of their products from the town they named themselves after (La Roche-Posay in Western France). Selenium, by the way, is a powerful antioxidant that reduces inflammation and improves the elasticity and firmness of the skin.

Vichy's Mineralizing Thermal Water is born in the French volcanoes and travels to depths of up to 4000 meters before it is heated to 140°C and thrust up to the surface. Throughout its thousand-year journey, it absorbs 15 minerals which gives the water its powers. It helps soothe skin exposed to daily external aggressors and leaves it looking healthy, glowing, and beautiful.

Now it may or may not be obvious from those brief descriptions, but we've just unveiled the primary distinction in priorities between the two brands. La Roche Posay is very much focused on healing and resolving skin concerns, whereas Vichy as a brand prioritises perfecting and beautifying. Further to that point, the La Roche Posay spring water is often hailed as 'the healing water' whereas the Vichy spring water is generally referred to as 'the beautifying water'.

Deciding between the two, then, ultimately comes down to what you're most looking to get out of your skincare routine. If, for example, you are struggling with redness, acne, rosacea, eczema, dermatitis, or other conditions of that ilk, you will most certainly prefer La Roche Posay's "healing water". If, on the other hand, you're just looking to improve your skin's overall quality and appearance, Vichy's "beautifying water" is the one for you.

La Roche Posay vs Vichy Cleanser

When it comes to cleansers, Vichy and La Roche Posay pretty much only have two main types to choose from: ones for normal to sensitive skin, and ones specifically to combat acne. For the purposes of a balanced article, we're just going to focus on the top picks for a regular daily cleanser here, but, as we'll discuss further in the conclusion, the best acne-combatting cleanser is the Purifying Foaming Gel Cleanser from La Roche Posay's Effaclar range.

When picking a daily face wash, you should be looking out for formulations that remove makeup and impurities with ease without disrupting your skin's natural moisture barrier function. Both the Purete Thermale Fresh Cleansing Gel by Vichy and Toleriane Hydrating Gentle Cleanser by La Roche Posay more than tick these boxes, but there are a couple of critical differences to consider.

First and foremost, the main difference is that La Roche Posay's is in the form of a cream, whereas Vichy's is in the form of a foaming gel. Strictly speaking, this should imply that La Roche Posay's is less drying and stripping than Vichy's but at the cost of cleansing power, and Vichy's should be better at cleansing but at the expense of being more drying/damaging. In practice, though, we saw no adverse effects of either form of cleanser (since both are paraben-free, alcohol-free, soap-free, and oil-free), so ultimately, this factor just comes down to your preference.

Returning to our previously stated deductions, though, La Roche Posay's cleanser is clearly intended for the purposes of healing and repairing (with the inclusion of ceramides, niacinamide, and glycerin—3 powerful skin-nourishing ingredients—in the formula), whereas Vichy's is for the active pursuit of improving your skin's overall quality and appearance. On balance, we prefer Vichy's Purete Thermale Fresh Cleansing Gel, but there's a fair and strong argument for La Roche Posay's to claim the top spot depending on your skin type (i.e. dry/combination skin types).

La Roche Posay vs Vichy Moisturizer

La Roche Posay and Vichy each boast incredible collections of face creams that assist you in unveiling your natural, healthy radiance. In fact, so much so that it is almost daunting to try to figure out which collection to choose from to even begin comparing, let alone from which brand. This is a good problem to have, though; allow us to guide you through the best of the best.

A daily moisturizer should excel at two things: mitigating the effects of TEWL (trans-epidermal water loss) and making your skin feel supple, velvety soft, and hydrated all day long. Girl, do we have two absolute gems of moisturizers for you...

The Vichy Aqualia Thermal Rich Face Cream and the La Roche-Posay Toleriane Double Repair Face Moisturizer are two holy grail face products fulfilling these two exact requirements, but deciding between the two can be tricky.

The crucial distinction between the two is the difference in active ingredients. Vichy's formula is inspired by isotonic rehydration (a solution athletes use to keep themselves fully hydrated), utilising hyaluronic acid and their cult-favourite volcanic spring water to do the heavy lifting. I'd have to say that I think this is probably the most 'targeted' product in Vichy's lineup, and it's a very strong one at that. The Toleriane Double Repair Moisturizer contains a combination of ceramides and niacinamide, focussing more on the water retention and reparation side of things.

All in all, La Roche-Posay's Toleriane Double Repair Moisturizer is by far the most popular of the two, and we tend to agree.

La Roche Posay vs Vichy Serum

Hyaluronic Acid serums

La Roche Posay and Vichy both boast extremely popular ranges targeting dehydrated skin with products containing Hyaluronic Acid—Hyalu B5 and Mineral 89, respectively.

Today, we'll be comparing La Roche Posay Hyalu B5 vs Vichy Mineral 89, exemplified by their best-selling serums: the La Roche Posay Hyalu B5 Serum and the Vichy Mineral 89 Serum.

When you’re assessing an HA serum, you want to consider how much of the active ingredient is in the serum, what other ingredients are used in the product, and most importantly: the efficacy (which usually comes as a direct result of the prior factors).

Unfortunately, neither brand is specific about the concentrations of their ingredients. La Roche Posay even goes on to say that they *intentionally* don't divulge this information because of the proprietary nature of their formulas. This makes an objective comparison of the two incredibly tricky.

If we're to believe third-party information, though, there's some suggestion that the La Roche Posay Hyalu B5 Serum contains 0.3% HA, and Vichy's Mineral 89 Hyaluronic Acid Serum contains 2%. Now, 2% is considered optimal for maximum hydration without side-effects, so clearly La Roche Posay's is on the back foot in this respect.

La Roche Posay makes up for this disappointment with the inclusion of Madecassoside, Glycerin, Vitamin B5, Vitamin E, and Dimethicone—each famed for their hydration-improving properties—as well as Prebiotic Thermal Water. Vichy's formula, on the other hand, contains no additional goodies other than their Thermal Spring Water.

The upshot of this revelation is relatively straightforward. If you're specifically looking to maximize Hyaluronic Acid in your skincare routine, then Vichy Mineral 89 is the way forward. HOWEVER, if you're looking for the best serum to improve your skin's hydration (which you almost certainly are, if you're seeking Hyaluronic Acid products), then La Roche Posay's more extensive formula could actually be a better bet despite having a lower concentration of HA.

Both serums are wildly popular in their own right, though, so ultimately it's up to you to choose between the lean simplicity of Vichy versus the archetypal complexity of La Roche Posay. Remember, YMMV (your mileage may vary).

Vitamin C serums

Both brands also offer popular Vitamin C serums: the La Roche Posay 10% Pure Vitamin C Serum and the Vichy Liftactiv Vitamin C Serum.

Picking up where we left off with the Hyalu B5 vs Mineral 89 comparison, you might notice that once again La Roche Posay has deviated from the original assignment, including a *bunch* of additional actives beyond just Vitamin C. Whereas Vichy's is about as minimal as a Vitamin C serum can go (before it's essentially just pure Vitamin C powder).

There's some logic to this, though, with the La Roche Posay Vitamin C Serum being offered as an anti-aging solution first, Vitamin C serum second (in spite of its name). Alongside Vitamin C, it contains exfoliating Salicylic Acid, soothing Neurosensine, moisturizing Glycerin, and hydrating Hyaluronic Acid. Combined, they make for a potent radiance-enhancing, wrinkle-reducing, texture-refining solution.

Vichy's serum offers similar benefits—especially for radiance and skin tone—but with less of an anti-aging twist. It contains what is widely regarded as the 'optimal' concentration of L-Ascorbic Acid (pure Vitamin C), 15%, compared to La Roche Posay's sub-optimal 10% concentration (which, in fairness, is justifiable to balance out the other actives contained in the formula).

So, if you're seeking a Vitamin C serum for its anti-aging perks, then La Roche Posay's Vitamin C Serum containing other complementary actives would be the way to go. If you're more interested in the brightening benefits of Vitamin C, then the Vichy Liftactiv Vitamin C Serum would be the better choice.

La Roche Posay vs Vichy Sunscreen

Sunscreen is one of those products that can take *ages* to find the perfect one of, especially since most brands offer entire ranges of them with subtle variations to appeal to as many people as possible. La Roche Posay and Vichy are no different in this respect, with each brand offering loadsss of popular options, but we've managed to narrow the search down to a single pair.

Introducing: the La Roche Posay Anthelios Ultra Light Fluid Facial Sunscreen SPF 60 and the Vichy Capital Soleil Ultra Light Sunscreen SPF 50, contenders for the title of 'best suncreen for sensitive skin'.

With both products being ultra-lightweight, chemical sunscreens (as opposed to mineral sunscreens), additionally containing Dimethicone, Silica, Vitamin E, and their respective, mineral-rich Thermal Spring Water, we've got our work cut out for us when it comes to finding notable differences to explore.

Although it might seem like the La Roche Posay sunscreen offers significantly better sun protection given that it boasts SPF 60 relative to Vichy's SPF 50, the difference is actually negligible: SPF 60 means that 98.3% of UV rays are absorbed, whereas SPF 50 means that 98% of UV rays are absorbed.

Another potential difference (and similarity) is in the antioxidant protection they offer. The La Roche Posay Anthelios Sunscreen contains Senna Alata, a tropical leaf extract known to protect the skin from harmful free radicals caused by the skin. Vichy—not to be one-upped—contains Grape Extract for precisely the same purpose.

They're both also paraben-free, oxybenzone-free, oil-free, and non-comedogenic. The only difference we could find here is in the fact that La Roche Posay's sunscreen is fragrance-free, whereas Vichy's isn't—a potential deciding factor for those with particularly sensitive skin.

As you could probably gather from the straw clutching we've just engaged in, for all intents and purposes these sunscreens are practically identical. This would be an unfortunate result if they were bad sunscreens, but as far as sunscreens go, these are the cream-of-the-crop. Feel confident in choosing whichever of the two you fancy most.

The only reason why you might decide against either of them is if you're specifically looking for a mineral sunscreen, in which case the Vichy Capital Soleil Tinted Mineral Sunscreen or the La Roche Posay Anthelios Mineral Ultra-Light Face Sunscreen might be better suited. (We weren't kidding when we said both brands offer loads of options!)

La Roche Posay vs Vichy Eye Cream

High-quality eye cream is the *ultimate* solution to dark circles, puffiness and visible signs of aging around the eyes. We have already touched on two such eye creams from Vichy and La Roche Posay in our Best French Eye Cream article; here, though, we will dive more in-depth, and directly compare them.

As continuations of a couple of their flagship ranges (Pigmentclar vs Aqualia), La Roche Posay and Vichy boast contenders for the best eye creams available on the market. They are, of course, on the higher end of the price scale, but they are oh so worth it. Allow us to introduce the Vichy Aqualia Thermal Awakening Eye Balm and the La Roche Posay Pigmentclar Eye Cream.

Both products contain caffeine at the core of their formulas, and both help to visibly reduce dark circles and under-eye bags, counteracting fatigue by replenishing the skin with natural goodness. The main difference is that La Roche Posay's eye cream also provides anti-ageing benefits (diminishing fine lines and wrinkles) thanks to the inclusion of pure retinol. We love it, but the price disparity makes Vichy's Aqualia Thermal Awakening Eye Balm our clear favourite.

La Roche Posay vs Vichy Conclusion

The consensus with regards to the two brands as a whole follows neatly from the inferences we drew from the spring water comparison. To reiterate, you will probably prefer the La Roche Posay brand as a whole if you are looking to resolve specific skin concerns such as acne or dryness, whereas you will definitely prefer Vichy if you are simply looking to improve your skin's overall quality and appearance.

2024 update: There's not an awful lot to report with regards to La Roche Posay or Vichy three years on. That's not necessarily a bad thing, though. While we do love to see shiny new versions of products, it's also just as comforting to see a product look and feel the same as it ever has. It's testament to how popular they are, as they are.

So as not to compare apples to oranges, this article comprised comparisons of similar, popular, best-selling products from the two brands. To round off our review, though, here are our recommendations for the alternative skincare lines that Vichy and La Roche Posay offer.

Best La Roche-Posay Ranges

For very sensitive skin:
Try the Toleriane Range

For redness or rosacea:
Try the Rosaliac Range

For acne and oily, blemish-prone skin:
Try the Effaclar Range

Best Vichy Ranges

For mature skin:
Try the Liftactiv Range

For skin showing early signs of ageing:
Try the Idéalia Range

For skin needing extra coverage:
Try the Dermablend Range

Frequently Asked Questions

Vichy vs La Roche Posay sunscreen?
La Roche Posay's Anthelios Range.

La Roche Posay Hyalu B5 vs Vichy Mineral 89?
The Vichy Mineral 89.

Vichy vs La Roche Posay for Acne?
La Roche Posay's Effaclar Range.

Work in progress

You have been reading a post that we are constantly updating. Be sure to bookmark this page, subscribe, and come back later to see additions to the definitive La Roche Posay vs Vichy guide!

This article was originally published on November 19th 2021, but it has been reviewed and updated with the latest available information on January 25th 2024 by Sara Mckay, MA.