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Kiehl's Rare Earth Deep Pore Daily Cleanser Review

Mild Cleanser: Kiehl’s Rare Earth Deep Pore Daily Cleanser

Kiehl’s Rare Earth Deep Pore Daily Cleanser ($22.50 for 5.0 fl. oz.) is described as a mild, foaming, deep cleansing formula for normal to oily skin types to “purify and thoroughly cleanse” without stripping skin. It uses “Amazonian White Clay and finely crushed diatomaceous earth particles to gently remove surface debris, toxins, and oils.” It purports to help minimize the appearance of pores (read: it does not actually minimize them, just minimizes the appearance of them) as well. There are also a few additional products from the Rare Earth line-up: Pore Refining Tonic, Pore Minimizing Lotion, Pore and Cleansing Masque.

It’s a thick, slightly creamy, mostly white (perhaps, a little grayed white) cleanser that you squeeze out of the tube. I use about a dime-size amount of product, and I find it’s more than enough to thoroughly cleanse my face and neck during my morning shower. It lathers up just enough to give you the “it’s doing something” feeling, and my skin definitely feels clean post-shower, but it doesn’t feel dry, stripped, or tight.

This is probably one of the more gentle cleansers I’ve ever tried that’s also supposed to exfoliate. It has diatomaceous earth as its scrubby bits, but I found I could hardly feel them. If I wasn’t trying to think about all the nuances of the product for a review, I might never have really thought about it as an exfoliator whatsoever. I would certainly have to agree with Kiehl’s claim that it is a mild and gentle cleanser.

Bottom Line: I liked it a lot, and if I wasn’t regularly trying out new skincare products for review, I would consider repurchasing it. It’s a very mild cleanser that’s effective without being harsh. It doesn’t have too many frills, which is something I like – less frills, less over-the-top claims.

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  • Product: 28/30
  • Value: 9/10
  • Ease of Use: 5/5
  • Packaging: 4/5

Recommendation: If you’re looking for a gentle cleanser, you might like Kiehl’s Rare Earth Deep Pore Daily Cleanser!

Availability: Nordstrom

22 Comments

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Akia Avatar

funny, my boyfriend just brought this home for me about 2 weeks ago… i don’t see why they call it an exfoliator but it’s really, really nice, doesn’t dry my face out and it’s ultra gentle… love it!

Dària Avatar

I loooooooooove this cleanser!! My skin is very sensitive and the other exfoliation products I’ve tried are always too “agressive”. So, I love it because it’s soft, but deeply cleans the skin!

I LOVE KIEHL’S PRODUCTS 🙂

Maud Avatar

Christine,

I would not recommend this product for acne prone skin. Daily exfoliation can irritate acne. This product works best on oily skin with enlarged pores or as a twice weekly gentle exfoliant. I work for Kiehl’s. If you were told this by a Kiehl’s representative then you were mislead.

Eva Avatar

Actually, it isn’t a exfoliant, i’ve been using this for almost two months, everyday and i have acne-prone skin. This product supposedly is a exfoliant but it doesn’t feel like one, may have deep cleansing particles, but you can’t feel it at all. A real exfoliant with even a bit bigger particles can irritate acne-prone skin, but this is really gentle and can be used everyday.

Ceriene Avatar

According to dermatologists, exfoliators that have really rough grains are too harsh for the face, so this sounds like an interesting product to check out.

Thanks for the review, Christine, going to have a take a look at this during Christmas sales.

betsy Avatar

My skin is very dry, I even have eczema. So I have tried many products, finally I got my right products form myskin .com recommendation which comes up on the the basis of my profile. My favorites are Cetaphil cleansers and moisturizers for the face during the day. At night, I love Kiehls Lycopene facial moisturizing cream. It’s costly but magnificent to my skin and worth every scent. When I wake up it feels like I have on a different face that is completely moisturized. From myskin.com, kiehls cleanser was also recommended for me. I have never tried this one, but now I have to thanks to this review.

skinsavey Avatar

I love trying out new lotions and potions’ here I found this product. I am trying this for the last 2 weeks and the results are awesome– i am just too excited.

nunuiviet Avatar

i just bought it yesterday after buying the rare deep pore mask , and i love these two!now i like it more than the philosophy microdelivery facial wash which i found too drying for my skin. I had congested pores because of the makeup i suppose and also because of my acne prone, sensitve oily skin, but these two product from this range are just amazing, they had helped a lot in my cystic acne, my pores are so clean and my skin is not dry! The only thing that i would have like is a bit of scent , i love perfumed products i don’t know why …

Arantzazu Avatar

Hi Christine! I have a question about this product: I’m looking for “something” (cleanser/exfoliator) that really helps me to clean my (large) pores. Do you recommend this for that purpose?
I have oily skin, and I have found a good moisturizer which keeps my shines away and my hydration on, but I haven’t found a good product to prevent the black heads and to keep my pores clean (as clean as possible…)
Thank you! =)

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