Combination skin is the most common skin type – and it is also the trickiest. You have to deal with dry patches here and there along with an oily T-zone and impurities.
To find the right vegan skincare for combination skin, we have gathered the best vegan ingredients, brands, and products for 2024.
With combination skin, one-size-fits-all solutions are rare. Yet, we have found some trusted vegan skincare lines to keep combo skin healthy and balanced.
Youth To The People
Glow Recipe
Balance Me
The Inkey List
Biossance
The Ordinary
Skinfix
Best Products
Best Vegan Skincare Ingredients For Combination Skin
Here are our favorite vegan skincare ingredients for combination skin. With combo skin, the trick is in finding ingredients that are non-comedogenic, balancing, and hydrating.
- Peptides: Peptides are the best skin food for combination skin. These amino acids repair skin cells, even skin texture, and slow down aging by signaling collagen and elastin production. Peptides sooth, firm, and repair combination skin.
- Vitamin C: Vitamin C is great for evening out the skin texture and tone for combination skin. It brightens the skin, reduces dark spots, and prevents premature aging.
- Hyaluronic acid: Vegan hyaluronic acid hydrates both oily and dry areas of combo skin without clogging pores. It also helps the skin to retain healthy moisture levels. Read more about hyaluronic acid here.
- Niacinamide: Niacinamide aka vitamin B3 strengthens the protective barrier function of combination skin. It reduces water loss, inflammation, redness and regulates oiliness.
- Ceramides: Ceramides are a safe choice for every skin type, including combo skin. These protective lipids strengthen the skin barrier and prevent water loss.
- Squalane: Vegan squalane is a good noncomedogenic moisturizer that hydrates, softens, and soothes combination skin as well as regulates sebum production.
- AHAs: exfoliation is important for combination skin. AHAs aka alpha-hydroxy acids remove dead skin cells, promote blood flow, brighten the skin, and improve the skin texture. Glycolic acid, lactic acid, and citric acid are great vegan-friendly AHAs.
- BHAs: BHAs aka beta-hydroxy acid are great exfoliators for the oilier T-zone. They get deep into the pores, clear blemises and blackheads, and reduce the look of pores.
- Green tea: Green tea is a powerful antioxidant that balances, soothes, and clarifies combination skin. For combo skin, we also recommend other green antioxidants like green seaweed, kale, and spinach.
Keep in mind that hyaluronic acid and squalane can be both vegan and animal-derived. Always look for a vegan label to make sure you are making an animal-friendly choice.
What To Look For In Vegan Skincare For Combination Skin
When shopping for vegan skincare for combination skin, avoid overburdening your skin with too many products and too strong actives. Balance and moderation are key.
To avoid irritating your skin, do not mix retinol with peptides, AHAs, and salicylic acid. Also, do not combine two products that have a high concentration of the same active ingredient.
Alcohol-based vegan skincare is not ideal for combination skin since it can irritate your dry areas. On the other hand, rich oils like coconut oil can clog pores for oily areas.
For combination skin, ingredients like peptides, ceramides, hyaluronic acid, niacinamide, and antioxidants are always a good choice. They are safe for both your oily and dry areas.
Best Vegan Skincare Routine For Combination Skin
Combination skin usually needs a good vegan cleanser. Choose a cleanser that removes dirt, dead skin cells, makeup, and excess sebum effectively without drying out your skin.
A daily vegan moisturizer is also a must since both oily and dry areas need hydration. If you forget to hydrate your T-zone, the skin might overreact with increased oil production.
And as always, do not forget vegan sunscreen. As combination skin type has areas that might be more sensitive and dry, then go for something lightly hydrating yet gentle.
As for choosing vegan serums, toners, and exfoliators – it depends on which skin concern you are targeting. You might need to use different products on different areas of your face.
If your combination skin has more problems with dryness, consider adding a hydrating vegan serum or vegan vitamin C serum (or both) to your daily skincare routine.
If your main problem is oiliness, blemishes, and blackheads, consider using a clarifying vegan toner or a liquid exfoliator on your congested T-zone.
Best Vegan Skincare Brands For Combination Skin
Here are our favorite brands that carry a great selection of vegan skincare for combination skin.
Youth To The People
Youth to the People is an American vegan skincare brand known for its nutrient-dense superfood blends. Most of their products are loved by combination skin.
Their Antioxidant Cleanser with green tea and kale is one of the best cleansers of all time. It gives such a refreshing, deep cleanse without stripping your skin of moisture.
The Superfood Moisturizer is a great vegan day cream since it combines hyaluronic acid and green tea. We also love their hydrating peptide mist that is perfect for drier areas.
When it is time to exfoliate, Youth To The People has a fantastic toner with kombucha extract and AHAs. It smooths and clarifies the skin and reduces the appearance of pores.
- Superfood Antioxidant Cleanser: Amazon, Sephora
- Superfood Air-Whip Moisturizer: Amazon, Sephora
- Adaptogen Soothe + Hydrate Activated Mist: Amazon, Sephora
- Kombucha + 11% AHA Exfoliation Toner: Amazon
Glow Recipe
Glow Recipe creates clean skincare inspired by Korean beauty. Their bestselling Watermelon Glow collection is fully vegan and great for combination skin.
Even if you’re not a fan of watermelon, you can expect results from this line. That is because vitamin-rich fruit is paired with actives like niacinamide, hyaluronic acid, and BHAs.
The collection addresses many skin concerns at once from dehydration to enlarged pores. The products go well together to give combo skin a dewy and youthful appearance.
- Pink Juice Oil-Free Moisturizer: Amazon, Sephora
- PHA +BHA Pore-Tight Toner: Amazon, Sephora
- Niacinamide Dew Drops: Amazon, Sephora
Balance Me
As the name suggests, this British brand is all about balancing the skin – something combination skin can appreciate. While Balance Me is not fully vegan, it has many great vegan options.
Balance Me Pure Skin vegan face wash is great. It gives such a clean feel without dryness or tightness. It also reduced blemishes, redness, and tightens pores.
The Collagen Boost moisturizer uses hyaluronic acid and peptides that hydrate combination skin well while also reducing fine lines and other signs of aging.
We also recommend their vitamin C serum and AHA vegan face mask to boost the overall youthfulness of combo skin. Both give your skin a more even tone and texture.
- Pure Skin Face Wash: Amazon, Official site
- Collagen Boost Moisturizer: Amazon, Official site
- Vitamin C Repair Serum: Amazon, Official site
- AHA Glow Mask: Amazon, Official site
The Inkey List
From The Inkey List, combination skin will find vegan skincare that is also affordable. But as the company is not fully vegan, make sure you choose products that have a vegan label.
Above all, we love their Omega Water cream with omega fatty acids and niacinamide. The weightless oil-free cream gives great hydration without feeling greasy at all.
Their Salicylic Acid cleanser gently exfoliates combo skin to remove congestion and blemishes on your T-zone. While powerful, it also soothes and evens the skin without stripping it.
As for vegan serums, our favorite ones for combination skin include the hydrating hyaluronic acid serum and vitamin C brightening serum.
- Omega Water Cream Moisturizer: Sephora, Cult Beauty
- Salicylic Acid Acne + Pore Cleanser: Sephora, Cult Beauty
- 15% Vitamin C and EGF Brightening Serum: Sephora, Cult Beauty
- Hyaluronic Acid Hydrating Serum: Sephora, Cult Beauty
Biossance
Vegan skincare brand Biossance ethical and natural skincare mainly from sugarcane-derived squalane – an excellent hydrator for combination skin.
Combo skin will love their vegan moisturizer with squalane and probiotics. The gel formula strengthens the skin barrier, reduces pores and redness, and balances oily areas.
Other great vegan products for combination skin include their pore-minimizing vegan toner with BHA and lightweight hydrating serum with peptides and antioxidants.
- Squalane + Probiotic Gel Moisturizer: Amazon, Sephora
- Squalane + BHA Pore-Minimizing Toner: Amazon, Sephora
- Squalane + Copper Peptide Serum: Amazon, Sephora
The Ordinary
The Ordinary is hard to ignore when talking about combination skin. Their formulas are simple, vegan, affordable, and focused on key actives to deliver hydration and balance.
The best routine for combination skin includes their bestselling squalane cleanser, simple HA moisturizer, and cult-favorite AHA + BHA exfoliating treatment.
The vegan niacinamide serum regulates oil production and reduces the visibility of pores. It makes combination skin generally smoother and more even.
- Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA: Amazon, Sephora
- Squalane Cleanser: Amazon, Sephora
- Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%: Amazon, Sephora
- AHA 30% + BHA 2% Peeling Solution: Amazon, Sephora
Skinfix
Canadian brand Skinfix has an amazing Barrier+ collection that suits combination skin well. It focuses on moisturizing the skin and building a strong and healthy natural barrier.
Skinfix is not entirely vegan but luckily their Barrier+ moisturizer, cleanser, and serum are vegan. These three make for a simple skincare regimen for combination skin.
The main actives in this collection are peptides, lipids, antioxidants, and hyaluronic acid to improve the skin texture and keep combo skin plump and hydrated.
- Triple Lipid-Peptide Face Cream: Amazon, Sephora
- Foaming Oil Hydrating Cleanser: Amazon, Sephora
- Triple Lipid-Hyaluronate Serum: Sephora
Best Vegan Skincare Products For Combination Skin
Mixing and matching different products is sometimes best for combination skin. Here are some of our favorite vegan skincare products for combination skin.
Best Vegan Moisturizer For Combination Skin
Drunk Elephant Protini Polypeptide Moisturizer
Protini is our number one vegan moisturizer for combination skin. Made with proteins, peptides, amino acids, and antioxidants, the cream hydrates the skin well, improves complexion, and reduces the look of imperfections. It simply gives good nutrients to your skin.
Above all, we love the texture – it does not leave combination skin wanting for more moisture and it does not leave the skin greasy. The vegan cream is free of fragrance and other harsh additives, so it is also safe for sensitive combination skin. See all vegan moisturizers.
Best Vegan Serum For Combination Skin
Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow Niacinamide Dew Drops
This niacinamide serum gives such a lovely glow to combination skin. It is like a refreshing watermelon juice for your skin with vitamin C, niacinamide, and hyaluronic acid – ingredients combination skin likes. It works well both under and on top of your moisturizer.
Best Vegan Cleanser For Combination Skin
Youth To The People Superfood Antioxidant Cleanser
This vegan cleanser does not disappoint. Your skin will feel so clean and fresh after this, yet not in a squeaky and dry way. Combo skin will get the pores clean while the formula also nourishes dry areas with antioxidants from green tea, kale, and spinach.
Best Vegan Toner For Combination Skin
Biossance Squalane + BHA Pore-Minimizing Toner
Biossance has made a perfect vegan toner for balancing combination skin and unclogging pores in the oily T-zone. Made with natural BHAs from willow bark, the toner gently exfoliates the skin leaving it much smoother and clearer. Squalane adds hydration to the skin.
Best Vegan Exfoliator For Combination Skin
Paula’s Choice Skin Perfecting 8% AHA Gel Exfoliant
Glycolic acid is one of the best exfoliating ingredients for combination skin. It really evens the complexion without drying the skin. We love this vegan glycolic acid exfoliant from Paula’s Choice as it also contains soothing chamomile, green tea, and hyaluronic acid.
Best Vegan Face Oil For Combination Skin
Naked & Thriving Detox Balancing Face Oil
If your combination skin is more on the dry side, this light vegan face oil is a good choice. It uses jojoba oil that keeps skin hydrated without clogging pores. Additional Frankincense and evening primrose oil smooth the skin and even help clear congestion and impurities.
Shop on: Amazon, Official site
Best Vegan Mask For Combination Skin
Alpyn Beauty Wild Huckleberry 8-Acid Polishing Peel Mask
This beautiful sorbet-looking vegan face mask is great for brightening combination skin. Made with vitamin C, AHAs, BHAs, and bamboo powder, it reveals a much smoother and more radiant skin. The mask is also good at unclogging pores and getting rid of blemishes.
Best Vegan Sunscreen For Combination Skin
Supergoop! Glowscreen Sunscreen SPF 40 PA+++
We love when sunscreen is much more than just sun protection. The Supergoop! vegan sunscreen contains hyaluronic acid that gives nice and light hydration to combination skin. It also includes peptides to protect the skin from blue-light damage.
Best Vegan Skincare Kit For Combination Skin
Youth To The People The Minimalist Kit
We love this vegan kit. It has our favorite vegan cleanser and moisturizer along with an amazing vitamin C and caffeine serum. This trio does everything for combination skin: it cleanses, hydrates, minimizes pores and brightens the skin.
Shop on: Amazon, Official Site
FAQ About Vegan Skincare For Combination Skin
The best vegan-friendly ingredients for combination skin are hyaluronic acid, niacinamide, AHAs, BHAs, peptides, ceramides, and green tea.
You can find the best selection of vegan skincare for combination skin from Youth To The People, Glow Recipe, Biossance, The Inkey List, and Skinfix.
The best vegan moisturizer for combination skin is Drunk Elephant Protini Polypeptide Moisturizer. It has proteins, peptides, amino acids, and antioxidants to strengthen, hydrate, and balance combination skin.
You can find a wide variety of vegan skincare for combination skin types online – especially on Amazon and Sephora.
Summary
Combination skin needs to deal with multiple skin concerns at once. That is why it is great to find vegan skincare that helps to balance and protect combination skin.
Our favorite vegan skincare for combination skin comes from the skincare lines of Youth To The People, Glow Recipe, Skinfix, Balance Me, and other vegan and cruelty-free companies.
When choosing vegan skincare products, do not overdo it with potent actives and too frequent exfoliation. Try to address one skin concern at once – just keep your skin hydrated.
We hope you found our article useful and that you got some good tips to keep your combination skin looking healthy, smooth, and radiant. Thanks for choosing vegan skincare.
See also: Benefits of Vegan Skincare, Vegan Makeup For Combination Skin
Article update on May 02 (2023): Fact checked and medically reviewed by MD Shimona Garg
Article update on February 17 (2023): Added more references
