CeraVe Acne Foaming Cream Cleanser On your shelf ✓
Our read, in one look
Benzoyl Peroxide is the reason to consider this cleanser, with Ceramide 3 behind it.
The case for it
- Benzoyl Peroxide, strong evidence for oil and breakouts
- Ceramide 3, strong evidence for the barrier
- No fragrance, alcohol, silicones or parabens
Mind this
- Sunscreen the next day, acids leave skin more sun-sensitive
- Benzoyl Peroxide: sits high on irritation, so ease it in
- Add it on its own for a week or two, so you know what your skin is answering to
Maya's readCeraVe Acne Foaming Cream Cleanser is a cleanser built around Benzoyl Peroxide, Glycerin and Ceramide 3. It leans strongest on hydration, barrier repair, brightening / tone. Best suited to oily, acne prone and combo skin. Go slow: the active is potent enough to irritate if overused.
Skip it if your barrier is already sensitised or compromised: the acids can sting broken or over-exfoliated skin.
The formula, drawn
Every ingredient in label order, coloured by the job it does here.
6 of the 28 sit above the 1% line. The other 22, hatched, are each under 1%. Widths show the ORDER on the label and nothing else: the label never discloses amounts, so we never draw them.
- Actives & signals
- Hydrators
- Texture & base
- Preservation
- Not in our library yet
- No fragrance anywhere on the label
What it delivers
How it feels A gentle wash that lifts the day away without leaving skin tight or squeaky. (estimated from the formula)
What's in it that matters
Powerful antibacterial and comedolytic agent that significantly reduces acne lesions but commonly causes dryness irritation and bleaching.
Classic humectant with strong evidence for improving skin hydration and supporting barrier when combined with emollients.
Skin-identical ceramide that plays a key role in restoring and strengthening the skin barrier.
Multitasking vitamin that improves barrier, reduces redness, regulates oil, helps with pores and pigmentation with strong clinical support.
Small-molecule AHA that powerfully exfoliates and improves texture and tone but carries a higher irritation risk, especially at higher strengths.
Ceramide that supports barrier integrity and helps smooth rough, dry skin when combined with other skin lipids.
How to use it
In the evening, and not every night: 2–3 times a week is plenty. Follow with a moisturiser, and wear sunscreen the next day.
Keep it away from
- Retinoids (retinol, tretinoin)
- Benzoyl peroxide
- Other exfoliating acids the same night
Where it acts
The same cross-section as our 500 dalton page, with this formula's actives on the layer each one works on. Depth is the anatomy's, never an ingredient's.
Skin surface
The stratum corneum
- Ceramide 3derived from what it is
- Ceramide 6-IIderived from what it is
- Glycerinderived from what it is
- Glycolic acidderived from what it is
Down the follicle
- Benzoyl Peroxideestablished, sourced
The living epidermis
- Niacinamideestablished, sourced
6 of this product's actives have a layer we can defend.
Sources for the sourced ones: StatPearls: Acne Vulgaris; Boo 2021: mechanistic basis for topical nicotinamide; Ebanks et al. 2009: mechanisms regulating skin pigmentation.
Against the average cleanser
It scores higher than the median cleanser on brightening and oil control.
On hydration, barrier repair and anti-aging it is level with the median, so that is not what sets it apart.
A median, not an average: one unusual formula should not move the middle. The numbers are the same 0 to 10 reads the comparison pages use.
The full ingredients list, decoded
Every ingredient on the label, in the order it appears (highest amount first). We link the 23 our library knows, name what each one does, and flag anything that can irritate or clog. The rest we leave plain, nothing is hidden.
All 28 ingredients, decoded
- Benzoyl PeroxidePeroxidecan irritate
- WaterSolvent (base)
- GlycerinHumectant
- Propylene GlycolHumectantmild irritant
- Cocamidopropyl HydroxysultaineCleansing agent
- Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate
- roughly the 1% lineThe rules only require descending order above 1%. From Xanthan Gum down, these 22 can be listed in any order the brand likes, so position stops telling you anything.
- Xanthan GumThickener
- Potassium HydroxidepH buffer
- Ceramide NPBarrier lipid
- Ceramide APBarrier lipid
- Ceramide EOPBarrier lipid
- CarbomerThickener
- NiacinamideVitaminmild irritant
- Glycolic AcidExfoliantcan irritate
- Sodium ChlorideThickener
- Sodium CitratePh adjuster
- Sodium HyaluronateHumectant
- Sodium Lauroyl LactylateSurfactantmild irritant
- Sodium HydroxidePh adjustermild irritant
- CholesterolBarrier lipid
- PhenoxyethanolPreservativemild irritant
- PropanediolHumectant
- Citric AcidExfoliantmild irritant
- Tetrasodium EDTAChelator
- Diethylhexyl Sodium SulfosuccinateCleansing agent
- PhytosphingosineSphingoid base
- EthylhexylglycerinPreservative booster
- Benzoic AcidPreservative
Worth knowing: Niacinamide, Glycolic acid sit below that line. They are in there, and the label does not tell you how much. That is not the same as saying it is too little to matter.
Copy the raw INCI list
Benzoyl Peroxide, Water, Glycerin, Propylene Glycol, Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine, Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate, Xanthan Gum, Potassium Hydroxide, Ceramide NP, Ceramide AP, Ceramide EOP, Carbomer, Niacinamide, Glycolic Acid, Sodium Chloride, Sodium Citrate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Sodium Lauroyl Lactylate, Sodium Hydroxide, Cholesterol, Phenoxyethanol, Propanediol, Citric Acid, Tetrasodium EDTA, Diethylhexyl Sodium Sulfosuccinate, Phytosphingosine, Ethylhexylglycerin, Benzoic Acid
Worried about clogged pores specifically? The pore-clogging checker reads this same list against the published comedogenic ratings.
Read enough? Find it on amazon.com →
We don't make or sell skincare of our own. So there's nothing here we're trying to push, just an honest read of whether this formula suits your skin.
Against your shelf
Read from your own shelf, in your browser. We never see it.
Compare it with…
All 8 comparisons
- Acne Foaming Cream Cleanser vs CeraVe Hydrating Cleanser
- Acne Foaming Cream Cleanser vs CeraVe Foaming Facial Cleanser
- Acne Foaming Cream Cleanser vs CeraVe SA Smoothing Cleanser
- Acne Foaming Cream Cleanser vs Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser
- Acne Foaming Cream Cleanser vs Bioderma Sébium Gel Moussant
- Acne Foaming Cream Cleanser vs COSRX Low pH Good Morning Gel Cleanser
- Acne Foaming Cream Cleanser vs Bioderma Sensibio H2O Micellar Water
- Acne Foaming Cream Cleanser vs Cetaphil Daily Facial Cleanser
Common questions
Is CeraVe Acne Foaming Cream Cleanser good for oily skin?
By our read of the formula, it suits oily, acne prone, combo skin. CeraVe Acne Foaming Cream Cleanser is a cleanser built around Benzoyl Peroxide, Glycerin and Ceramide 3. It leans strongest on hydration, barrier repair, brightening / tone. Best suited to oily, acne prone and combo skin. Go slow: the active is potent enough to irritate if overused.
How do you use CeraVe Acne Foaming Cream Cleanser?
In the evening, and not every night: 2–3 times a week is plenty. Follow with a moisturiser, and wear sunscreen the next day.
What are the key ingredients in CeraVe Acne Foaming Cream Cleanser?
The actives that do the work are Benzoyl Peroxide, Glycerin, Ceramide 3, Niacinamide, Glycolic acid, Ceramide 6-II. The rest of the list is texture, preservatives and emulsifiers that hold the formula together.
Does CeraVe Acne Foaming Cream Cleanser contain fragrance?
No. By our reading of the ingredient list it is fragrance-free, which is a plus for sensitive or reactive skin.
What the 3D scene shows
The scene shows CeraVe Acne Foaming Cream Cleanser beside a cross-section of skin, with 4 of its ingredients drawn at the layer each one acts on and at one shared molecular scale: Ceramide 3 and Glycerin and Glycolic acid in the stratum corneum, the dead outer layer where most skincare works; Benzoyl Peroxide in the living epidermis, among the cells that are still dividing. Depths come from the same sourced layer data as the rest of this site, and any ingredient whose layer is not established is left out rather than guessed.
