CeraVe Hydrating Cream-to-Foam Cleanser On your shelf ✓
Our read, in one look
Ceramide 3 is the reason to consider this cleanser, with Salicylic acid (BHA) behind it.
The case for it
- Ceramide 3, strong evidence for the barrier
- Salicylic acid (BHA), moderate evidence for oil and breakouts
- No fragrance, alcohol, silicones or parabens
Mind this
- Sunscreen the next day, acids leave skin more sun-sensitive
- Add it on its own for a week or two, so you know what your skin is answering to
Maya's readCeraVe Hydrating Cream-to-Foam Cleanser is a cleanser built around Glycerin, Ceramide 3 and Salicylic acid (BHA). It leans strongest on hydration, barrier repair, oil-control & blemishes. Best suited to dry, dehydrated and sensitive 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.
18 of the 60 sit above the 1% line. The other 42, 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
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.
Oil-soluble exfoliant that penetrates pores to reduce blackheads and breakouts; can be drying or irritating if overused.
Ceramide that supports barrier integrity and helps smooth rough, dry skin when combined with other skin lipids.
Structural ceramide important for a resilient, well-organized barrier lipid matrix.
Component of skin’s natural moisturizing factor that helps attract and hold water in the stratum corneum.
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 1derived from what it is
- Ceramide 3derived from what it is
- Ceramide 6-IIderived from what it is
- Glycerinderived from what it is
- Salicylic acid (BHA)derived from what it is
- Sodium PCAderived from what it is
6 of this product's actives have a layer we can defend.
Against the average cleanser
It scores higher than the median cleanser on oil control.
On hydration, barrier repair, brightening 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 46 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 60 ingredients, decoded
- Aqua/Water/EauSolvent (base)
- GlycerinHumectant
- Sodium Methyl Cocoyl TaurateSurfactant
- Coco-BetaineCleansing agent
- Sodium Cocoyl IsethionateSurfactant
- Sodium ChlorideThickener
- PCAAmino acid (NMF)
- PPG-5-Ceteth-20Emulsifier
- PEG-100 StearateEmulsifier
- PEG-150 Pentaerythrityl TetrastearateEmulsifier
- PEG-6 Caprylic/Capric GlyceridesEmulsifier
- PEG-30 DipolyhydroxystearateEmulsifier
- CI 77891
- Aspartic AcidHumectant
- Ceramide NPBarrier lipid
- Ceramide APBarrier lipid
- Ceramide EOPBarrier lipid
- Sorbitan IsostearateEmulsifier
- roughly the 1% lineThe rules only require descending order above 1%. From Carbomer down, these 42 can be listed in any order the brand likes, so position stops telling you anything.
- CarbomerThickener
- Glycol Distearate
- Glyceryl StearateEmulsifier
- Glyceryl Oleate
- GlycineHumectant
- Trideceth-6
- Cetearyl AlcoholEmollient
- Behentrimonium MethosulfateConditioning agent
- ThreonineHumectant
- Sodium HydroxidePh adjustermild irritant
- Salicylic AcidExfoliantmild irritant
- Sodium PCAHumectant
- Sodium LactateHumectant
- ArginineHumectant
- Sodium Lauroyl LactylateSurfactantmild irritant
- SerineHumectant
- Sodium BenzoatePreservative
- ValineHumectant
- Sodium HyaluronateHumectant
- ProlineHumectant
- IsoleucineHumectant
- CholesterolBarrier lipid
- PhenoxyethanolPreservativemild irritant
- AlanineHumectant
- PhenylalanineHumectant
- Coconut Acid
- Coco-GlucosideSurfactant
- ChlorphenesinPreservative
- Disodium EDTAChelator
- Hydroxyethyl UreaHumectant
- Citric AcidExfoliantmild irritant
- Caprylyl GlycolPreservative booster
- PhytosphingosineSphingoid base
- Xanthan GumThickener
- HistidineHumectant
- Polyquaternium-53
- Polyquaternium-39
- Polysorbate 60Emulsifier
- EthylhexylglycerinPreservative booster
- Benzoic AcidPreservative
Worth knowing: Sodium PCA sits below that line. It is 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
Aqua/Water/Eau, Glycerin, Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate, Coco-Betaine, Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate, Sodium Chloride, PCA, PPG-5-Ceteth-20, PEG-100 Stearate, PEG-150 Pentaerythrityl Tetrastearate, PEG-6 Caprylic/Capric Glycerides, PEG-30 Dipolyhydroxystearate, CI 77891, Aspartic Acid, Ceramide NP, Ceramide AP, Ceramide EOP, Sorbitan Isostearate, Carbomer, Glycol Distearate, Glyceryl Stearate, Glyceryl Oleate, Glycine, Trideceth-6, Cetearyl Alcohol, Behentrimonium Methosulfate, Threonine, Sodium Hydroxide, Salicylic Acid, Sodium PCA, Sodium Lactate, Arginine, Sodium Lauroyl Lactylate, Serine, Sodium Benzoate, Valine, Sodium Hyaluronate, Proline, Isoleucine, Cholesterol, Phenoxyethanol, Alanine, Phenylalanine, Coconut Acid, Coco-Glucoside, Chlorphenesin, Disodium EDTA, Hydroxyethyl Urea, Citric Acid, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Caprylyl Glycol, Phytosphingosine, Xanthan Gum, Histidine, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Polyquaternium-53, Polyquaternium-39, Polysorbate 60, 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 7 comparisons
- Hydrating Cream-to-Foam Cleanser vs CeraVe Hydrating Cleanser
- Hydrating Cream-to-Foam Cleanser vs CeraVe Foaming Facial Cleanser
- Hydrating Cream-to-Foam Cleanser vs CeraVe SA Smoothing Cleanser
- Hydrating Cream-to-Foam Cleanser vs Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser
- Hydrating Cream-to-Foam Cleanser vs Bioderma Sébium Gel Moussant
- Hydrating Cream-to-Foam Cleanser vs COSRX Low pH Good Morning Gel Cleanser
- Hydrating Cream-to-Foam Cleanser vs Bioderma Sensibio H2O Micellar Water
Common questions
Is CeraVe Hydrating Cream-to-Foam Cleanser good for dry skin?
By our read of the formula, it suits dry, dehydrated, sensitive skin. CeraVe Hydrating Cream-to-Foam Cleanser is a cleanser built around Glycerin, Ceramide 3 and Salicylic acid (BHA). It leans strongest on hydration, barrier repair, oil-control & blemishes. Best suited to dry, dehydrated and sensitive skin. Go slow: the active is potent enough to irritate if overused.
How do you use CeraVe Hydrating Cream-to-Foam 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 Hydrating Cream-to-Foam Cleanser?
The actives that do the work are Glycerin, Ceramide 3, Salicylic acid (BHA), Ceramide 6-II, Ceramide 1, Sodium PCA. The rest of the list is texture, preservatives and emulsifiers that hold the formula together.
Does CeraVe Hydrating Cream-to-Foam 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 Hydrating Cream-to-Foam 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 Salicylic acid (BHA) and Sodium PCA in the stratum corneum, the dead outer layer where most skincare works. 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.
