CeraVe Hydrating Facial Cleanser with Hyaluronic Acid (16 oz) Review
A fragrance-free, non-foaming cream cleanser for normal to dry skin. The formula pairs hyaluronic acid and glycerin with three essential ceramides (1, 3, 6-II) and uses CeraVe's MVE delivery technology to release moisturising ingredients gradually. It removes makeup, dirt and excess oil without stripping the skin barrier, and is non-comedogenic and certified by the National Eczema Association. Sold here in the 16 oz pump bottle.
Kylie Harker's review
By Kylie Harker ·
Category scores
- Which skin it actually suits 3
Made for normal to dry skin and that's exactly where it belongs. On oily or combination skin it's frequently too rich, and reports of closed comedones and congestion are common enough to take seriously despite the non-comedogenic label. Excellent for one group of people and quietly wrong for another, which the packaging doesn't make obvious enough.
- Value for money in this size 4.5
The 16 oz pump is where this stops being reasonably priced and starts being genuinely cheap, and it lasts a household months rather than weeks. A little goes a long way, partly because using too much leaves a film. The only caveat is the obvious one: buy a bottle this size before you know it suits you and you'll own a great deal of something that doesn't.
- The pump and packaging 3
A sensible format that dispenses a controlled amount and doesn't need fingers in a tub. But broken, cracked and non-functioning pumps come up repeatedly in owner reviews, and on a bottle this size that's genuinely annoying to work around. Test the pump when it arrives rather than discovering the problem in a fortnight.
- Removing makeup and sunscreen 2.5
The weakest thing about it and the source of most genuine complaints. Owners consistently report needing to cleanse twice or three times to get makeup off, and it's notably poor at shifting sunscreen. It works well as the second step of a double cleanse behind a balm or oil. As your only cleanser after a full face, it leaves things behind.
- Gentleness on the skin barrier 4.5
This is what it's for and it does it properly. Fragrance-free, ceramide-based, accepted by the National Eczema Association, and it washes without leaving skin tight or stinging. Gentle enough that I've used it on a four-year-old's wind-chapped face. Held back half a star only because a small number of people do react to something in it, as with any product.
The review
Most people arrive at the 16 oz bottle the same way I did. You buy the small one, you like it, you get fed up replacing it, and eventually you accept that a cleanser used twice a day by more than one person in the house is not a thing to buy in travel sizes.
It's worth understanding what this actually is before you buy it, because a good half of the disappointed reviews are people who bought the wrong sort of product rather than a bad one.
It is not a face wash in the way most of us grew up with. It doesn't foam. At all. It goes on more like a light conditioner and rinses away leaving skin soft rather than squeaky, and if you're used to that tight, scrubbed feeling afterwards you'll be entirely convinced it hasn't worked. It has. That tight feeling is your skin barrier objecting, not proof of cleanliness. It took me a couple of weeks to stop distrusting it, and I'd expect the same of anyone switching over.
What it does brilliantly is be gentle and boring. Fragrance-free, ceramides, hyaluronic acid, accepted by the National Eczema Association, which is why doctors hand it out and why it turns up in so many bathrooms. On dry or easily annoyed skin it's lovely, and I've used it on my four-year-old's face on days when he'd been out in the wind and come back looking chapped.
Now the part I'd actually want to be told.
It is not a makeup remover, whatever the label implies. This is the most common real complaint and it's a fair one. Owners consistently report having to wash twice, sometimes three times, to get everything off, and it particularly struggles with sunscreen, which is exactly the thing you most want shifted at the end of a day. If you wear anything more than light makeup you need a balm or an oil first and this as your second cleanse. Treat it as step two and you'll be happy. Treat it as step one and only, and you'll be finding mascara on your pillow.
Related: if you use too much of it, it leaves a faint film rather than rinsing clean. Less product and a proper rinse fixes this. It is not a cleanser that rewards enthusiasm.
The breakout question is real and worth taking seriously. There's a persistent stream of reports, enough that it's a whole genre on TikTok, of people getting closed comedones and congestion from it. It's labelled non-comedogenic and most people are fine, but the pattern in those reports is people with oily or combination skin using a cleanser designed for normal to dry skin. It's rich, it's meant to leave something behind, and if your skin already makes plenty of its own oil, that's not a gift.
The pump is the one manufacturing gripe. Broken and cracked pumps turn up in reviews often enough that I'd open the box and test it rather than putting it straight in a cupboard. It's a cheap part on an otherwise well-made product.
The verdict. For dry, sensitive or generally cross skin, this is one of the most sensible purchases in skincare and the big bottle is the cheapest way to buy it. It's gentle, it's dull in the best sense, and nobody in the house objects to the smell because there isn't one.
Who shouldn't buy it: anyone with oily or acne-prone skin, who should look at CeraVe's foaming version instead, anyone who wants a single product to take a full face of makeup off, and anyone who needs the squeaky-clean feeling to believe a cleanser has worked. This will never give you that, and it isn't trying to.
Frequently asked questions
Will it take my makeup off on its own?
Not reliably, no, and this is the thing to know before you buy. Owners report washing two or three times to get everything off, and it's particularly weak on sunscreen, which is the thing you most want gone at bedtime. The honest use for it is as the second step of a double cleanse: take makeup off with a balm, an oil or a micellar water first, then use this to clean the skin underneath. If you only wear a bit of tinted moisturiser it'll cope on its own. For a full face, it won't.
Will it break me out?
It depends heavily on your skin type. It's labelled non-comedogenic and the majority of people use it happily, but there's a steady stream of reports of closed comedones and congestion, enough that it's a recurring conversation online. The pattern in those reports is people with oily or combination skin using a cleanser that was formulated for normal to dry skin and is designed to leave moisturising ingredients behind. If your skin is oily or acne-prone, look at CeraVe's foaming cleanser instead. If it's dry or sensitive, this is likely to suit you well.
Why doesn't it foam, and how do I know it's working?
Because it isn't that sort of cleanser. It's a cream that goes on rather like a light conditioner and rinses off without lather. You won't get the tight, squeaky feeling afterwards, and that's deliberate rather than a fault, since that feeling is your skin barrier complaining. Two practical notes: use less than instinct suggests, because too much leaves a faint film instead of rinsing clean, and give it a fortnight before deciding. Almost everyone who switches spends the first week convinced their face isn't clean.
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