CeraVe Moisturizing Cream for Dry Skin (19 oz) Review
A fragrance-free face and body moisturizer in a 19-ounce tub, formulated for normal to dry skin. It combines hyaluronic acid for water-binding hydration with three essential ceramides (1, 3 and 6-II) that help restore the skin's natural barrier. CeraVe's MVE delivery technology releases the ingredients gradually to support hydration through the day. The formula is non-comedogenic, oil-free and developed with dermatologists, and it is accepted by the National Eczema Association. Sold as a wide-mouth tub; a pump version of the same formula is also available.
Kylie Harker's review
By Kylie Harker ·
Category scores
- Texture and everyday use 3.5
Thick, rich and slow to spread. Getting it out of the tub has been fairly compared to scooping peanut butter, and from a cold bathroom it needs warming between your hands first. That thickness is exactly why it works on dry skin and stays where you put it, but it does make it a slower job than a lotion when you are creaming a wriggling child before bed.
- For sensitive and eczema-prone skin 4.5
Fragrance-free, non-comedogenic and accepted by the National Eczema Association, which is why it gets handed out so freely by doctors and why so many parents keep it in the house. It is one of the few products I would happily put on a child's skin without reading the label twice. Not a five only because no single cream suits every irritable skin, and a small number of people do react to something in it.
- As a face moisturiser 3
Wonderful on dry skin, and often too occlusive for oily or combination skin, particularly in warm weather. Applied generously it can feel heavy and pill, especially layered over a silicone serum or under makeup. Used sparingly it behaves well. The problem is that a body-sized tub encourages a body-sized amount, which is precisely what a face does not want.
- The tub itself 3
A wide-mouth tub means everyone in the house digs their fingers in, which is fine if you are unbothered and irritating if you are not. It is also awkward for a child to use unsupervised without ending up with a handful. The identical formula comes in a pump, and if any of this bothers you, that is the version to buy.
- Value for money 4.5
This is the size that makes CeraVe genuinely cheap rather than merely reasonable, and one tub lasts a household a very long time. It is the rare product where buying the enormous version is the obviously correct decision rather than optimism. Half a star held back only because if it turns out to be wrong for your face, you now own a great deal of it.
The review
Most people end up with the big tub for one of two reasons. Either a doctor pointed at it, or they got fed up with replacing little tubes of moisturiser every few weeks. I got here the second way, and it has earned its spot on the shelf.
What it does well is unglamorous and important. It is fragrance-free, it has ceramides and hyaluronic acid, and it is accepted by the National Eczema Association, which is why it gets recommended so relentlessly. On dry hands, on shins that go scaly in winter, and on the rough patches a small child develops out of nowhere, it works. It stays put, and it smells of absolutely nothing, which matters far more than you would expect when you are putting cream on a four-year-old's face at bedtime and he is objecting on principle.
Now the honest bits.
It is thick. One reviewer described getting it out of the tub as scooping peanut butter and that is exactly right. Straight out of a cold bathroom it wants a moment warming between your palms before it will spread. On arms and legs that is a non-issue. On a face it is the whole issue.
Whether it works as a face cream depends entirely on your skin. If you are dry, it is lovely and you will not need anything else. If you are oily or combination, particularly in warm weather, it is usually too much. It sits heavily, it can read greasy, and used generously it can pill, especially over a silicone serum or under makeup. A small amount behaves itself. A face-sized dollop scooped out of a body-sized tub, which is the natural temptation, does not.
The tub is the other compromise and nobody mentions it. It is wide-mouthed, so the whole family ends up with fingers in it. If that bothers you, it will keep bothering you. There is a pump version of the same formula and that is the one to buy instead, with the bonus that a child can actually work it themselves.
The verdict. As a family body moisturiser this is very hard to beat, and the big tub is the cheapest way to buy into it. As a face cream it is excellent for dry skin and genuinely wrong for oily skin, and the enthusiasm online does not change that.
Who should not buy it: anyone with oily or acne-prone skin hunting for a daily face moisturiser, anyone who needs something invisible under makeup, and anyone who cannot live with communal fingers in a tub.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use it on my face, or is it only for the body?
You can, and whether you should depends on your skin. On dry skin it is a genuinely good face cream and you probably will not need anything else. On oily or combination skin it is usually too rich, especially in warmer weather, and it can sit heavily, feel greasy, or pill under makeup. If you do use it on your face, use far less than instinct tells you to. Scooping out a body-sized amount is the most common way people decide they hate it.
Should I get the tub or the pump?
Same formula, different compromise. The tub is the cheaper way to buy a lot of it and it is easy to scoop a proper handful for arms and legs, but it is wide-mouthed and the whole family puts their fingers in it. The pump is cleaner, tidier, and a child can actually operate it alone. If the shared-tub thing bothers you at all, buy the pump. It will not stop bothering you.
Is it safe to use on young children and eczema-prone skin?
It is fragrance-free, non-comedogenic and accepted by the National Eczema Association, and it is one of the most commonly recommended moisturisers for exactly this. That is why so many parents have a tub of it. It is still worth patch testing on a small area first, because no cream suits every skin, and if your child has diagnosed eczema, follow whatever your GP or dermatologist has actually told you rather than a review on the internet.
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