CeraVe PM Facial Moisturizing Lotion On your shelf ✓
Our read, in one look
Niacinamide is the reason to consider this moisturizer, with Ceramide 3 behind it.
The case for it
- Niacinamide, strong evidence for the barrier
- Ceramide 3, strong evidence for the barrier
- No fragrance, alcohol or parabens
Mind this
- Morning or evening, whichever suits your routine
- Add it on its own for a week or two, so you know what your skin is answering to
Maya's readCeraVe PM Facial Moisturizing Lotion is a moisturizer built around Glycerin, Niacinamide and Ceramide 3. It leans strongest on hydration, barrier repair, brightening / tone. Best suited to dry, dehydrated and oily skin. Nothing in it we'd flag for most people.
Skip it if you already own something similar: it's a solid, honest basic rather than a must-have upgrade.
The formula, drawn
Every ingredient in label order, coloured by the job it does here.
6 of the 24 sit above the 1% line. The other 18, 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
- Texture & base
- Preservation
- Not in our library yet
- No fragrance anywhere on the label
What it delivers
How it feels A smooth, silky lotion that spreads easily and leaves a soft, near-blurred finish. (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.
Multitasking vitamin that improves barrier, reduces redness, regulates oil, helps with pores and pigmentation with strong clinical support.
Skin-identical ceramide that plays a key role in restoring and strengthening the skin barrier.
Ceramide that supports barrier integrity and helps smooth rough, dry skin when combined with other skin lipids.
Skin-identical sterol that is essential in barrier lipid mixtures and helps restore normal lamellar structure when combined with ceramides and fatty acids.
Water-binding molecule that increases hydration; works best under occlusive/emollient layers to reduce evaporation.
How to use it
Morning and/or night, after your thinner water-based steps and before heavier creams.
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
- Cholesterolderived from what it is
- Glycerinderived from what it is
- Hyaluronic acidderived from what it is
The living epidermis
- Niacinamideestablished, sourced
6 of this product's actives have a layer we can defend.
Sources for the sourced ones: Boo 2021: mechanistic basis for topical nicotinamide; Ebanks et al. 2009: mechanisms regulating skin pigmentation.
Against the average moisturizer
It scores higher than the median moisturizer 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 22 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 24 ingredients, decoded
- Aqua/WaterSolvent (base)
- GlycerinHumectant
- Caprylic/Capric TriglycerideEmollient
- NiacinamideVitaminmild irritant
- Cetearyl AlcoholEmollient
- DimethiconeOcclusive
- roughly the 1% lineThe rules only require descending order above 1%. From Phenoxyethanol down, these 18 can be listed in any order the brand likes, so position stops telling you anything.
- PhenoxyethanolPreservativemild irritant
- Ceteareth-20Emulsifiermild irritant
- Behentrimonium MethosulfateConditioning agent
- Caprylyl GlycolPreservative booster
- Polyglyceryl-3 DiisostearateEmulsifier
- Sodium Lauroyl LactylateSurfactantmild irritant
- Potassium PhosphateBuffer
- Disodium EDTAChelator
- Dipotassium PhosphateBuffer
- Ceramide NPBarrier lipid
- Ceramide APBarrier lipid
- PhytosphingosineSphingoid base
- CholesterolBarrier lipid
- Xanthan GumThickener
- CarbomerThickener
- EthylhexylglycerinPreservative booster
- Sodium HyaluronateHumectant
- Ceramide EOPBarrier lipid
Worth knowing: Cholesterol 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, Glycerin, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Niacinamide, Cetearyl Alcohol, Dimethicone, Phenoxyethanol, Ceteareth-20, Behentrimonium Methosulfate, Caprylyl Glycol, Polyglyceryl-3 Diisostearate, Sodium Lauroyl Lactylate, Potassium Phosphate, Disodium EDTA, Dipotassium Phosphate, Ceramide NP, Ceramide AP, Phytosphingosine, Cholesterol, Xanthan Gum, Carbomer, Ethylhexylglycerin, Sodium Hyaluronate, Ceramide EOP
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 12 comparisons
- PM Facial Moisturizing Lotion vs CeraVe Moisturizing Cream
- PM Facial Moisturizing Lotion vs CeraVe Daily Moisturizing Lotion
- PM Facial Moisturizing Lotion vs Cetaphil Moisturizing Cream
- PM Facial Moisturizing Lotion vs The Ordinary Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA
- PM Facial Moisturizing Lotion vs La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Baume B5+
- PM Facial Moisturizing Lotion vs Bioderma Atoderm Intensive Baume
- PM Facial Moisturizing Lotion vs CeraVe SA Lotion for Rough & Bumpy Skin
- PM Facial Moisturizing Lotion vs Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel
- PM Facial Moisturizing Lotion vs Cetaphil Moisturizing Lotion
- PM Facial Moisturizing Lotion vs La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo+ M
- PM Facial Moisturizing Lotion vs NIVEA Creme
- PM Facial Moisturizing Lotion vs Eau Thermale Avène Cicalfate+ Restorative Protective Cream
Common questions
Is CeraVe PM Facial Moisturizing Lotion good for dry skin?
By our read of the formula, it suits dry, dehydrated, oily skin. CeraVe PM Facial Moisturizing Lotion is a moisturizer built around Glycerin, Niacinamide and Ceramide 3. It leans strongest on hydration, barrier repair, brightening / tone. Best suited to dry, dehydrated and oily skin. Nothing in it we'd flag for most people.
How do you use CeraVe PM Facial Moisturizing Lotion?
Morning and/or night, after your thinner water-based steps and before heavier creams.
What are the key ingredients in CeraVe PM Facial Moisturizing Lotion?
The actives that do the work are Glycerin, Niacinamide, Ceramide 3, Ceramide 6-II, Cholesterol, Hyaluronic acid. The rest of the list is texture, preservatives and emulsifiers that hold the formula together.
Does CeraVe PM Facial Moisturizing Lotion 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 PM Facial Moisturizing Lotion 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 Cholesterol and Glycerin in the stratum corneum, the dead outer layer where most skincare works; Niacinamide 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.
