CeraVe SA Smoothing Cleanser On your shelf ✓
Our read, in one look
Niacinamide is the reason to consider this cleanser, 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, 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 SA Smoothing Cleanser is a cleanser built around Glycerin, Niacinamide and Ceramide 3. It leans strongest on hydration, barrier repair, brightening / tone. Best suited to dry, dehydrated and oily 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.
11 of the 24 sit above the 1% line. The other 13, 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.
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.
Oil-soluble exfoliant that penetrates pores to reduce blackheads and breakouts; can be drying or irritating if overused.
Polyhydroxy acid that gently exfoliates while drawing water into the skin, offering smoother texture with much lower irritation than classic AHAs.
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
- Gluconolactonederived from what it is
- Glycerinderived from what it is
- Salicylic acid (BHA)derived 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 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 18 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)
- Sodium Lauroyl SarcosinateCleansing agent
- Cocamidopropyl HydroxysultaineCleansing agent
- GlycerinHumectant
- NiacinamideVitaminmild irritant
- GluconolactoneExfoliant
- Sodium Methyl Cocoyl TaurateCleansing agent
- PEG-150 Pentaerythrityl TetrastearateEmulsifier
- Ceramide NPBarrier lipid
- Ceramide APBarrier lipid
- Ceramide EOPBarrier lipid
- roughly the 1% lineThe rules only require descending order above 1%. From Carbomer down, these 13 can be listed in any order the brand likes, so position stops telling you anything.
- CarbomerThickener
- Calcium GluconateMineral
- Salicylic AcidExfoliantmild irritant
- Sodium BenzoatePreservative
- Sodium Lauroyl LactylateSurfactantmild irritant
- CholesterolBarrier lipid
- PhenoxyethanolPreservativemild irritant
- Disodium EDTAChelator
- Tetrasodium EDTAChelator
- Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic AcidHumectant
- PhytosphingosineSphingoid base
- Xanthan GumThickener
- EthylhexylglycerinPreservative booster
Copy the raw INCI list
Aqua/Water, Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate, Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine, Glycerin, Niacinamide, Gluconolactone, Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate, PEG-150 Pentaerythrityl Tetrastearate, Ceramide NP, Ceramide AP, Ceramide EOP, Carbomer, Calcium Gluconate, Salicylic Acid, Sodium Benzoate, Sodium Lauroyl Lactylate, Cholesterol, Phenoxyethanol, Disodium EDTA, Tetrasodium EDTA, Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid, Phytosphingosine, Xanthan Gum, Ethylhexylglycerin
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 6 comparisons
- SA Smoothing Cleanser vs CeraVe Hydrating Cleanser
- SA Smoothing Cleanser vs CeraVe Foaming Facial Cleanser
- SA Smoothing Cleanser vs Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser
- SA Smoothing Cleanser vs Bioderma Sébium Gel Moussant
- SA Smoothing Cleanser vs COSRX Low pH Good Morning Gel Cleanser
- SA Smoothing Cleanser vs Bioderma Sensibio H2O Micellar Water
Common questions
Is CeraVe SA Smoothing Cleanser good for dry skin?
By our read of the formula, it suits dry, dehydrated, oily skin. CeraVe SA Smoothing Cleanser is a cleanser built around Glycerin, Niacinamide and Ceramide 3. It leans strongest on hydration, barrier repair, brightening / tone. Best suited to dry, dehydrated and oily skin. Go slow: the active is potent enough to irritate if overused.
How do you use CeraVe SA Smoothing 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 SA Smoothing Cleanser?
The actives that do the work are Glycerin, Niacinamide, Ceramide 3, Salicylic acid (BHA), Gluconolactone, Ceramide 6-II. The rest of the list is texture, preservatives and emulsifiers that hold the formula together.
Does CeraVe SA Smoothing 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 SA Smoothing 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 Gluconolactone and Glycerin and Salicylic acid (BHA) 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.
