Cetaphil Moisturizing Cream On your shelf ✓
Our read, in one look
Niacinamide is the reason to consider this moisturizer, with Pro-vitamin B5 behind it.
The case for it
- Niacinamide, strong evidence for the barrier
- Pro-vitamin B5, 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 readCetaphil Moisturizing Cream is a moisturizer built around Glycerin, Petrolatum and Niacinamide. It leans strongest on hydration, barrier repair, brightening / tone. Best suited to dry, dehydrated and very dry 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.
12 of the 25 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 rich, cushiony cream that sinks in slowly. Comforting on dry skin, possibly too much for oily skin in summer. (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.
Highly effective occlusive that prevents water loss and is gold standard for barrier repair, but feels heavy and greasy on oily skin.
Multitasking vitamin that improves barrier, reduces redness, regulates oil, helps with pores and pigmentation with strong clinical support.
Linoleic-acid-rich oil that strengthens the skin barrier, reduces water loss and is suitable even for sensitive and infant skin.
Humectant and soothing ingredient that helps calm irritation and supports barrier repair and recovery.
Light, vitamin-E-rich oil that softens and nourishes dry skin but may be comedogenic or problematic for nut-allergic individuals.
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
On top of the skin
- Petrolatumderived from what it is
The stratum corneum
- Glycerinderived from what it is
- Pro-vitamin B5derived from what it is
- Sunflower Seed Oilderived from what it is
- Sweet Almond Oilderived 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 25 ingredients, decoded
- AquaSolvent (base)
- GlycerinHumectant
- PetrolatumOcclusive
- Dicaprylyl EtherEmollient (ester)
- DimethiconeOcclusive
- Glyceryl StearateEmulsifier
- Cetyl AlcoholEmollient
- Helianthus Annuus Seed OilEmollient
- PEG-30 StearateEmulsifier
- PanthenolHumectant
- NiacinamideVitaminmild irritant
- Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis OilEmollient
- roughly the 1% lineThe rules only require descending order above 1%. From Tocopherol down, these 13 can be listed in any order the brand likes, so position stops telling you anything.
- TocopherolAntioxidantmild irritant
- Tocopheryl AcetateAntioxidant
- PantolactoneHumectant
- DimethiconolEmollient
- CarbomerThickener
- Propylene GlycolHumectantmild irritant
- BHTAntioxidantmild irritant
- Disodium EDTAChelator
- Benzyl AlcoholPreservativemild irritant
- PhenoxyethanolPreservativemild irritant
- Sodium HydroxidePh adjustermild irritant
- Citric AcidExfoliantmild irritant
Copy the raw INCI list
Aqua, Glycerin, Petrolatum, Dicaprylyl Ether, Dimethicone, Glyceryl Stearate, Cetyl Alcohol, Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil, PEG-30 Stearate, Panthenol, Niacinamide, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil, Tocopherol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Pantolactone, Dimethiconol, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Carbomer, Propylene Glycol, BHT, Disodium EDTA, Benzyl Alcohol, Phenoxyethanol, Sodium Hydroxide, Citric Acid
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
- Moisturizing Cream vs CeraVe Moisturizing Cream
- Moisturizing Cream vs CeraVe Daily Moisturizing Lotion
- Moisturizing Cream vs CeraVe PM Facial Moisturizing Lotion
- Moisturizing Cream vs The Ordinary Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA
- Moisturizing Cream vs La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Baume B5+
- Moisturizing Cream vs Bioderma Atoderm Intensive Baume
- Moisturizing Cream vs CeraVe SA Lotion for Rough & Bumpy Skin
- Moisturizing Cream vs Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel
- Moisturizing Cream vs Cetaphil Moisturizing Lotion
- Moisturizing Cream vs La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo+ M
- Moisturizing Cream vs NIVEA Creme
- Moisturizing Cream vs Eau Thermale Avène Cicalfate+ Restorative Protective Cream
Common questions
Is Cetaphil Moisturizing Cream good for dry skin?
By our read of the formula, it suits dry, dehydrated, very dry skin. Cetaphil Moisturizing Cream is a moisturizer built around Glycerin, Petrolatum and Niacinamide. It leans strongest on hydration, barrier repair, brightening / tone. Best suited to dry, dehydrated and very dry skin. Nothing in it we'd flag for most people.
How do you use Cetaphil Moisturizing Cream?
Morning and/or night, after your thinner water-based steps and before heavier creams.
What are the key ingredients in Cetaphil Moisturizing Cream?
The actives that do the work are Glycerin, Petrolatum, Niacinamide, Sunflower Seed Oil, Pro-vitamin B5, Sweet Almond Oil. The rest of the list is texture, preservatives and emulsifiers that hold the formula together.
Does Cetaphil Moisturizing Cream 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 Cetaphil Moisturizing Cream beside a cross-section of skin, with 3 of its ingredients drawn at the layer each one acts on and at one shared molecular scale: Glycerin and Pro-vitamin B5 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.
