A CeraVe Cleanser Is the Quiet Start of a Barrier-Minded Routine

A CeraVe Cleanser Is the Quiet Start of a Barrier-Minded Routine

A CeraVe cleanser is where a lot of people begin, and the name itself tells you why: ceramides are in the formula and the idea. Here are the four washes I would look at first, the gentle gels and creams for anyone who wants a change, and the ceramide moisturizers that finish the job.

A CeraVe cleanser makes more sense once you know how the name was built. The Cera comes from ceramides, the fats that sit between skin cells, and the Ve comes from MVE, the brand's ingredient-delivery system. The company was founded in 2005 with dermatologists, and its slogan, Cleanse Like a Derm, tells you where it wants to sit: plain, reliable, meant for daily use. A global beauty group agreed to buy it in January 2017, but before that it lived under Coria Laboratories and then Valeant. That corporate history is long, and the shelf presence is simple: a few tubes and pump bottles you can find without thinking.

The first products in the US included a hydrating cleanser, and that is still the one I think of as the reference point. The Hydrating Facial Cleanser is creamy and low on foam, the kind you massage in with dry hands and rinse off without a tight feeling afterward. It is what I reach for in winter, or when my face has been bothered by something else.

The Foaming Facial Cleanser is the opposite mood. It lathers, it feels fresh, and I like it for humid weeks and for anyone who finds cream washes a bit filmy. The Hydrating Cream-to-Foam Cleanser sits in the middle, starting as a cream and turning into a soft lather when you add water. Renewing SA Cleanser is the salicylic acid one, made to exfoliate gently on days when skin feels rough, and I use it a couple of evenings a week rather than every morning. If you are new to the range, buy one wash, use it for two weeks, and only then decide whether the others are worth a look.

Collage of CeraVe cleansers, gentle face washes and ceramide creams beside a photo of a cream blush stick and a dark cherry resting in a cocktail glass of red liquid.
Four CeraVe washes, softer cleansers to rotate in, and ceramide moisturizers for after.

CeraVe cleansers

When you want a softer, jellier wash

Every so often I want a change of pace, and this is the group I rotate through. None of them are built to squeak like dish soap, which is exactly the point.

Glow Recipe's Avocado Ceramide Moisture Barrier Cleanser is a friendly cousin to the CeraVe idea, with ceramides in the name and a creamy feel. Farmacy's Green Clean is a whipped foaming cleanser, airy and pleasant if you like a little lather but not a lot. Caudalie's VinoHydra is a moisturizing cleansing gel, light and clean, the one I would pack for a trip.

belif's Aqua Bomb is a jelly cleanser, springy and cool in the palm, and it feels good on a hot morning. Alpyn's cold cream cleanser adds vitamin C and leans toward brightening, and it melts in slowly, so give it a proper massage. Tower 28's SOS Gentle Hydrating Gel Cleanser doubles as a makeup remover, and it is the one I choose when my skin is reactive and I still wore mascara. It is easy to keep at the sink for the days you wear makeup.

A simple test: after rinsing, wait a minute. If your cheeks feel soft and your forehead does not feel greasy, the cleanser suits you. If you feel like putting on cream immediately, try something creamier.

Gentle cleansers

Ceramide creams for after

A cleanser gets you to a clean slate, and a ceramide moisturizer keeps it that way. Ceramides are part of what holds skin together, so a cream that includes them makes a natural partner.

Aestura's ATOBARRIER365 is a lightweight lotion with ceramides and niacinamide, good under sunscreen. Paula's Choice RESIST Barrier Repair is the one I use when my skin is dry after too many active ingredients in one week. Sincerely Yours' So Soft is another light, daily cream with hyaluronic acid, ceramides and niacinamide, easy to layer, and a good first cream if you have never tried ceramides before. I tend to put it on right after washing, while my face is still a little damp, then wait a few minutes before sunscreen.

Ole Henriksen's Après Skin is both a night moisturizer and a mask, so it can go on thickly after a long day outside. Skinfix's Ceramide Prime is a whipped cream with a smoothing feel. Dr. Jart+'s Ceramidin is a cushiony cream, a proper comfort for a face that needs one. In cold weather I switch to it entirely and go back to the lotions when the heating goes off. Whichever you pick, apply it in upward strokes and do not forget the sides of the neck.

What I would skip: following a rough scrub or a strong exfoliant with a heavy cream and calling it balance. If your skin stings after washing, change the cleanser or wash less often, and see a doctor if it stays red or sore.

Ceramide moisturizers

How I would set it up

Here is how I would set it up. Morning: rinse with water or use a gentle wash, then a light ceramide lotion and sunscreen. Evening: wash with the hydrating or foaming CeraVe cleanser, apply a cream on slightly damp skin, and stop there.

Use a few pumps at most, and give it a full thirty seconds of massage so the wash does its work. Keep the exfoliating cleanser to twice a week, and skip it if your skin feels raw. When you are choosing between two similar options, pick the plainer one. The best cleanser is the one you can still use happily in six months. If a product makes you dread washing your face, it has failed, whatever the label says. Keep a second bottle of something gentler for travel and for the days after a sunburn or a long flight, when your skin wants less, not more. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together CeraVe Acne Foaming Cream Cleanser and CeraVe Vitamin C Serum and the Routine Built Around It.