Since high school, I've struggled off and on with moisturizers because of my combination dry skin. It was so difficult for me to find something that will work with my super oily t-zones and super dry cheeks. Aside from the countless various moisturizers I've tried here and there, there were only a couple I used for longer than a few months:
- Olay Complete All Day UV Moisture Lotion SPF 15: used to be my day lotion during high school. Of course, my face was always shiny and blotchy as hell. My skin was oily then, and I guess I never realized this lotion was not a good match for me. I just used whatever my mum gave me. I didn't use any moisturizer at night then, which was a really bad idea and only made my oily skin worse.
- Lancome Aquafusion Lotion & Cream: both the non-SPF and the SPF versions were my college staple. I would use the SPF one during the day and the non SPF at night (yeah, finally learned my lesson...), the lotion on my t-zones and the cream on my cheeks. It was kind of working for a while, and then suddenly my skin changed and became dry combination with my t-zones became even more oily and my cheeks got super duper dry. At that point, putting this lotion/cream on turned my face was pure agony. Even the lotion was too oily for my forehead but the cream was not moisturizing enough for my face.
And then I learned the truth about sunscreens, which completely altered my skincare routine. My expectations of moisturizers changed too. Not only I was looking for a moisturizer that works with both my combination dry skin, I wanted one that could be used day and night since I had started wearing a separate sunscreen (layering products with SPF is a big no no!). Needless to say, that made my search even more impossible.
- Clinique Dramatically Different Lotion: I picked this up when my Lancome Aquafusion failed me. It was okay for my cheek but was too oily for my t-zones.
- Lancome Pure Focus Lotion & Gel Cream: used this to fill the space Clinique Dramatically Different Lotion couldn't. This was good for my oily t-zones but irritates the hell out of my dry cheeks and chin.
- Embryolisse Lait Creme Concentre & Lait Creme Concentre Fluide (aka 24-Hour Miracle Cream): the very last cream/lotion combination I used. It was okay, not that great. Didn't break me out, but was certainly no miracle either.
But this Cetaphil Moisturizing Cream - where do I begin?
***Picture from Amazon.com.
The Ingredients
Decently simple, probably 1/5 as long as the ingredients in the above stuff I've used, and nothing too complicated. Not that I am a chemist, I just figured I really should pay attention like I do with my sunscreens. The Skin Deep - Cosmetic Safety Database gave this cream a rating of 4 (out of 10), meaning "moderate hazard." While that sounds kind of scary, considering the vast majority of products with higher ratings (0-3) are organic/green/natural/wholesome/what have you, a rating of 4 is not great, but it's not too shabby either! I figured I should stick with stuff rated 5 or higher.
The Cetaphil website lists ingredients as follow:
Purified Water, Polyglycerylmethacrylate (and) Propylene Glycol, Petrolatum, Dicaprylyl Ether, PEG-5 Glyceryl Stearate, Glycerin, Dimethicone and Dimethiconol, Cetyl Alcohol, Sweet Almond Oil, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Tocopheryl Acetate, Phenoxyethanol, Benzyl Alcohol, Disodium EDTA, Sodium Hydroxide, Lactic Acid.
The Texture
Definitely creamy, but strangely light. I just can't get over how fast it absorbs into my skin. I really was expecting a bit of a fight, some grease, and at least a film of some sort, but nope, NONE. I used it in moderation, of course. I would quickly dab my fingers onto the cream and used that tiny amount for my t-zones. Then I would swipe slightly across the cream's surface and use that bit more on my cheeks. I guess if you goop it on it could get a little greasy, but anything would get greasy if gooped on. Moderation is key, folks.
The Moisturation
Oh my, I can't rave enough here. Not only it worked for both my oily t-zones AND my super duper dry cheeks, it worked as both a day and night moisturizer! I kid you not. I wore it during the day underneath my sunscreen and it was not too heavy, allowing my sunscreen to retain its mattefying properties. I wore it at night before bed and it was just right. My face felt the most comfortable it's ever been! No oily sheen at mid day, no greasy face the next morning. Just very soft and well moisturized skin. The cream is also unscented. SOLD.
The Price
Honestly, if my perfect moisturizer were to bleed me dry, I would just fork over the goddamn price. That was how desperate I was for a good moisturizer. But nope, no blood to be spilled with this Cetaphil Moisturizing Cream. It's about $10 for a giant, and I mean GIGANTIC, 16 oz. tub, and it will probably last me for more than a year, if not longer, given the little amount I use. But then I've read that this is a multi-purpose moisturizer that could be used anywhere on your body, so I'm sure I could figure something out to finish it up. The perfect $10 moisturizer that will last for ages? Did I tell you I'm sold? I am soooooooo sold.
Now, the 1 itty bitty little complaint: the packaging. Yes, it's in a HUGE tub. But while most people have trouble with the tub, fumbling with sanitation and storage, to me it's a very minor problem that can be easily solved with a small sanitized glass jar (from a used up eye cream, face cream, etc.). Yep, I just used a sanitized scoop, scooped some into the glass jar, then stored the tub in a cool and dry place (NOT the cabinet in the bathroom) and put my little glass jar in the fridge. When I use up the glass jar, I'll sanitize it again before refilling :D Problem solved. So really, this is not a complaint at all.
Now, if you would excuse me, I need to go dance around my living room like a lunatic.
22 comments:
So this gives you the moisturizer you need with the spf? Cool :)
I've got super sensitive skin, so I have to stick to the Oil of Olay Complete for Sensitive Skin SPF 15.
I've tried other products, but my face breaks out or gets really red, or it stings, even when Aveeno.
Aaah wow! That sounds lovely! Crap thing is we don't have Cetaphil here! LOL!
Hi Phyrra,
Thank you for visiting my blog!
I'm glad Olay Complete for Sensitive Skin SPF 15 works for you. It is actually VERY good - it has a rating of 3 from Skin Deep, which is great! Although I still think the SPF 15 is not strong enough to protect against the UV radiation. Why don't you try the SPF 30 version of the Olay Complete for Sensitive Skin? The SPF 30 version has a Skin Deep rating of 2, even better!!! Wow, a rating of 2 for a non-organic commercial product is as excellent as it can get!
Good luck!
Dalenna.
Hi rocketqueen,
Thanks for dropping by!
Aww...sorry to hear that! Where are you? Have you tried ordering online? Some websites, such as drugstore.com, offer direct international shipping or via a third party consolidator. Or try Ebay! :D
I love this too. It comes in a tube now, much more hygienic. Great blog by the way. Thanks for sharing your beauty finds and reviews!
Hey Trang!
Shanksssss for reading :D
I just checked out the Cetaphil website and found a neat new product. I emailed you the link! Also, I'm glad the cream comes in a tube now. I'll definitely buy that when I use up my giant tub, which is going to be about another million years :P
I live in the Northeast and our winters are crazy cold. I was using a light moisturizer with SPF left over from summer but once the weather turned, I needed something better. I don't use moisturizing face washes so I need something creamier to put on my face during the day. I only use a little makeup. So I got this product and used it on my face and whole body and I feel better. The patches of dryness are going away. I actually like the tub though. I only use it after a shower, so I'm clean when it goes on. And no one else uses it but me--I live alone and my boyfriend doesn't share products.
I did hear from a lot of people that the ingredients in this are bad but my skin doesn't seem to mind them. The Natural crowd wants me to stay away from anything from the supermarket but hey, it's winter and my skin needs protection.
Does anyone have an opinion on natural versus regular products?
thanks
Hi Anonymous,
I can sympathize with you. My skin goes nuts dry during the winter too! My current cleanser, Naive Facial Cleansing Foam (http://alittledabintomakeup.blogspot.com/2009/09/naive-facial-cleansing-foam.html) *claims* to be "deeply" moisturizing, but it's not at all, so during the winter it exasperates my skin's dryness.
I have tried the Cetaphile Moisturizing Cream on my body, but to my surprise it turned a bit greasy and didn't absorb completely like it does on my face. As far as ingredients are concerned, Cetaphil Moisturizing Cream has a surprisingly short list in comparison with similar products, natural or not.
My 2 cents on natural/regular products is to just use whatever works for you. Natural products can be nice, but they're not compatible with all skin types. The same can be said with regular products. I can attest to hand poured/home made soaps though - they have more "natural" ingredients and are definitely much much nicer than vast majority of commercially made soaps out there! You can read my latest post on these soaps here - http://alittledabintomakeup.blogspot.com/2009/11/soap-crazy-part-iii-picture-heavy.html
ı have been searchıng a good moustrızer for a long tıme..ı last trıed one from skıncare,shıesedo but ıt dıdnt make my skın hydrated..then another frıend of mıne mentıoned cetaphıl m.cream..whıle ıam checkıng the revıews here ı found your blog..ıam wonderıng ıf you stıll use ıt ..we have sımılar skın type and ıam done tryıng out many many useless thıngs
Hi Sally,
Yes I do use it still, but only as a backup item. Until a couple of years ago, this was my daily moisturizer. I just got bored and wanted to try other products, that's all. And having this Cetaphil as a backup means whatever new things I'm trying that my skin doesn't agree with, I go back to using Cetaphil until my skin calms down again. Then I will move on to trying a different product.
Does this answer your question? I hope Cetaphil will work for you as I understand how frustrated it can be.
Good luck!
D.
ı have been usıng ceradolın recently.generally a good product but sometımes not well enough to hydrate ıt.my cheeks are generally dry as you descrıbe yours.actually,Iam concerned about the bad revıews about cetaphıl..as far as ı understand from what ı have read ,there are three kınds of ıt..lotıon,moustrızer and moustrızer cream,whıch you use the last one..I am also wonderıng ıf ıt plugs up pores..ıt ıs also ımportant for combo skın you know..
lastly,I request you to tell me the name of the moustrızer you thınk ıs good match for your skın..thank you very much for your tıme..
Hi again sally,
I have never experienced any pore clogging or breaking out with Cetaphil. And you are correct that I use the moisturizing cream in the gigantic tub, not the ones in the pump bottle of squeeze tubes. Even though our skins sound similar, yours may not react the same way mine does to Cetaphil, or to any of the products recommended below, so proceed with caution.
Since Cetaphil, I have indeed found several others that work well with my skin. Some of these are moisturizers (with an oil ingredient, this Cetaphil would be a moisturizer), and some are hydrators (no oil ingredients at all). You can read this post for the difference between moisturizers and hydrators - http://alittledabintomakeup.blogspot.com/2009/04/moisturizers-vs-hydrators.html
I use a combination of both moisturizers and hydrators to keep my skin balanced, and the below are great ones. I keep handful of each in my cabinet and switch them up to whatever suits my skin's mood at the time.
Moisturizers:
- Lancome Renergie Cream, a bit expensive, so I never buy the full size for it. Instead, since I use Lancome blushes, lipsticks, and lip glosses, I just wait for GWPs that has a nicely sized jar of this cream and buy my other stuff ^.^ Here's my review:
http://alittledabintomakeup.blogspot.com/2011/05/lancome-renergie-cream.html
- L'Occitane Shea Butter Ultra Rich Face Cream, this one sinks in so fast I don't even feel it on my skin. And yet at the same time, it moisturizes very well!
Here's my review:
http://alittledabintomakeup.blogspot.com/2011/05/lancome-renergie-cream.html
- L'Occitane Honey & Lemon Delightful Cream, though I believe this has been discontinued. Here's my review anyway:
http://alittledabintomakeup.blogspot.com/2011/04/loccitane-honey-lemon-delightful-cream.html
- Now this is going to sound totally nuts to you, but if you don't want to spend a lot of money on the other creams, just buy a super fancy bottle of organic extra virgin olive oil. After taking a warm shower, warm a drop or two in the palm of your hand and pat onto your face. You can read about my experiments with Oil Cleansing Method. I stopped doing this after more than a year because I got too lazy to keep steaming my face 2-3 times a week ^.^
http://alittledabintomakeup.blogspot.com/2008/08/ocm-oil-cleansing-method.html
- If the thought of putting straight up olive oil on your skin scares you, here's a less frightening version: DHC Olive Virgin Oil. It's like a super duper filtered version of the extra virgin olive oil, but then why would you pay $40 for 1oz. of this when you can pay 1/4 of that for a giant bottle of super nice extra virgin olive oil? At least with the store bought oil, you can eat it if you get bored of using the same stuff for months, or if your skin doesn't like it xD
Hydrators:
- Laneige Water Sleeping Pack EX, available online or Ebay. It's a sleeping pack that I use like a face cream, applying after cleansing at night before going to bed. You can read my review for it and its previous carnations here:
http://alittledabintomakeup.blogspot.com/2010/10/laneige-water-sleeping-pack-ex.html
- Clinique Moisture Surge Extended Thirst Relief. Laneige is a much better deal costing about $20-25 for a 80mL jar, versus Clinique's $46 for a 75mL jar. That said, Laneige is not for day use, where as Clinique can be used morning and evening. So it depends on your need, really. You can read my review for Clinique here:
http://alittledabintomakeup.blogspot.com/2009/04/clinique-moisture-surge-extended-thirst.html
Sorry for writing a book, but I hope this helps :)
Good luck!
D.
I have one more questıon for you ..does the olıve oıl you mentıoned here replace both hydrator and moustrızer??because ı dont wanna spend much money on such thıngs anymore.I would lıke to thank you so so much for your care...really the most polıte blogger ever..
Hi sally,
You are very welcome! Thank you for reading ^.^
The olive oil is definitely a moisturizer, and adding an extra hydrator to your routine really depends on your skin's needs. I use the hydrators as if they are insurance, because more often than not I'd be running errands and actually forgetting to drink enough water. Or I'd be having coffee or cocktails, and caffeine and alcohol are both dehydrating.
Good luck and take care!
D.
Hi there, just wondering, were you able to purchase Cetaphil in Japan?
Thanks for any help!
Hi there, just wondering, were you able to purchase Cetaphil in Japan?
Thanks for any help!
Hi J.,
Thanks for reading!
I never even tried to look for Cetaphil in Japan. With so many wonderful Japanese skincare around me, why would I buy Cetaphil? ^.^
But worry not, Amazon Japan is at your service, and they are only slightly more expensive. Shop away :)
http://www.amazon.co.jp/s?ie=UTF8&field-keywords=%E3%82%BB%E3%82%BF%E3%83%95%E3%82%A3%E3%83%AB&index=hpc-jp&search-type=ss
Hope this helps,
D.
hi Dalenna, I'm so happy that you like Cetaphil like I do. I use to suffer from dry and itchy skin but after I started using the Cetaphil lotion and cleanser, My skin has improved for the better. Just a few days back I read an article that said Cetaphil can cause cancer (bcos of the chemicals) but I just don't want to stop using it :) Whats's your opinion on it and can you suggest a good cleansing oil for my dry skin (I don't use ant makeup, just Sunscreen) since I heard double cleansing is good for the face? Well your article if from 2008 but I hope not too late in posting ^_^ Just glad someone loooves Cetaphil too :)
BTW do you still use it?
Hi Anonymous,
No, I no longer use Cetaphil. I stuck with it for a couple of years and then I got bored ^.^ I switch around with skincare a lot, using mostly travel or sample sizes because that's just how quickly I get bored with something. That said, I do keep this Cetaphil cream as an emergency backup. I seal my giant tub with saran wrap and store in a cool and dry cabinet, and whenever my skin react negatively with something, I go back on Cetaphil until my everything calms down.
Really? I want to read that article too, would you paste that link in the comment field? That's too bad, although if you think about it, almost everything we come into contact nowadays has at least one carcinogen. Think radiation from cell phones, computers, preservatives from food, skincare, etc. Some folks have abandon all commercial products altogether and go the DIY route!
A good cleansing oil for dry skin would be FANCL Mild Cleansing Oil (http://alittledabintomakeup.blogspot.com/2007/11/fancl-mild-cleansing-oil.html). It's a favorite for many people, but is a tad expensive and must be used up within a certain time frame being preservative free.
DHC Mild Touch Cleansing Oil is good too and can be used dry or wet (http://alittledabintomakeup.blogspot.com/2010/08/dhc-mild-touch-cleansing-oil.html). However, it is scented, so if you want to stick with something unscented and preservative free, FANCL is your best bet.
Hope this helps,
D.
Thank you for such a quick reply :)
Here are the links:
http://www.livestrong.com/article/221772-dangers-with-cetaphil-moisturizing-cream/
http://www.wellandgoodnyc.com/2010/07/20/cetaphil-why-the-popular-cleanser-isn%E2%80%99t-doing-your-skin-any-favors/
http://www.acne.org/messageboard/index.php/topic/288622-cetaphil-users/
http://www.ehow.com/about_6659170_dangers-cetaphil-moisturizing-cream.html
Scaring the hell out of me so maybe I need to look out for another moisturizer :(
Hi Anonymous,
Thanks for the articles! I looked around on Skip Deep (a cosmetic ingredients database with ratings) and found these as well:
- Cetaphil Moisturizing Cream 2006 formulation - http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/product/22862/Cetaphil_Moisturizing_Cream%2C_Fragrance_Free_%282006_formulation%29/
- Cetaphil Moisturizing Cream current formulation - http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/product/245443/Cetaphil_Moisturizing_Cream_for_Dry_Sensitive_Skin/
- Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser - http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/product/8634/Cetaphil_Gentle_Skin_Cleanser/
I'm going to read up on the articles you gave now ^.^ Thanks a bunch!
D.
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