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CeraVe Acne Control Cleanser Versus Paula's Choice BHA 9 Treatment

CeraVe Acne Control Cleanser Versus Paula's Choice BHA 9 Treatment This salicylic acid gel cleanser is formulated around Salicylic Acid to clear breakouts and unclog pores. This acne treatment is formulated around Salicylic Acid to clear breakouts and refine t

By Peptide Skincare & Beauty Editorial TeamPublished

CeraVe Acne Control Cleanser Versus Paula's Choice BHA 9 Treatment

This salicylic acid gel cleanser is formulated around Salicylic Acid to clear breakouts and unclog pores.

This acne treatment is formulated around Salicylic Acid to clear breakouts and refine the look of pores.

What's inside

Key Ingredients

Benefits

Concerns

Ingredients Side-by-side

Salicylic Acid 2%

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

Triethyl Citrate

Sodium Benzoate

Sodium Hydroxide

Sodium Lauroyl Lactylate

Cholesterol

Tetrasodium EDTA

Caprylyl Glycol

Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid

Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate

Xanthan Gum

Hectorite

Phytosphingosine

Benzoic Acid

Salicylic Acid 2%, 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, Triethyl Citrate, Sodium Benzoate, Sodium Hydroxide, Sodium Lauroyl Lactylate, Cholesterol, Tetrasodium EDTA, Caprylyl Glycol, Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid, Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate, Xanthan Gum, Hectorite, Phytosphingosine, Benzoic Acid

Propylene Glycol

PEG-75 Stearate

PEG-8

Salicylic Acid

Avena Sativa Kernel Extract

Butylene Glycol

Boerhavia Diffusa Root Extract

Sea Whip Extract

Arginine

Polysorbate 20

Disodium EDTA

Propylene Glycol, PEG-75 Stearate, PEG-8, Water, Salicylic Acid, Glycerin, Avena Sativa Kernel Extract, Butylene Glycol, Boerhavia Diffusa Root Extract, Sea Whip Extract, Arginine, Polysorbate 20, Disodium EDTA

Reviews

Alternatives

Ingredients Explained

These ingredients are found in both products.

Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.

Glycerin (or glycerol) is a compound naturally found in your skin. It's a powerhouse humectant that pulls water into the stratum corneum.

Topically, glycerin does several things at once:

Your skin makes glycerin on its own (mostly from sebaceous oil breakdown) and shuttles it to your outermost layer of skin, or your epidermis, via aquaporin-3.

Aquaporin-3 is a transporter that is essential for normal skin hydration, elasticity, and repair. Interestingly, mice lacking in AQP3 have dry and less elastic skin that can be fully corrected with glycerin.

This ingredient is non-irritating, plays well with almost every ingredient, and works across all skin types. Typical use is anywhere between 3-10% but can go up to 79% in some leave-on products.

Just know very high concentrations (>40%) can feel tacky in low humidity.

Glycerin is the name for this ingredient in American English. British English uses Glycerol/Glycerine.

Salicylic Acid (also known as beta hydroxy acid or BHA) is a well-known ingredient for treating skin that struggles with acne and clogged pores. It exfoliates both the skin's surface and deep within the pores to help clear out buildup, control oil, and reduce inflammation.

Unlike AHAs (alpha hydroxy acids), salicylic acid is oil-soluble. This allows it to penetrate into pores which makes it especially effective for treating blackheads and preventing future breakouts.

Salicylic acid is also known for its soothing properties. It has a similar structure to aspirin and can calm inflamed or irritated skin, making it a good option for acne-prone skin that is also sensitive.

Concentrations of 0.5-2% are recognized by the U.S. FDA as an over-the-counter topical acne product.

It can cause irritation and/or dryness if one's skin already has a compromised moisture barrier, so it's best to focus on repairing that before introducing this ingredient into your routine.

While salicylic acid does not increase sun sensitivity, it’s still important to wear sunscreen daily to protect your skin.

If you are looking for the ingredient called BHA or Butylated Hydroxyanisole, click here.

Water. It's the most common cosmetic ingredient of all. You'll usually see it at the top of ingredient lists, meaning that it makes up the largest part of the product.

So why is it so popular? Water most often acts as a solvent - this means that it helps dissolve other ingredients into the formulation.

You'll also recognize water as that liquid we all need to stay alive. If you see this, drink a glass of water. Remember to stay hydrated!

Similar Comparisons

The reference edit

Ingredients, questions
& further reading.

Connected source records selected through this article’s public topic index.

01

Formula cabinet

Ingredients & structured notes

Ingredient index

Paula's Choice Clinical Ceramide Enriched Firming Eye CreamIngredients explained

  1. 01Good old water, aka H2O. The most common skincare ingredient of all. You can usually find it right in the very first spot of the ingredient list, meaning it’s the biggest thing out of all the stuff that makes up the product.
  2. 02It’s mainly a solvent for ingredients that do not like to dissolve in oils but rather in water.
  3. 03Expand to read more
  4. 04Once inside the skin, it hydrates, but not from the outside - putting pure water on the skin (hello long baths!) is drying.
  5. 05One more thing: the water used in cosmetics is purified and deionized (it means that almost all of the mineral ions inside it is removed). Like this, the products can stay more stable over time.
  6. 06A clear, odorless, very light emollient ester that helps to achieve light textures. It has great spreadability, a good slip, and a silky skin feel. It's ideal to solubilize sunscreen agents and fragrances. It's also touted as a volatile (evaporates …
  7. 07A so-called fatty (the good, non-drying kind of) alcohol that does all kinds of things in a skincare product: it makes your skin feel smooth and nice (emollient), helps to thicken up products and also helps water and oil to blend (emulsifier). Can b…
  8. 08Butylene glycol, or let’s just call it BG, is a multi-tasking colorless, syrupy liquid. It’s a great pick for creating a nice feeling product.
  9. 09BG’s main job is usually to be a solvent for the other ingredients. Other tasks include helping the product to absorb faster and deeper into the skin (penetration enhancer), making the product spread nicely over the skin (slip agent), and attracting…
  10. 10It’s an ingredient whose safety hasn’t been questioned so far by anyone (at least not that we know about). BG is approved by Ecocert and is also used enthusiastically in natural products. BTW, it’s also a food additive.
  11. 11A natural moisturizer that’s also in our skin
  12. 12A super common, safe, effective and cheap molecule used for more than 50 years
  13. 13Not only a simple moisturizer but knows much more: keeps the skin lipids between our skin cells in a healthy (liquid crystal) state, protects against irritation, helps to restore barrier
  14. 14Effective from as low as 3% with even more benefits for dry skin at higher concentrations up to 20-40%
  15. 15High-glycerin moisturizers are awesome for treating severely dry skin
  16. 16A super common, waxy, white, solid stuff that helps water and oil to mix together, gives body to creams and leaves the skin feeling soft and smooth.
  17. 17Chemically speaking, it is the attachment of a glycerin molecule to the fatty acid called stearic acid. It can be produced from most vegetable oils (in oils three fatty acid molecules are attached to glycerin instead of just one like here) in a pret…
  18. 18It also occurs naturally in our body and is used as a food additive. As cosmetic chemist Colins writes it, "its safety really is beyond any doubt".
  19. 19A very common water-loving surfactant and emulsifier that helps to keep water and oil mixed nicely together.
  20. 20It's often paired with glyceryl stearate - the two together form a super effective emulsifier duo that's salt and acid tolerant and works over a wide pH range. It also gives a "pleasing product aesthetics", so no wonder it's popular.
Source · incidecoder.com ⟶
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Comparison edit

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