CeraVe Hydrating Cream-To-Foam Cleanser Versus Paula's Choice Skin Balancing Oil-Reducing Cleanser

CeraVe Hydrating Cream-To-Foam Cleanser Versus Paula's Choice Skin Balancing Oil-Reducing Cleanser

This mild gel cleanser is made to cleanse without leaving your skin tight or dry.

This mild cream cleanser is made to cleanse without leaving your skin tight or dry.

What's inside

Key Ingredients

No key ingredients

Benefits

Concerns

Ingredients Side-by-side

Water

Glycerin

Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate

Coco-Betaine

Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate

Sodium Chloride

PCA

PPG-5-Ceteth-20

PEG-100 Stearate

PEG-150 Pentaerythrityl Tetrastearate

PEG-6 Caprylic/Capric Glycerides

PEG-30 Dipolyhydroxystearate

CI 77891

Aspartic Acid

Ceramide NP

Ceramide AP

Ceramide EOP

Sorbitan Isostearate

Carbomer

Glycol Distearate

Glyceryl Stearate

Glyceryl Oleate

Glycine

Trideceth-6

Cetearyl Alcohol

Behentrimonium Methosulfate

Threonine

Sodium Hydroxide

Salicylic Acid

Sodium PCA

Sodium Lactate

Arginine

Sodium Lauroyl Lactylate

Serine

Sodium Benzoate

Valine

Sodium Hyaluronate

Proline

Isoleucine

Cholesterol

Phenoxyethanol

Alanine

Phenylalanine

Coconut Acid

Coco-Glucoside

Chlorphenesin

Disodium EDTA

Hydroxyethyl Urea

Citric Acid

Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer

Caprylyl Glycol

Phytosphingosine

Xanthan Gum

Histidine

Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer

Polyquaternium-53

Polyquaternium-39

Polysorbate 60

Ethylhexylglycerin

Benzoic Acid

Water, Glycerin, Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate, Coco-Betaine, Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate, Sodium Chloride, PCA, PPG-5-Ceteth-20, PEG-100 Stearate, PEG-150 Pentaerythrityl Tetrastearate, PEG-6 Caprylic/Capric Glycerides, PEG-30 Dipolyhydroxystearate, CI 77891, Aspartic Acid, Ceramide NP, Ceramide AP, Ceramide EOP, Sorbitan Isostearate, Carbomer, Glycol Distearate, Glyceryl Stearate, Glyceryl Oleate, Glycine, Trideceth-6, Cetearyl Alcohol, Behentrimonium Methosulfate, Threonine, Sodium Hydroxide, Salicylic Acid, Sodium PCA, Sodium Lactate, Arginine, Sodium Lauroyl Lactylate, Serine, Sodium Benzoate, Valine, Sodium Hyaluronate, Proline, Isoleucine, Cholesterol, Phenoxyethanol, Alanine, Phenylalanine, Coconut Acid, Coco-Glucoside, Chlorphenesin, Disodium EDTA, Hydroxyethyl Urea, Citric Acid, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Caprylyl Glycol, Phytosphingosine, Xanthan Gum, Histidine, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Polyquaternium-53, Polyquaternium-39, Polysorbate 60, Ethylhexylglycerin, Benzoic Acid

Sodium Lauroamphoacetate

Stearic Acid

Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil

Acrylates Copolymer

Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract

Hexylene Glycol

Water, Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate, Sodium Lauroamphoacetate, Stearic Acid, Glycerin, Glycol Distearate, Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil, Acrylates Copolymer, Cetearyl Alcohol, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Sodium Chloride, Sodium Hydroxide, Xanthan Gum, Caprylyl Glycol, Hexylene Glycol, Disodium EDTA, Phenoxyethanol

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Alternatives

Ingredients Explained

These ingredients are found in both products.

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

Caprylyl Glycol is a humectant, skin conditioner, emollient, and preservative booster derived from either caprylic acid or synthetically created.

Typical use levels vary from 0.3-1% as a preservative booster and go up to 2% to condition skin.

Because it is not a free-fatty acid, this ingredient is fungal acne safe (there's nothing for Malassezia to feed on).

Cetearyl alcohol is a waxy mixture of two fatty alcohols: cetyl alcohol and stearyl alcohol. It is an emollient and emulsifier.

Despite having "alcohol" in its name, it has nothing to do with drying solvent alcohols; the FDA also allows "alcohol-free" products to contain fatty alcohols like this ingredient.

It plays several roles in a formula:

Typical use levels for this ingredient sit around 1-10% and the Cosmetic Ingredient Review Expert Panel has affirmed safety at concentrations up to 25% in leave-on products.

Multiple assessments have found it to be non-irritating and non-sensitizing to most people.

However, there have been some cases of allergic contact dermatitis in patients with chronically compromised skin barriers.

Cetearyl alcohol has a comedogenic rating of 2 and irritancy rating of 1. Both of these numbers come from the 1989 study that used rabbit ears; a "2" means mildly comedogenic and a "1" means low irritancy.

Here's the catch: rabbit skin is more sensitive than human skin and throws a lot of false positives. A 1996 reappraisal found that ingredients rated 1-2 in the rabbit ear tests are generally safe for humans.

Remember comedogenic ratings are unable to assess the entire formula of a product or how it will react on your skin. Just be sure to patch test if you are unsure about certain ingredients.

This ingredient is not fungal acne safe. Cetearyl alcohol is a fatty alcohol with chain lengths that fall within the range that Malassezia can metabolize.

A 2019 study has also observed Malassezia growth in the presence of this ingredient, confirming it to be not-fungal acne safe.

Disodium EDTA is a chelating agent. It grabs onto and deactivates metal ions that sneak into your products from water, packaging, or air.

This ingredient mainly works behind the scenes and helps with:

On top of that, this ingredient can counteract the effects of hard water by binding to the minerals in it.

One thing worth knowing is that Disodium EDTA has been shown to be a mild penetration enhancer. It can help other ingredients absorb into skin more effectively which can be a double-edged sword (great for actives, but can also make the active too strong if you have sensitive skin).

Clinical patch testing showed no significant skin irritation at typical use concentrations and minimal dermal absorption.

You'll most likely see this ingredient near the end of an ingredient list. It's typically found in concentrations less than 1%.

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.

Glycol Distearate is an emulsifier and emollient that adds a "pearly" appearance to formulations.

That lustrous look you see in many shampoos is due to this ingredient: when cooled, it crystallizes into small platelets that reflect light to give products that rich, shimmering look.

This ingredient is considered safe at present practices of use and concentration and repeated insult patch test with 50% Glycol Distearate on 125 subjects found no evidence of skin irritation, hypersensitivity, or acute toxicity.

Typical use concentrations range from 0.1-10%.

Because it's an ester of stearic acid, it falls into the range that Malassezia likes to metabolize. This ingredient may not be fungal acne safe.

Phenoxyethanol is one of the most widely used preservatives in skincare (and for good reason!).

It has a large spectrum of antimicrobial activity and especially effective bacteria, yeast, and mold while only having a weak effect on your skin's natural microbiome.

On a cellular level, it disrupts the cell membranes of microbes by poking holes that make the cell leak. This shuts down the chemical reactions the microbe needs to make energy so it can no longer survive.

Another perk of this ingredient is that it stays functional across a wide pH range (3-10).

You'll often see it paired with boosters like Ethylhexylglycerin; one study showed that a 1:9 ratio of Ethylhexylglycerin to Phenoxyethanol damages bacterial membranes as effectively as doubling the Phenoxyethanol concentration on its own.

Typical use concentrations range from 0.3-1% depending on the formula, and this ingredient is capped at 1% int the EU.

Safety-wise, the fear mongering does not hold up to the evidence. The EU's Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety and FDA consider it safe as a preservative at up to 1%, including for children of all ages.

Adverse systemic effects only showed up in animal studies at exposures roughly 200x higher than what people get from cosmetics. And despite its very widespread use, this ingredient is a rare sensitizer and allergic reactions are uncommon.

Chances are, you eat sodium chloride every day. Sodium Chloride is also known as table salt. This ingredient has many purposes in skincare: thickener, emulsifier, and exfoliator.

You'll most likely find this ingredient in cleansers where it is used to create a gel-like texture. As an emulsifier, it also prevents ingredients from separating.

You might see people debate whether Sodium Chloride is comedogenic, but there actually haven't been any comedogenic tests done on it. Either way, the overall formulation of a product matters a lot more than any single ingredient.

You might see this ingredient used in scrubs as a primary exfoliating ingredient.

Sodium cocoyl isethionate is a natural ingredient from coconut oil. It is an ultra gentle cleanser that gives a nice foam without drying the skin or impacting the skin barrier.

The amount of foam created depends on the amount of sodium cocoyl isethionate used in the product.

This ingredient also helps improve the spreadability of a product.

This ingredient hasn’t been shown in studies to feed fungal acne yeast.

Sodium Hydroxide is also known as lye or caustic soda. It is used to adjust the pH of products; many ingredients require a specific pH to be effective.

In small amounts, sodium hydroxide is considered safe to use. However, large amounts may cause chemical burns due to its high alkaline.

Your skin has a natural pH and acid mantle. This acid mantle helps prevent harmful bacteria from breaking through. The acid mantle also helps keep your skin hydrated.

"Alkaline" refers to a high pH level. A low pH level would be considered acidic.

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!

Xanthan gum is used as a stabilizer and thickener within cosmetic products. It helps give products a sticky, thick feeling - preventing them from being too runny.

On the technical side of things, xanthan gum is a polysaccharide - a combination consisting of multiple sugar molecules bonded together.

Xanthan gum is a pretty common and great ingredient. It is a natural, non-toxic, non-irritating ingredient that is also commonly used in food products.

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