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Cosmetic Analyzer
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My Ingredient Notes
No personal ingredient notes, learn more about saving ingredients to your profile here
EWG | CIR | Ingredient Name & Cosmetic Functions | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1
|
A
|
Cetyl Alcohol
(Masking,Emollient,Surfactant,Fragrance,Viscosity Controlling,Viscosity Increasing Agent,Emulsion Stabilising,Emulsifying,Opacifying,Foam Boosting) |
Comedogenic Rating (2)
|
1
|
A
|
Stearyl Alcohol
(Masking,Emollient,Surfactant,Fragrance,Viscosity Controlling,Viscosity Increasing Agent,Emulsion Stabilising,Emulsifying,Opacifying,Foam Boosting,Refatting) |
Comedogenic Rating (2)
|
1
|
|
Water
(Solvent) |
|
3
|
B
|
Propylene Glycol
(Solvent,Skin Conditioning,Fragrance,Humectant,Viscosity Controlling,Viscosity Decreasing Agent,Skin-Conditioningagent - Miscellaneous) |
Good for Dry Skin
|
4
|
A
|
Methylparaben
(Fragrance,Preservative) |
Paraben
|
My derma said to stop everything that I am using, an recommended to use a Mild Soap-Free Cleanser and Cetaphil is a soap-free cleanser. So I gave up everything and will religiously obey my derma. He did not name drop a brand of anything in particular. So I tried to research what are these soap-free cleansers. And Cetaphil is number 1 on the list.
based on my experience as a teenager, i started treating my tiny bumps on tzone as early as possible and many people recommend this cleanser but i think it didn't have great effects on my skin. My skin remained the same, i didn't get good or bad results from it
Cetaphil Gentle Cleanser is very familiar to a lot of people: it's the first "gentle" cleanser that most Americans have used as a teenager or a young adult first getting into skincare. Many people using this are graduating from soap bars or harsh and fragranced scrubs and compared to those Cetaphil is indeed very gentle. But cleansers have come a long way since Cetaphil was introduced and Cetaphil's formula is kind of aging. Most notably the main cleansing ingredient is sodium lauryl sulfate which is now regarded as one of the harsher surfactants (although not as harsh as soap). Still, I find that the cleanser is just fine if a bit more drying than other gentle cleansers. It doesn't foam, which might be a good thing, because a lot of Korean foaming cleansers that are supposedly pH balanced (i.e. CosRx Good Morning Gel Cleanser) leave my skin about equally dry as Cetaphil. But Vanicream cleanser also foams and leaves my skin noticeably much less dry in the 15 minutes that I wait after washing my face to apply tretinoin.
The biggest strength of Cetaphil is that it is incredibly affordable and still quite a decent cleanser compared to many things much more expensive than it. Surely it is better than any designer brand that puts fragrance into a skincare product. You can get 40 oz of this stuff for around $15 at warehouse club stores and not worry about cleansers for 2 or 3 years. If you are affected by dryness it might be worth it to try Vanicream, CeraVe hydrating, or Neutrogena Ultra Gentle hydrating as I have found it makes a big difference for me as a tretinoin user. But for most people, there is a reason why this cleanser is so ubiquitous even though it is a bit dated.
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