Eucerin seals moisture in. CeraVe adds it and seals it. For most people, that makes CeraVe the one to buy.
Both creams are thick, fragrance-free and built around petrolatum, so they look alike in the tub. The ingredient lists tell a different story. Eucerin Original Healing Cream is seven ingredients, mostly petrolatum, mineral oil and wax. It forms a heavy seal that’s hard to beat on cracked hands and heels, but it’s too greasy for most faces.
CeraVe Moisturizing Cream leads with glycerin and adds three ceramides, cholesterol and hyaluronic acid, with petrolatum further down. It hydrates, supports your skin barrier and still rubs in, so one tub covers your face and body.
Use CeraVe every day. Keep Eucerin for the spots a regular cream can’t fix.
Which cream is right for you?
How the formulas work
Eucerin is almost pure seal. After water, its main ingredients are petrolatum, mineral oil and ceresin wax. These are occlusives: they sit on your skin and stop water from evaporating. Lanolin alcohol helps the cream hold water. There are no humectants or ceramides, so Eucerin protects the moisture you already have rather than adding new moisture.
CeraVe is a full moisturizer. Glycerin, its second ingredient, draws water into your skin, and sodium hyaluronate adds more. Ceramides NP, AP and EOP plus cholesterol replace the lipids your barrier is built from. Petrolatum and dimethicone then slow water loss, but in smaller amounts than in Eucerin, which is why CeraVe rubs in instead of sitting on top.
In practice: Eucerin is the better seal, CeraVe is the better moisturizer. Eucerin has nothing to add water, so it works best on damp skin or over a lighter lotion. CeraVe brings its own humectants and barrier lipids and rubs in clean enough for your face. For most people, CeraVe is the one to buy. Add Eucerin if you have cracked heels, hands or shins that a regular cream can't keep up with.
Eucerin Original Healing Cream: a heavy seal for rough skin
Thick petrolatum seal for rough, cracked skin.
Eucerin’s formula is just seven ingredients: water, petrolatum, mineral oil, ceresin, lanolin alcohol and two preservatives. Petrolatum and mineral oil are among the most effective ingredients at stopping water from leaving your skin, ceresin is a wax that thickens it, and lanolin alcohol helps it all bind with water.
There are no humectants, ceramides or other extras. That’s the point: it doesn’t add much moisture on its own, it locks in what’s already there. Put it on damp skin after a shower, or over a thin layer of a lighter lotion, and it keeps cracked heels, knuckles and shins sealed for hours.
The trade-off is the feel. It’s thick and leaves a shine, which is fine at night on your body and too much for most faces. It’s labeled fragrance-free and non-comedogenic.
- Petrolatum, mineral oil and wax form a heavy, long-lasting seal
- Short seven-ingredient list
- Fragrance-, dye- and paraben-free
- Two 16-ounce tubs last a long time
- Too greasy for most faces and for daytime under clothes
- No humectants, so it works best on damp skin
- Contains lanolin alcohol
Eucerin Original Healing Cream is fragrance-free, but its fifth ingredient is lanolin alcohol, a known contact allergen for a small number of people. If lanolin has made you itch or break out before, choose CeraVe, which has none.
CeraVe Moisturizing Cream: hydration plus barrier lipids
Ceramide cream that works on face and body.
CeraVe is built the other way around from Eucerin. Glycerin is the second ingredient, so it pulls water into your skin first. Cetearyl and cetyl alcohol (non-drying fatty alcohols) and caprylic/capric triglyceride give it body, and petrolatum and dimethicone sit further down to slow water loss.
Then come ceramides NP, AP and EOP, cholesterol and phytosphingosine, the lipids your skin barrier is made of, plus sodium hyaluronate for extra hydration. The result is a rich cream that still rubs in, so you can use it on your face as well as your body.
It’s fragrance-free, non-comedogenic and accepted by the National Eczema Association. It won’t seal a cracked heel as well as Eucerin, but for daily all-over use it does more.
- Three ceramides plus cholesterol and phytosphingosine
- Glycerin and hyaluronic acid for hydration
- Rubs in without a greasy film, so it works on your face
- Fragrance-free, non-comedogenic, National Eczema Association accepted
- Won’t seal cracked heels or knuckles as well as Eucerin
- Can feel heavy on oily skin
CeraVe Moisturizing Cream, 8 oz: the same cream in a trial-size jar
- Same formula as the 19-ounce tub
- Easy to keep at a desk, by the sink or in a bag
- Cheaper way to try CeraVe before committing to a big tub
- Costs more per ounce than the 19-ounce tub
- Runs out fast if you use it on your body every day
| Heavy seal Eucerin Original Healing Cream for Extremely Dry Skin | VS | Everyday all-rounder CeraVe Moisturizing Cream for Face and Body |
|---|---|---|
Petrolatum, mineral oil, ceresin wax, lanolin alcohol | Main ingredients |
Glycerin, fatty alcohols, triglycerides, petrolatum |
None | Barrier extras |
Ceramides NP, AP, EOP + cholesterol + hyaluronic acid |
Thick, leaves a visible shine | Feel |
Rich but rubs in |
Hands, heels, elbows, shins | Best use |
Face and whole body |
Two 16 oz tubs | Size |
19 oz tub |
| View product | View product |
Which cream should you buy?
Choose CeraVe Moisturizing Cream if you want one cream for face and body. Glycerin, three ceramides, cholesterol and hyaluronic acid hydrate and support the barrier, and petrolatum and dimethicone hold it in without a greasy film. It’s the better everyday pick for most people, including dry and eczema-prone skin.
Choose Eucerin Original Healing Cream if you need a heavy seal on rough, cracked spots. It’s almost all petrolatum, mineral oil and wax, so it locks moisture into hands, heels, elbows and shins better than a lighter cream does. Skip it if you react to lanolin.
For the CeraVe, buy the 19-ounce tub if you’ll use it daily on your body; it costs less per ounce than the 8-ounce jar. Either cream works best on slightly damp skin right after a shower.
