What’s actually in the bottle
Independent skincare reviews and routines. We read the ingredient list before the marketing copy, say plainly what a product will not do, and take no payment for placement.
Cetaphil Gentle Cleanser vs. La Roche-Posay Toleriane Cleanser
Cetaphil barely cleans, on purpose. Its ten-ingredient list is mostly water, glycerin and cetearyl alcohol (a non-drying fatty alcohol), with panthenol and niacinamide. The only cleansing agent, sodium cocoyl isethionate, sits near the end,…
Retinol vs. Retinal: Which to Start With
Your skin can only use vitamin A in one form: retinoic acid. Everything else has to be converted. Retinol takes two steps: first to retinal (retinaldehyde), then to retinoic acid. Retinal takes just the…
Eucerin Original Healing Cream vs. CeraVe Moisturizing Cream
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…
Differin vs. CeraVe Resurfacing Retinol
Differin's tube and pump hold the same gel with 0.1% adapalene, an acne drug that used to need a prescription. Adapalene acts directly on skin cells to keep pores from clogging, so it treats…
How to Use Differin and PanOxyl Together
PanOxyl is a rinse-off wash and Differin is a leave-on gel, so they never need to touch. The simplest split is benzoyl peroxide in the morning and adapalene at night. A morning wash also…
