CeraVe Healing Ointment for sensitive skin
Petrolatum
Sodium Hyaluronate
Dimethicone
PanthenolAverage
- AverageNormal Skin Fit
- AverageEffectiveness
- HighSafety
Works for sensitive skin; other moisturizers fit it better.
This fit is calculated for the concerns frequently associated with sensitive skin: redness, stinging, and reactions to new products. For scores and recommendations based on your full skin profile, including your 12D face scan results and any goals or preferences you have, please use the Lovi app.
Page built Nov 8, 2026How the Fit score works
Lovi Assistant explains
- Offers moderate suitability for normal skin as petrolatum and dimethicone provide emollient and occlusive benefits to enhance barrier resilience, addressing your redness and irritation by forming a protective layer.
- While the formula offers excellent moisturizing and soothing properties, it lacks sufficient humectants for optimal hydration of your normal skin.
- The safety profile is excellent, with no risks of irritation for your sensitive skin due to the absence of prohibited or harsh ingredients.
How to apply
- Use this soothing AM and PM routine every day to keep your normal skin calm. Always remember to apply SPF in the morning after your moisturizer.
- Apply your moisturizer after your toner in the morning, and after your serum in the evening. This step locks in hydration and protects your skin.
- Gently press a small amount of the moisturizer evenly across your face. Avoid rubbing to keep your sensitive skin happy and calm.
- You can apply this gentle formula on dry or slightly damp skin for the best comfort. It works wonderfully on clean skin to soothe redness and irritation.
- Do a patch test before your very first use to check your skin's reaction. Avoid getting the product directly into your eyes .
People Say
★4.7Overall rating based on 5.2k+ reviewsIt is praised for being less greasy than traditional petroleum jelly and containing beneficial ceramides, though some users find the texture too heavy for daytime use or difficult to dispense.
Highlights
Superior healing Mostly Mentioned
- “healed cracked hands”
- “saved winter skin”
- “soothed raw nose”
Better texture Often Mentioned
- “less greasy”
- “absorbs better”
- “silky feel”
- “not as sticky”
Versatile application Often Mentioned
- “great lip balm”
- “perfect for slugging”
- “used on diaper rash”
- “heals tattoos”
Gentle and safe Sometimes Noted
- “fragrance-free”
- “no stinging”
- “lanolin-free”
- “safe for eyelids”
Greasy residue Sometimes Noted
- “too sticky”
- “sits on skin”
- “grease marks on pillow”
- “shiny face”
Packaging design Rarely Noted
- “hard to squeeze”
- “tube split open”
- “cap broke”
- “product waste”
Price point Rarely Noted
- “expensive Vaseline”
- “pricey for size”
- “small tube”
- “not worth extra cost”
Skin congestion Rarely Noted
- “caused breakouts”
- “clogged pores”
- “whiteheads”
- “too heavy for face”
Sources: lovi.care, amazon.com, ulta.com, target.com, walmart.com, reddit.com, and more
Questions and answers
How well does CeraVe Healing Ointment work for sensitive skin?
This moisturizer works reasonably well for sensitive skin, helping calm redness and irritation by forming a protective layer with petrolatum and dimethicone. It has a very safe formula with no harsh ingredients, but it lacks enough water-attracting ingredients for deep hydration. A product for this skin needs soothing ingredients like fermented Centella Asiatica, cica ceramides, and nourishing oils to boost hydration and repair the barrier without feeling heavy.
Which ingredients make this ointment a good fit for sensitive skin?
Petrolatum and dimethicone make this ointment a good fit for sensitive skin because they form a protective layer that calms redness and irritation. To fit this skin type even better, a moisturizer needs soothing ingredients like fermented Centella Asiatica, cica ceramide, and nourishing oils.
What does Petrolatum do for sensitive skin?
Petrolatum helps calm and protect sensitive skin by locking in moisture and supporting the outer barrier. This ingredient has a very low chance of causing allergies, making it safe for daily use on easily irritated skin.
The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 2016Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 2024
What does Hyaluronic Acid do for sensitive skin?
Hyaluronic acid helps calm and hydrate sensitive skin while supporting the skin barrier to keep it soft and comfortable. Clinical studies show it improves surface moisture and reduces dryness, roughness, and redness without irritation.
Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 2025Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2018
Where does this ointment go in a skincare routine for sensitive skin?
This ointment goes at the end of your evening routine, and a product for this skin needs extra moisture-attracting ingredients to keep it fully hydrated.
The Journal of Dermatological Treatment, 2022Ostomy/wound Management, 2005
Can I use this ointment with retinol, and in what order?
You can use this ointment with retinol by applying your retinol first and then layering the ointment on top to help lock in moisture and calm any redness. This type of product is unlikely to irritate sensitive skin, but a product for this skin also needs more hydrating ingredients to keep skin fully plump and comfortable.
How often should I use this ointment?
You can use this ointment daily as a moisturizer, and it is very safe and unlikely to cause irritation for your sensitive skin. However, because it lacks sufficient water-attracting ingredients, sensitive skin needs a product of this type that also includes extra hydrating ingredients like glycerin or hyaluronic acid to keep skin fully hydrated.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2020Health Science Reports, 2021
Can this ointment clog pores, cause breakouts or purging for sensitive skin?
This ointment is unlikely to clog pores or cause breakouts for sensitive skin, as it has a safe formula without harsh ingredients. However, it may leave a greasy residue that can feel heavy on your skin.
Can I use this ointment around the eyes or on my body?
You can use this ointment around the eyes and on the body because it has a very safe formula that is unlikely to cause any irritation. However, because sensitive skin needs extra deep moisture, a product of this type works best for these areas when it also includes plenty of water-attracting ingredients to keep the skin fully hydrated.
Is this ointment fragrance-free and alcohol-free?
Yes, it has no fragrance and no drying alcohol.
What the research says
Petrolatum-based skin protectants demonstrated protection against irritants and maceration while providing skin hydration, whereas dimethicone and zinc oxide products showed varying or limited performance across parameters among 18 healthy volunteers compared to positive and negative controls.
Ostomy/wound Management, 2005Wearing an N95 mask alone compared to using dimethicone cream or hydrocolloid dressing caused more adverse skin reactions among 73 military health care workers, with no significant differences in fit test failure rates between groups.
Military Medicine, 2024The emollient V0034CR significantly reduced TEWL compared to vehicle and vehicle plus glycerol, and significantly increased corneometry scores compared to vehicle and vehicle plus petrolatum in healthy volunteers with dry skin, demonstrating combined barrier function improvement from petrolatum and hydration improvement from glycerol.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2020Topical treatment with skin-identical lipids in a petrolatum-rich cream base showed no superiority over pure petrolatum in promoting normalization of barrier recovery and inflammation in detergent- and tape-stripped-perturbed human skin over 14 days.
Acta Dermato-venereologica, 2000Topically applied extra virgin olive oil and petrolatum both significantly improved skin barrier function and microtopographic features in 54 healthy adult volunteers, with petrolatum exerting stronger occlusive effects and extra virgin olive oil uniquely promoting epidermal renewal.
Journal of Clinical Medicine, 2025Topical application of 0.1% hyaluronic acid formulations of different molecular weights led to significant improvements in skin hydration and elasticity, with low-molecular-weight formulations also significantly reducing wrinkle depth in seventy-six female subjects compared to a vehicle control.
Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 2011Topical application of hyaluronic acid in conjunction with free gingival graft significantly reduced donor site postoperative pain until day 7 compared to normal saline, with no significant differences in graft dimensions or patient satisfaction.
Clinical Oral Investigations, 2022Treatment with a hyaluronic acid-containing mouth rinse or topical gel led to significant lesion reduction, pain relief, and normalization of lesion color in adult patients with minor recurrent aphthous stomatitis, with the gel formulation showing an earlier healing onset at 3 days.
BMC Oral Health, 2019Treatment with a moisturizer containing dimethicone and glycerine increased epidermal thickness by 0.019 mm, improved barrier function by decreasing transepidermal water loss by 13%, decreased melanin intensity, and induced keratins 6 and 16 in fifteen women with moderately photoaged forearms.
Clinical and Experimental Dermatology, 2007Externally applied substances such as ceramides, hyaluronic acid, licorice extracts, dimethicone, petrolatum, and paraffin wax treat skin disease resulting from damage to the skin barrier.
Clinics in Dermatology, 2012Vehicle additives such as silicates, dimethicone, and glycerin reduce skin irritation associated with benzoyl peroxide 5%/clindamycin 1% gel and topical retinoid combination therapy by maintaining barrier integrity.
Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 2006Topical dexpanthenol acts as a moisturizer, improves stratum corneum hydration, accelerates wound healing and epidermal regeneration, reduces erythema, and improves symptoms of skin irritation compared to vehicle or no pretreatment.
American Journal of Clinical Dermatology, 2002Moisturizer containing 5% panthenol, madecassoside, and copper-zinc-manganese decreased adverse reactions and downtime after ablative fractional carbon dioxide laser resurfacing with comparable efficacy to 0.02% triamcinolone acetonide cream in 20 subjects.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2019Topical dexpanthenol formulated in lipophilic vehicles improved stratum corneum hydration and reduced transepidermal water loss compared to vehicle control in humans.
Arzneimittel-Forschung, 2000
Ingredients
Petrolatum, Mineral Oil, Paraffin, Ozokerite, Dimethicone, Ceramide Np, Ceramide Ap, Ceramide Eop, Carbomer, Water, Sodium Lauroyl Lactylate, Proline, Cholesterol, Phenoxyethanol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Tocopherol, Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid, Panthenol, Pantolactone, Phytosphingosine, Xanthan Gum, Ethylhexylglycerin
Behind this fit score
Lovi calculates every fit score from the full ingredient list with brand-independent rules our dermatologists and cosmetic chemists build and review, and personalizes every pick with AI trained on the real results of millions of users. Lovi trains its fit score models on a proprietary dataset built from more than 10,000 expert-labeled products and more than 100,000 simulated examples, following an internally consistent methodology presented at Cosmoprof, AMWC, and Skin of Color Update.
-
Co-founder, Medical Director
Cosmetic chemist, cosmetologist, aesthetic products developer
-
Co-founder, CEO and CTO
PhD in computer science, 3x US patent holder, ex-Google, ex-Yandex
-
Dr. Sofía Perea Pérez, MD, MSc
Medical Board
Aesthetic medicine practitioner, MSc in Longevity and Anti-Aging Medicine
-
Medical Board
Specialist dermatologist, MBBS, MD, IFAAD
-
Medical Board
Cosmetic chemist, SCS, IFSCC member
-
Medical Board, Medical Advisor
Dermatology MD
-
Elina Nazarenko, MD
Medical Board
Dermatology and diagnostic consultant
-
Victoria Derkova, MS
Medical Board
Cosmetic chemist, cosmetic development technologist
How does it fit your skin?
Scan your face, then any product: Lovi shows how well it fits you and what fits even better.