CeraVe Hydrating Cleanser Bar for oily acne-prone skin
3 Essential Ceramides
Sodium Hyaluronate
Moisturizing Cream
Glycerin
Dimethicone
Average
- AverageOily Skin Fit
- AverageEffectiveness
- ExcellentSafety
Works for oily acne-prone skin; other cleansers fit it better.
This fit is calculated for the concerns frequently associated with oily acne-prone skin: shine, breakouts, blemishes, and enlarged pores. 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 cleansing for your oily skin, as sodium cocoyl isethionate and cocamidopropyl hydroxysultaine gently remove impurities without stripping moisture. Glycerin and sodium hyaluronate provide humectant action, though stronger seboregulating ingredients would better address your primary concerns of acne, blemishes, and breakouts.
- The formula is safe for your oily skin, with ceramides and hyaluronic acid offering soothing benefits and no risk of irritation.
- This product provides general cleansing and hydration but lacks specialized ingredients to effectively target acne, blemishes, and breakouts.
How to apply
- Use this cleanser as part of your AM and PM routine. Start using it daily to help clear your breakouts.
- Apply this cleanser as the first step in the morning and right after your pre-cleanser in the evening. Follow it with your toner and moisturizer.
- Gently massage a small amount of the cleanser onto your face using circular motions. Rinse thoroughly with lukewarm water and pat dry.
- Apply the cleanser on slightly damp skin to help clean deeply and remove excess oil. This works best for oily skin types.
- Avoid the sensitive eye area during application. Do a patch test before your first use.
People Say
★4.6Overall rating based on 2.5k+ reviewsSome users have noted moderate price increases and a few low-frequency complaints about an unpleasant scent or insufficient lather.
Highlights
Non-stripping hydration Mostly Mentioned
- “doesn't strip skin”
- “leaves face soft”
- “no tight feeling”
- “moisturizing after rinse”
Gentle for sensitive skin Often Mentioned
- “no irritation”
- “gentle on sensitive skin”
- “fragrance-free”
Long-lasting value Sometimes Noted
- “lasts for months”
- “doesn't melt away”
- “good value”
- “hard bar”
Versatile convenience Sometimes Noted
- “great for travel”
- “use on face and body”
- “reduces plastic waste”
- “convenient bar form”
Price increases Sometimes Noted
- “price went up”
- “expensive for soap”
- “used to be cheaper”
- “bad price”
Insufficient lather Rarely Noted
- “doesn't lather much”
- “hard to foam”
- “very light lather”
- “wanted more suds”
Rare drying effect Rarely Noted
- “left face dry”
- “felt tight”
- “caused peeling”
- “not hydrating enough”
Unpleasant scent Rarely Noted
- “smells like plastic”
- “chemical scent”
- “weird smell”
- “not completely odorless”
Sources: lovi.care, walmart.com, cerave.com, target.com, ulta.com, amazon.com, and more
Questions and answers
How well does the Hydrating Cleanser Bar work for oily acne-prone skin?
This cleanser works moderately well for oily skin by gently washing away dirt without drying you out, but it lacks the specialized ingredients needed to truly target breakouts. To properly manage oily acne-prone skin, a cleanser needs ingredients like niacinamide, salicylic acid, or probiotics to help balance oil production and keep skin clear.
Journal of Cosmetic Science, 2007Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology, 2017
Which ingredients make this cleanser a good fit for oily acne-prone skin?
Glycerin and sodium hyaluronate make this cleanser a decent fit for your oily skin by providing gentle hydration, while sodium cocoyl isethionate and cocamidopropyl hydroxysultaine wash away impurities without stripping moisture. However, because it lacks specialized ingredients to target breakouts, cleansers for this skin type need balancing ingredients like salicylic acid, niacinamide, or probiotics alongside soothing ceramides.
What do Ceramides do for oily acne-prone skin?
For oily acne-prone skin, ceramides help repair the skin barrier and improve moisture to reduce redness and acne-related irritation. Because acne-prone skin often lacks these essential lipids, adding them back supports a stronger barrier and helps keep the skin calm and smooth.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2026Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2023
What does Hyaluronic Acid do for oily acne-prone skin?
Hyaluronic acid helps calm oily acne-prone skin by reducing sebum production and lipid synthesis in sebaceous glands. It also supports skin barrier function and improves hydration while helping deliver treatments without causing irritation.
The Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 2017Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2022
Where does this cleanser go in a skincare routine for oily acne-prone skin?
This cleanser works as the first step of your morning routine and the second step of your evening routine after removing makeup. Oily acne-prone skin needs a cleanser of this type to gently lift away impurities with mild ingredients, while also needing specialized acne-fighting ingredients like salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide to properly address breakouts.
Can I use this cleanser with retinol, and in what order?
You can use this cleanser in your routine alongside retinol, as it washes away dirt gently without leaving your skin feeling stripped. To get the best results for your oily, acne-prone skin, a product of this type needs to be paired with targeted ingredients like salicylic acid or acne treatments that better control breakouts.
Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 2023Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 2012
How often should I use this cleanser?
You can use this cleanser daily in your morning and evening routines to gently remove impurities without stripping moisture. Oily acne-prone skin needs a product of this type that also includes specialized ingredients to effectively target acne, blemishes, and breakouts.
Can this cleanser clog pores, cause breakouts or purging for oily acne-prone skin?
This cleanser is unlikely to clog pores or cause breakouts on oily skin, as its mild cleansing agents wash away impurities safely without causing irritation. However, because it lacks specialized acne-fighting ingredients, an oily acne-prone routine needs added acne-targeted actives and oil-controlling ingredients to properly clear blemishes.
Can I use this cleanser around the eyes or on my body?
You can safely use this cleanser on your body and around your eyes, as the gentle ingredients remove impurities without causing irritation. This product provides general cleansing and hydration for the body, but oily acne-prone skin needs specialized blemish-fighting ingredients to properly target breakouts in these areas.
Is this cleanser fragrance-free and alcohol-free?
Yes, it has no fragrance and no drying alcohol. Cetearyl alcohol and cetyl alcohol are fatty alcohols, which soften the skin.
What the research says
A single application of a moisturizing fluid containing hyaluronic acid 1%, glycerin 5%, and Centella asiatica stem cells extract significantly increased skin hydration by 29% and reduced transepidermal water loss at 24 hours compared to baseline and an untreated control site in twenty healthy women.
Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology, 2017Sodium cocoyl isethionate micelles are too large to penetrate stratum corneum aqueous pores, resulting in significant steric hindrance that prevents skin barrier perturbation and explains its skin mildness.
Journal of Cosmetic Science, 2007Topical 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, 2019Ceramide and niacinamide-containing moisturizer combined with anti-acne treatment significantly improved non-inflammatory, inflammatory, and total acne lesions compared to hydrophilic cream in 40 patients with mild to moderate acne vulgaris after 8 weeks.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2024A moisturizer containing licochalcone A, 1,2-decanediol, L-carnitine, and salicylic acid significantly reduced noninflammatory, inflammatory, and total acne lesion counts compared to a vehicle control in Thai patients during a 12-week maintenance phase.
BioMed Research International, 2020The 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, 2020Ten days of treatment with a cream containing 20% glycerin significantly increased skin hydration measured by corneometer values in 17 healthy volunteers compared to a placebo cream, but showed no influence on transepidermal water loss or skin sensitivity to an irritating surfactant.
International Journal of Cosmetic Science, 2001Niacinamide/glycerin body moisturizers provided better rapid and prolonged improvement of cosmetic xerosis through functional improvement of stratum corneum barrier function compared to no treatment and conventional moisturizers in female subjects.
Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 2012Wearing 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, 2024A dimethicone skin protectant lotion significantly decreased visual scoring and transepidermal water loss compared to vehicle control and SLS-only treated sites in 12 healthy humans exposed to sodium lauryl sulfate.
Skin Research and Technology, 2000Treatment 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, 2007
Why other cleansers fit oily acne-prone skin better
Topical application of Lactobacillus plantarum-GMNL6 enhanced collagen synthesis and SPTSSA gene expression while reducing melanin synthesis, Staphylococcus aureus biofilm, and Cutibacterium acnes proliferation, leading to clinical improvements in skin moisture, color, spots, wrinkles, UV spots, and porphyrins in human volunteers.
International Journal of Medical Sciences, 2021A panthenol-enriched mask improved skin hydration, regulated sebum, and reduced redness and TEWL across dry sensitive, oily sensitive, and oily acne skin subgroups with excellent tolerance and no adverse reactions.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2024A novel emulsion containing niacinamide, lens esculenta seed extract, and white willow bark extract effectively improved acne, blackheads, and conspicuous facial pores in 30 subjects with oily skin.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2024
Ingredients
Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate, Stearic Acid, Water, Sodium Isethionate, Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine, Potassium Phosphate, Ceramide Np, Ceramide Ap, Ceramide Eop, Carbomer, Glycerin, Cetearyl Alcohol, Ceteareth-20, Dimethicone, Behentrimonium Methosulfate, Sodium Chloride, Sodium Lauroyl Lactylate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Cholesterol, Phenoxyethanol, Disodium Edta, Dipotassium Phosphate, Tocopherol, Caprylic, Capric Triglyceride, Petrolatum, Phytosphingosine, Xanthan Gum, Ethylene Brassylate, Cetyl Alcohol, 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.
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Co-founder, Medical Director
Cosmetic chemist, cosmetologist, aesthetic products developer
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Co-founder, CEO and CTO
PhD in computer science, 3x US patent holder, ex-Google, ex-Yandex
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Dr. Sofía Perea Pérez, MD, MSc
Medical Board
Aesthetic medicine practitioner, MSc in Longevity and Anti-Aging Medicine
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Medical Board
Specialist dermatologist, MBBS, MD, IFAAD
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Medical Board
Cosmetic chemist, SCS, IFSCC member
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Medical Board, Medical Advisor
Dermatology MD
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Elina Nazarenko, MD
Medical Board
Dermatology and diagnostic consultant
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Victoria Derkova, MS
Medical Board
Cosmetic chemist, cosmetic development technologist
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