Can a skincare brand selling products as cheaply as Cerave do really compete with an expensive luxury brand like Skinceuticals. We believe they can compete and that Cerave offer much better value for money on skin care products just as effective on your skin as a Skinceuticals product. However, if you are looking for a special experience and are willing to pay for it, Skinceuticals offer a luxurious experience.
We are going to compare the brands moisturisers, Skinceuticals triple lipid restore and the Cerave cream. There are a number of different ingredients used by these brands, with Skinceuticals using the highest number of ingredients and the most expensive ingredients out of the two brands.
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Moisturiser comparison criteria
When you are looking for an effective moisturiser you should consider the following criteria.
- Does the moisturiser contain a humectant ?
- Is there an emollient ?
- Is there an occlusive to create a protective barrier on your skin ?
Any Moisturiser that’s going to be effective will contain a humectant, occlusive and an emollient ingredient. It’s really important that we check whether these two products contain all 3 of these types of ingredients that make a moisturiser effective on your skin.
A humectant is an ingredient that attracts water from deeper in your skin or the air itself so that it can hydrate your skin. Emollients keep your skin soft and smooth and occlusives create a protective barrier to stop your skin losing moisture and drying out.
Comparing Skinceuticals Triple Lipid Restore vs Cerave Cream
Let’s compare these two moisturising creams, looking at the ingredients, how they feel, effectiveness and overall experience. This comparison might seem unfair because the price of Triple lipid repair is significantly higher than Cerave cream, but many of the ingredients are very similar and you’ll be surprised by the results these products offer.
Triple Lipid Repair
- Contains humectant, occlusive and emollient ingredients.
- Contains fragrance ingredients and peppermint which makes your skin feel tingly and cool.
- The high price is for the experience rather than any added benefit from the ingredients.
Cerave Cream
- Ingredients include the important occlusive, humectant and and emollient.
- Fragrance free and limited number of ingredients is good for sensitive skin.
- Very low price and often recognised and recommended for dry skin issues.
What ingredients do they use
SkinCeuticals’ Triple Lipid Restore contains glycerin and hyaluronic acid as humectants. It doesn’t matter too much which humectant moisturisers contain, as long as they do, but these 2 ingredients are widely used. Dimethicone is the occlusive in this formula and uniquely sunflower seed oil is used as the emollient.
Ceramide and cholesterol are also added to this Skinceuticals formula to add protection to your skins barrier. There are also some scents added and a few natural oils and peppermint that offers a cooling sensation.
The triple lipid restore contains all the right ingredients a moisturiser should but the high price is you paying for the luxurious scent and cooling sensation, two factors that you might enjoy but that won’t benefit your skin. These expensive ingredients won’t change your skins biology, health or appearance but the experience does feel luxurious, so if you can afford it and like a high-end experience, it may be worth it for you.
Cerave Cream also contains Hyaluronic acid and Glycerin, the same two humectants in the Triple lipid repair cream. Cerave also use dimethicone as the occlusive to help seal in the moisture that the humectants draw out. When it coms to emollients, Cerave use caprylic / capris tryglyceride, cetearyl alcohol and cetearth 20. This blend of emollients soften and smoothen your skin and are a different choice from the more natural sunflower seed oil you’ll find in the Triple lipid repair cream.
How does it feel to use these moisturisers
Skinceuticals offer a much more expensive product and use a lot more expensive ingredients in their formula. What matters is whether this converts into a better experience for your skin and for your mind.
Cerave cream soaks into your skin and dries quickly. I usually feel like I need to dab on some more cream after a few hours to be sure my skin doesn’t feel like it’s drying out. This cream can pile, especially under sunscreen and makeup so it doesn’t really layer that well. If you can apply a small amount and find makeup that sits nicely on top it can work well, otherwise think about moisturising using Cerave cream when you aren’t going to be layering with other makeup.
Skinceuticals cream has a dewy finish that soaks into your skin and feels like it is still there throughout the day. The texture is smooth and layers well under makeup and sun lotion. There is a light scent that is hard to describe but it is pleasant and not too strong. Applying the formula is effortless, and a small dab spreads well and stays smooth as long as you massage it into your skin well.
Effectiveness and overall experience
When we think about how effective a moisturiser is we need to think about what it is we should expect from a moisturiser. The main purpose of adding a moisturiser into our skin care routine is that the weather, pollution, stress and other factors cause our skin to dry out quickly throughout the day. Dry skin can make wrinkles stand out more and adding some moisture makes our skin glow more naturally and make us feel better about our appearance.
Both Cerave cream and Triple lipid restore both contain all the ingredients that make a moisturiser work. This means, a humectant to bring moisture into the outer layer of our skin and then an occlusive to hold the moisture in followed by an emollient to smoother and soften our skin. Ceramides can also work to help repair our skin and aren’t necessary in a moisturiser but may give your skin biology some small benefits.
Final thoughts about Cerave and Skinceuticals
Choosing between these two brands moisturisers really comes down to the experience you are looking for. If you are happy to pay a premium price for a luxurious scent, skin cooling sensation and the knowledge that there are more natural and expensive ingredients included in the formula then you can think about skinceuticals triple lipid restore. Just make sure you know that the high price is for the experience the product offers and the marketing around the brand rather than any big additional benefit to your skin.
Both brands include all the ingredients in their moisturisers that we like to see and both product so the job of a moisturiser very well. If you wear a lot of makeup, Cerave cream may not sit so well under it so that’s another factor to consider. You could solve this problem by applying less formula to try and avoid any piling. Whichever product you choose, you are getting an effective moisturiser.