Cetaphil Daily Facial Cleanser Review

The Cetaphil product line has long been one that my family has sworn by for as long as I can remember.  I mean Cetaphil was founded in 1947 so its been around for a while.  

Let's break down some of the claims and talk about the ingredient list to see if this cleanser is actually as good or bad for your skin as it is.  

I've been using it personally since elementary school and I know cousins who have been using it since they were born. My family loves Cetaphil products! But, is the brand really all that they make it out to be? Below is my Cetaphil Daily Facial Cleanser Review.

What the Cetaphil Daily cleanser claims to do:

• Ideal for combination to oily skin
• removes excess surface oils, dirt and makeup
• Won't dry or leave skin tight
• Gentle for sensitive skin

The bottle itself says that it's made for normal to oily skin and as a girl with oily skin,  this makes me feel like it's right for me. 

As for what the facial cleanser says it will do, I'll break it down one-by-one to give a more in-depth explanation of my experience.  

Claim: Gentle Enough for Daily Use 

This, I can attest for. I used this cleanser for years both morning and night every day and my skin never grew irritated, broke out, or had any other reaction that would have forced me to stop using the product. Although it doesn't lather or bubble much, the cleanser is easy to glide across the face and massage into the skin. 

Claim: Does not strip the skin 

This claim, in my experience, is also true. This is pretty impressive considering how often I used the cleanser.  After washing it off, the cleanser never left any heaviness or leftover product on my skin; therefore, I do believe that it rinsed off properly.  

Claim: Removes excess surface oils, dirt and makeup 

Lastly, this facial cleanser says it was designed to remove any residue left on the skin such as oils, makeup, dirt, etc. This is the one point that I find myself disagreeing with as it did not clean my skin after one use. 

Simply massaging this facial cleanser into my skin may not be as effective as I thought. To test this, I decided to dampen a cotton pad with water and run it across my face after using the facial cleanser.

When I looked at the cotton pad, to my surprise, the white fabric had turned slightly brown. Evidently, the cleanser had not cleaned all of the dirt from my face. Maybe it's time to reevaluate this cleanser or my cleansing method.

Ingredients Breakdown 

Water, Glycerin, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate, Sodium Cocoamphoacetate, Panthenol, Niacinamide, Pantolactone, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Sodium Benzoate, Masking Fragrance, Sodium Chloride, Citric Acid.

To me, the ingredient's list is short but not the greatest.  For the price of it being under $7 dollars for a large bottle, It's not surprising.

Breaking it down, the ingredients are mostly water and glycerin and Pantolactone which is a humectant.

Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate are types of surfactants which are mild.   Some people may have contact dermatitis with Cocamidopropyl Betaine because of impurities produced during the manufacturing process called aminoamide ( and 3-dimethylaminopropylamine.  

Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer is used as thickener and emulsifier. 

The preservative used is sodium benzoate which can increase the shelf life of a product up to 2 years, however some people may also have an allergic reaction to sodium benzoate.   

In this formula it is ok, but make sure you don't combine something with this ingredient with vitamin c or ascorbic acid as it can form benzene when combined which is a carcinogen.   Generally, if you use vitamin c in your skincare routine, I would avoid using this cleanser as there are many others without this preservative. 

It does have some good ingredients like niacinamide, and panthenol which have skin brightening and skin moisturizing properties. 

This cleanser does contain fragrance but they called it masking fragrance.  Masking fragrance is basically fragrance to cover up any unpleasant smells. 

Not the best ingredients, but if you're on a budget and you haven't had any reaction to the ingredients before it's fine to keep using or worth a try, 

If you decide to go with a different cleanser, one of my favorites is the all clear mint cleanser that works great for calming acne prone skin. 

Final Thoughts:

All in all, the Cetaphil Daily Facial Cleanser is okay for the price, but not the best ingredients. 

Personally, it's been great for me in not over drying the skin and not causing me irritation, however if you have acne prone skin or acne breakouts, you may not want to continue using this cleanser since the preservatives that may cause some sensitivities. 

I recommend a second cleanser or makeup remover if you are going to be wearing makeup, sunscreen, or if you have oily skin.

While overall it seems gentle enough, I find that it doesn't cleanse that well, as I mentioned with my cotton pad test, there was still a lot of residue left on my skin after cleansing with the Cetaphil daily cleanser. 

 I don't think it's the best, but at under $7, it won't hurt to give it a try and let me know what you think yourself!

Always remember: the key to good skin is good skincare that works for you, dedication and consistency, positive attitude, and taking care of yourself mentally too.