BEFORE YOU BEGIN: READ MY PREVIOUS POST. I’ll save you some scrolling. This is a post about drugstore skincare products that are wildly popular and have been for years…and I’ve never been able to figure out why. Cetaphil cleanser and CeraVe moisturizer are the targets of this entry, with St. Ive’s/Kylie Skin/any walnut scrub making an appearance at the end. I’ve known so many people that have used, and worse, been recommended the products by professionals. And I’m here to tell you they’re full of sh-t. In more ways than one.
Cetaphil. What is it? According to the brands’s website, it’s a mild, soap-free face and body cleanser that hydrates and soothes skin as it cleans. First red flag: it’s cleanser for your face AND your body? Don’t start with me. the skin on your face and the skin on your body is not the same. Period. It retails in multiple sizes ranging from 2oz to 16oz with the 16oz selling at less than $10 at WalMart. Red Flag #2. It’s that cheap because the ingredients in the product are CHEAP. Never forget as a consumer, these product companies are in business for the only reason there is to have a business: make money. So if they’re selling it for less than $10, it probably costs less than $2 to make. I’m not kidding…. and here’s more proof that I’m onto something. The ingredient list is appalling: Water, Cetyl Alcohol, Propylene Glycol, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Stearyl Alcohol, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Butylparaben. Like I said, read my last post before you read this one, because my last post is all about crappy, toxic ingredients in skincare to avoid. The only one of them that is not on that list is Water. Notice that the last 3 ingredients…3 of the 8 total end in the word ‘paraben’…i.e. GARBAGE.
“Cetaphil does not contain even one single beneficial ingredient and what it does contain is the equivalent of toxic sludge. Whether you think it’s keeping your skin healthy or not, it is absorbed into your bloodstream and research has proven almost all of the few ingredients in it are carcinogenic. I know it’s hard to imagine that washing your face can give you cancer but it’s worth consideration.”
So, why do dermatologists recommend this crap as much as they do?! Aren’t they the ones we trust to get our skin looking clean, clear, and healthy? Sadly, it is at least partially because MDs have a big Pharma love affair with the manufacturer, Galderma, the offspring of Nestlé and L’Oréal, which also makes acne drugs like Differin. L’oreal and Nestle are two corporations who secretly own almost everything and you don’t even know it. Galderma manufactures the fillers and Botox impersonators I’ve had injected into my own face. These companies send out samples of their products to dermatologists, who, for the record, know about disorders of the skin….they’re actually NOT product experts. Your licensed esthetician or cosmetologist, like myself, might be though!
My next victim is CeraVe moisturizing lotion. My reasoning/hatred of this product is very much the same as the Cetaphil. The ingredients are crap, save for a couple that actually do have beneficial properties. Ingredients list for the lotion: Purified Water, Glycerin, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Behentrimonium, Methosulfate And Cetearyl Alcohol, Ceteareth-20 And Cetearyl Alcohol, Ceramide 3, Ceramide 6-II, Ceramide I, Hyaluronic Acid, Cholesterol, Dimethicone, Polysorbate 20, Polyglyceryl-3 Diisostearate, Potassium, Phosphate, Dipotassium Phosphate, Sodium Lauroyl Lactylate, Cetyl Alcohol, Disodium EDTA, Phytosphingosine, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Carbomer, Xanthan Gum. The good stuff you see there are the ceramides and Hyaluronic acid. The BAD: Dimethicone and the multiple Parabens listed.
Also:
It’s worth mentioning that the products have a TON of positive reviews online. Easy to find. And while reviews can certainly help, I prefer the facts listed on the ingredient labels as the only thing I need to know about either of them to know they’re not at all for me, and probably not for you.
St. Ive’s Apricot Scrub. One of the most popular, and most controversial skincare products ever known to man. I remember using it once upon a time and actually didn’t know a lawsuit had been filed against the company who owns St. Ive’s a few years bad. The suit was thrown out, and the youngest Jenner daughter released her own version of the scrub a couple years ago in her questionable skincare line that she definitely doesn’t use on her own skin when she’s not trying to sell it. Even one of my more-loved brands, Ole Henriksen released a version of it recently as well. In all seriousness, it’s crushed walnut shells and the controversy surrounding is might honestly be smoke and mirrors BUT…if you have sensitive skin eczema, or rosacea stay away, period! If you don’t, you might be ok, but then again…you might not. There are claims of irritation and inflammation caused by the product but like anything skin related, everyone’s different. If you still want a good physical scrub, try something with a rounded, less aggressive scrubbing agent. I’m just trying to set the record straight..and save you a bit of coin at the same time!
