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Product Comparison

Here's our complete breakdown comparing the ingredients, attributes, and more of Aveeno Positively Radiant Skin Brightening Exfoliating Face Scrub versus CeraVe Renewing SA Cleanser .

Last updated on August 04, 2023. Published on January 28, 2021

Overview

Suited For

They're both likely to be good for dry skin and brightening skin

Free From

They both do not contain any harsh alcohols, common allergens or silicones

What's Inside

They both contain fragrances

We independently verify ingredients, and our claims are backed by peer-reviewed research. Spot a product that need an update? Let us know.

Exfoliator American Brand United States
Face Cleanser Canadian Brand Canada

Exfoliator

Exfoliators are used to exfoliate the skin, or remove dead skin cells from the skin. Exfoliators may be chemical or physical.

Face Cleanser

Face cleansers are used to remove makeup, dead skin cells, pollutants, oil, dirt, and/or clean out pores on the skin. Face cleansers may specialize in having one function (exa. just removing makeup) or may have multiple functions (exa. Removing makeup and cleaning pores).

Price

Shop

Buy Positively Radiant Skin Brightening Exfoliating Face Scrub

Starts at $3.25
Shop

Buy Renewing SA Cleanser

Starts at $12.39

Ingredient Info

Click any item below to learn more and view relevant ingredients.
alcohol-free
silicon-free
fragrance-free
sulfate-free
paraben-free
oil-free
fungal-acne safe
reef-safe
eu-allergen-free
vegan
cruelty-free
alcohol-free
silicon-free
fragrance-free
sulfate-free
paraben-free
oil-free
fungal-acne safe
reef-safe
eu-allergen-free
vegan
cruelty-free
ph level
5.5

At a glance

Click on any of the items below to learn more

Notable Ingredients

Exfoliators

Benefits

Hydrating
Brightening

Concerns

Drying
May Worsen Oily Skin
Rosacea
Eczema (3)

Notable Ingredients

BHA
PHA
Niacinamide
Ceramides (3)
Hyaluronic Acid

Benefits

Hydrating (5)
Good For Oily Skin (2)
Redness Reducing (5)
Reduces Irritation (3)
Skin Texture
Reduces Large Pores (2)
Anti-Aging (4)
Dark Spots
Scar Healing
Acne Fighting (2)
Brightening (3)

Concerns

Drying (2)
Acne Trigger
Irritating
Rosacea (2)
Eczema
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Ingredients Side-by-side

Ingredients that are highlighted in purple are present in both products.

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Ingredients Explained

These ingredients are found in both products.

Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.

1
What it does: Skin Conditioning, Solvent
Community Rating: Loved

Water. It's the most common cosmetic ingredient of all. You'll usually see it at the top of ingredient lists, meaning that it makes up the largest part of the product.

So why is it so popular? Water most often acts as a solvent - this means that it helps dissolve other ingredients into the formulation.

You'll also recognize water as that liquid we all need to stay alive. Talk about multi-purpose! If you see this, drink a glass of water. Stay hydrated!

Learn more about Water

Aveeno Positively Radiant Skin Brightening Exfoliating Face Scrub contains this as ingredient number 1.

CeraVe Renewing SA Cleanser contains this as ingredient number 1.

2
What it does: Humectant, Skin Conditioning, Skin Protecting, Solvent
Community Rating: Loved

Glycerin is already naturally found in your skin. It helps moisturize and protect your skin.

A study from 2016 found glycerin to be more effective as a humectant than AHAs and hyaluronic acid.

As a humectant, it helps the skin stay hydrated by pulling moisture to your skin. The low molecular weight of glycerin allows it to pull moisture into the deeper layers of your skin.

Hydrated skin improves your skin barrier; Your skin barrier helps protect against irritants and bacteria.

Glycerin has also been found to have antimicrobial and antiviral properties. Due to these properties, glycerin is often used in wound and burn treatments.

In cosmetics, glycerin is usually derived from plants such as soybean or palm. However, it can also be sourced from animals, such as tallow or animal fat.

This ingredient is organic, colorless, odorless, and non-toxic.

Glycerin is the name for this ingredient in American English. British English uses Glycerol/Glycerine.

Learn more about Glycerin

Aveeno Positively Radiant Skin Brightening Exfoliating Face Scrub contains this as ingredient number 2.

CeraVe Renewing SA Cleanser contains this as ingredient number 3.

3
What it does: Preservative
Community Rating: Very Disliked

Phenoxyethanol is a preservative that has germicide, antimicrobial, and aromatic properties. Studies show that phenoxyethanol can prevent germ and microbial growth. By itself, it has a scent that is similar to that of a rose.

It's often used in formulations along with Caprylyl Glycol to preserve the shelf life of products.

Aveeno Positively Radiant Skin Brightening Exfoliating Face Scrub contains this as ingredient number 8.

CeraVe Renewing SA Cleanser contains this as ingredient number 21.

4
What it does:
Community Rating: Very Disliked

Tetrasodium EDTA is the salt formed from neutralizing ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid with sodium hydroxide. It is a chelating agent and used to prevent metal ions from binding to other ingredients. This helps keep the product and ingredients stable.

Tetrasodium EDTA comes as a white solid and is soluble in water.

Aveeno Positively Radiant Skin Brightening Exfoliating Face Scrub contains this as ingredient number 15.

CeraVe Renewing SA Cleanser contains this as ingredient number 23.

Here's what our community thinks of the ingredients in these two products.

12% are loved or liked
18% have mixed ratings
53% are disliked or very disliked
18% have no rating yet
44% are loved or liked
4% have mixed ratings
44% are disliked or very disliked
7% have no rating yet

Usage

Here's some more info on how this product is used by our community.

When to use

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Reviews

Here's what our community thinks

Aveeno Positively Radiant Skin Brightening Exfoliating Face Scrub 17 ingredients

Positively Radiant Skin Brightening Exfoliating Face Scrub hasn't been rated yet.
Rate it now

CeraVe Renewing SA Cleanser 27 ingredients

3.2 /5
from 24 ratings
Drying (3) Works Well (2) Great Value (2) Irritating (2) Broke Me Out (1) Light (1)
AshN.'s avatar

AshN.

3 months ago · Dry Skin
Review

(Using Since 2020) Similar to the other CeraVe cleanser it hasn't let me down. I took off one star just because I feel that this isn't really ideal...

(Using Since 2020) Similar to the other CeraVe cleanser it hasn't let me down. I took off one star just because I feel that this isn't really ideal for every day use, especially if you have dry, sensitive skin (despite it being advertised as gentle). It's fairly stripping due to all the actives in it, so I found it to be a bit irritating to me. But once I stopped using it everyday and switched to only using it every other evening, the irritation stopped all together and actually helped with my occasional comedonal acne.

CarlaTriegaardt's avatar

CarlaTriegaardt

1 year ago · Combination Skin
Review

Think twice befor using on dry/combination skin
I was super excited to start using this product because of all of the benefits but found it to be...

Think twice befor using on dry/combination skin
I was super excited to start using this product because of all of the benefits but found it to be slightly drying and irritating to my skin.

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