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Product Comparison

Here's our complete breakdown comparing the ingredients, attributes, and more of CeraVe Acne Foaming Cream Cleanser versus Galderma Benzac Benzoyl Peroxide Spots Treatment Gel 5% .

Last updated on September 19, 2023. Published on August 17, 2023

Overview

What they are

These products are both fungal acne (malassezia) safe . They have a total of 3 ingredients in common

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, fragrances, oils or sulfates

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

Face Cleanser Canadian Brand Canada
Facial Treatment Swiss Brand Switzerland

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).

Facial Treatment

Facial treatments are specially designed to treat a skin concern. Acne treatments and anti-aging products are common examples of facial treatments.

Price

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Buy Acne Foaming Cream Cleanser

Starts at $12.44
Shop

Buy Benzac Benzoyl Peroxide Spots Treatment Gel 5%

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

At a glance

Click on any of the items below to learn more

Notable Ingredients

AHA
Niacinamide
Benzoyl Peroxide
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 (2)
Scar Healing
Acne Fighting (2)
Brightening (3)

Concerns

Drying (2)
Acne Trigger
Irritating (3)
Rosacea (3)
Eczema (3)

Notable Ingredients

Exfoliators

Benefits

Hydrating
Brightening

Concerns

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

CeraVe Acne Foaming Cream Cleanser contains this as ingredient number 2.

Galderma Benzac Benzoyl Peroxide Spots Treatment Gel 5% contains this as ingredient number 8.

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

CeraVe Acne Foaming Cream Cleanser contains this as ingredient number 3.

Galderma Benzac Benzoyl Peroxide Spots Treatment Gel 5% contains this as ingredient number 4.

3
What it does: Buffering
Community Rating: Mixed

Sodium Hydroxide is also known as lye or caustic soda. It is used to adjust the pH of products; many ingredients require a specific pH to be effective.

In small amounts, sodium hydroxide is considered safe to use. However, large amounts may cause chemical burns due to its high alkaline.

Your skin has a natural pH and acid mantle. This acid mantle helps prevent harmful bacteria from breaking through. The acid mantle also helps keep your skin hydrated.

"Alkaline" refers to a high pH level. A low pH level would be considered acidic.

Learn more about Sodium Hydroxide

CeraVe Acne Foaming Cream Cleanser contains this as ingredient number 19.

Galderma Benzac Benzoyl Peroxide Spots Treatment Gel 5% contains this as ingredient number 9.

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

43% are loved or liked
11% have mixed ratings
43% are disliked or very disliked
4% have no rating yet
22% are loved or liked
11% have mixed ratings
44% are disliked or very disliked
22% 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

CeraVe Acne Foaming Cream Cleanser 28 ingredients

4.2 /5
from 10 ratings
AbigailSteuer_348's avatar

AbigailSteuer_348

9 months ago · Oily Skin
Review

Benzoyl Peroxide for my acne

margaretjk's avatar

margaretjk

6 months ago · Combination Skin
Review

Doesn’t irritate and actually helps my acne without drying me out.

Galderma Benzac Benzoyl Peroxide Spots Treatment Gel 5% 9 ingredients

5.0 /5
from 2 ratings
Absorbs Well (1) Sticky (1) Works Well (1)
wthtay's avatar

wthtay

9 months ago · Combination Skin
Review

HG
I had a really really bad hormonal acne breakout last year bc I had to stop taking birth control pills and absolutely nothing worked. I'm to...

HG
I had a really really bad hormonal acne breakout last year bc I had to stop taking birth control pills and absolutely nothing worked. I'm to blame tho because I was trying way too many things all at once (I had never dealt with acne before and was desperate lol) and had a damaged skin barrier. From February til May I was working on getting my skin barrier good and healthy again so I wasn't using any actives and since June I've been using this gel. My skin is so clear right now, even though it's been only two months! It's not as irritating (and as drying) as you would expect considering it's benzoyl peroxide. Because I had to stop taking birth control pills, my skin oiliness increased a lot due to hormonal imbalances at the time and I also had a fungal acne breakout and this gel has also helped in 100%.

SpaceyTrxsh's avatar

SpaceyTrxsh

4 months ago · Oily Skin
Review

Out of all the acne products I've tried this is the only one that helped with my inflamed acne. Now I have zero active acne on my face thanks to this.

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