Skincare Comparison

Here's our complete breakdown comparing the ingredients, attributes, and more of CeraVe Daily Moisturizing Lotion versus Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel .

  • these products are both general moisturizers that both contain hyaluronic acid.
  • they both do not contain any harsh alcohols, common allergens or oils.
  • they both contain silicones.
  • they are reef safe.
  • these products have a total of 4 ingredients in common.
General Moisturizer Canadian Brand Canada
General Moisturizer American Brand United States

General Moisturizer

All-purpose moisturizers hydrate the top layer of skin cells.

General Moisturizer

All-purpose moisturizers hydrate the top layer of skin cells.

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

Benefits

Redness Reducing (3)
Anti-Aging (3)

Concerns

Acne Trigger

Concerns

May Worsen Oily Skin

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's there to help 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!

CeraVe Daily Moisturizing Lotion contains this as ingredient number 1.

Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel contains this as ingredient number 1.

Learn more about Water
2
What it does: Humectant, Skin Conditioning, Skin Protecting, Solvent
Community Rating: Loved

Glycerin is already naturally found in your skin and helps moisturize and protect your skin. A study from 2016 found glycerin to be more effective as a humectant than AHAs and hyaluronic acid.

Glycerin is a humectant, helping the skin retain moisture by pulling moisture to your skin. The low molecular weight of glycerin allows it to pull moisture into the deeper layers of your skin. Having moisturized skin helps improve the skin barrier. Your skin barrier protects against skin 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, animal sources include tallow. It is organic, colorless, odorless, and non-toxic.

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

CeraVe Daily Moisturizing Lotion contains this as ingredient number 2.

Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel contains this as ingredient number 3.

Learn more about Glycerin
3
What it does: Emulsion Stabilising, Gel Forming
Community Rating: Disliked

Carbomer is a polymer of acrylic acid. Its main role is to create gel consistency within products.

Carbomer is commonly found in many types of cosmetics products. It is found to be safe in concentrations up to 15%. However, a high amount of carbomer can cause pilling or balling up of products. Most products contain 1% of less of carbomer.

CeraVe Daily Moisturizing Lotion contains this as ingredient number 10.

Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel contains this as ingredient number 13.

Learn more about Carbomer
4
What it does: Emollient, Skin Conditioning, Skin Protecting
Community Rating: Disliked

Dimethicone is a silicone used for making products smooth and silky. It also has the added benefit of sealing in hydration. The amount of dimethicone found in beauty products is considered safe and non-comedogenic, meaning it won't clog pores.

Dimethicone has been found increase absorption in skin, boosting the benefits of other ingredients. While there is concern for the safety of dimethicone, the levels used in skincare are safe for use.

CeraVe Daily Moisturizing Lotion contains this as ingredient number 11.

Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel contains this as ingredient number 2.

Learn more about Dimethicone

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

29% are loved or liked
8% have mixed ratings
50% are disliked or very disliked
13% have no rating yet
15% are loved or liked
15% have mixed ratings
50% are disliked or very disliked
20% 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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Ratings

Here's what our community thinks

CeraVe Daily Moisturizing Lotion 24 ingredients

2.0 /5
Ok

its not very good. its like good for your body but i wouldn't put it on my face. it feels like straight grease on the face, and then the moisture doesn't last at all. i find my face feeling dry when i wake up

from kawaiidesuwu_683
More Drying?

It made me more dry. It's a good price point, and it works for some so I've heard, but when I used it I just felt more dry.

from ZephyrRose_888

Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel 20 ingredients

3.3 /5
Burnssssss

Broke me out, made me really really itchy

from bvechiato
A Great Summer Time Moisturizer

I liked this product. The price point for a drugstore gel moisturizer is a little too high for me. If you suffer from rosacea, or sensitive skin- stick this in the fridge before applying and you’ll feel instant relief. It is much lighter than most moisturizers, which makes it great for my oily folks. If you’re on the dryer side, stick with a traditional moisturizer.

from dhochuli
Great Mosturizer!

Tried this out of curiosity with my mom, both of us were pleased with our results. She has normal to dry skin and I have combo skin with fungal acne. She uses this everyday as soon as she gets out of the shower; without it her skin would feel dry as a desert. In my case, I put this on after using the Cetaphil daily facial cleanser. I know this product isn't fungal acne safe but I have combo skin, so I put it on the areas of my face that instead of having fungal acne, are kind of dry (mostly m...

from jeanpaul2301

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