Here's our complete breakdown comparing the ingredients, attributes, and more of CeraVe Moisturizing Cream versus Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream .
- these products are both general moisturizers that both contain ceramides and vitamin e.
- they both do not contain any harsh alcohols, common allergens or parabens.
- they both contain silicones.
- they're both likely to be good for brightening skin.
- they are reef safe.
- these products have a total of 9 ingredients in common.
General Moisturizer
All-purpose moisturizers hydrate the top layer of skin cells.
General Moisturizer
All-purpose moisturizers hydrate the top layer of skin cells.
Price
Ingredient Info
CeraVe Moisturizing Cream 24 ingredients
Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream 35 ingredients

Alcohol Free
This product is free of harsh alcohols 🎉

Contains Silicon
Ingredients in this product that are types of silicon:

Fragrance Free
This product is free of fragrances 🎉

Contains Sulfate
Ingredients in this product that are types of sulfate:

Paraben Free
This product is free of parabens 🎉

Oil Free
This product is free of oils 🎉

Not Malassezia Safe
Ingredients in this product that are not malassezia safe:

Reef Safe
This product is free of ingredients that damage reefs 🎉

Eu Allergen Free
This product is free of EU allergens 🎉

Non Vegan
This product is not vegan 😥

Not Cruelty Free
This product is not cruelty-free 😥

Alcohol Free
This product is free of harsh alcohols 🎉

Contains Silicon
Ingredients in this product that are types of silicon:

Contains Fragrance
Ingredients in this product that are forms of fragrance:

Sulfate Free
This product is free of sulfates 🎉

Paraben Free
This product is free of parabens 🎉

Contains Oils
Ingredients in this product that are types of oil:

Not Malassezia Safe
Ingredients in this product that are not malassezia safe:

Reef Safe
This product is free of ingredients that damage reefs 🎉

Eu Allergen Free
This product is free of EU allergens 🎉

Non Vegan
This product is not vegan 😥

Not Cruelty Free
This product is not cruelty-free 😥
At a glance
Click on any of the items below to learn more
CeraVe Moisturizing Cream 24 ingredients
Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream 35 ingredients
Notable Ingredients

This product contains 1 ingredient that may have this attribute:

This product contains 3 ingredients that may have this attribute:

This product contains 1 ingredient that may have this attribute:
Benefits

This product contains 3 ingredients that may have this attribute:

This product contains 3 ingredients that may have this attribute:

This product contains 1 ingredient that may have this attribute:
Concerns

This product contains 1 ingredient that may have this attribute:

This product contains 1 ingredient that may have this attribute:
Notable Ingredients

This product contains 1 ingredient that may have this attribute:

This product contains 1 ingredient that may have this attribute:

This product contains 1 ingredient that may have this attribute:

This product contains 1 ingredient that may have this attribute:
Benefits

This product contains 1 ingredient that may have this attribute:

This product contains 1 ingredient that may have this attribute:

This product contains 2 ingredients that may have this attribute:

This product contains 1 ingredient that may have this attribute:

This product contains 2 ingredients that may have this attribute:
Concerns

This product contains 2 ingredients that may have this attribute:

This product contains 2 ingredients that may have this attribute:

This product contains 2 ingredients that may have this attribute:

This product contains 2 ingredients that may have this attribute:

This product contains 1 ingredient that may have this attribute:
Ingredients Compared
Ingredients that are highlighted in purple are present in both products.
CeraVe Moisturizing Cream 24 ingredients
Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream 35 ingredients
Water • Glycerin • Cetearyl Alcohol • Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride • Cetyl Alcohol • Ceteareth-20 • Petrolatum • Potassium Phosphate • Ceramide NP • Ceramide AP • Ceramide EOP • Carbomer • Dimethicone • Behentrimonium Methosulfate • Sodium Lauroyl Lactylate • Sodium Hyaluronate • Cholesterol • Phenoxyethanol • Disodium EDTA • Dipotassium Phosphate • Tocopherol • Phytosphingosine • Xanthan Gum • Ethylhexylglycerin
Water • Glycerin • Cyclohexasiloxane • Squalane • Bis-Peg-18 Methyl Ether Dimethyl Silane • Sucrose Stearate • Stearyl Alcohol • Peg-8 Stearate • Myristyl Myristate • Pentaerythrityl Tetraethylhexanoate • Prunus Armeniaca Kernel Oil • Phenoxyethanol • Persea Gratissima Oil • Glyceryl Stearate • Cetyl Alcohol • Oryza Sativa Bran Oil • Olea Europaea Fruit Oil • Chlorphenesin • Stearic Acid • Palmitic Acid • Disodium EDTA • Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer • Carbomer • Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil • Xanthan Gum • Ethylhexylglycerin • Sodium Hydroxide • Tocopherol • Glycine Soja Oil • Pseudoalteromonas Ferment Extract • Myristic Acid • Hydroxypalmitoyl Sphinganine • BHA • Salicylic Acid • Citric Acid
Ingredients Side-by-side
Ingredients that are highlighted in purple are present in both products.
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
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 Moisturizing Cream contains this as ingredient number 1.
Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream contains this as ingredient number 1.
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 Moisturizing Cream contains this as ingredient number 2.
Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream contains this as ingredient number 2.

Cetyl Alcohol is a fatty alcohol. Fatty Alcohols are most often used as an emollient or to thicken a product.
Cetyl Alcohol is not related to SD alcohol, denatured alcohol, or ethyl alcohol.
The FDA allows products labeled "alcohol-free" to have fatty alcohols.
Its main roles are:
- Emollient: helping hydrate skin by trapping moisture
- Emulsifer: preventing ingredients from separating
- Thickening: making the product texture thicker
CeraVe Moisturizing Cream contains this as ingredient number 5.
Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream contains this as ingredient number 15.
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 Moisturizing Cream contains this as ingredient number 12.
Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream contains this as ingredient number 23.

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.
CeraVe Moisturizing Cream contains this as ingredient number 18.
Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream contains this as ingredient number 12.
Disodium EDTA plays a role in making products more stable by aiding other preservatives. It is a chelating agent, meaning it neutralizes metal ions that may be found in a product.
Disodium EDTA is a salt of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid and are found to be safe in cosmetic ingredients.
CeraVe Moisturizing Cream contains this as ingredient number 19.
Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream contains this as ingredient number 21.






Tocopherol (also known as Vitamin E) is a common antioxidant used to help protect the skin from free-radicals and strengthen the skin barrier. It's also fat soluble - this means our skin is great at absorbing it.
Vitamin E also provides some UV protection by reducing the damage caused by UVB rays. Combining it with Vitamin C can decrease sunburned cells and hyperpigmentation after UV exposure.
Vitamin E also helps keep your natural skin lipids healthy. Your lipid skin barrier naturally consists of lipids, ceramides, and fatty acids. Vitamin E offers extra protection for your skin’s lipid barrier, keeping your skin healthy and nourished.
Vitamin E aids in stabilizing Vitamin C. Using the two together helps increase the effectiveness of both ingredients.
There are often claims that Vitamin E can reduce/prevent scarring, but these claims haven't been confirmed by scientific research.
CeraVe Moisturizing Cream contains this as ingredient number 21.
Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream contains this as ingredient number 28.
Xanthan gum is used as a stabilizer and thickener within cosmetic products. It helps give products a sticky, thick feeling - preventing them from being too runny.
On the technical side of things, xanthan gum is a polysaccharide - a combination consisting of multiple sugar molecules bonded together.
Xanthan gum is a pretty common and great ingredient. It is a natural, non-toxic, non-irritating ingredient that is also commonly used in food products.
CeraVe Moisturizing Cream contains this as ingredient number 23.
Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream contains this as ingredient number 25.
Ethylhexylglycerin (we can't pronounce this either) is commonly used as a preservative and skin softener. It is derived from glyceryl.
You might see Ethylhexylglycerin often paired with other preservatives such as phenoxyethanol. Ethylhexylglycerin has been found to increase the effectiveness of these other preservatives.
CeraVe Moisturizing Cream contains this as ingredient number 24.
Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream contains this as ingredient number 26.
Here's what our community thinks of the ingredients in these two products.
CeraVe Moisturizing Cream 24 ingredients
Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream 35 ingredients
Usage
Here's some more info on how this product is used by our community.
When to use
CeraVe Moisturizing Cream 24 ingredients
Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream 35 ingredients
Ratings
Here's what our community thinks
CeraVe Moisturizing Cream 24 ingredients
its alright. its not the best bc of how heavy it is. its slightly moisturizing but its just too much. i wouldn't use again
from kawaiidesuwu_683I have dishydrotic eczema (on my hands), and I've tried La Roche Posay AP+M (which is too oily for me, and doesn't even hidrate as much as this one), Bioderma Atoderm Intensive Baume and Topicrem AD Emmolient Balm, but none of them hydrated that much as this one. It absorbs really fast.
from BlankaBak_966The best cream for dry skin, I use it every day for face and body. And although I usually vary with others that I have, I always go back for it, it is my holy grail.
from Alba_m99Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream 35 ingredients
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