Versus

Garnier Bright Complete Anti-Acne 3-in-1 Cleanser Versus CeraVe SA Smoothing Cleanser - Australia

Face Cleanser
Face Cleanser
French Brand France
American Brand United States

Updated on February 03, 2025

Overview

What they are

These products are both reef safe face cleansers. They have a total of 5 ingredients in common

Cool Features

They both contain BHA

Suited For

They're both likely to be good for fighting acne, dry skin, brightening skin, oily skin, reducing pores and better texture

Free From

They both do not contain any oils, parabens, silicones or sulfates

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

Ingredient Info

Click any item below to learn more and see relevant ingredients

About this product

About this product

At a glance

Click on any of the items below to learn more

Key Ingredients

Benefits

Concerns

Key Ingredients

Benefits

Concerns

Ingredients Side-by-side

found 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.

Skin Conditioning, Solvent

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. If you see this, drink a glass of water. Stay hydrated!

Learn more about Water
Humectant, Skin Conditioning, Skin Protecting

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
Masking, Preservative, Skin Conditioning

Salicylic Acid (also known as beta hydroxy acid or BHA) is one of the most well-known ingredients for treating skin that struggles with blackheads and acne. It helps to exfoliate both the skin's surface and pores, and also acts as an anti-inflammatory agent.

This multitasking property makes it a great ingredient for cleaning out pores, controlling oil production, and reducing inflammation.

Unlike AHAs which are water soluble, Salicylic Acid is oil soluble. This means that it's able to exfoliate the inside of pores and reduce blackheads.

Concentrations of 0.5-2% are recognized by the U.S. FDA as an over-the-counter topical acne product.

It can cause irritation and/or dryness if one's skin already has a compromised moisture barrier, so it's best to focus on repairing that before introducing a Salicylic Acid into your routine.

In general, Salicylic Acid is a great ingredient for oily acne-prone skin.

While salicylic acid does not increase sun-sensitivity, we still recommend wearing SPF.

If you are looking for the ingredient called BHA or Butylated Hydroxyanisole, click here.

Learn more about Salicylic Acid
Preservative

Phenoxyethanol is a preservative that has germicide, antimicrobial, and aromatic properties. Studies show that phenoxyethanol can prevent 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.

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.

When to use

23 Routines
39% use in am
61% use in pm
100% use every day
1,887 Routines
42% use in am
58% use in pm
93% use every day
When to use See routines that use it ->

Reviews

Here's what our community thinks

Garnier Bright Complete Anti-Acne 3-in-1 Cleanser 24 ingredients

Bright Complete Anti-Acne 3-in-1 Cleanser hasn't been rated yet.
Rate it now

CeraVe SA Smoothing Cleanser 24 ingredients

3.1 /5
from 28 ratings
Broke Me Out (9) Irritating (9) Drying (8)
Samantha_628's avatar

Samantha_628

1 year ago
Review

Unbelievably good! I used this last night and it made my very sensitive skin quite red. However I need a cleanser to deal with my clogged pores and was reassured by the beneficial skin barrier ingredients. I also followed it with a soothing toner and lots of ceramides. Woke up and the redness is gone, and my clogged pores are visibly faded. Overnight! No new little breakouts, either. Highly Show more

#light
#no scent
#works well
Nero's avatar

Nero

12 months ago
Review

Broke me out for months on end

#broke me out
#irritating
#sticky
#doesn't work