Cetaphil : Gentle Skin Cleanser

Brand:
Reviews
4.0
750 Reviews
▸ View ingredients
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Water, Cetyl Alcohol, Propylene Glycol, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Stearyl Alcohol, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Butylparaben.

Items marked with orange can be irritating and over-drying, especially to acne-prone skin.

The list of ingredients above is provided for informational purposes only. Always check the actual product label in your possession for the most accurate ingredient information due to product changes or upgrades that may not yet be reflected on our web site.

5
45.5%
4
28.5%
3
11.9%
2
7.9%
1
6.3%

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August 27, 2011

Pros:

turns my skin from oily to normal

Cons:

made my slight acne extremely red and visible (enough for someone to ask me what happened!)

it makes me break out into these little red bumps after the first use. i don't know how long i have to use it before it starts working, but it definitely takes more than a week
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July 26, 2015
Didn't work
I'm using cetaphil for 5 days and it makes my pimples worst
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SeekinToBeRealAgain
October 5, 2015
I see this post is old. Just thought i should let you know this cleanser holds the least risk in all cleansers. Also it's natural for you to break out when using a cleanser because it has to dig up all that bacteria etc under your skin causing a initial break out but once that is gone you won't break out again unless of course your hormones spike etc but i assure you it's not the cleanser. Unless your allergic to it but i doubt that as you'd have a different reaction anyhow I have one of the worst acne/scar known to man so trust me when I tell you this is a trusted cleanser with no Bs.
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Early2Rise
October 26, 2015
@ SeekinToBeRealAgain: no, that's not what happens. "Purging"as it's called only happens when you use actives-vitamin C AHA and BHA- because they speed up cell turnover thus pushing out debris in the pores. Cetaphil is an inert substance with no ability to increase cell turnover. Therefore, the OP should STOP using the product is pimples are appearing or acne is getting worse. It blows my mind how many people do not know how "purging" occurs and why.
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May 11, 2013

Pros:

None for me

Cons:

Irritated my skin

This cleanser works well for some people but was terrible for me. I used it when I started on Epiduo and had really dry red irritated skin. Initially I thought it was the Epiduo but when I stopped using the Cetaphil (& kept using Epiduo) my skin got better. Although it's described as gentle it contains sodium lauryl sulfate - which is used in research studies as a comparison skin irritant! You might be ok with it (skin varies a lot) but I've discovered my skin doesn't like it.
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August 24, 2011

Pros:

NOTHING

Cons:

Made me break out hooooorribly

My face has been very clear this whole summer I've been using the St.Ives apricot scrub which works awesome. I was told it was bad to use it all the time so I got cetaphil thinking it would be a good gentle cleanser but it is this worst face wash i've ever used! I've only used it a few times and I can honestly say I haven't broken out this bad in years, I am soo sad and disappointed:(
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January 10, 2010

Pros:

Nice scent, lightweight.

Cons:

Didn't clean my skin, felt like it left a "film" on my skin.

My derm recommended this because it's gentle. I agree with that, but I felt like it hardly cleansed my skin. It felt like a film was left on my face and nothing got cleaned off.
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June 19, 2016
Dried out my skin, not good for being on the regimen.
Dried my skin out and not keen on it because it doesn't lather up at all so you can glide your hands across your face.
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February 9, 2018
Bit fat disappointment for me!
Was so hopeful this would work. I loved how it didn't have loads of ingredients in it, and when I saw in a magazine that Eva Green used this (she of the perfect porcelain skin), I was like whoop!! Skin heaven here I come. Nope. Nope. Nope. I used it for a week and it broke me out all over my forehead and nose, where I never usually get zits! I hoped this was just a purge spell, but after three weeks I couldn't take the nasty itchy bumps that had gradually spread across my face which took weeks to go down! Sad to say, will not use again.
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July 19, 2015
Not impressed
Cetaphil has done absolutely nothing for my acne. I started using it because I ran out of my usual regimen and needed something to use until I could get some more in the mail. I've used it in the past too before I started Rodan and Fields Unblemish which I highly recommend. It's quite expensive but it does wonders. It clears up your face very fast. Anyways, I definitely would NOT recommend Cetaphil. It's a terrible product that actually made my acne worse. Do not purchase.
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February 8, 2012

Pros:

doesn't dry skin out

Cons:

-Has sodium lauryl sulfate, which clogs pores
-leaves a weird film on skin
-NOT GENTLE (SLS is a really harsh cleansing agent!!!)

Would not recommend!! CeraVe IS TONS BETTER!!
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January 25, 2010

Pros:

Nice smell, rinse off clean, skin feels soft for a while after.

Cons:

It seems to be making my acne worse. More breakouts, more oily skin. I have to wash my face more and more with it because my skin feels dirty.

I wouldn't buy it again. I would have a few pimples, wash my face with Cetaphil, go to sleep, and wake up with many more.
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