Review: CeraVe AM Facial Moisturizing Lotion with Sunscreen

This summer I spent time trying out new sunscreens. CeraVe was one of them. I’ve used this sunscreen before, but it’s been quite some time. I thought I’d give it another chance despite the fact that it didn’t work the first time. I remember it not absorbing into the skin and especially pilling. The pilling is something that I can never forget. It was so difficult to reapply due to the pilling. The product kept rolling off of my face. Um, so why even bother?? lol. I have hope (!!), and the ingredients are really attractive. It contains ceramides, hyaluronic acid, and niacinamide. Ceramides help to lock in moisture to prevent the skin from drying out. Hyaluronic acid helps to retain moisture in the skin. Niacinamide helps to fade marks, minimize pores, regulate sebum production, treat acne, and much more! Also, my HG sunscreen Neutrogena Visibly Even Daily Moisturizer with SPF 30 only comes in a 1.7 fl. oz. bottle. CeraVe comes in a 3 fl. oz. bottle for the same (almost the same) price as Neutrogena. *sigh* It’ll be nice to save money on sunscreen, since I use it so frequently throughout the day. But, enough talk. Let’s get into the nitty gritty.

Product claims

• For all skin types
• Restores skin barrier with hyaluronic acid, ceramides, and niacinamide
• Doesn’t leave chalky residue
• Non-comedogenic (won’t clog pores, won’t cause acne)

I love the fact that it contains skin care goodies, such as hyaluronic acid, ceramides, and niacinamide to repair the skin barrier. Also, it claims to NOT clog pores. We’ll see about that! CeraVe face products have not been kind to my skin in the past. Let’s see if this experience is going to be different this time around.

My experience

The product comes in a pump bottle. It’s very easy to dispense the product out. It is a lotion and sunscreen in one with broad spectrum SPF 30. The lotion is a thick white cream. It has a silicone feel to it. It feels soft, silky, and a little sticky. It needs to be applied to the skin properly for it to blend into the skin. I tried rubbing it into my skin and all it did was waste my time and pill. I tried patting the product into my skin, which worked better. The product pilled less. Pilling is definitely an issue with this lotion (as it was before). It’s much easier to use it on the body vs the face. My body absorbs it better, and it takes less time and work to blend the product into the skin. On my face, the lotion would swish around and not settle.

After application, it leaves a slight sticky feeling, residue behind. It’s not the best feeling in world, but it is very moisturizing. I noticed a drastic change in my skin’s hydration level within 2 days. My skin felt super moisturized. It hasn’t felt this type of moisture in ages. The lotion improved the texture of my skin by making it softer, feel more supple, and smoother. My skin looked brighter and glowy all thanks to the niacinamide in this product. It’s the second ingredient on the list, by the way. The overall condition of my skin improved so much! It appeared dewy during the day underneath my makeup. I liked the changes it has done to my skin. My skin looked so good!

This lotion contains a mixture of chemical and physical filters. They are homosalate (10%), meradimate (5%), octinoxate (5%), octocrylene (2%), and zinc oxide (6.3%). I did notice a bit of a white cast after application. It’s not too noticeable, but it’s there. And I’m pretty pale. I wasn’t bothered by it too much, since it helped to even out my complexion. I could go makeup-free with this sunscreen. So my first impression of the CeraVe AM Moisturizing Lotion with Sunscreen wasn’t too bad, except for the pilling. Only if it didn’t pill! Otherwise, I loved how it left my skin moisturized, more soft and supple, and brighter. I was in awe of my skin that I couldn’t stop staring at it.

Sadly, after 1 week of using this product, my skin appeared more oily and greasy. Reapplying the lotion became a huge problem because it would build up on my skin and just sit there. Also, the pilling started to annoy me. It would constantly pill and not blend into my skin properly. It took so much time out of my day to get it to set. Most of the time, it didn’t blend well at all. Just pilling and more pilling. It took so much time to apply this sunscreen that it wasn’t worth it. It shouldn’t take this much work if the formula was truly good.

Since this sunscreen contains silicones in it, it made my skin appear smoother. My makeup went on much easier and nicer. It made my skin look flawless. Works just like a makeup primer. It smooths out imperfections. Unfortunately, the silicones irritated my skin. It was too much for my skin to handle. I noticed pimples popping up out of nowhere. Whiteheads and a huge gigantic cyst right between my brows. I was in denial for a bit because I loved the way the product made my skin look and feel. I came to terms that this sunscreen is not compatible with my skin regardless of how much it is raved about. I stopped using it immediately for two days to see what would happen. My skin became less oily. My breakouts stopped.

Pros & Cons

✅ Pros

• Contains amazing ingredients like ceramides, hyaluronic acid, and niacinamide
• Leaves the skin feeling moisturized throughout the day
• Softens the skin texture
• Brightens the skin
• Makes the skin look dewy, baby soft
• Contains SPF 30 (including zinc oxide that doesn’t dry out the skin)
• Comes in a 3 fl. oz. bottle (bigger than my HG sunscreen)
• Affordable for daily use

❌ Cons

• Pills
• Leaves the skin more oily (if you have oily skin)
• Breakouts
• Difficult to blend into the skin
• Doesn’t absorb properly

Conclusion

I wish this sunscreen would work on my skin. It left my skin feeling soft, supple, dewy, and brighter quickly upon use (within 2 days!!). I saw results! I looked at my skin up-close in a mirror and noticed that the texture of my skin looked more healthy and refined. Before it was dull and lifeless. It contains amazing ingredients, such as ceramides, hyaluronic acid, and niacinamide. I can’t get enough of them! I love products that contain these ingredients. Too bad this sunscreen made my skin oily and gave me acne in the end. It’s not for my skin type, and it claims to work for all skin types. No siree it didn’t work for me. heh. People seem to say so many positives things about this product and CeraVe products in general, but all of the face products that I have tried from this brand broke me out. For people with acne, be wary. Do a patch test. For everyone else, it may work for you. Try it at your own risk. We all have different skin types after all.