It sounds a little silly, but “CeraVe in the tub” is a popular way of describing the CeraVe moisturizing cream. This cream comes in a tub-like container and differs from the CeraVe moisturizing lotion. CeraVe in the tub has a multitude of skin loving ingredients that are beneficial in healing the skin barrier.
Table of Contents
What Makes Up The Skin Barrier?
The skin barrier is made up of multiple different kinds of substances. All of these substances work together to form a barrier that protects the skin from environmental stressors, pollution, and harsh skin care products.
These include ceramides, cholesterol, fatty acids, enzymes, and proteins.
They come together to create a sturdy structure to separate the internal from the external environment.
Many skin disorders can be exacerbated by having a damaged skin barrier.
Skin conditions such as acne can actually become worse with a damaged barrier. In fact, a lot of acne breakouts can be caused by having a weakened skin barrier.
This is why it is important to understand how the skin works and how to choose barrier-friendly products to keep the skin healthy.
The stratum corneum is the uppermost layer of the skin. The entire epidermis makes up the skin barrier.
Specifically, this barrier prevents the skin from being contaminated from microbes and other bacteria.
In addition, the barrier prevents damage from UV rays and neutralizes oxidation (acts as an antioxidant).
Keeping the skin barrier healthy allows for the skin to have adequate elasticity, moisture, hydration, and collagen.
A damaged or compromised skin barrier means that there is water loss from the skin. This is characterized by dryness, irritation, inflammation, itchy skin, and dehydration.
What Ingredients Are in “CeraVe in the Tub”?
There are a few outstanding ingredients in this moisturizer. It contains humectants, emollients, and skin-repairing ingredients.
It has everything your skin needs to heal itself if you are experiencing a damaged skin barrier.
One of the major issues that lead to a damaged skin barrier involves not moisturizing at all or moisturizing infrequently.
It is important to moisturize regularly, both morning and night to see results in repairing the skin barrier.
Glycerin
This is a well-tolerated emollient that softens skin cells. It effectively penetrates the skin barrier and soothes dry skin.
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
This is a type of fatty acid that is well tolerated when applied topically to the skin. It works to smooth dry skin.
Petrolatum
Many people believe that petrolatum is an inert substance that has little to benefits on the skin.
However, topical application of petrolatum has been shown to have hydrating, antimicrobial, and other beneficial properties.
It increases the expression of filaggrin which is a substance that can help heal the skin barrier.
Ceramides NP, AP and EOP
Each of these ceramides are naturally present in the skin in different concentrations.
They make up the lipid barrier of the skin. Ceramides help to soften skin cells, create a sturdy structural barrier and increase hydration.
Dimethicone
This is a type of silicone found in many skincare products.
It works to provide a physical layer over the skin which helps to retain water, increase hydration, soften skin cells, and allow skin care ingredients to penetrate more effectively into the skin.
Sodium Hyaluronate
This is the sodium salt of hyaluronic acid. It still holds its properties of retaining water, increasing hydration, and repairing the skin barrier.
Cholesterol
Cholesterol is an essential component of the lipid barrier.
It work synergistically with ceramides and fatty acids to protect the skin from external stressors.
Cholesterol is important and skin care formulations as it is able to penetrate the skin barrier and increase hydration.
Not only does it play a role in preventing water loss from the skin, but it also plays a role in preventing microbes and other organisms from colonizing the skin.
Phytosphingosine
Phytosphingosine is a type of fatty acid that is also found on the skin barrier. It stimulates cells to have specialized skin cell functions and contributes to the lipid barrier.
How Does CeraVe in the Tub Heal the Skin Barrier?
The main contributing factor to repairing a damaged skin barrier involves increasing water content in the skin.
Often, a weakened skin barrier is characterized by very dehydrated skin.
This causes the skin to be susceptible to bacterial contamination and other harsh environmental factors that can further irritate the skin.
This causes inflammation and redness.
CeraVe in the tub can heal the skin barrier by using emollients like glycerin and ceramides to help to increase hydration and reduce redness.
Fatty acids like phytosphingosine help contribute to the lipid barrier of the skin which allows protection from UV rays and functions as an antioxidant layer.
Hyaluronic acid is a tried and true humectant that increases water in the skin which decreases dehydration, smooth skin cells, and reduces flaking and other types of dryness.
It has actually been shown to speed up wound healing and increase barrier function in the skin as well.
All of these ingredients work together to help reinforce the skin’s barrier, especially its lipid barrier.
Why Should You Buy CeraVe in the Tub?
There are quite a few reasons that you should buy CeraVe in the tub.
For one, it has a solid formulation of ingredients that will help to heal the skin barrier.
If you are suffering from skin conditions such as acne, rosacea, eczema, or any type of chronic inflammatory condition of the skin, then repairing and supporting the skin barrier is an essential component in healing the skin.
Secondly, it is widely available in most stores and online. It is easily accessible and you do not need a prescription for this.
CeraVe has a good long-standing reputation with research that backs up all of their products so you can trust that it will be beneficial for your skin.
Lastly, it is a very affordable option that can be found in drug stores. Therefore, you do not need to shell out a lot of cash to incorporate a good quality moisturizer in your routine.
References
The outer frontier: the importance of lipid metabolism in the skin – PMC (nih.gov)