Does CeraVe Use Microplastics?
The short answer
Nearly every CeraVe product we could analyse listed at least one flagged synthetic polymer. Of the 40 CeraVe products on Open Beauty Facts with a readable ingredient list, 35 listed at least one flagged synthetic polymer — 88%. The one that came up most was Carbomer, in 33 of them.
40
analysed
35
with a flag
88%
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What this is. Ingredient-label data from Open Beauty Facts (snapshot 2026-07-31), not laboratory testing. Coverage is crowdsourced, partial and Europe-weighted, so this is 40 of the 70 CeraVe entries in that database, and US formulations often differ. A flagged ingredient is not automatically harmful — a gel thickener and a solid microbead are both synthetic polymers and are not the same risk.
What comes up most in CeraVe ingredient lists
| Ingredient | Products | Why it's flagged |
|---|---|---|
| Carbomer | 33 of 40 | Acrylate / vinyl polymer |
| Dimethicone | 18 of 40 | Silicone |
| PEG (Polyethylene Glycol) | 15 of 40 | PEG / glycol |
| Parabens | 13 of 40 | Plasticiser / chemical of concern |
| PEG-100 Stearate | 7 of 40 | PEG / glycol |
| Cyclomethicone / Cyclopentasiloxane | 3 of 40 | Silicone |
| PPG (Polypropylene Glycol) | 2 of 40 | PEG / glycol |
| Amodimethicone | 2 of 40 | Silicone |
Example products
Real entries from Open Beauty Facts, showing what the label lists.
Hydrating cream-to-foam cleanser
7 flagged ingredients
Hyrdrating Cream To Foam Cleanser
7 flagged ingredients
CeraVe SA Cream for Rough & Bumpy Skin
4 flagged ingredients
Product images from Open Beauty Facts contributors, licensed CC BY-SA. Ingredient data under ODbL.
Check your actual CeraVe product
Brand averages hide a lot — formulations differ by product and by market. Paste your label into the free ingredient checker, or scan the bottle in the app for a 0–100 score that also weighs the packaging.
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