CeraVe Healing Ointment

The single best reason to choose this over Aquaphor: it has no lanolin.

Lanolin is a genuinely common contact allergen — the American Contact Dermatitis Society named it Allergen of the Year in 2023, and roughly 3% of patch-tested people react. CeraVe's ointment gets the same occlusive benefit from 49.5% petrolatum without it.

Petrolatum cuts water loss by over 98%. That is the mechanism, it is well proven, and it is what makes any healing ointment work.

The added ceramides and hyaluronic acid are a reasonable bonus — they hydrate as well as seal.

Less greasy than Aquaphor, which most people notice immediately.

CeraVe's own product page contradicts itself. The page claims the ointment is "formulated without… preservatives" — while the ingredient list on that same page includes phenoxyethanol and ethylhexylglycerin. Those are preservatives. It is a small thing, but it is exactly the kind of claim a brand should get right.

It is still an ointment. Thick, shiny, and it will transfer onto fabric.

A class action filed in July 2026 alleges CeraVe's Baby Healing Ointment is functionally identical to the adult version while costing 20–30% more per ounce. The case is unresolved and we take no view on it — but if you are buying the baby version, it is worth reading the two ingredient lists side by side.

More expensive than Aquaphor for a similar job.

💧 Petrolatum — seals in moisture
💧 Hyaluronic Acid — hydrates (can irritate very sensitive skin)
⛑️ Ceramides — repair skin barrier

Formulation Notes

Ceramides in an ointment are a slightly odd proposition. The petrolatum is doing essentially all of the barrier work by brute-force occlusion, and the evidence that topically applied ceramides get incorporated into your skin's own lipid matrix is genuinely unsettled — the major 2016 review of the technology concedes it is "unclear."

That is not a reason to avoid the product. It is a reason to understand that you are buying petrolatum, and the ceramides are the marketing.