My Honest Vanicream Review
For all my sensitive skin girlies out there, this Vanicream review is for you. I discovered Vanicream maybe five or six years ago when my perioral dermatitis was flaring up around my mouth, and my itchy skin needed a really bland moisturizer to relieve the itching, irritation, and redness. I normally flock to my favorite Avéne skincare products when my eczema is out of control, but someone on Reddit recommended Vanicream products, and I wanted to give it a try. And I’m so glad that I did.
If you need to gently cleanse and hydrate your skin without irritating your skin barrier, Vanicream should be your first line of defense. I love that this brand is affordable and is found at most drugstores nationwide. While you won’t see any crazy anti-aging or acne-fighting results with Vanicream products, you will notice how it calms and soothes red, irritated, and cracking skin after using the brand’s bland, gentle line.
Below, I’m covering all of my brand favorites in this Vanicream review.
My Vanicream Review
What I love about Vanicream is that every product is fragrance-free. Similar to Paula’s Choice products, you don’t have to worry about any fragrances wreaking havoc on your skin. Which is something I feel like I have to deal with all too often when testing other skincare brands for my job as a beauty journalist.
Not only are Vanicream products fragrance-free, but they are free of dyes, lanolin, formaldehyde, gluten, and parabens. These are all ingredients that can sometimes irritate folks with sensitive skin.
Because I consider these products to be very “bland,” meaning they don’t have any active ingredients to target specific skin concerns (such as salicylic acid for acne or retinol for wrinkles), I wasn’t expecting too much from the line when I first tried it. But, you should never judge a book by its cover, or even its boringness. Vanicream did such a great job of calming and soothing my always-inflamed skin. My skin was less red, less itchy, and less flaky after using each of the products below.
What Is Vanicream?
Vanicream is a skincare and haircare brand with products specifically formulated for folks with sensitive skin. They have adult and baby products that are formulated without the harsh or irritating ingredients you might find in other skincare products on the market. Vanicream is sold in pharmacies nationwide, as well as online. It’s a beloved brand among folks with easily irritated skin, people with eczema and psoriasis, and even people with really inflamed acne.
Vanicream Ingredients
Some common ingredients you’ll find in many Vanicream products are hydrating and soothing ones, like the below:
- Allantoin
- Ceramides
- Dimethicone
- Glycerin
- Hyaluronic acid
- Panthenol
- Pyrithione zinc
- Squalane
- Zinc oxide
The Best Vanicream Products
Vanicream Moisturizing Cream
This is the one Vanicream product I use the most out of everything I’ve tried. I have a large tub of this sitting on my bathroom counter at all times. Although this moisturizer is meant for your body (I think?), I use it on my face. It’s super thick and rich, it doesn’t clog pores, and does a great job of hydrating and soothing my skin when it’s inflamed. If I can feel that my skin barrier is depleted and needs some extra TLC to restore and maintain it, I will use this cream instead of my regular moisturizer just to make sure that I’m not freaking my face out.
Sometimes when I use too much of this one on my face, it leaves the skin feeling like there is a film on it, and it feels too heavy. I would say that you don’t need too much to thoroughly hydrate your skin. A little goes a long way. You can also use this on your body as well. Sometimes I like to use it on my hands when I get the winter itch, if my eczema is flaring up. One jar lasts me about a year or more. This formula is pretty thick, but not as thick as the Vanicream Moisturizing Ointment, which I don’t really use.
Available at Amazon ($14)
Vanicream Gentle Facial Cleanser
A Vanicream review would not be complete without mentioning this product. This is my second favorite Vanicream pick. I love this cleanser so much. It’s the perfect foaming cleanser that never strips my skin, but thoroughly removes all my makeup at the end of the day. It’s super gentle, fragrance-free, and is just a great, no-frills facial cleanser.
Available at Amazon ($9)
Vanicream Moisturizing Lotion
So this is another product that I think is supposed to be for the body, but I use it on my face. Unlike the Vanicream Moisturizing Skin Cream (above) this is a moisturizing lotion that has a much lighter consistency. If you prefer a lotion to a cream, this is the one for you. Because I have pretty dry skin, I don’t always find this product to be hydrating enough for my face, especially in the winter.
That being said, I like to use this almost like a serum in the wintertime. I’ll cleanse my face, apply this like a serum, and then apply a heavier moisturizer on top.
Available at Amazon ($14)
Vanicream Antiperspirant Deodorant for Sensitive Skin
If deodorants irritate your armpits often, but you don’t want to give up antiperspirants, try this deo from Vanicream. It effectively works to prevent perspiration without fragrance, so you don’t have to worry about stinky, sweaty pits throughout the day.
Available at Amazon ($9)
Vanicream Daily Facial Moisturizer
This is the Vanicream moisturizer that is actually formulated for your face haha! It contains hydrating ingredients like hyaluronic acid and ceramides, and looks really nice under makeup, too. Some folks might be sensitive to hyaluronic acid, so if you know your skin doesn’t tolerate that ingredient well, you might want to opt for the Vanicream Moisturizing Lotion.
This moisturizer has a little bit of a thicker consistency than the Vanicream Moisturizing Lotion, but is much lighter than the Vanicream Moisturizing Skin Cream.
Available at Amazon ($14)
Vanicream Hair Shampoo and Hair Conditioner
Got an easily irritated scalp? Try the Vanicream Hair Shampoo and Conditioner duo! It’s fragrance-free, does a great job of thoroughly cleansing and conditioning your scalp and hair, and just gets the job done.
Available at Amazon ($20)
Vanicream Cleansing Bar
I like to use this cleansing bar in the wintertime, when my eczema is flaring a lot on my body. It’s so gentle, easy to use, and doesn’t strip my skin like other bar soaps sometimes do. I think you can use this on your face, but I prefer to use it on my body.
Available at Amazon ($12 for 2-pack)
Is Vanicream Good For Acne?
So, this is a tricky question. But thankfully, I have a lot of experience using Vanicream products, and even more experience with dealing with acne for so long. It’s important to note that there aren’t any active ingredients in Vanicream products that are targeted towards acne. Ingredients like salicylic acid, benzoyl peroxide, sulfur, and retinoids have been widely studied for their acne-fighting benefits—and you won’t find any of those ingredients in Vanicream products.
However…and this is a big however…Vanicream is one of those brands that won’t further irritate your already inflamed, acneic skin. It won’t cause any more itching, irritation, redness, or flaking. In my own experience, it’s never caused a breakout or irritated any of my already-there pimples. It doesn’t make acne disappear, but it does do a great job of calming skin and reducing redness that may have occurred from acne, post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, and post-inflammatory erythema.
So, my answer would be that yes, Vanicream is good for acne in that it doesn’t further irritate your skin. But I would recommend that you use a spot treatment and hydrocolloid patches along with Vanicream when treating acne.
You can also find my favorite picks for the best skin care for acne prone skin on my blog!
Where To Buy Vanicream
You can find Vanicream at most drugstores nationwide. You can also find the brand online at multiple retailers below:
I hope you enjoyed this Vanicream review! If you’ve tried any of the products from the brand (especially those that I didn’t list), I’m curious to hear your thoughts in the comment section below! If you’ve got any questions, please ask below or reach out to me on my Instagram!
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