I am not a monogamist with my skin care products. Even if I find “the one” – a product that noticeably changes the clarity or texture of my skin – I’m looking for the next best product as soon as the last drop of product hits my fingertips. Surely there has to be something that can make my skin even better, I guess. And so the search for skin care products begins all over again.
Last summer my skincare and I had a good cause until videos appeared on my TikTok For You page about the humble, affordable drugstore brand CeraVe, whose products were sold out in drugstores across the country. At first it was confusing. I used CeraVe products in 2007, and while I liked their face washes and moisturizers, I had gone for better (and admittedly more expensive) products. Was this the same tried and true CeraVe that I knew? And like the good consumer that I am, the scarcity of the product only made me want CeraVe even more.
The coveted status of CeraVe can be traced back to the TikTok skinfluencer Hyram Yarbro alias @ SkincarebyHyram, who has almost 7 million followers on TikTok alone. His numerous reviews of CeraVe products show why the brand’s salicylic acid ingredients are ideal for acne-prone skin and why CeraVe’s non-peeling moisturizing cleanser is best for dry, sensitive skin. While not a dermatologist, Yarbro has won the trust and loyal following of a Gen Z audience by serving as the industry’s whistleblower, breaking the marketing talk and prioritizing skin health through an ingredient-aware regimen. And while caution should be exercised with a one-size-fits-all approach carried over to thousands or millions of people in bite-sized videos, the factual, informative approach of Yarbro and fellow skinfluencers is compelling. They give viewers a sense of freedom of choice to make their own decisions.
On my next trip to the drugstore, I passed the skin care department and noticed that the CeraVe was waiting for me on the shelf. I grabbed a bottle of the moisturizing facial cleanser, which to my surprise was all in stock. This accessibility, I thought, had to contribute to the meteoric rise of the brand. Go to a drug store and – unless there’s another sold out craze – you can have CeraVe right away. No waiting for your online order.
Months have passed now and I am coming to the last drops of my CeraVe purchase this summer. But this time around, I feel like I’m not ready to let go of it yet. While I don’t have a before and after transformation that could go viral, the TikTok hype wasn’t wrong. My dry skin looks great (and less dry) with regular use of the moisturizing cleanser. I could go back to my search for something better, but should I stick with my trusted, proven CeraVe? While some of the other products in my skincare are expensive (keep in mind that not all brands have the scalability, so CeraVe comes at an affordable price, which doesn’t mean you can expect the same with great quality from every brand) , I plan to stick with CeraVe’s affordable face wash for another round.
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