Eucerin vs Aquaphor 2023 (The Definitive Guide)

Most people have at least heard of Eucerin and Aquaphor. They feature restorative ointments and creams designed specifically for dry, cracked skin. But did you know that they're actually made by the same company?

That's right, alongside Nivea, La Prairie, and Coppertone, they're both owned by Beiersdorf. This explains a lot of the similarities, but there are some subtle differences between their products which we’ll be comparing today.

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Eucerin vs Aquaphor Healing Ointment

Skin that is so dry that it cracks needs immediate healing. If you’re trying to restore your skin back to a healthy and smooth texture, you may want to pick up an ointment or cream that can help.

Today, we’re comparing an ointment with a healing cream. Ointments tend to have a more balm-like texture while creams are, well, creamy. When you look at Aquaphor vs Eucerin, these two products have been created to help dry skin heal.

Aquaphor Healing Ointment is labeled as the #1 dermatologist-recommended choice for dry, cracked skin, chapped lips, dry feet, dry heels, and cracked cuticles. It has made this claim based on results from surveys conducted in 2015 by ProVoice.

That’s a good start, but let’s take a look at the formulation. With Aquaphor, it contains 41% petrolatum. This ingredient works to help heal skin while also allowing oxygen to flow. Additionally, the formula contains two ingredients that are ideal for providing intensive nourishment and moisturization to skin – glycerin and panthenol.

Overall, the Aquaphor ingredient list is short, something that makes us happy to see for all too often, lengthy lists often hide bad ingredients in there. The company makes it very transparent to discover the ingredient list which also contains mineral oil, lanolin alcohol, ceresin, and bisabolol which is a known anti-irritant.

Many people worry about lanolin, and hence, lanolin alcohol may worry you. This alcohol isn’t like the others though as it is a fatty alcohol. This means it can help your dry skin out. But as lanolin may be irritating for some people, you may not want to use it if you’ve experienced irritations with it before.

Mineral oil is another ingredient on the list that the EWG advises you to avoid. You’ll find that in the Eucerin formulation too, though. As for Aquaphor’s Healing Ointment, it is preservative and fragrance-free. You can buy it in a variety of sizes though the 14-ounce size is 2 ounces smaller than what you’ll find with Eucerin’s comparable tub.

Now, as for Eucerin Original Healing Cream, this formula is a rich cream rather than an ointment. It is designed to help skin heal and protect it too. The label has it for extremely dry, sensitive, and compromised skin. It is noncomedogenic and free of fragrances and dyes.

Smoothing it on brings a rich infusion of ingredients that include petrolatum, lanolin alcohol, and ceresin, just like the Aquaphor formula. Eucerin also includes water, phenoxyethanol, and piroctone olamine, which can reduce burning sensations and scaling skin. This formula works by helping bind water to the skin to replenish the moisture barrier and stop moisture loss.

While both brands also say these products can be smoothed over the entire body, only Aquaphor mentions being able to use it for chapped lips.

After comparing Aquaphor Healing Ointment and Eucerin Original Healing Cream, it seems both products can provide healing relief and protection to dry, chapped, and irritated skin. Eucerin offers a more premium product (at the expense of a slightly higher price), but only Aquaphor is known to be safe on the lips.

The ingredients are similar, though ointments tend to have more of a viscous balm-like texture, whereas the rich cream format of Eucerin is not quite as thick. Ultimately, it will primarily depend on your preference regarding texture as to which you’ll like best.

They will *both* help your skin feel relief from dryness and work to restore the texture so that it is smooth and healthy again.

Eucerin vs Aquaphor Conclusion

This article was originally published on February 17th 2022, but it has been reviewed and updated with the latest available information on January 26th 2024 by Sara Mckay, MA.