Eye Repair Cream is one of CeraVe’s most popular products. The brand claims that this product “can help hydrate, brighten and smooth your under-eye area.”

But does CeraVe Eye Repair Cream contain ingredients shown in research studies to have anti-aging effects? Does it contain any unhealthy ingredients? How do you properly apply it? And is CeraVe's cream better or worse than popular eye creams like Disco Eye Stick?

In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze the ingredients in CeraVe Eye Repair Cream to give our take on whether or not it’s likely to be an effective moisturizer, and whether or not it's healthy.

We'll also feature a video showing how to properly apply CeraVe Eye Cream, and compare the brand to other popular eye creams in terms of formulation quality to pick our winners (and losers).

Key takeaways:

• Contains many research-backed moisturizing ingredients
• Contains one preservative we consider potentially unhealthy
• We do not currently recommend CeraVe Eye Repair Cream

Ingredient Analysis

The ingredients in CeraVe Eye Repair Cream are shown below:

A number of these ingredients are clinically shown to improve skin quality and skin moisture content.

Ceramide NP, ceramide AP and ceramide EOP are all part of a class of chemicals called ceramides, which can increase skin moisture content.

A clinical trial published in the Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology journal concluded the following: “ceramide cream increases skin hydration and improves barrier function.”

Sweet almond oil is a botanical ingredient shown in a 2010 medical review to “smooth and rejuvenate skin.”

Sodium hyaluronate is one of the more effective anti-aging ingredients.

As we documented in our Cetaphil vs CeraVe review article, this ingredient is clinically shown to reduce the appearance of wrinkles.

Glycerin can increase skin moisture content by around 15% according to a clinical trial published in the International Journal of Cosmetic Science.

Chrysanthellum indicum extract was shown in a 2019 clinical trial to have a “beneficial role” in promoting skin health. However, this was an in vitro (test tube) study, which makes the results weaker than a trial with human participants.

Asparagopsis armata extract is a seaweed ingredient that may have anti-aging effects according to a medical review on seaweed compounds in cosmetics published in the Marine Drugs journal.

Clearly there are a number of effective ingredients in CeraVe Eye Repair Cream. There is also one inactive ingredient that we consider questionable from a health perspective.

Phenoxyethanol is a synthetic preservative that was shown to be irritating to the eyes in a 2019 medical review, which makes it a strange choice for an eye cream in our opinion.

Overall, we consider CeraVe Eye Repair Cream not only likely to improve skin moisture, but also to have an anti-aging effect and to help promote skin barrier repair.

From an efficacy perspective, this is one of the most impressive eye cream formulations that we’ve reviewed to date on Illuminate Health.

We don’t currently recommend this product due to the inclusion of phenoxyethanol, but we consider this additive less of a concern than major potential irritants like artificial dyes and fragrance.

How to Apply CeraVe Eye Repair Cream

CeraVe has a video on the brand’s official YouTube channel with a live product demonstration showing how to properly apply this cream. The video is only 19 seconds long:

CeraVe vs. Popular Eye Creams

Here's how CeraVe Eye Repair Cream compares to other popular eye creams in terms of formulation quality, in our opinion:

Disco Eye Stick

Like CeraVe's cream, this formulation contains the synthetic preservative.

However, Disco Eye Stick also contains another synthetic preservative which is clinically shown to enhance the toxic effects of phenoxyethanol.

CeraVe has the healthier formulation.

Winner: CeraVe Eye Repair Cream

RoC Eye Cream

Less healthy formulation than CeraVe Eye Cream.

Contains parabens, which are clinically shown to be endocrine-disrupting, as we documented in our RoC Eye Cream reviews article.

Winner: CeraVe Eye Repair Cream

StriVectin Eye Cream

Contains an inactive ingredient which is the subject of an FDA warning letter.

Winner: CeraVe Eye Repair Cream

Our Clean Skincare Pick

MindBodyGreen Best Skin+ is our top anti-aging skin supplement.

It contains orange extract which is clinically shown to increase skin moisturization, skin elasticity and skin radiance.

This supplement also contains astaxanthin which is clinically shown to cause "wrinkle formation reduction."

This supplement is free of ingredients that we consider to be unhealthy.

CeraVe Eye Repair Cream Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Many research-backed active ingredients
• Likely to improve skin moisture
• Likely to have anti-aging effect
• Can help heal skin barrier
• Mostly positive customer reviews
• Healthier than competitors
• Affordable

Cons:

• Doesn't appear to be clinically tested
• Contains a synthetic preservative that may irritate eyes

Conclusion

CeraVe is a cosmetics leader for a reason. Every product that we’ve reviewed from the company has a highly effective formulation, and the formulations are even more effective given the price.

This product costs a fraction of the price of some eye creams we’ve reviewed on Illuminate Health (like Disco Eye Stick), and should be effective for improving skin hydration and reducing the appearance of wrinkles.

The only reason we don’t currently recommend CeraVe’s eye cream is because it contains a preservative that we consider questionable and potentially irritating, but we also don’t consider it a major health concern.

We consider CeraVe Eye Repair Cream to have a healthier formulation than Disco Eye Stick, RoC Eye Cream and StriVectin Eye Cream.