Beauty Elixir

CeraVe · Serum · leave-on

Is CeraVe Resurfacing Retinol Serum pore-clogging or fungal-acne safe?

64%clean
Mild risk

No heavy pore-cloggers found, but 2 ingredients are rated 2. Most people are fine; very acne-prone skin should watch for small bumps.

Not fungal-acne safe

2 ingredients can feed Malassezia yeast (itchy, uniform forehead or chest bumps).

#IngredientPoresFungal acneIrritancy
25 Isopropyl Myristate 5/5 · Low amount Trigger
14 Cetearyl Alcohol 2/5 · Mild risk Safe
3 Dimethicone 1/5 · Low Safe
32 Polysorbate 20 0/5 · Low Trigger
1 Aqua 0/5 · Low Safe
5 Niacinamide 0/5 · Low Safe
20 Sodium Hyaluronate 0/5 · Low Safe
25 ingredients not in our pore-clogging database

These have no published comedogenic rating in our data. Most are preservatives, fragrance, extracts or actives that are not known pore-cloggers.

propanediolcetearyl ethylhexanoateammonium polyacryloyldimethyl tauratedipotassium glycyrrhizatehydrogenated lecithinpotassium phosphateceramide npceramide apceramide eopcarbomerbehentrimonium methosulfatelecithinsodium citrateretinolsodium lauroyl lactylatecholesterolphenoxyethanolalcoholcaprylyl glycolcitric acidtrisodium ethylenediamine disuccinatepentylene glycolphytosphingosinexanthan gumethylhexylglycerin

Ingredients rated 3–5 that appear after position 15 are usually present below about 1%, so they are shown as "Low amount" and do not trigger the pore-clog alert. Ratings come from the Fulton comedogenic scale (0–5) and published Malassezia research. They are a rough guide: the concentration and the whole formula matter, and everyone's skin is different.

Acne-safe breakdown

We found no ingredients rated 3 or higher in CeraVe Resurfacing Retinol Serum. The ingredients doing most of the work are Aqua, Dimethicone, Niacinamide and Cetearyl Alcohol, which are all low-risk for pores.

Compare CeraVe Resurfacing Retinol Serum

vs CeraVe Skin Renewing Retinol Serumvs Minimalist Alpha Arbutin 2% Face Serumvs Minimalist Niacinamide 10% Face Serumvs Minimalist Retinol 0.3% Face Serumvs Minimalist Salicylic Acid 2% Face Serumvs Minimalist Vitamin C 10% Face Serumvs Plum 15% Vitamin C & Mandarin Glow Boost Serumvs The Ordinary Alpha Arbutin 2% + HAvs The Ordinary Azelaic Acid Suspension 10%vs The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5 (Original Formulation)

Full ingredient list

AQUA/WATER/EAU, PROPANEDIOL, DIMETHICONE, CETEARYL ETHYLHEXANOATE, NIACINAMIDE, AMMONIUM POLYACRYLOYLDIMETHYL TAURATE, DIPOTASSIUM GLYCYRRHIZATE, HYDROGENATED LECITHIN, POTASSIUM PHOSPHATE, CERAMIDE NP, CERAMIDE AP, CERAMIDE EOP, CARBOMER, CETEARYL ALCOHOL, BEHENTRIMONIUM METHOSULFATE, DIMETHICONOL, LECITHIN, SODIUM CITRATE, RETINOL, SODIUM HYALURONATE, SODIUM LAUROYL LACTYLATE, CHOLESTEROL, PHENOXYETHANOL, ALCOHOL, ISOPROPYL MYRISTATE, CAPRYLYL GLYCOL, CITRIC ACID, TRISODIUM ETHYLENEDIAMINE DISUCCINATE, PENTYLENE GLYCOL, PHYTOSPHINGOSINE, XANTHAN GUM, POLYSORBATE 20, ETHYLHEXYLGLYCERIN

Source: official CeraVe product page, checked 27 Sep 2026. Formulas vary by country and change over time, so always check your pack.

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Frequently asked questions

Is CeraVe Resurfacing Retinol Serum pore-clogging?

Mild risk. No heavy pore-cloggers found, but 2 ingredients are rated 2. Most people are fine; very acne-prone skin should watch for small bumps.

Is CeraVe Resurfacing Retinol Serum safe for fungal acne?

No. It contains Isopropyl Myristate and Polysorbate 20, which can feed Malassezia yeast.

What is the clean score of CeraVe Resurfacing Retinol Serum?

CeraVe Resurfacing Retinol Serum scores 64% on our pore-clog and fungal-acne scan, based on 7 recognised ingredients out of 33.

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