CeraVe Healing Ointment is not the same as Vaseline. Both products use petrolatum as their primary ingredient, but Vaseline is 100% petrolatum while CeraVe Healing Ointment contains 46.5% petrolatum blended with ceramides, hyaluronic acid, and other skin-repairing ingredients. They work differently on your skin, feel different on application, and serve somewhat different purposes.
The Key Ingredient Difference
Vaseline is pure petroleum jelly, nothing else. It works as an occlusive, meaning it sits on top of your skin and creates a physical barrier that blocks nearly 99% of water loss. It doesn’t add moisture to your skin. It traps whatever moisture is already there.
CeraVe Healing Ointment takes a different approach. Its 46.5% petrolatum base still provides that occlusive seal, but the formula also includes ceramides and hyaluronic acid. Ceramides are waxy lipids naturally found in high concentrations in your skin’s outermost layer, where they play a critical role in maintaining the skin barrier. When your skin is cracked, irritated, or compromised, ceramide levels tend to drop. Hyaluronic acid is a humectant that draws water from the environment or deeper skin layers and binds it into the barrier. So while Vaseline locks moisture in, CeraVe’s formula is designed to both lock moisture in and actively help rebuild the skin barrier from within.
Does the Extra Stuff Actually Help?
The honest answer is: it depends on what you’re dealing with. A study comparing “skin-identical lipids” (the category ceramides fall into) in a petrolatum-based cream against pure petrolatum found no significant difference in barrier recovery over 14 days on experimentally damaged skin. Both products normalized the skin at roughly the same rate. For straightforward protection of intact but dry skin, plain petrolatum does the job.
That said, the study looked at short-term barrier repair in otherwise healthy skin. For people with chronic conditions like eczema, where the skin barrier is persistently deficient in ceramides, the added lipids may offer more meaningful long-term support. CeraVe Healing Ointment holds the National Eczema Association’s Seal of Acceptance, which requires products to meet specific ingredient and irritancy criteria. Vaseline is also well tolerated by sensitive skin, but it isn’t replenishing anything your barrier is missing.
How They Feel on Your Skin
This is where most people notice the biggest practical difference. Vaseline is noticeably greasier. It’s a thick, slippery layer that doesn’t absorb and can transfer onto pillowcases, clothing, and anything else it touches. Some people don’t mind this, especially if they’re only applying it to small areas like lips or cuticles. Others find it intolerable on larger patches of skin.
CeraVe Healing Ointment has a lighter, more spreadable texture. The lower petrolatum concentration and the addition of other ingredients give it a consistency closer to a thick cream than a true jelly. It still leaves a noticeable film, but it tends to feel less heavy and sinks in slightly more than pure petroleum jelly. For overnight use on your face (sometimes called “slugging”), CeraVe is generally the more comfortable option simply because it’s less likely to slide around on your pillow.
Sensitivity and Irritation Risk
Vaseline has an extremely low risk of causing irritation or allergic reactions because it contains literally one ingredient. If your skin reacts poorly to a product, the more ingredients it has, the harder it is to identify the culprit. For people with highly reactive skin or known contact allergies, pure petrolatum is about as safe as it gets.
CeraVe Healing Ointment is lanolin-free and fragrance-free, which eliminates two of the most common triggers for contact dermatitis in ointment-type products. Still, it does contain more ingredients than Vaseline, so the theoretical risk of a reaction is slightly higher. For the vast majority of people this won’t matter, but if you’ve had trouble with skincare products in the past, the simplicity of Vaseline is a genuine advantage.
When to Choose One Over the Other
- Dry, cracked skin that needs barrier repair: CeraVe Healing Ointment’s ceramides and hyaluronic acid are designed for this. If your skin is flaky, chapped, or irritated from eczema or harsh weather, the extra ingredients give it an edge over plain occlusion.
- Slugging or overnight moisture sealing: CeraVe tends to be more comfortable for full-face application because of its lighter texture. Vaseline works fine for this too, but expect more mess.
- Minor wound protection: Either product creates an effective moisture barrier over small cuts, scrapes, or post-procedure skin. Pure petrolatum has decades of clinical use for this purpose and works well.
- Ultra-sensitive or allergy-prone skin: Vaseline’s single-ingredient formula is the safer bet when you want to minimize any chance of reaction.
- Budget: Vaseline is significantly cheaper per ounce. If you’re using large amounts for body-wide dryness, cost adds up quickly.
Both products are effective for protecting dry skin. The core question is whether you need simple occlusion or occlusion plus active barrier support. For many everyday uses, like sealing in moisturizer at night or protecting chapped lips, Vaseline does the job for a fraction of the price. For compromised or eczema-prone skin that benefits from ceramide replenishment, CeraVe Healing Ointment offers a more targeted formula in a more comfortable texture.