Neuroscientist Edward Boyden said, “The world is your playground.”

 

For dermatologist-developed skin care brand CeraVe, that is especially true in the world of skin care. 

 

On July 13, the brand transformed a space in New York City into a jungle gym of sorts mimicking the functionality of the brand’s various cleansers. 

 

The goal of the interactive, Instagrammable display, located at Chelsea Industrial, was to help associate customers, current and prospective, with playful mnemonic devices – literally – while using CeraVe products, according to the brand.

 

Board-certified dermatologists Dr. Marisa Garshick, based in Tenafly, NJ, and Dr. Wallace Nozile, a Mohs micrographic surgeon in Atlanta, walked attendees through the brand’s four core cleansers in the marketing event.

The brand’s latest formula, Renewing SA, is for normal or balanced skin. It contains niacinamide to help reduce irritation while providing exfoliation to sweep away dead skin cells and reveal a softer complexion. All CeraVe cleansers are formulated with three essential ceramides 1, 3 and 6-II that help restore and maintain a healthy skin barrier critical to a balanced skin microbiome. 

 

Another new cleanser is the Hydrating Foaming Oil Cleanser designed for dry to very dry skin. Suitable for consumers with eczema, the cleanser transforms from an oil into a soft lathering foam to gently cleanse skin and remove excess oil without leaving skin feeling taut. Its main actives are squalane oil, triglyceride and hyaluronic acid.

 

“The non-greasy, oil-based cleanser gently transforms into a foam, which is really effective in breaking down hard-to-remove makeup, excess oil, as well as impurities and dirt,” said Nozile. “That said, it does not leave that greasy residue that a lot of oil-based cleansers do leave.”

 

Just how do oil-based cleansers work?

 

“Based on the principle that oil attracts oils, when you apply an oil cleanser to the skin, the oil lifts up that excess oil, helping to remove it without leaving any greasy residue behind,” explained Garshick. “At the end of the day, even those with oily skin can use an oil-based cleanser like this one, because it’s non-greasy and non-comedogenic. So, it’s not going to clog pores.”

 

Another newer product from CeraVe on display was its Acne Foaming Cream Cleanser, which is formulated with 4% benzoyl peroxide for those with acne-prone sensitive skin and 10% benzoyl peroxide for those with more severe acne. The 10% benzoyl peroxide is also strong enough for use on the body, or for those with skin that can tolerate a stronger dose.  

 

To demonstrate the strength and balance of the skin microbiome using these products, a seesaw and punching bags were used to illustrate the point. The salicylic acid and benzoyl peroxide “fight” acne while “balancing” the skin’s microbiome and not disrupting the skin barrier with excess strippage of bacteria and provides gentle exfoliation for a smoother, clearer complexion.

 

“The idea behind the microbiome is that we know when you’re good to your skin barrier you’re good to your microbiome,” said Garshick. “And because a disrupted microbiome can therefore then impact the barrier, it’s kind of like this Catch-22. So, you always want to be gentle on the barrier.”

Read about CeraVe's parade in the Big Easy to raise awareness about the importance of daily SPF use with influencer Dude with Sign, here.