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Cetaphil

Healing Ointment.

Cetaphil Healing Ointment
Moisturizers

About this product

A petrolatum-based healing ointment with shea butter, vitamin E, and hyaluronic acid designed to moisturize and protect dry or compromised skin.

Best for

Dry skinSensitive skin
Moisturizers

The Guru Index verdict

65%

Mixed

~Mixed · 65%
5Reviewers
3Approved
1Mixed
1Skip

What the gurus are saying

Gurus overwhelmingly praise this ointment for barrier repair, occlusion, and versatility across lips, face, hands, and feet. The consensus highlight is its softer, more spreadable texture compared to plain Vaseline or Aquaphor, attributed to shea butter, making it easier to apply while delivering comparable hydration-locking performance. A recurring concern is the presence of beeswax, which some dermatologists note may trigger sensitivity in certain users. A minority view holds it less occlusive than pure petrolatum options for lip care specifically.
Synthesized from 5 expert reviews

Key actives & flags

Vitamin EFragrance-freeAlcohol-free

Full ingredients

Cetearyl Ethylhexanoate, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Beeswax, Microcrystalline Wax, Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E Acetate)

Every take, in full

What the gurus are saying.

Every take we've logged from this product's reviews across YouTube. Click any row to watch the moment they said it.

All takes Approved only Skip only Mixed only Hide sponsored
Approved
"This one here from Cetaphil is their Healing Ointment. This is 71% petrolatum so it's got that Vaseline in it, it also has shea butter and other ingredients in it that are kind of hydrating and it has those lipids in it that are going to make your skin softer over time."
All 2 takes from Doctorly
Skin QnA
"The petrolatum ointment base something about it just is very soothing and is not irritating for a compromised barrier. I see it in patients, I see it in myself, it's very consistent. Switching your moisturizer to an ointment base that's based out of petrolatum can help. The Cetaphil Healing Ointment is great. They actually did some nice studies on that post wound."
Black Friday Deals and Skincare Q&A
"This one here from Cetaphil is their Healing Ointment. This is 71% petrolatum so it's got that Vaseline in it, it also has shea butter and other ingredients in it that are kind of hydrating and it has those lipids in it that are going to make your skin softer over time."
~Mixed
"Cetaphil has joined the game and has made a healing ointment with vitamin E and shea butter, lanolin free as well. Only thing is this has beeswax, so that's my critique, I'm seeing more beeswax and propolis sensitivities."
All 3 takes from Dr. Daniel Sugai
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"Cetaphil healing ointment, the only thing with Cetaphil healing ointment though is it has beeswax which I worry about on the lips. I'm seeing a lot more beeswax sensitivity."
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"You can follow up with a thicker petrolatum ointment to seal it in and that could be with Cetaphil Healing Ointment. You can use just a pea-size amount to seal in the moisture and get that dewy glow. A lot of people like to apply it not just to the lips but just a small amount to like the cheekbones. Right after your hyaluronic acid goes on you can put a cream on and a little bit of this to occlude and retain that moisture so it doesn't evaporate."
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"Cetaphil has joined the game and has made a healing ointment with vitamin E and shea butter, lanolin free as well. Only thing is this has beeswax, so that's my critique, I'm seeing more beeswax and propolis sensitivities."
Approved
"The Cetaphil Healing Ointment is nice. It's a softer ointment with slightly better spread on the skin compared to Aquaphor. It has shea butter in it, which I think gives it that soft texture, but it really does a great job as an ointment for locking in hydration. This is also really good on the lips, around the eyes, or really anywhere. If you're someone who wants to try slugging, which is the practice of going to bed with a thick layer of an ointment on your face as the last step of your nighttime skincare routine, you might want to try this one out. It's not as though it performs any better than Vaseline or Aquaphor, but it is another option. One thing worth mentioning is that in contrast to Aquaphor, which does have lanoline that some people are allergic to, this does not have lanolin."
All 8 takes from Dr Dray
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"I've been doing this Cetaphil Healing Ointment. This one's nice, it's a little bit softer in texture compared to Aquaphor. Aquaphor in my experience using it is stiffer. This is a lot softer because it has shea butter."
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"If you want to improve the appearance of lip fullness with a topical product try just plain petroleum jelly or specifically the Cetaphil Healing Ointment. It has hyaluronic acid in it and I swear that whenever I use that I get a little bit of a plumping effect and just through light scattering from the product being on my lips it just looks like you have fuller lips. But in contrast to these conventional lip plumping products that have irritants in them, Cetaphil Healing Ointment is actually very good for dry chapped irritated lips."
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"I fired up a new tub of the Cetaphil Healing Ointment. I'm a big ointment user, but when it comes to your nails it really can help because it basically locks in hydration and cuts down on irritation around the nail folds that can allow moisture in that disrupts nail plate growth. When you wash your hands frequently the skin on the nails is prone to getting dry and then you're also prone to those husky hangnails, so that is something that really can make a huge difference."
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"Cetaphil has a healing ointment of course, and there's aquafor healing ointment, any of those apply at night time before you go to bed it will really make a big difference."
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"One of my number one tips that I often give when it comes to rectifying very dry skin is to lean in into a petrolatum based ointment such as Cetaphil healing ointment. What you want to do, especially on the legs, in the evening time when you get out of the shower or out of the bath, is pat dry the skin of visible drips of water and immediately slather with a thick coat of that petrolatum ointment. It's going to feel uncomfortable, but what you're going to do is get yourself an old pair of cotton pajama pants and put them on over to really trap that in there and let it really lock in the hydration into your skin. This can really change things up for you. It's not something that you have to do every night for the rest of your life because it is rather involved, but it can really get things back on track and jump start barrier repair."
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"I really like it. This is like my second or third jar of it because I go through ointments like this pretty quickly. I use these on my feet and my lower legs a lot. In contrast to Vaseline and Aquaphor, this one is a little bit almost thinner in consistency. It works the same way you still get the same effects and everything, it's just kind of a different texture. It has shea butter and it has a microcrystalline wax and I think those two things together make it almost a creamier ointment in a way, so it's just a subtle difference in texture."
Skincare After A Rough Night | Vlog
"Cetaphil Healing Ointment, I always come in to my feet with some sort of ointment, petroleum jelly, Aquaphor, Caby Healing Ointment, a store version of any of those. And I'm generous like, I'm really generous with the glob. This is a game changer for dry, cracked heels, this and I mean any petroleum jelly ointment combined with..."
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"The Cetaphil Healing Ointment is nice. It's a softer ointment with slightly better spread on the skin compared to Aquaphor. It has shea butter in it, which I think gives it that soft texture, but it really does a great job as an ointment for locking in hydration. This is also really good on the lips, around the eyes, or really anywhere. If you're someone who wants to try slugging, which is the practice of going to bed with a thick layer of an ointment on your face as the last step of your nighttime skincare routine, you might want to try this one out. It's not as though it performs any better than Vaseline or Aquaphor, but it is another option. One thing worth mentioning is that in contrast to Aquaphor, which does have lanoline that some people are allergic to, this does not have lanolin."
Approved
"If you have the type of hands that really need the occlusivity, your skin is really really dry and you really have to seal that lotion in, try adding a little squirt of Cetaphil Healing Ointment, a petroleum-based ointment type of product. Petroleum is a very occlusive ingredient. It creates a barrier on your skin that helps to hug all that moisturizer in. It also works as a two-way barrier: it keeps things in but also helps to protect your skin from outside elements. If you're not in the best habit of wearing your gloves in cold weather outside, the petroleum acts as a protectant and can help protect your skin from being chapped by the wind and just the cold elements."
Skip
"I do find those two to be not as occlusive enough. I honestly, when it comes to lips, I much rather prefer just 100% petrolatum or Aquaphor. I find that these two really add the most long-lasting occlusive protective benefits to my lips compared to the other two. The other two I feel like it look just a little bit more lightweight, so not so much great for the lips based on my personal opinion, but I love it for other places like chapped flaky skin on the face or say like chafing on the underarms. It works really well, but it's not as sticky or heavy."
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