All scans / Moisturizers / NIVEA Creme All Purpose
NIVEA Creme All Purpose ingredients: is it worth it?
Classic, heavy occlusive cream that seals moisture well but offers almost no modern barrier-repair actives and carries a noticeable fragrance load.
Classic, heavy occlusive cream that seals moisture well but offers almost no modern barrier-repair actives and carries a noticeable fragrance load.
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Efficacy here comes from a dense occlusive base (mineral oil, paraffin, microcrystalline wax, lanolin alcohol) plus basic humectants like glycerin and panthenol, which can effectively reduce transepidermal water loss but do not actively rebuild the barrier or target concerns beyond simple hydration; the multiple fragrance allergens near the bottom make this less suitable for sensitive or compromised skin despite decent moisturization.
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DemythSkin rates NIVEA Creme All Purpose 3.4/5 for efficacy and 3.4/5 for safety.
CONTAINS COMMON SENSITISERS⌄
Fragrance components and essential oils that more often cause reactions in sensitive skin: Limonene, Geraniol, Hydroxycitronellal, Linalool, Citronellol, Benzyl Benzoate, Cinnamyl Alcohol, Fragrance/Parfum. Most people tolerate them; patch test if your skin reacts easily.
ACTIVE INGREDIENTS BY TIER
Gold Standards
High clinical proof | Skin-transformativeReliable
Proven resultsPotent
Developing evidenceOverhyped | Marketing
Hype | Limited dataDocumented Irritants
Evidence-backed flagFORMULATION BASE (2)⌄
FULL INGREDIENT LIST⌄
Water, Mineral Oil, Microcrystalline Wax, Glycerin, Lanolin Alcohol, Paraffin, Panthenol, Magnesium Sulfate, Decyl Oleate, Octyldodecanol, Aluminum Stearates, Citric Acid, Magnesium Stearate, Limonene, Geraniol, Hydroxycitronellal, Linalool, Citronellol, Benzyl Benzoate, Cinnamyl Alcohol, Fragrance/Parfum
WHAT EACH INGREDIENT DOES (21)⌄
- Water
- Primary solvent
- Mineral Oil
- Occlusive emollient
- Microcrystalline Wax
- Thickener and texture former
- Glycerin
- Humectant for hydration
- Lanolin Alcohol
- Emollient and stabilizer
- Paraffin
- Occlusive emollient
- Panthenol
- Humectant and soothing agent
- Magnesium Sulfate
- Viscosity control and stabilizer
- Decyl Oleate
- Emollient and slip agent
- Octyldodecanol
- Emollient and texture enhancer
- Aluminum Stearates
- Thickener and stabilizer
- Citric Acid
- pH adjuster
- Magnesium Stearate
- Texture enhancer and stabilizer
- Limonene
- Fragrance component
- Geraniol
- Fragrance component
- Hydroxycitronellal
- Fragrance component
- Linalool
- Fragrance component
- Citronellol
- Fragrance component
- Benzyl Benzoate
- Fragrance component and solvent
- Cinnamyl Alcohol
- Fragrance component
- Fragrance/Parfum
- Fragrance mixture
EXTERNAL CITATIONS
Glycerin: Glycerin is a well-established humectant that improves skin hydration and barrier function in moisturizers.
Panthenol: Panthenol has documented soothing and moisturizing effects and can support barrier recovery.
Mineral Oil: Mineral oil is an occlusive agent that reduces transepidermal water loss and improves skin softness.
DISCLAIMER: THIS ANALYSIS IS FOR INFORMATION ONLY. NOT MEDICAL ADVICE. AI-GENERATED DATA BASED ON PUBLICLY AVAILABLE INGREDIENT LISTS. VERIFY WITH A MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL.
NIVEA Creme All Purpose: common questions
Is NIVEA Creme All Purpose worth it?
NIVEA Creme All Purpose scores 3.4 out of 5.0 for efficacy (Mid) and 3.4 out of 5.0 for safety (Some Risk) on DemythSkin's independent ingredient analysis. Classic, heavy occlusive cream that seals moisture well but offers almost no modern barrier-repair actives and carries a noticeable fragrance load.
What are the key active ingredients in NIVEA Creme All Purpose?
NIVEA Creme All Purpose contains no gold-standard actives. Its formula is built on supporting and base ingredients rather than clinically transformative actives.
Does NIVEA Creme All Purpose contain fragrance or known irritants?
DemythSkin flags these ingredients in NIVEA Creme All Purpose as documented irritants: Lanolin Alcohol, Limonene, Geraniol, Hydroxycitronellal, Linalool, Citronellol, Benzyl Benzoate, Cinnamyl Alcohol, Fragrance/Parfum. This product does contain fragrance.
How is NIVEA Creme All Purpose scored?
DemythSkin grades every product on two independent scores: efficacy (whether the ingredients have clinical evidence of working) and safety (irritation and sensitisation risk). Ingredients are graded S through D against a database of over 3,000 compounds. Brand and price are not part of the score, and no brand pays for one.
Free scores for every product in the database, or see them on Sephora, Ulta and Amazon with the Chrome extension.