Aveeno and Nivea both specialize in skin and body care with their unique formulations. Both are highly accessible across the world and can be found in the majority of supermarkets shelves. Which one of these major brands comes out on top when comparing both of them in terms of their ingredients?
The short answer: Aveeno if you are familiar with the product.
Who are Aveeno and Nivea?
Aveeno is a brand of skin care and hair care products founded by Albert and Sidney Musher in 1945. It was purchased by Johnson & Johnson in 1999 with the brand expanding into baby care and body wash in 2001.
Nivea is a personal skin and body care brand owned by Beiersdorf Global AG, founded in 1911. During the 1980s, it was expanded into the worldwide market, producing various products. Interestingly, Nivea is related to the Eucerin brand, launching the ph5 Eurcerin ointment onto the market in the 1950s.
Aveeno vs Nivea: Product Descriptions
Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion
This nourishing lotion is clinically proven to improve the health of dry skin in 1 day with significant improvement in 2 weeks. Formulated with Active Naturals Colloidal Oatmeal and rich emollients, it helps prevent and protect dry skin for a full 24 hours. This lotion leaves your skin feeling soft, smooth and naturally healthy looking and is gentle enough for everyday use. It’s also fragrance free, nongreasy and noncomedogenic.
Reference: Aveeno
Nivea Soft Moisturizing Creme
NIVEA Soft is an all-purpose cream providing intensive and refreshing moisture. Its light, non-greasy formula with Jojoba Oil and Vitamin E is quickly absorbed into the skin.
- Light, non-greasy formula with Jojoba Oil & Vitamin E
- Provides effective and refreshing hydration
- Fast absorbed, skin feels soft and supple
- For all skin types, even sensitive skin
- Great for face, body and hands
Reference: Nivea
Aveeno vs Nivea: Ingredient Comparison
In short, Aveeno is a better product overall with less hazardous ingredients than Nivea.
Aveeno Alarming ingredients
Aveeno uses a key ingredient called Avena Sativa (Oats) which is one of their unique selling points. Petrolatum is another which is an emollient that soften and soothes skin by preventing moisture loss from the skin. Although it sounds like a good function, it does have the possibility of causing skin irritation. It is a prohibited substance in cosmetic products in the European Union.
The damaging ingredient in the Aveeno moisturizing lotion is Benzyl Alcohol. It is an ingredient used in skin lotions due its anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties. It is quite common in moisturizing creams for Eczema but should be noted that it has potential health concerns for dermatitis as an irritant and can be harmful if in contact with skin.
Another concerning ingredient in Aveeno that should be brought up is Petrolatum. It can be used as an emollient, to soften and soothe skin, and as an occlusive to form a protective layer to retain skin hydration. Despite this, it can cause skin irritation so be wary.
Nivea Alarming Ingredients
Nivea has numerous ingredients that can be problematic, especially Phenoxyethanol. It has been reported as harmful if absorbed through skin, causing irritation and blistering. This makes Phenoxyethanol a potential health concern for Eczema sufferers like ourselves.
Phenoxyethanol is an interesting ingredient as it is now banned in Palau due to the damages it can cause to coral reefs. If it can cause long lasting damages to the aquatic wildlife, the question is, what kind of damage can do to our skin?
Nivea is NOT fragrance-free which is a MUST for Eczema users. We don’t judge moisturizers based on smell, it is how effective it is that counts! Fragrance has potential health concerns for dermatitis, allergy contact (PubMed ID:16823706) and hypersensitivity (PubMed ID:23136956).
Now Nivea does have an interesting ingredient in mineral oil. It is an colorless and odorless petrolatum derivative which seals more moisture into the skin, creating a barrier. It has a low likelihood of causing skin irritation and can be applicable with us Eczema sufferers. However, it is still quite a risky ingredient according to 1Source, and should be only used sparingly. The majority of dermatologists will advise to skip the ingredient if you are acne-prone, so take note of this one!
The last concerning ingredient in Nivea that is not found in other major moisturizing lotion brands is alcohol denatured (ethanol). Ethanol can be used as an antiseptic, preventing growth of unwanted microorganisms, or even as an astringent, causes the contraction of body skin body tissues. There are a lot of concerns for this ingredient, as there are hundreds of potential health concerns. Eczema sufferers should know that any type of alcohol can have serious implications to our skin. So best to avoid this one.
Aveeno vs Nivea: EWG Rating
EWG is a highly reputable site for verifying the safety of ingredients in a product. The lower the rating number, the safer the product is. The moisturizing lotion for Aveeno scored a 2 while Nivea scored a 5. So according to EWG, Aveeno is safer to use.
The main difference between the ingredients is that there are moderate use restrictions for the Aveeno lotion compared to the high use restrictions for Nivea. Both have low risk when it comes to cancer, but has to be noted that both are in the high risk category for allergies and immunotoxicity. Remember to always consult a dermatologist or patch test the lotion on yourself before sticking to it.
Aveeno vs Nivea: Risk Comparison
If we look at the ingredients from both products, which one poses more safety hazard risks?
Aveeno: Ingredient Concerns
| Ingredient | Safety Hazards | Potential Health Concerns |
| Benzyl Alcohol | 5 | 5 |
Nivea: Ingredient Concerns
| Ingredient | Safety Hazards | Potential Health Concerns |
| Mineral Oil | 0 | 2 |
| Alcohol Denatured, Ethanol | 9 | 254 |
| Phenoxyethanol | 4 | 1 |
From the information gathered on the hazardous ingredients in both products, Aveeno is overall a general safe lotion to use with their updated ingredient list. Nivea has numerous concerning ingredients that is problematic for those with sensitive skin, especially with ethanol.
Aveeno vs Nivea: Which is the better lotion?
Aveeno is the leading candidate in this battle, with a revised ingredient list that poses less threat to Eczema and sensitive skin sufferers. Although it has to be noted that their key ingredient in oats, so one must be compatible before trying it out.
Nivea has too many concerning ingredients to even patch test, in phenoxyethanol, ethanol and fragrance. It was not designed for sensitive skin users, especially those with Eczema. Despite this, we are not the intended market for this cream by Nivea, as they are related to Eucerin, who cater to sensitive skin. You can have a read of our comparison with Aveeno and Eucerin.
References
- 1Source.com: Ingredient Decoder
- PubChem
- EWG