In Hong Kong, two of the biggest moisturizing and body wash brands for sensitive skin that is shelved in the big personal care product chains are Aveeno and QV. Both have different product ranges, targeting various skin users from baby to those who need more intensive care.
But despite both of these brands being highly accessible, are they actually good for us? In this article we will analysis and evaluate their different ranges, exposing some of the harsh ingredients that their products may have and providing alternatives that can found in the same section if you decide to avoid them both.
Aveeno vs QV: Who are they?
Aveeno
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.
Aveeno has managed to attract high profile celebrities to advertise their brand, most notably Jennifer Anniston from friends who has a net worth of $240 million.
QV
Australian made and owned. QV Skincare was founded in 1953 by a young chemist called Gerald Oppenhein and his wife wife Rae, who was a nurse. They saw a need for low irritant skincare product, which led to birth of QV Skincare in 1975.
Today there are more than 50 QV products sold in more than 20 nations across the world. It is still proudly owned by the family with well over 50 million units sold.
Aveeno vs QV: Product Ranges
Aveeno: Product Ranges
Aveeno has many different types of moisturizing lotions and body washes so it is best to pay close attention to the packaging. The differences in products can be determined by the colour of their enclosed cap.
The daily moisturizing range is the most commonly found Aveeno product line. Each line has different benefits as stated in the picture and are made out of different key ingredients.
| Daily Moisturizing | Skin Relief | Stress Relief | Restorative Skin Therapy | Eczema |
| Soothing oat and rich emollients, contains Dimethicone | Triple oat complex, contains Dimethicone | Soothing oat, lavender scent – chamomile and ylang ylang oils | Oat, aloe, and vitamin B5 | Colloidal oatmeal and ceramide |
Aveeno’s Baby ranges are created with natural, safe ingredients, designed for baby’s with sensitive skin. Every range is designed for a specific range type.
| Daily Care | Soothing Relief | Dermexa |
| Gently helps protect and nourishes delicate skin every day. Natural oat extract. | Calm your baby’s itchy, dry skin with fragrance-free relief and 24-hour moisture. Natural colloidal oatmeal. | Gently sooth baby’s skin and get rid of the problem from Eczema prone skin. Natural colloidal oatmeal + vitamin B5. |
QV: Product Ranges
QV have a different approach compared to Aveeno, they differentiate their products with the colour of the packaging, with the turquoise coloured background for intensive treatment, lighter blue for the baby range and the dark blue for normal body usage. The coloured panel on the front describes the product and the function.
Aveeno vs QV: Base Moisturizer & Body Lotion Comparison
Aveeno and QV both have a base product with a purpose to help rehydrate skin, targeted for those who generally have dry skin, rather than those with Eczema. For the purpose of the study, we will compare the following moisturisers and body washes from the two.
Aveeno Product Analysis: Moisturizers & Body Wash
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.
Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion: Ingredient Concerns
The Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion has two alarming ingredients that poses as a risk, Butylated Hydroxytoluene, an antioxidant, and Chlorhexidine Gluconate, a disinfectant. Butylated Hydroxytoluene has potential health concerns for quite a number of things, 34 to be exact, and one of them is for dermatitis.
Chlorhexidine on the other hand can cause skin irritation (H315) and serious allergic skin reaction (H317), serious eye damage and irritation (H318/319) and even causing allergy or asthma symptoms or breathing difficulties if inhaled (H334) according to UN GHS. Not looking promising at all!
| Ingredient | Safety Hazards | Potential Health Concerns |
| Butylated Hydroxytoluene | 5 | 34 |
| Chlorhexidine Gluconate | 11 | 13 |
| Benzyl Alcohol | 5 | 5 |
Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Body Wash: Ingredient Concerns
Aveeno’s Body Wash also has some alarming ingredients for those who have very sensitive skin like Eczema. The first ingredient is fragrance, an ingredient that is well known for causing health problems for those with Eczema and Dermatitis.
Aveeno’s Body Wash also has Phenoxyethanol that can cause a great concern. 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?
Sodium Laureth Sulfate is the most concerning ingredient as it has a number of safety hazards and potential health concerns, with Dermatitis and Eczema in particular both in contact and as an irritant. The safety hazards that have been provided by the UN GHS that should be noted are:
- Fatal in contact with skin (H310)
- Toxic in contact with skin (H311)
- Causes skin irritation (H315)
| Ingredient | Safety Hazards | Potential Health Concerns |
| Sodium Laureth Sulfate | 16 | 11 |
| Parfum (Fragrance) | 0 | 3 |
| Phenoxyethanol | 4 | 1 |
It should be noted that all these ingredients have the potential health concerns for Dermatitis and Eczema.
QV Product Analysis: Moisturizers & Body Wash
QV highlights squalene as their key ingredient in their products, a natural component found in the skin’s oil. They do highlight more moisturizing ingredients that can help replenish the skin and helps to hydrate dry areas, with proven results for 24 hours. They do not mention what ingredients these are however.
QV Skin Lotion: Ingredient Concerns
There are three ingredients that are flagged as concerns in the QV Skin Lotion, Dichlorobenzyl Alcohol, Methylparaben and Propylparaben. These ingredients are high on the 1Source system, with Dichlorobenzyl Alcohol listed as a 9, which should only be used when directed.
Dichlorobenzyl Alcohol has multiple functions, it can actively kill and inhibit the growth of unwanted microorganisms which may be harmful. It can also be used to treat, alleviate, cure or prevent sickness. Despite this, it is a chemical that is restricted in South Korea, issued by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. There are no direct safety hazard links to skin, but it is still considered as a harsh ingredient.
Methylparaben and Propylparaben have similar functions to Dichlorobenzyl Alcohol. Propylparaben is a natural substance found in many plants and some insects. It is used in a number of different water based cosmetics, such as creams, lotions, shampoos, and bath products. Unlike Methylparaben, it is no longer approved as a food additive by the EU. Both chemicals are prohibited and restricted in South Korea and also banned in Palau.
There are a number of safety hazards and potential health concerns for Methylparaben and Propylparaben. They can cause skin irritation (H315), serious eye damage and irritation (H318, H319) provided by the UN GHS. It has direct potential health concerns for those with Dermatitis and Eczema, with allergic contact.
| Ingredient | Safety Hazards | Potential Health Concerns |
| Dichlorobenzyl Alcohol | 3 | 0 |
| Methylparaben | 7 | 10 |
| Propylparaben | 4 | 1 |
QV Gentle Wash: Ingredient Concerns
Just like the skin lotion, the QV Gentle Wash has Methylparaben and Propylparaben. They can cause skin irritation (H315), serious eye damage and irritation (H318, H319) provided by the UN GHS. It has direct potential health concerns for those with Dermatitis and Eczema, with allergic contact.
| Ingredient | Safety Hazards | Potential Health Concerns |
| Methylparaben | 7 | 10 |
| Propylparaben | 4 | 1 |
Aveeno vs QV: Base Moisturizer & Body Lotion Final Thoughts
Aveeno and QV both have alarming ingredients in their products that cause great concern for Eczema users. If your judgement on the two is based on data, then QV is a more logical choice because of the less safety hazards and potential health concerns that come with the harsh ingredients. However, based on ingredients alone, QV does have ingredients that are ranked as more concerning than the ones contained in Aveeno.
Personally from what has been found in both products, I would stay away from them both. I have tried both out with no great success. If you wish to try them out, be sure you take note of their key ingredients. Aveeno focuses on oats, so if you have a bad reaction to oats, avoid Aveeno.
Aveeno Eczema vs QV Intensive: Moisturizer & Body Lotion Comparison
Aveeno and QV both offer intensive versions of their products, for an audience that have much more sensitive skin like Eczema and Dermatitis. For the purpose of the study, the Eczema line from Aveeno and the intensive care line from QV will be compared.
Aveeno Eczema Product Analysis: Moisturizers & Body Wash
Aveeno Eczema contains the same core ingredients as the base product, but has fewer harsh ingredients. In both products, there is only one ingredient in each that should be noted.
Starting off with the moisturizing lotion which has Benzalkonium Chloride. It has multiple functions such as actively killing and inhibiting the growth of unwanted microorganisms which may be harmful. It can act as a surfactant, reducing the surface tension to allow mixtures to be formed evenly. Now it comes with a lot of restrictions across the world, with some worth noting.
- South Korea – Ministry of Food and Drug Safety: Prohibited/Restricted Chemicals (Ref: 471)
- Canada Ingredient Hotlist: Restricted for Use in Cosmetic Products (2019)
- EU Cosling Annex III: Substances with Restrictions in Cosmetic Products (2018, Ref: III/65)
- Japan – Ministry of Health: Restricted Ingredients
- FDA Unapproved
The Aveeno Eczema Body Wash only has the one ingredient that was highlighted, and that is Disodium Lauromphodiacetate. It acts as a foaming agent, a type of surfactant that aids the formation of foam. It is a generally safe ingredient with no reported side effects. The Aveeno Eczema Body Wash overall has no alarming or concerning ingredients.
Aveeno Eczema Product Analysis: Moisturizers & Body Wash
Interestingly, there are no ingredients in the QV Intensive Body Wash that are considered ‘unsafe’ but the QV Intensive Cream (lotion) has one ingredient worth noting. The lotion contains Paraffinum Liquidum (Mineral Oil) which is commonly found in baby lotions, cold creams, ointments and cosmetics. It is used to soften and soothe the skin, preventing moisture loss. Mineral oil does pose some concern as it has the potential to invoke inflammatory or autoimmune responses.
Aveeno Eczema vs QV Intensive: Moisturizer & Body Lotion Final Thoughts
There is no surprise that the Aveeno Eczema and QV Intensive product lines are much better than the base product, offering products with fewer harsh ingredients. Both body washes are exceptional products, but QV Intensive Cream has the edge over Aveeno Eczema Moisturizing Lotion because of the concerns that come with Benzalkonium Chloride.
It is recommended that you do try out both products if you have not already because of their intended target market. Despite both moisturizers having an alarming ingredient, the rest of the formula is generally safe and worth trying.
Aveeno Baby vs QV Baby: Moisturizer & Body Lotion Comparison
As with their normal base and sensitive product lines, Aveeno and QV also do a baby line. Normally baby product lines are designed for infants with sensitive skin, with the demand for a more natural approach. A baby’s skin is more sensitive, so are these products better in terms of ingredients?
Aveeno Baby Product Analysis: Moisturizers & Body Wash
The Aveeno Baby Body Wash has no alarming ingredients, whereas the Aveeno Baby Moisturizing Lotion contains fragrance and phenoxyethanol. As mentioned in the article previously, both of these ingredients are high concern for sensitive skin users as can cause allergic reactions to the skin. Despite this, overall these products use generally safe ingredients.
QV Baby Product Analysis: Moisturizers & Body Wash
Unfortunately QV Baby line has the same harsh ingredients as their base product has.
There are a number ingredients that are flagged as concerns in the QV Baby Moistuzing Cream Lotion, such as Dichlorobenzyl Alcohol, Methylparaben and Laureth-3. As mentioned before, these ingredients are high on the 1Source system, with Dichlorobenzyl Alcohol listed as a 9, which should only be used when directed.
| Ingredient | Safety Hazards | Potential Health Concerns |
| Dichlorobenzyl Alcohol | 3 | 0 |
| Methylparaben | 7 | 10 |
| Propylparaben | 4 | 1 |
The skin lotion, the QV Baby Gentle Wash has Methylparaben and Propylparaben. They can cause skin irritation (H315), serious eye damage and irritation (H318, H319) provided by the UN GHS. It has direct potential health concerns for those with Dermatitis and Eczema, with allergic contact.
| Ingredient | Safety Hazards | Potential Health Concerns |
| Methylparaben | 7 | 10 |
| Propylparaben | 4 | 1 |
Aveeno Baby vs QV Baby: Moisturizer & Body Lotion Final Thoughts
Aveeno is a clear obvious choice as they use less harsh ingredients whereas there are no real changes in the QV baby line. QV Baby Gentle Wash and Moisturizing Lotion contain the same harsh ingredients found in the base product that is a high concern for Eczema users let alone infants. It comes at a surprise considering the skin type of children which can be deemed as sensitive.
Aveeno vs QV: Which is the Better Brand?
If you are looking for a baby product, Aveeno is a better option as QV do not remove any ingredients that can be considered as harmful. I’d avoid both of the base product as they both contain concerning ingredients that do not suit sensitive skin types. Aveeno Eczema and QV Intensive product ranges are both great for trying out.
I have tried both these products and didn’t see any positive results, however I did not try the intensive selection from QV. Be sure to check up on what ingredients you may be compatible with to get a better understanding of which product may be the best for you.
Suggested Moisturizing Lotion Alternative
To a get better idea of CeraVe, you can read my article on Aveeno vs Cerave.
CeraVe Daily Moisturizing Lotion is a lightweight, oil-free moisturizer that helps hydrate the skin and restore its natural barrier.
Suggested Body Wash Alternative
The product that I am currently using now and have seen great improvements in my skin is Dove’s Sensitive Skin Body Wash. Remember to check the packaging to ensure you have the right kind, it has a light blue coloured enclosed cap (other types of body wash will have different colours).