Best Pick: La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Baume B5

Over the years, I have built up quite a collection of soothing, repairing creams for stressed-out skin. My generally normal skin tends to suffer from little red, dry patches when seasons change. I also like to use something heavy-duty and soothing if it’s really cold outside and I know that I’m going to be outdoors for a while. La Roche-Posay’s Cicaplast Baume B5 is one that I always come back to again and again.

Side note: “Cica” comes from the word “cicatrice”, which is the fresh scar that forms over a healing wound. Most French pharmacy products that are formulated to soothe, repair, and/or protect compromised, fragile skin have “cica” in the name. The term has nothing to do with Centella asiatica, aka ”Tiger grass”, the trending K-beauty herbal ingredient. In fact, most French “cica” products are completely free of herbal extracts and essential oils since these ingredients often exacerbate already sensitive, irritated skin. (Korean “cica” products that are cropping up are very heavy in potentially irritating botanicals.) 

Cicaplast is terrific as post-chemical peel care, or if you’ve got overzealous with exfoliating, or if your skin is just a bit red, flaky, and dry. Fragrance and alcohol-free, and contains 5% panthenol (vitamin B5) to soothe irritation, madecassoside to promote skin regeneration, and mineral complex (copper,  zinc, and manganese) to protect against free radicals and bacteria. It has a lovely creamy yet non-greasy texture that is very comforting and calming on parched, sensitised skin.

La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Baume B5 is an excellent skincare essential for stressed skin, chapping around the nose, sore patches on the hands, and other little skin annoyances that we all sometimes, especially when the weather turns colder. By repairing and strengthening the skin’s moisture barrier, it helps keep infection-prone bacteria at bay while also preventing scarring, so it’s even suitable for recently popped pimples and minor scratches. You can find it online at Amazon USA or Dermstore — it’s US$14.99 for 40ml.

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