CeraVe Celebrates 20 Years in Business with Birthday Tour

Flashback to 2005, before consumers “lived online,” life was arguably simpler. And, so was CeraVe.

The dermatologist-founded brand began a powerhouse of three products: the Hydrating Facial Cleanser, Moisturizing Cream and Daily Moisturizing Lotion. Housed in simple packaging, their visibility was tethered to drugstore shelves. Twenty years later, the brand – whose secret sauce is owed to the makers’ pharmaceutical backgrounds – have leveraged social media and its motto, “Cleanse Like a Derm,” to open the door for maximum exposure, and the following decade, acquisition from Happi International Top 30 Company L’Oréal.

“Even after joining L’Oréal, we’ve kept our brand DNA intact, keeping derms as our driving force,” said Tom Allison, L’Oréal senior vice president & US medical director, dermatological beauty division, told Happi. “We’ve changed to meet consumer experience and skincare needs with different formulations.

CeraVe gets its name from the prefix of ceramides and “Ve” from MVE Technology, a delivery system for ingredients.

“Ceramides are an important part of the brand because we found that skincare issues were ceramide deficiency-related, so our goal was to replenish skin in ways that weren’t available,” Allison explained. “MVE comes from our pharmaceutical company origins – a big question you face in that industry is, ‘how do you get ingredients to where they need to be?’ MVE is a vehicle that gradually releases ingredients over time and doesn’t overload the skin. Dermatologists pointed us in the direction of using ceramides to replenish the skin, but the MVE technology that was used in pharmaceutical products to allow us to get them to where they needed to be.”

A ‘Quiet Juggernaut’

Since its inception, the brand has grown to over 70 products. As the brand marks its 20th year in business, serendipitously, Time Magazine named L’Oréal a titan as part of the publication’s Most Influential Companies list 2025, a CeraVe a “quiet juggernaut” in the skincare space.

Prior to acquisition, CeraVe had three owners beginning with Coria Laboratories, which was then acquired by Valeant Pharmaceuticals. In 2017, CeraVe was acquired by L’Oréal.

“I always say the brand was owned by the right people at the right time,” said Allison. “In 2008, Valeant was known for buying the greatest hits of medicine and pharmaceuticals, which really opened the door for us to go to dermatologists with a full skincare routine – a cleanser and moisturizer (we had the Foaming Facial Cleanser at this time) – and they helped us build the business to level at which we were catching the eye of L’Oréal.”

He continued, “The ink dried on the L’Oréal deal in March 2017 with CeraVe in the US and Canada, and in March 2018 and we’re now up to 40-plus countries globally. L’Oréal has been a great partner, taking an asset and making it even stronger. They brought the talent for CeraVe, amazing marketers, amazing storytellers and a willingness to invest in the brand, so it’s been amazing to see such growth.”

Barrier repair was the selling point that set CeraVe apart from other skincare giants at the time, Allison said, adding that the brand was ahead of the curve as the “barrier vernacular” had not yet hit the trend wave it current rides in mainstream skincare.

With its “Cleanse Like a Derm,” slogan, CeraVe leveraged the dermatologist as the brand’s primary influencer, having macro influencers vouch for their products, such as Charli D’Amelio.

“There is no influencer better than the derms – we build our formulas with derms to make sure that physicians can deliver best results to patients because the stakes are high – people wait for a really long time to see a dermatologist in a lot of cases – so we need to get it right and make sure our formulas are cutting-edge and will provide clinical results. I’m willing to put our stuff up against anything at any price point,” he said.

‘Huge Portfolio Step’

In the past year, the brand expanded into scalp hair, releasing its first line of shampoo and conditioner catered around scalp support to combat common issues such as dandruff and inflammation.

“I’m like a kid in a candy store getting to talk to these incredible chemists at L’Oréal,” said Allison. “By being under the L’Oréal group now, we have access to so many great people working on R&D, from chemists to derms, helping us make sure we’re getting the best possible formulations. Look to haircare, for example. We launched our Hair products late last year, which was a huge portfolio step for the brand. To develop these formulas, we were able to tap highly experienced professionals and chemists working on some of the biggest brands in the hair industry, while leaning into our own dermatological expertise for the scalp, to create a really amazing portfolio of products. So, we’ve been fortunate enough to crowdsource and build something quickly that is effective thanks to the great portfolio that L’Oréal has as a company.”

In the past month, the brand introduced new products to its portfolio, even including those for baby: Balancing Air Foam Cleanser, Blemish Barrier Patches, Acne Clay-to-Foam Cleanser, Intensive Moisturizing Cream and Baby Eczema Relief Cream. As with every CeraVe product, each formula includes three essential, skin-identical ceramides 1, 3 & 6-II to help restore and maintain the skin’s natural barrier.

“[The new Balancing Air Foam Cleanser] is the culmination of developing with derms,” said Allison. “We wanted to develop a cleanser for people with sensitive skin, and a lot of people have T-zone oiliness, which is common of combination skin, so you want to remove oil without stripping the skin. We were able to leverage Glycolysine Cleansing Technology and put it in the foam vehicle to allow it to accomplish everything we wanted – remove bad oil, keep dry areas moist.”

Piggybacking off its dermatologist principle, this past summer, the brand again participated in World Health Day on July 8. The day is designated to address the inequalities in access to dermatological care and ensure that everyone has access to the care they need to take charge of their skin and overall health. The global initiative, organized by the International League of Dermatological Societies (ILDS) and the International Society of Dermatology (ISD) raised awareness about the importance of skin health and encouraged action towards improved dermatological care. This year’s theme was “No Health without Skin Health.”

Per a survey conducted among 1,000 adults within the US, CeraVe found that 80% experience at least one skin concern, with 1 in 4 experiencing more serious skin conditions, such as new skin lesion, mole, spot and infections, yet only 40% visit a dermatologist once a year for an annual skin check. CeraVe rallied its network of dermatologists to make a difference on World Skin Health Day, engaging over 800 dermatologists to get involved as “Derm Changemakers.” There were more than 400 downloads of resources and nearly 15 dermatologists nationwide volunteered at NAFC clinics to provide care. In New York alone, more than 25 patients received free care from a dermatologist that day, while over 600 passersby learned more about the initiative.

Michael Cera Super Bowl Ad and Birthday Tour

In 2024, CeraVe launched its first Super Bowl ad with actor Michael Cera. In the weeks leading up to the big game day, the Millennial actor – whose popularity first peaked around the brand’s founding in 2005 and who happens to share a name with the brand – teased the comical campaign when he was photographed signing bottles of CeraVe products in Brookyln, penning “Michael” above the word “Cera” in the bottle.

“That partnership speaks volumes to L’Oréal’s investment and the amazing talent on their team, being able to put brand out there,” said Allison. “It was one of those things where the ‘Cera’ was sort of staring us in face, and we were able to play off of the interesting dynamic he is so beloved, but has no socials. We knew we had to deliver it in a funny way since it was up against best of best during the Super Bowl, but the proof of how well it all came together is in the awards it won afterwards.”

CeraVe and its advertorial partner, Ogilvy PR, was awarded the Super Clio for Best Super Bowl Ad.

To keep the celebration going, CeraVe is marking its 20th year in business with a birthday tour around the country that started in July. The brand will drop a larger-than-life gift box in six cities throughout the rest of the summer, giving brand loyalists a chance to step inside the last 20 years of skincare science.

Through September, the 20 Years of CeraVe Tour unwraps the brand’s trailblazing past while looking at its innovative “present” and future – a equipped with disco balls, streamers, a giant birthday cake and, of course, their star ingredient: ceramides.

“When you look at when most of the top brands we know today were founded, a lot of them are around 70 years old, so we’re really excited to be celebrating 20 years,” said Allison. “But in the grand scheme of things, we are just getting started.”

Tour Dates

Skincare enthusiasts and brand fans are invited to join the party for branded merchandise, product giveaways and fun photo moments, as well as special guests like local dermatologists, who will offer on-site consultations and skincare advice.

Attendees will also have the chance to meet and take pictures with CeraVe’s new Goated mascot, Sarah V. Fans, at the following remaining locations and dates:

Mountain View Village in Riverton, UT on Sunday, August 17 from 11 am to 5 pm;

Ann Arbor, MI on Saturday, August 23 from 12 to 10 pm, and on Sunday,
August 24 from 12-8 pm;

Tallahassee, FL on Saturday, August 30 from 10 am to 3:30 pm; and

Sea.Hear.Now Festival in Asbury Park, NJ on Saturday, Sept. 13 and Sunday, Sept. 14 from 12 to 8 pm.