Does CeraVe's PM Lotion Score Any Better Than the Day Version?

No. It scores exactly the same.

We read both in the Yuka app on 31 August 2026. The daytime Facial Moisturising Lotion returned 39 out of 100. The PM version — which Yuka lists, with its own spelling, as "PM Facial Moisturing Lotion" — returned 39 out of 100. Same grade, same six flagged ingredients, same risk level on each one.

If you came here to work out whether the night lotion is the safer buy, that question has an unusually clean answer.

The Reading in Full

Six flags, eighteen ingredients returned risk-free:

• Phenoxyethanol, moderate risk. The preservative. This is the flag that caps the score below 50, and the others only decide where beneath that line it lands.
• Ceteareth-20, low risk. Ethoxylated emulsifier.
• Dimethicone, low risk. Silicone, for slip and a light occlusive film.
• Behentrimonium methosulfate, low risk. Conditioning emulsifier.
• Carbomer, low risk. Thickener.
• Disodium EDTA, low risk. Chelator.

We looked all six up in CosIng, the European Commission's cosmetic ingredient database, on 1 September 2026. Only phenoxyethanol carries an entry in the restrictive annexes of Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009: Annex V, entry 29, capped at 1.0% in a finished product. The other five have inventory records and no restriction at all. That check is worked through in more detail on the day lotion's page, since the ingredient list is the same one.

The Bottle in Your Bathroom May Not Score 39

This is the part worth reading twice.

Open Beauty Facts holds a label scan of the PM lotion under barcode 3606000537453, and that ingredient list ends with methylparaben, propylparaben, carbomer, xanthan gum. The formulation published on CeraVe's own product page today contains neither paraben; it is preserved on phenoxyethanol with caprylyl glycol and ethylhexylglycerin.

The gap between those two lists is worth about fifteen points on Yuka's scale. Parabens sit in the high-risk band, which caps a product below 25, so an older bottle of this exact product would read somewhere in the low twenties rather than 39. That is the same story as CeraVe's Renewing SA Cream, which reads 0 because it still carries both.

Two practical consequences. If your scan disagrees with ours, check the INCI on your own packaging before assuming anyone is wrong. And if you are inclined to read a low score as evidence that a brand does not care, note that this particular product was reformulated away from its worst-scoring ingredients without any fanfare at all.

What "PM" Actually Buys You

Since the score does not distinguish the two lotions, it is worth being clear about what does.

The PM lotion is oil-free and lighter, built around niacinamide, three ceramides and hyaluronic acid, with the MVE delivery system CeraVe uses to release moisturising ingredients slowly overnight. It carries no UV filters, which is the correct design for a night product and the reason the ingredient list is shorter and calmer than the American AM version with SPF 30 — that one adds organic filters including homosalate and octocrylene, a class we looked at in detail in the Anthelios write-up.

So the honest summary of the AM/PM split in this range: a texture difference, a delivery claim, and in the US market a sunscreen. Not a safety difference.

Who This Is Still Fine For

• Normal to oily skin that wants overnight hydration without a heavy cream. The oil-free texture is the reason this product has the following it does.
• Anyone using a retinoid, where a bland, fragrance-free ceramide lotion is exactly what a dermatologist would pair with it.
• People who have used it nightly for years with no reaction. A hazard flag is a statement about a molecule; your own skin over twelve months is a statement about you.
• Budget-conscious routines. There is no 100-scoring night lotion at this price that also carries three ceramides and niacinamide.

The case against is narrow but legitimate: if your goal is a routine with nothing flagged in it, one preservative stands between this lotion and that goal, and it is not going anywhere.

Higher-Scoring Alternatives

Everything below is a product we have scanned and reviewed ourselves.

• Vanicream Daily Facial Moisturizer, 100/100. Five ceramides plus hyaluronic acid and squalane, preserved on glycols. It works as a night moisturiser even though the name says daily.
• La Roche-Posay Toleriane Double Repair, 100/100. Richer, ceramide-led, and the closest pharmacy-shelf equivalent if you want something with more cushion at night.
• Typology Moisturizing Face Cream, 100/100. A short ingredient list, for anyone whose objection is to the length of the label rather than to one item on it.

The full brand picture, including every CeraVe score we hold, sits on the CeraVe hub, and the reasoning behind the pattern is in why CeraVe scores so low on Yuka.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does Yuka rate CeraVe PM Facial Moisturising Lotion?

39/100, "Poor", read in the app on 31 August 2026 under the name "PM Facial Moisturing Lotion". Phenoxyethanol is flagged at moderate risk; ceteareth-20, dimethicone, behentrimonium methosulfate, carbomer and disodium EDTA are flagged at low risk.

Is the PM lotion safer than the AM one?

On Yuka's terms they are indistinguishable: identical score, identical flags. The AM lotion sold in the United States is a separate case because it contains SPF 30 and therefore organic UV filters, which change the ingredient list substantially.

Does CeraVe PM lotion still contain parabens?

The current published formula does not. Older label scans of the same barcode do list methylparaben and propylparaben, so a bottle bought some years ago may differ from one bought today. Check the INCI panel rather than the product name.

Can I use it under makeup or during the day?

Yes. Nothing in the formula is night-specific, and it carries no ingredient that reacts to sunlight. The name describes a texture and a marketing position, not a restriction.

Our Verdict

The night lotion earns the same 39 as the day lotion because it is the same base formula, capped by the same preservative, and no amount of scanning will separate the two.

Our position: this is a good, cheap, well-formulated night moisturiser that a hazard-scoring app dislikes for one authorised preservative and five unregulated structural ingredients. Stay with it if it suits your skin. If the score genuinely bothers you, Vanicream at 100/100 is the swap that costs you the least, and it is the one we would make.