Cicaplast Baume B5 vs. Cicaplast Gel B5: Which One is Better?

If you follow me on Twitter or have been on my website before, you probably know I’m a huge fan of La Roche-Posay’s Cicaplast Baume B5.

It’s my top skincare pick, and it’s also loved by many who’ve tried it on my recommendation due to being beneficial for skin irritations, sensitivity, and inflammatory conditions such as psoriasis and eczema.

Additionally, if you want to read more about how this product worked for my oily and acne-prone skin, make sure to read my Cicaplast Baume B5 review.

With that said, La Roche-Posay also introduced a gel version of this beloved product.

And, of course, I have some thoughts, which is why, in this review, I will compare the Cicaplast Baume B5 vs. Cicaplast Gel B5 and give my opinion on which one of these products is better.

La Roche-Posay – Cicaplast Baume B5

La Roche Posay’s Cicaplast Baume B5 is a multi-purpose soothing cream that can be used on cracked, chapped, dry, and irritated skin to help hydrate and soothe.

It’s suitable for adults and children and can be used on all areas of the face and body.

Ingredients

The Cicaplast Baume B5 balm contains many soothing, repairing, and moisturizing ingredients.

Some of the main ones include softening shea butter, hydrating glycerin, nourishing magnesium, and Madecassoside, which is one of the four main compounds in the plant extract Centella Asiatica, an incredibly soothing and repairing agent that helps strengthen the skin barrier.

Additionally, Cicaplast Baume B5 also contains a couple of acne-fighting ingredients, including zinc and panthenol (vitamin B5), which is a soothing and barrier-repairing component that strengthens the skin barrier, helping it fight off pathogens and overgrowth of the acne-causing bacteria.

The Cicaplast Baume B5 is also non-comedogenic, and although it’s quite thick and heavy, there aren’t known acne triggers in its formula that will clog your pores and cause your skin to break out. 

Scent

The Cicaplast Baume B5 doesn’t have added fragrance or other fragrant components such as essential oils, and it doesn’t have any scent.

Consistency

The Cicaplast Baume B5 has the consistency of a thick, creamy balm.

How to Use It?

The Cicaplast Baume B5 isn’t a regular moisturizer, therefore, if you try to rub it into the skin the way you would do a typical moisturizer, chances are that you are not going to like this product.

Instead, the right way to use the Cicaplast Baume B5 is by warming a pea-sized amount of product between your fingertips and pressing it into the skin rather than rubbing it around.

This will help the balm settle and absorb into the skin instead of sitting on the surface and leaving white streaks behind. 

Performance

I started using the Cicaplast Baume B5 when my skin was experiencing extreme dehydration, dryness, peeling, and irritation due to starting tretinoin.

I have since stopped using tretinoin because I didn’t have much luck with it, but the Cicaplast Baume B5 was the product that helped eliminate my tretinoin-induced side effects in the beginning.

I used to apply the Cicaplast Baume B5 before bed, 20-30 minutes after applying tretinoin, and I would feel immediate relief from dryness and irritation.

Cicaplast Baume B5 also helped strengthen my skin barrier and even helped smooth out rough skin texture caused by excessive dehydration.

It also helped soothe inflammation, and my purge-induced pimples always looked slightly better in the morning after using the Cicaplast Baume B5 the previous evening.

I also never stopped using it even after stopping tretinoin, and I even use it as a weekly mask by applying much more than I usually would and sleeping in it.

Kind of like slugging, but instead of Vaseline or Aquaphor, I use the Cicaplast Baume B5, and my skin looks glowy and feels silky smooth when I wake up in the morning after masking with this product.

All that said, there’s one claim I disagree with, and that is Cicaplast Baume B5 not being greasy, according to La Roche Posay’s website.

Yes, this isn’t a greasy oil or a petroleum-based product, but it does leave the skin very moisturized and glowy, which is why as someone with oily skin, I only use it in the evenings to avoid shine during the day.

This claim isn’t necessarily incorrect; however, I know that folks with oily skin expect a velvety or a slightly matte finish when we read a product is “non-greasy,” and this one definitely leaves a glowy layer on the skin.

La Roche-Posay – Cicaplast Gel B5

The Cicaplast Gel B5 is supposed to be similar to the Cicaplast Baume B5 in terms of performance and ingredients.

However, there are a few key differences between the two, including the ingredients in both products, their consistency, and their performance.

Ingredients

The Cicaplast Gel B5 has a much simpler and straight-to-the-point ingredient list when compared to the Cicaplast Baume B5.

It contains the main soothing and softening ingredients such as copper gluconate, panthenol, madecassoside, as well as hydrating hyaluronic acid to help the skin attract and retain moisture.

Additionally, the Cicaplast Gel B5 also contains anti-inflammatory and anti-acne zinc, making it a good option for those dealing with acne.

However, one of the key ingredients missing in the Cicaplast Gel B5 is shea butter, which is present in the Cicaplast Baume B5.

This was a bit of a disappointment for me because I felt that the Cicaplast Gel B5 didn’t provide the same level of intense hydration that the Cicaplast Baume B5 did (more on this under the “performance” paragraph below.)

Scent

The Cicaplast Gel B5 doesn’t contain fragrance or other fragrant components and has no scent.

Consistency

The Cicaplast Gel B5 has a silicone gel formula that allows it to spread on the skin easily and create an occlusive barrier to prevent trans-epidermal moisture loss and encourage skin healing.

How to Use It?

It’s important to note that the Cicaplast Gel B5 isn’t a moisturizer; therefore, the product should be used after already moisturizing your skin so that its occlusive, silicone-based consistency forms a protective layer that locks the moisture from previous products into the skin.

Performance

Since I’ve been using the Cicaplast Baume B5 for over three years at this point, naturally, I was curious about the gel version of my favorite product, and I immediately wanted to try it.

However, the Cicaplast Gel B5 wasn’t what I expected it to be, and I didn’t enjoy using this product for several reasons.

The first thing I didn’t like about it right off the bat was its consistency. It reminded me of the Supergoop Unseen Sunscreen, which I have a full review of, but the gist was that it left a very oily finish on my skin that was hard to ignore.

Well, the Cicaplast Gel B5 has the same silicone-y consistency that, yes, spreads on the skin with ease but also leaves a silicone layer on the surface that makes my skin extremely oily after as little as half an hour after applying it.

It almost reminds me of a lighter, more sophisticated version of Vaseline or Aquaphor or a silicone-based primer, which if you have oily skin, you probably know how badly it exacerbates skin texture besides making your makeup slide off your face.

Due to its consistency, I found the Cicaplast Gel B5 to slide off my skin, and I don’t think that I’m getting any benefits from it. In fact, my skin feels suffocated under it, even though its consistency is much lighter compared to the Cicaplast Baume B5.

Cicaplast Baume B5 softens my skin and makes it look glowy and smooth, while the Cicaplast Gel B5 only exacerbates my texture and makes my pores look enormous.

I only used this product a couple of times and combined it with a few different products in my skincare routine to see whether I could make it work by using something else, but I stopped giving it a chance because it just wasn’t doing anything good for my skin.

With that said, I don’t think the Cicaplast Gel B5 is a bad product because it has excellent ingredients, and it will probably work for some people (just like Vaseline, Aquaphor, and Supergoop’s Unseen Sunscreen, judging by the 15000+ positive reviews on Amazon.)

However, if you are someone with excessively oily and acne-prone skin, I don’t think you will like this product because it will just slide off your skin and exacerbate issues such as texture and enlarged pores.

Cicaplast Baume B5 vs. Cicaplast Gel B5: Which One is Better?

So, in conclusion, the Cicaplast Baume B5 is a better product than the Cicaplast Gel B5 because it doesn’t slide off my face, it doesn’t leave an excessively oily residue, and it actually does something to help my skin feel softer and look smoother.

On the other hand, the Cicaplast Gel B5 is a light silicone gel that does spread easily and leaves a barrier on the skin to prevent moisture loss, but it also makes my face look and feel extremely oily, and it does nothing to improve the overall appearance of my skin.

If you are trying to decide between the two, I would definitely go with the Cicaplast Baume B5 because it’s a much more effective product, in my opinion.

The Cicaplast Baume B5 is also cheaper than the Cicaplast Gel B5, so starting there is a good idea if you’re on a budget.

Where to Buy The Cicaplast Baume B5 & Cicaplast Gel B5?

Another pro of the Cicaplast Baume B5 is that it’s much easier to find, and while the Cicaplast Gel B5 is available across European pharmacies and online stores, it was a bit difficult for me to find US places where you can buy it from.

I only found it on the Walmart website, unlike the Cicaplast Baume that can be purchased on Amazon, Ulta, and pretty much anywhere else.