That Moisturizer Don’t Love Us Back — Reckonin’ with CeraVe.

Photo by Troy wade on Unsplash

Books to Read after this…

Before the Streetlights Come On by Heather McTeer Toney: A Southern sister calls out petrochemical harm and climate violence, naming how beauty rituals became battlegrounds for Black health and sovereignty.

There’s Something in the Water by Ingrid R.G. Waldron: Waldron maps environmental racism with ancestral precision, showing how poisoned land and water mirror systemic betrayal.

Toxic Communities by Dorceta E. Taylor: Taylor breaks down how race and class shape environmental harm, naming the policies that poison our bodies and erase our worth.

A Terrible Thing to Waste by Harriet A. Washington: Washington exposes how toxins like benzene and lead rob Black communities of health and brilliance, dismantling the lie of inherited intelligence.

I was standin’ in that North Seattle bathroom, fixin’ to moisturize like I always do.

Same bottle, same rhythm. But that room?

It had that worn-out feel, like it’d survived a few hurricanes even though it had never tasted one.

Tile looked tired—faded like old church shoes, pink once, now just holdin’ on. Faucet let out a whimper, like it ain’t trust the water.

Mirror was foggy and stubborn, holdin’ steam like it had secrets.

And that light?

Soft and yellow, hummin’ like a bug bulb on a Florida porch, buzzin’ through the heat.

I reached for that bottle, but somethin’ shifted. Ancestors tapped me on the shoulder, clear as day:

“That bottle doesn’t love you back.”

So I paused.

Looked closer.

And what I saw?

Ain’t just a bad batch—it’s a whole system of harm dressed up like care.

What’s Really in That Bottle?

Let me break it down with scholarly clarity: CeraVe’s acne creams—like many benzoyl peroxide (BPO) products—have been found to contain benzene, a known human carcinogen. Peer-reviewed research published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology tested 111 BPO products from major U.S. retailers.

34% of ‘em had benzene levels above the FDA’s conditional limit of 2 parts per million (ppm)—some reachin’ up to 35.30 ppm.

Now benzene? It’s a sweet-smellin’ clear liquid, but don’t let that fool you.

It’s born from crude oil, gasoline, and cigarette smoke.

It’s used in plastics, paints, and industrial solvents.

But on skin? It’s poison.

Linked to leukemia, lymphoma, and blood disorders.

And it doesn’t just sit there—it forms inside the bottle when benzoyl peroxide breaks down from heat or light.

So if that bottle’s been bakin’ in your steamy bathroom all summer?

You ain’t treatin’ acne, baby—you rubbin’ cancer juice on your cheeks.

FDA’s Position? Even they say benzene “should not be employed” in drug products unless absolutely necessary—and acne cream ain’t that.

What Hoodoo Says?

Let me layer in the ancestral rhythm: Hoodoo teaches us that every care act must be reciprocal.

If the medicine doesn’t love you back, it ain’t medicine—it’s a trickster in disguise.

Benzene in your cream?

That’s a spiritual betrayal.

Hoodoo rootwork says protect your vessel, honor your skin, and never let poison masquerade as healing.

That bottle? It’s dressed in white but carryin’ sickness.

That’s why the ancestors whispered.

That’s why I paused.

This ain’t just about skincare—it’s about sovereignty.

About naming the harm and ritualizing the remedy.

So I tossed that bottle.

Lit a white candle.

Washed my face with Florida water and whispered:

“I reclaim my clarity.”

Six Lawsuits and Still No Recall

CeraVe and L’Oréal got six lawsuits knockin’ on their door.

Folks say they were lied to, misled, and handed bottles full of harm.

Valisure, that watchdog lab outta Connecticut—real sharp folks, not just testing for what’s supposed to be in your meds, but sniffin’ out what ain’t.

They caught wind of some cancer-linked chemicals in everyday stuff—sunscreen, dry shampoo, even heartburn meds—and didn’t just whisper about it.

Naw, they hollered straight at the FDA like a mama catching her kid with dirty hands in the biscuit dough…

“Y’all better pull these off the shelves, now.”

But the FDA?

Bless it.

Sometimes it moves like molasses in January.

Might nod, might study, might say “we’re lookin’ into it,” but that doesn’t mean the shelves get cleared quick.

Valisure’s out here ringing the dinner bell, and the FDA’s still settin’ the table.

Quiet as a gator in the reeds.

Neutrogena and Aveeno already pulled their benzene-laced goods.

CeraVe?

Still sittin’ pretty at Walgreens like nothing’s wrong.

What Benzene Does to Your Body

This ain’t just about cancer.

Benzene messes with your whole system:

That stuff doesn’t just mess with your body—it goes deep.

Eats at your bone marrow like termites in old wood, so your blood can’t do its job right.

Leaves your immune system limping, like a gator with a busted leg.

And it doesn’t stop there—it can mess with your baby-making parts, scramble your brain signals, and leave you dragging for days, months, even years.

Ain’t just a headache—it’s a full-body betrayal.

The World Health Organization says there’s no safe level of benzene exposure.

And yet, they still out here sellin’ it like it’s self-care.

See, what Yurugu would say is this: when the marrow’s gone soft, when the blood doesn’t build right, when the body forgets how to protect itself, that ain’t just sickness.

That’s a sign of a deeper kind of harm.

Marimba Ani laid it out clearly—this world we’re living in, the one built on control and separation, doesn’t just poison the land and the water.

It poisons the way folks think about life itself.

Turns living things into parts.

Turns healing into profit.

Turns people into tools.

So when you see folks walking around tired in their bones, foggy in their minds, struggling to carry babies or remember names, you better believe that’s not just personal.

That’s cultural.

That’s what happens when a system built on domination gets into the soil, the medicine, the food, the policy.

It’s the same mindset that tore through our ancestors’ lands, renamed our rituals, and told us our ways were backwards.

Now it’s showing up in the body—same violence, different form.

And down here, we don’t just name that harm.

We ritualize it.

We say it out loud on porches, in kitchens, in church halls, and at union meetings.

We say:

This ain’t just about what’s in the bloodstream.

It’s about what’s in the blueprint.

And we ain’t just surviving—we’re remembering, we’re resisting, and we’re rebuilding with truth at the center.

Misbranding and Federal Violations

Those lawsuits say CeraVe has been selling face wash that’s tampered with, mislabeled, and flat-out illegal by federal standards. L’Oréal?

They knew better—or sure as hell should’ve.

Science has been saying for years that benzoyl peroxide breaks down into benzene, and benzene ain’t just harmful, it’s cancer-causing. But instead of testin’ or warnin’ folks, they slapped a clean label on it, threw a “dermatologist recommended” sticker on the front, and kept pushin’ it like it was holy water.

Yurugu in a Bottle

Marimba Ani taught us about Yurugu—that broken way of thinkin’ that splits spirit from science, care from commerce.

Yurugu is the lie of separation. CeraVe is a product that comes in lotion form. It tells you it’s helpin’ while it’s hurtin’. It sells you healing while it’s stealin’ your health.

“CeraVe is Yurugu in a jar,” the ancestors said.

It’s the lie of separation.

From land.

From lineage.

From the skin’s knowing.”

Florida Ritual for Real Moisture

So I put that jar down. And I reached for what reminds me.:

Rainwater in a Mason jar, caught fresh off the tin roof.

Let it sit under the moon. Shea butter warmed in your hands, mixed with rosemary oil for clear thinking and calendula for calm skin. Florida water dabbed on your temples to wake up your spirit sight. A prayer cloth over the mirror, stitched with the names of women who healed without a license. Speak this aloud… “I return to the moisture that remembers me. I reject the jar that forgets. My skin is not a site of profit—it is a site of prophecy.”

Porch Truth

This ain’t just about lotion.

It’s about legacy.

About listenin’ when the ancestors say, “Don’t let no jar lie to you.”

So next time you reach for somethin’ off the shelf, ask: Does it know your story? Does it honor your skin? Or is it just sellin’ you harm with a smile?

© 2025 Kourtney Nicole Writes™. All rights reserved.