Last Updated on December 20, 2025 by Giorgia Guazzarotti
“I’ve tried EVERYTHING to get rid of blackheads and acne but nothing works. Help!” I get this a lot. Sephora is loaded with products that promise to get rid of blackheads, kick acne in the butt, and keep your oily skin under control. But 99% of them DON’T have what it takes to do the job. So what does get the job done? Salicylic acid? In this post, I’ll share with you why salicylic acid is the #1 acne fighter you need in your skincare routine and the best salicylic acid exfoliants for every skin type and need. Let’s get started:
- What Is Salicylic Acid?
- Best For Oily Skin & Clogged Pores: Paula’s Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid ($37.00)
- Best For Sun Damage: Drunk Elephant T.L.C. Framboos Glycolic Night Serum ($90.00)
- Best For Sensitive Skin: Paula’s Choice Calm 1% BHA Sensitive Skin Exfoliant ($37.00)
- Best On A Budget: The Inkey List BHA (£10)
- Best For Fungal Acne: Cosrx BHA Blackhead Power Liquid ($25.00)
- The Bottom Line
What Is Salicylic Acid?
Salicylic acid, a member of the Beta Hydroxy Acids (BHA) family, is an oil-soluble exfoliant. In other words, most exfoliants can only remove dead cells from the surface of your skin and make it softer, smoother and brighter. But because it can get past the lipid (oily) barrier on your skin, salicylic acid goes deeper into the pores, unclogging everything that’s accumulating in there. No clogs = no whiteheads/blackheads/pimples. Cool, huh? Wait, there’s more. Salicylic acid has anti-inflammatory properties that calm down the irritation and redness that always coms along with pimples and acne.
Related: Why Salicylic Acid Is Key To Spot-Free Skin
Struggling to put together a skincare routine that banishes acne, gets rid of excess oil and treats blackheads? Download your FREE “Best Skincare Routine For Oily Skin” to get started (it features product recommendations + right application order):
I’m not exaggerating when I say that salicylic acid is the most important product in any skincare routine for oily or acne-prone skin. But where to find it? Here are the best salicylic acid exfoliants:
Best For Oily Skin & Clogged Pores: Paula’s Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid ($37.00)
There’s a reason why Paula’s Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid is so popular: it works. The lightweight, liquidy formula is enriched with 2% salicylic acid to exfoliate skin and unclog pores. It gets rid of blackheads, whiteheads, pimples… Even milia. Plus, it hydrates skin to boot. Ok, it leaves it a little shiny for a while too, but isn’t that a small price to pay for no acne? Thought so.
Available at: Cult Beauty, Dermstore, Paula’s Choice, Sephora, and SpaceNK
Active Ingredients: Salicylic acid and green tea.
Benefits: Treats and prevents acne.
Cons: Leaves a shiny residue on skin.
Skin types: Best for oily and combination skin types.
Fragrance-free: Yes.
Related: How To Get Rid Of Blackheads
Best For Sun Damage: Drunk Elephant T.L.C. Framboos Glycolic Night Serum ($90.00)
Let’s get one thing straight: glycolic acid may be an anti-aging superstar, but it’s by no means the only thing that keeps wrinkles at bay. If you use your retinol, vitamin C and sunscreen, you can just stick to salicylic acid and call it a night. But for those of you who have visible signs of sun damage, like sun spots or wrinkles, or are simply convinced your entire face will fall apart overnight if you don’t immediately add this miraculous ingredient to your skincare routine (marketers have done a great job convincing EVERYONE they need glycolic acid even when they really, really, really don’t), Drunk Elephant T.L.C. Framboos Glycolic Night Serum is the way to go. It has both glycolic and salicylic acids, plus a few antioxidants thrown in for good measure. It treats sun damage and acne at the same time. All bases covered.
Available at: Cult Beauty, Sephora and SpaceNK
Active Ingredients: Salicylic acid, glycolic acid, lactic acid, and antioxidants.
Benefits: Treats and prevents acne and fades away dark spots.
Cons: Expensive.
Skin types: All skin types bar sensitive.
Fragrance-free: Yes.
Related: Glycolic Acid VS Salicylic Acid: Which One Is Right For You?
Best For Sensitive Skin: Paula’s Choice Calm 1% BHA Sensitive Skin Exfoliant ($37.00)
Is your skin so sensitive, you’re afraid to exfoliate? Paula’s Choice Calm 1% BHA Sensitive Skin Exfoliant is just what the doctor ordered for you. For starters, it contains only 1% salicylic acid – a low dose that even your skin can tolerate. Plus, it has a sprinkle of soothing ingredients, like allantoin, that can calm down redness and irritations. Unfortunately, the new formulation uses fewer soothing ingredients than it did when Paula Begoun was at the helm of the company and made decision based on science, not profit margins. Just saying. Still, it’s one of the gentlest BHA exfoliants and suitable for sensitive skin.
Available at: Cult Beauty, Dermstore, Paula’s Choice, Sephora, SpaceNK,
Active Ingredients: Salicylic acid and allantoin.
Benefits: Treats and prevents acne and soothes irritations.
Cons: New formulas has fewer soothing agents than the previous one. 🙁
Skin types: All skin types can use it, but it’s best for sensitive skin.
Fragrance-free: Yes.
Related: How To Deal With Rosacea
Best On A Budget: The Inkey List BHA (£10)
If you want a no-frills, salicylic acid exfoliant that gets the job done (and fast), look no further than The Inkey List BHA. The lightweight texture absorbs quickly and unclogs those stubborn pores in a matter of days. The catch? Salicylic acid is all you get here. The Inkey List gives you the active ingredients you need – but no extras. For the price, can you really complain?
Available at: Boots, Cult Beauty, Look Fantastic and SpaceNK
Active Ingredients: Salicylic acid.
Benefits: Exfoliates skin, treats and prevents acne.
Cons: Very basic formula.
Skin types: Best for oily and combination skin types.
Fragrance-free: Yes.
Related: What Are The Best Skincare Products Under $10?
Best For Fungal Acne: Cosrx BHA Blackhead Power Liquid ($25.00)
I’m cheating here. Cosrx BHA Blackhead Power Liquid doesn’t have a drop of salicylic acid. Instead, it uses a different form of BHA, benzyl salicylate. It does the same thing: exfoliates skin, unclogs pores and kicks acne in the butt. But it’s better for fungal acne. Here’s why: many salicylic acid exfoliants use polysorbates as stabilisers. Malassezia, the fungus that’s making your life hell, feeds on polysorbates. That makes your acne worse, not better. You need something without polysorbates (or anything else that damn thing can eat) and this fits the bill.
Available at: Cult Beauty, Look Fantastic, Sephora, Ulta and Yes Style
Active Ingredients: Benzyl Salicylate.
Benefits: Helps treat fungal acne.
Cons: Less effective than salicylic acid.
Skin types: Best for sensitive skin and anyone with fungal acne.
Fragrance-free: Yes.
FAQs
What concentration of salicylic acid actually works?
Look, you need at least 0.5% to see anything happen but 2% is really where it’s at because that’s the concentration that actually gets into your pores and clears out all the gunk without turning your face into a red flaky mess.
Can I use salicylic acid every day?
Depends on your skin and what else you’ve got going on in your routine, but most people can work up to daily use if they’re smart about it and don’t just dive in headfirst because that’s how you end up with a destroyed skin barrier and a face that hurts to touch. Start with a couple times a week if you’re new to it or your skin freaks out easily, see how things go, then slowly increase from there because there’s no prize for getting to daily use faster than everyone else.
Is salicylic acid better than glycolic acid?
They do completely different things so asking which one is better is like asking whether a hammer is better than a screwdriver, it depends what you’re trying to fix. Salicylic acid is oil-soluble which means it can actually get inside your pores and dissolve all that sebum and dead skin that’s clogging everything up and causing blackheads and breakouts. So if you’ve got oily skin or acne or your pores look like they could use some serious cleaning out, salicylic acid is what you want. Glycolic acid stays on the surface and works on texture and dullness and hyperpigmentation and fine lines, so it’s better if your main issues are sun damage or aging or your skin just looks kind of blah and you want to brighten things up. Use what your skin actually needs instead of what some beauty guru says is the best thing ever this week.
Can I use salicylic acid with retinol?
Yeah you can but don’t be stupid about it because throwing both at your face at the same time when you’re not used to either one is a disaster waiting to happen. The easiest way to do it is use one in the morning and one at night or alternate nights between them so your skin gets a break. Your skin needs time to get used to both of these because they’re strong actives and they don’t play nice together if you rush it, and I don’t care if your favorite Instagram person uses them together every single night because they probably have a completely different skin type than you and also they’re getting paid to tell you things work when they might not. Once your skin is totally fine with both of them separately and you really want to use them together, go for it but make sure you’re using really good hydrating and barrier-supporting products because if you wreck your skin barrier chasing results you’re just going to end up with worse skin and a whole new set of problems to fix.
Will salicylic acid make my skin purge?
It can definitely make you purge because it speeds everything up and all that crap that was hanging out under your skin waiting to become a pimple next month is suddenly coming up right now, and purging usually happens where you normally break out anyway and it should get better within a month or so. If you’re breaking out in completely new places or it’s still going strong after six weeks, that’s not purging, that’s your skin telling you it hates this product and you need to stop using it. Purging is temporary and then your skin clears up and looks better than before, a bad reaction just keeps getting worse and worse, and people confuse these all the time and end up damaging their skin because they keep using something that’s actively hurting them while convincing themselves it’s just purging and they need to push through it.
Can I use salicylic acid if I have dry skin?
Yeah you can, you just need to be more careful and not go crazy with it because dry skin can still get congested and clogged and benefit from having those pores cleared out, especially those little bumps that just sit there forever and never come to a head. Start slow, like once or twice a week, and use a really good moisturizer with ceramides and barrier repair stuff after because your dry skin needs that extra help, and the problem is people with dry skin either avoid salicylic acid completely when it could actually help them or they use it way too much and strip their skin even more and then wonder why everything feels terrible. Finding the right balance takes some trial and error but it’s worth it instead of just writing off salicylic acid completely because you think it’s only for oily skin.
Should I use a leave-on treatment or a wash-off product?
Leave-on treatments actually work, cleansers mostly don’t because they’re on your face for like thirty seconds before you rinse them down the drain and that’s not enough time for salicylic acid to do anything meaningful. If you want actual results you need something that stays on your skin and keeps working, like a toner or serum or lotion that you put on after cleansing and leave there, not something you wash off immediately after putting it on. Salicylic acid cleansers aren’t totally useless especially if your skin is super oily or you’re already using a bunch of other actives and just want a little boost, but don’t expect them to clear your acne or unclog your pores the way a real treatment product will because that’s not how chemistry works no matter what the marketing says.
The Bottom Line
The products in this list all work because they’ve got 2% salicylic acid formulated at the right pH and textures that don’t suck, so you’re not going to go wrong with any of them as long as you pick the one that makes sense for your skin type and what you’re trying to fix.
Is it even worth using the Drunk Elephant one once a week ? ( i wonder 😉 ) . How often does people use it ? DE says once a day. 🙂
Cristina, imo, daily exfoliation is way too much for most people. Skin can exfoliate on its own, so unless it’s stopped doing the job properly (as it happens with age), it only needs a little helping hand.
If you have dry skin and are using it for glycolic acid, a couple of times a week is enough. If you have oily skin and want it to unclog pores to, you can use it three or four times a week.
Sadly, The Ordinary’s products did nothing for me. My skin isn’t even all that problematic, still I saw no results. I tried it in every shape and form, used it in many ways, and still didn’t do a thing. Too bad for me I guess…
Mariana, sorry they didn’t work for you. But as your skin isn’t very problematic, could it be they were just maintaining the status quo?
Unfortunately, I had the opposite experience as some others – The Ordinary’s salicylic did too much for me – it left my skin red and irritated! So I’ve ordered the Cosrx BHA, in hopes that my skin may be able to better tolerate betaine salicylate. Fingers crossed the Cosrx BHA is a better fit for my skin!
Kristina, oh no, I’m sorry to hear that! Betaine salicylate is gentler so you should be fine.
An update on my previous post – I just finished my bottle of Cosrx BHA, and I loved it!
I initially used it once a day, and have since increased my used to twice a day without experiencing irritation. I have large pores and tend to be oily, formerly with blackheads in my t-zone area. The blackheads have largely disappeared since incorporating Cosrx BHA into my routine, and the remaining stubborn blackheads are slowly disappearing since I’m increased to twice daily BHA exfoliation. The BHA, coupled with twice-daily niacinamide and azelaic acid, has significantly lessened the oiliness. I’ve now tried 3 of the 5 products on this list (TO and Paula’s Choice), and hands down, the Cosrx BHA is my favorite. Wish I had found it years ago!
However, a caveat – like any skin care product, what may work well for many doesn’t work for all. I had my partner try it, and she experienced significant irritation. Akin to a sunburn, and it took a full 2 days for the irritation to dissipate. So far, the only acid that she can tolerate is the First Aid Beauty radiance pads…
K, thank you for the update. Glad to hear it’s working well for you. And I couldn’t agree more. People ask me all the time what the best acid is and I always tell them: they one that works best for you! Just because an ingredient is popular or works for your best friend, it doesn’t mean it’ll work for you. Get to know your skin and what it likes.
A very affordable fungal acne safe salicylic acid is Stridex, the pads in the red box.
I’ve been using the cosrx for a year, I don’t really notice a difference on my skin. It’s not irritating for my skin at all, acually more soothing, which also makes me doubt if it’s actually effective at exfoliating. The Ph of cosrx bha is tested by consumers (i.e. on reddit) between 4 and 5. The ideal range for a betaine salicylate’s effectiveness is pH-dependent, with a pH range of 3.8-4.2 being needed. Is it possible that the cosrx bha is mostly neutralized? there is a lot more research done into salicyc acid and it seems the only reason cosrx used betaine salicyc acid is because korea doesn’t allow salicyc acid to be used in skincare. I also read all the raving reviews about cosrx and it has great ingredients, but it seems that people write positive reviews about stuff that doesn’t work all the time, so I’m not sure how reliable reviews are. What do you think about this gio?
Marissa, Betaine Salicylicate is less effective than salicylic acid at the right pH. I personally recommend Korean BHA exfoliants only to people who can’t tolerate salicylic acid as it takes a lot longer to see results.