Expert-Backed Salicylic Acid Cleansers to Suppress Acne and Exfoliate Skin (2025)

“I don’t recommend breaking the bank when it comes to a cleanser,” says Dr. Finney, which is why he recommends this budget-friendly and widely available salicylic acid cleanser. Don’t let the price tag fool you though, this stuff really works. Not only does it contain the requisite salicylic acid to help exfoliate and control breakouts, but it also contains hyaluronic acid for hydration, ceramides to help bolster your skin barrier and niacinamide to help soothe and calm irritation. It’s a power-packed formula that’s still gentle enough to use every day.

As much as we love fancy products, this salicylic acid cleanser is one of our trusty standbys because it really does work extremely well. Not only does it give a good deep clean, it never makes our skin feel dry or irritated. Without knowing how much salicylic acid is actually in the formula, we can’t speak to the strength directly, but we can say that with daily use our skin looks clearer and the frequency of our breakouts diminished. Plus, thanks to the additional ingredients, our skin feels healthy and hydrated even before we put on additional products like moisturizer. As such, this cleanser has earned a permanent spot in our shower.

This ultra-gentle formula might sound simple, but it has a lot going for it. Not only does it have a low yet effective percentage of salicylic acid, but it also contains minerals like zinc and copper to help soothe and strengthen skin. Dr. Garshick also likes it because “it’s free of soaps, parabens and sulfates” which gives it a super gentle clean that removes dirt, oil and buildup from your skin without irritating it or drying it out.

While it’s suitable for all skin types, we found that this cleanser is especially effective at controlling oil and shine, so if you have oily or combination skin, it’s a superb option. Thanks to the low concentration of salicylic acid and the combination of minerals, it’s ultra-soothing and gentle on your skin and suitable to use every day. The gel formula lathers up nicely and has a slight cooling effect on your skin, which we found especially nice after a workout or a long day outside. Keep in mind that if you have severe breakouts or congested skin, you may want a cleanser with a higher percentage of salicylic acid, but for most people, this is a very effective option.

Cetaphil Gentle Exfoliating SA Cleanser

Yes, salicylic acid is a highly effective and usually gentle acne fighter, but it can still be harsh on sensitive skin in high concentrations (and yes, it’s possible to have sensitive skin and acne). That’s why this cleanser stands out. “It was designed to address the needs of people with sensitive skin,” says Dr. Zeichner. “It combines salicylic acid with mandelic acid and gluconolactone. This triple combination provides effective exfoliation without causing skin irritation.” To go even further, also included in the formula is niacinamide and panthenol, both of which help to soothe and calm skin and, in this case, help to curb any potential irritation that may be caused by the acids.

Without knowing the actual percentage of salicylic acid in the formula, we assume it’s on the low side, but that’s expected given it’s combined with other exfoliating acids in this formula. That’s where the secret comes from and what makes it so effective. The three exfoliators work together to effectively exfoliate your skin without irritating it, plus the additional ingredients like niacinamide further help keep your skin calm. We found that even using this every day never made our skin feel irritated or stripped and, in fact, left it feeling deeply clean but still soft and smooth. After a few days of using it, there was a noticeable brightness to our skin and our redness decreased as well.

As Dr. Zeichner puts it, "This cleanser was designed to address the needs of people with sensitive skin. It combines salicylic acid with mandelic acid and gluconolactone. This triple combination provides effective exfoliation without causing skin irritation."

To sum up this cleanser in one word: powerful. That's thanks to a high concentration of 2% salicylic acid and a whopping 5% glycolic acid, a combination that “helps to brighten and smooth the skin while also fighting breakouts,” says Dr. Garshick. Glycolic acid, an alpha hydroxy acid, helps to remove dead skin cells from the surface of your skin, while beta hydroxy acid salicylic acid removes gunk from inside your pores helping them unclog. It’s a perfect combination for both effective exfoliation and acne control.

Before you say wow, that’s intense, the formula also contains green tea polyphenol technology, which Dr. Garshick says “provides antioxidant benefits and helps to calm the skin.” We found that to be the case when using this cleanser as well. It is most certainly powerful, powerful enough that if you have very sensitive skin you may want to hold off on this one, but we found that it was incredibly effective at exfoliating our skin and controlling oil production throughout the day. It also helped to effectively eliminate all signs of breakouts within just a few days of use, but keep in mind that you may not want to use this every day, especially at first. If you have oily or combination skin, however, it’s one of the best out there.

Salicylic acid in general is great for oily skin because it helps balance oil production, but if you have especially oily skin, you may also want to use an oil-free cleanser like this one. This oil-free cleanser is “a great option for those with acne-prone or oily skin,” according to Dr. Garshick. Even though the percentage of salicylic acid in this formula is high, it’s also fragrance and sulfate-free which helps make it more gentle and suitable to use on sensitive skin. Plus, there’s niacinamide and plant extracts in the formula which help to further calm and soothe your skin post-wash.

Having oily skin doesn’t always mean you also have acne-prone skin, but we found that because this oil-free cleanser has oil-absorbing properties, it helped to not only help us look less shiny throughout the day but also helped curb the regular breakouts we tend to see, like around our hairline and chin. We also found that it gave us no irritation and, in fact, made our skin feel soothed and calm in addition to slightly reducing redness. We will say, however, that if you have very sensitive skin, you may want to take it slow with this given the high percentage of salicylic acid.

Of course salicylic acid is great for controlling acne on your face, but it can do the same thing on your body, as well. “This foaming cleanser is designed for both face and body and incorporates 2% BHA [salicylic acid] to help with breakouts and blackheads, as well as rough and bumpy skin on the body,” says Dr. Garshick. In addition to the salicylic acid, it also contains an enzyme complex “which offers additional gentle exfoliation to brighten the skin without irritation,” she says.

We always love a multi-use product and though we typically don’t recommend using body wash on your face, in this case, we love it because it was specifically formulated this way. Additionally, it feels more like a face wash than a body cleanser since it’s ultra gentle and non-stripping, despite the high concentration of salicylic acid and exfoliating enzymes. It’s probably the mallow and oat extracts, that help to soothe and soften skin, leaving both your face and body feeling healthy and calm. Within a few days of using this, particularly on our bodies, we noticed less visible bumps and breakouts as well as rough patches smoothing out. Thanks to that, it’s now a permanent part of our body wash rotation.

Most salicylic acid cleansers are good for oily skin since one of its properties is that it helps control and balance oil production, but this option one stands out because it “contains two types of salicylic acid,” says Dr. Garshick. One goes to work clearing away congestion immediately and the other is encapsulated, which means it releases over time and helps treat acne and prevent buildup continuously. In addition, the formula contains green tea extract to help soothe the skin and prevent possible irritation from the salicylic acid (and help control redness).

When you’re actually using this cleanser, it lathers up well but doesn’t feel especially strong or different from other salicylic acid cleansers. However, after a few uses, we noticed that our skin looked clearer and congestion went away faster than many of the other cleansers we tried. In addition, the oiliness of our skin decreased exponentially and the shininess that often creeps in around midday was nowhere to be found. We chalk this up to the encapsulated salicylic acid which works over time, not just while you’re washing your face. Even with that long-range salicylic acid, we never noticed any irritation or redness after using it.

The high concentration of salicylic acid in this cleanser isn’t the only story here. It also contains “azelaic acid and niacinamide that can help reduce redness and unwanted pigment,” says Dr. Finney. That’s particularly good news for people with chronic breakouts or darker skin tones, where post-acne hyperpigmentation (dark spots) can be an issue. So not only does this cleanser help to control existing acne and prevent future breakouts, but it also helps to fade the signs of breakouts from the past. On top of all that, it’s great at controlling oil production and keeping your face shine-free all day long.

We found that all those benefits are great–we saw improvement in our oiliness, skin tone and breakouts within a week or so of using this cleanser. But one of the additional benefits we noticed was that our skin felt and looked healthier in general, which we think is due to the improvements in our skin barrier from this cleanser. The entire SkinFix line is designed to help strengthen and bolster the skin’s protective barrier and we found this cleanser to be no exception. We were surprised that a cleanser could do all that, but it does. That could explain the higher price tag, but in this case, that price is worth it.

Meet the Experts

• Dr. Joshua Zeichner MD, is a board-certified dermatologist in New York City. He is the associate professor and the director of cosmetic and clinical research in dermatology at Mount Sinai Hospital.
• Dr. Marisa Garshick, MD FAAD, is a board-certified dermatologist at MDCS Dermatology in New York, NY
• Dr. Robert Finney, MD, is a board-certified dermatologist and founder of Soho Skin and Hair Restoration in New York City

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