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The best Salicylic Acid treatments
16 treatments we index contain Salicylic Acid. Only 12 publish a concentration that clears the effective threshold of 0.5% — so those are the only ones that can be ranked honestly. Here they are.
81/100 B #2 · Paula's Choice 25% AHA + 2% BHA Exfoliant Peel
81/100 B #3 · Drunk Elephant T.L.C. Framboos Glycolic Night Serum
75/100 C #4 · Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster
69/100 C #5 · Geek & Gorgeous Cheer Up (5% Mandelic + 1% BHA Liquid Exfoliant)
69/100 C #6 · Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant
63/100 C #7 · The Inkey List Beta Hydroxy Acid Exfoliant
63/100 C #8 · The Ordinary Salicylic Acid 2% Solution
63/100 C #9 · Naturium BHA Liquid Exfoliant 2%
63/100 C #10 · The Ordinary Salicylic Acid 2% Anhydrous Solution Pore Clearing Serum
63/100 D #11 · The INKEY List 2% Succinic Acid Treatment (Blemish Control Gel)
57/100 D #12 · Geek & Gorgeous Calm Down (3.2% PHA + 0.8% BHA Liquid Exfoliant)
47/100
Why the list is this short
4 other treatments contain Salicylic Acid but publish no concentration. A treatment can list Salicylic Acid on the front of the box at a dose far below what the research supports, and nothing on the label would tell you. We don't guess a number, so those stay ungraded — see the full Salicylic Acid picture and the open rubric.
Common questions
What's the best Salicylic Acid treatment?
By disclosed dose, The Ordinary AHA 30% + BHA 2% Peeling Solution grades highest (B, 81/100). It's ranked on the concentration the brand actually publishes, not on marketing.
How many treatments disclose their Salicylic Acid concentration?
12 of the 16 treatments we index that contain Salicylic Acid. The other 4 list it without a number, so we withhold a grade rather than guess.
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