Trubella Acne Face Wash(updated)

Acne Control Cleanser

2% SALICYLIC ACID ACNE TREATMENT OIL-ABSORBING TECHNOLOGY

Gel-to-foam salicylic acid acne face wash

Acne can affect teenagers and adults alike, and an effective acne cleanser is an essential step in any anti-acne skincare regimen. A cleanser with salicylic acid offers acne-controlling benefits and is ideal for daily use to gently exfoliate the dead skin cells that can clog pores and contribute to acne. It may complement other over-the-counter and prescription-based acne treatments to help maintain clear, healthy skin—just be sure to check with your dermatologist.

CeraVe is the #1 dermatologist-recommended cleanser brand for acne*, and our new Acne Control Cleanser with 2% salicylic acid is formulated to clear acne, reduce blackheads, and improve the appearance of pores. Purifying clay helps absorb excess oil.

Featuring Oil-Absorbing Technology to minimize visible shine, this refreshing, gel-to-foam salicylic acid cleanser effectively removes dirt and excess oil, gently exfoliates, and penetrates clogged pores to help prevent new acne breakouts. Acne Control Cleanser also maintains the skin’s protective barrier with three essential ceramides, calms the skin with niacinamide and reduces acne while leaving the skin soft, smooth and hydrated.

Effective Acne Control with Salicylic Acid

Acne Control Cleanser is part of an acne skincare regimen, with 2% salicylic acid to help unclog pores and hectorite clay to help absorb excess oil and control shine. Adding niacinamide and three essential ceramides helps calm and support the skin barrier. This cleanser gently cleans while helping to prevent the start of acne. 

Unfortunately, there’s no one-size-fits-all option to address acne — but an excellent place to start is with the proper acne face wash. Cleansers may have shorter contact with your face than your serum or moisturizer, but they’re especially crucial for the acne-prone because they help balance the skin’s pH,” says Tess Adams, a facialist and co-founder of New York’s Take Care spa.

While your skin should be slightly acidic to keep bacteria out and moisture in, acne-prone skin tends to be too acidic, which causes inflammation, so it’s important to balance it. Cleansers also kill pollutants and bacteria we absorb in everyday life and, of course, remove our makeup—all of which can clog pores and lead to breakouts, too.

I spoke to 16 dermatologists and facialists to learn about their preferred acne-specific face washes, which range from creamy to foamy to gel-based. I also combed the Strategist’s archive to find more vetted recommendations that will leave your skin feeling clean and fresh, not stripped or overly irritated.

What we’re looking for

Skin type

Before you choose a cleanser, figure out your skin type. Aside from being acne-prone, your skin can also be extra oily, dry, or sensitive, which impacts which cleanser you should use. Those with sensitive skin should opt for a low dose of acne-fighting actives. In contrast, those with extra-oily skin may want something relatively strong, and people with dry skin need to look for hydrating actives like hyaluronic acid. If you need help determining your skin type, there’s an easy way to figure it out. After washing with a gentle cleanser, wait 30 minutes.

Skin that feels slick typically indicates oily skin, while tightness and flakiness are signs of dryness. If the T-zone, which includes the forehead, nose, and tops of the cheeks, appears oily while the remainder of the skin feels normal or dry, it’s probable that you have combination skin. Normal skin feels comfortable—neither oily nor dry. We’ve noted below which cleansers work best for which type of skin.

Active ingredients

Although it’s not required for a face wash to have an active acne-fighting ingredient for it to count as an acne-specific cleanser—we actually list a few without one—it sure does help. The two most common active ingredients are salicylic acid and benzoyl peroxide. Salicylic acid reduces swelling and redness around the inflamed areas, unclogs the pores, and prompts pimples to shrink. Benzoyl peroxide, an antiseptic, decreases the amount of bacteria on the skin.

The severity of your acne will determine which percentage of each active you should use. Those struggling with cystic acne should consider cleansers formulated with at least 2 per cent salicylic acid, according to Dr Corey L. Hartman, the founder of Skin Wellness Dermatology. Your dermatologist can provide more potent treatments, such as in-office chemical peels, but the FDA allows only up to 2 per cent of this acid to be sold over the counter.

Benzoyl peroxide, however, can increase to about 10 per cent in over-the-counter treatments. You don’t need both because each treats and prevents future problems; it just depends on your skin. If you have susceptible skin, a cleanser without any active ingredients—which can dry out your skin—may be your best bet.

Cleanser texture

Personal preference plays a big part in choosing a cleanser’s texture, but your skin type matters, too. Foaming cleansers can be very drying, as can some gel cleansers, whereas creamy formulas are more hydrating. Cleansing oils are another option that removes excess oil from the skin without stripping it.

Noncomedogenic formula

Noncomedogenic means the product won’t clog pores, which is critical for all acne-prone skin regardless of type. Dermatologist Dr Whitney Bowe says, “I advise all my patients, but especially those with acne, to avoid sulfates” because those are a proven pore-clogging ingredient (along with fragrance). “Sulfates are aggressive surfactants that can wash away your healthy fats and lipids and dry out the skin,” Bowe adds.

Below, you’ll find 11 acne cleansers recommended by our panel of experts and staff that should aid all skin types, even the finickiest.

Best overall acne cleanser

Trubella Acne Face Wash (Salicylic-Acid Acne-Fighting Face Wash)

Skin type: All skin types | Active ingredients: Salicylic acid 

The Old Faithful of acne cleansers, this salicylic-acid-based drugstore favourite, remains the most frequently recommended by dermatologists: The “salicylic acid helps break up the oil-and-dead-skin-cell matrix that plugs pores,” who has been pointing patients toward it for 20-plus years. It contains only 2 per cent salicylic acid, making it gentle enough for sensitive skin but practical enough for treating severe breakouts. It’s a gel, which is particularly good for extra-oily skin but won’t dry out your skin quite as much as foam, so those with drier skin can use this too. And if you want your acne-fighting with a touch of brightening,

Best acne face wash for sensitive skin

Salicylic and alpha-hydroxy acids are essential for healing cystic or severe acne. This foaming cream, which happens to have both, is particularly well suited for those conditions and for treating extra-oily skin. “It loosens dead cells and increases cellular turnover to reveal new skin,” says Batra. Your instinct may be to dry out oily skin completely, but be mindful of how drying your products are.

Balancing Oil Production and Hydration

If you sop up too much oil, it will only cause your skin to produce more since you tricked it into thinking it was deprived of oil. You should follow up any cleanser with a good moisturizer (we have some excellent options for oily skin here), but this face wash does include hydrating ingredients like glycerin to prevent skin from feeling stripped.

If you have acne-prone dry skin, consider a cleanser with a gel texture rather than a foam. Gels are more hydrating, according to Nicole Hangsterfer, a physician’s assistant at Curology. She likes this one from Derma E, which uses hydrating, soothing ingredients like hyaluronic acid, chamomile, and vitamins A and E to cleanse gently. It doesn’t contain any actives, which contribute to dryness, so, similarly to the EltaMD cleanser above, spot treatments may work best if you feel you need salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide to clear up any stubborn zits (but again, they’re not 100 per cent necessary).

Cleansers with 2 per cent salicylic acid are a great choice if you’re struggling with cystic acne, and Hartman specifically likes this La Roche-Posay formula. The chemical exfoliant lightly scrubs the skin as it cleanses. 

Dr Hope Mitchell, the founder of Ohio-based Mitchell Dermatology, likes the gel texture, which won’t dry out the skin because the formula’s active ingredients are delivered through a hydrating vehicle (glycerin). This cleanser is also lipophilic, which means it can dissolve oil and “concentrates on sebaceous-gland areas,” according to Mitchell, where oil is secreted through hair follicles, allowing it to quickly and easily wipe out any excess from the skin.

Combatting Scarring and Hyperpigmentation with Glycolic Acid

In some cases, a breakout will leave behind scarring or hyperpigmentation. While spot treatments or an overall brightening serum can help, a good cleanser can also be effective. We’ve previously written about this cleanser from Skinceuticals, which is recommended by two dermatologists. Its main ingredient is glycolic acid, which encourages cell turnover and lessens scarring and hyperpigmentation.

It’s also formulated with glycerin, an ultra-moisturizing ingredient Rio once said needs hyaluronic acid’s publicist. Glycerin minimizes water loss, increases skin hydration, and helps to protect from irritation, thus reducing the chances it’ll dry out your skin.

Utilizing Benzoyl Peroxide for Acne Treatment

Benzoyl peroxide “kills acne-causing bacteria and helps control oil,” says Wechsler. Batra adds that this powerful ingredient “releases oxygen onto the skin to destroy bacteria that can lead to acne,” adding that “it’s anti-inflammatory and comedolytic, which means it calms skin and decreases clogged pores.” Dermatologists Dr Mona Gohara and Dr Shari Marchbein are fans of PanOxyl for its gentle but efficacious formula, which contains 10 per cent benzoyl peroxide.

It has another fan in our beauty writer, Rio Viera-Newton, who uses this to calm her broken-out skin. “I use it once a week as maintenance to keep acne away, and whenever a few unsuspecting pimples sprout up during my time of the month, I increase my usage every night until the swelling goes down,” she says. Just remember: As with all cleansers with an active ingredient, keep it on the skin long enough to give it time to work.

Dermatologist Dr Joshua Zeichner says to sing the alphabet song before you wash it off, while Anolik suggests doing some beauty multitasking (such as shaving your legs if you’re in the shower)

TRUBELLA ACNE FACE WASH IS THE BEST FACE WASH IN THE PAKISTAN

 It contains salicylic acid, which helps remove acne from the skin. In the over-the-counter battle against breakouts, there are a few key ingredients you should know about, and salicylic acid is at the top of that list. Simply speaking, salicylic acid is one of acne’s biggest enemies. You reach for a spot treatment, and within a second, you see a zit invading your face. You slather it on a blemish overnight, and you might wake up in the morning with a dried pimple and much less noticeable.

Differentiating Between BHAs and AHAs

Regarding skincare products, you’ll often see two classes of acids: beta hydroxy acids (BHAs) and alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs). “Salicylic acid is a beta hydroxy acid,” says cosmetic chemist Randy Schueller. “This means the hydroxy part of the molecule is separated from the acid part by two carbon atoms, as opposed to an alpha hydroxy acid, where they’re separated by one carbon atom.”

Both alpha and beta hydroxy acids exfoliate the skin, but AHAs are water-soluble, while BHAs are oil-soluble, explains New York City-based board-certified dermatologist Sejal Shah, M.D. Examples of AHAs, for reference, include glycolic and lactic acids.

“Generally, oil-soluble ingredients penetrate through the lipid layers between the skin cells more readily,” Dr. Shah explains. In other words, oil-soluble ingredients can penetrate the skin deeper than their water-soluble counterparts.

Salicylic acid can penetrate deep into your skin to do its job. This quality is precisely what makes it such a potent ingredient for targeting acne, especially blackheads and whiteheads.

Once it penetrates the skin, salicylic acid “dissolves skin debris that clogs pores, [acts] as an anti-inflammatory, and also helps red, inflamed pimples and pustules go away faster,” explains Naissan O. Wesley, M.D., a board-certified dermatologist in Los Angeles.

According to Schueller and Dr Wesley, the ingredient can penetrate so deeply into the skin that it actually breaks down the connections between skin cells. “Once it has penetrated the skin, the acid part of the molecule can dissolve some of the intracellular ‘glue’ that holds skin cells together,” says Schueller.

Salicylic acid is also an exfoliant

This breakdown of skin cells promotes exfoliation. Salicylic acid is a keratolytic medication, perfect for supreme exfoliation. “Keratolytic medications cause softening and sloughing of the top layer of skin cells,” says Rachel Nazarian, M.D., a board-certified dermatologist in New York City.

Salicylic acid also loosens and breaks apart desmosomes (attachments between cells in the outer layer of skin). “This ‘despotic’ action encourages skin exfoliation and unclogging of pores,” says Sue Ann Wee, M.D., a board-certified dermatologist in New York City.

“One thought aetiology of acne is that the skin cells do not behave normally, and rather than sloughing off through a healthy skin cell cycle, they stick together and clog the pores, creating cysts and blackheads,” says Dr Nazarian. “Salicylic acid aids in removing and loosening these skin cells and helps to dissolve the blackheads.”

Can salicylic acid damage the skin?

You can use too much salicylic acid. “The primary negative side effect of salicylic acid is its ability to irritate and dry skin in those who are very sensitive or overuse it,” says Dr. Nazarian.