Salicylic acid may sound like skincare jargon, along with your hyaluronic acids , retinol and collagen supplements , but the ingredient isn’t just a marketing ploy and many dermatologists actually cite it as the key to unclogging pores. Nowadays, you’ll find salicylic acid in a whole host of products, including shampoos and cleansers , but we remember its 2012 serum and toner boom – thank you, Caroline Hirons . The question is: what is salicylic acid? And to that, we might add, is it worth parting with your hard-earned cash to slot it into your skincare routine? We wanted a concrete answer, so we spoke to the experts to get all the intel, facts and best products to buy.
If you’re a fan of French pharmaceutical skincare , then you’ll likely have dabbled with Bioderma . Renowned for its affordable sensibio micellar water (£13, Lookfantastic.com ) and loved by us for its oily skin-approved hydrabio gel crème (£18, Lookfantastic.
com ), Bioderma is champion of fuss-free, pared back beauty. Thus, it seemed only appropriate to pick the brains of the brand’s consultant dermatologist, Dr Bernard Ho . For a balanced collection of aesthetician intel, we also spoke to Dr Ahmed El Muntasar, the founder of The Aesthetics Doctor clinic in the UK, and behind the treatments of TikTok sensation Olivia Neil and Love Island’s Amy Day .
Our final expert? Simon Ourian M.D. who, if you have a keen eye, you might have spotted on the early seasons of Keeping Up with the Kardashians .