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If you have rosacea-prone skin, you know the struggle of trying to find the right products for you. 

Or maybe you’re newly diagnosed and trying to figure out what products you can still use out of what’s on your counter. 

Orrrr, maybe you know you have sensitive skin but you’re wondering if it’s something more. Or if you have rosacea or just regular redness in fair skin. 

(There’s a lot of questions. The National Rosacea Society says that the exact cause of rosacea is unknown, and most rosacea patients struggle to find their triggers.)

But anyway: is salicylic acid good for rosacea? Well…the answer is, sort of? Under some circumstances and for some people?

What are the types of rosacea? 

Different types of rosacea have different  rosacea symptoms and will respond differently to salicylic acid. 

For years, rosacea was divided into four types: 

• papulopustular rosacea (defined by acne-like breakouts)
• erythematotelangiectatic rosacea (defined by persistent redness of the skin and visible blood vessels)
• ocular rosacea, (defined by redness and itching of the eyes) and
• phymatous rosacea (characterized by thickened, bumpy skin).

In 2018, it was redefined as one disorder with different phenotypes. Many people who have one type of rosacea often experience another. And because rosacea is progressive, one type can develop into another. Vascular rosacea with facial redness can develop into phymatous rosacea, especially on the nose, without treatment. 

(This is not the point of this post, but FYI the symptoms of rosacea are considered to be the result of an immune system overreaction! And there are prescription medications like oral minocycline and topical medications like metronidazole gel that you can look into!)

Because rosacea flares up when the skin is irritated or the immune system is given something to react to, rosacea sufferers need to use the right products. 

For example, sun protection with a broad-spectrum sunscreen is a huge part of managing rosacea. But some types are better than others. Physical sunscreen like zinc oxide or titanium oxide will serve a rosacean better than a chemical sunscreen. Chemical sunscreens won’t be irritating to everyone with rosacea, but it will irritate some. 

(As you go on your rosacea journey, you figure out what triggers your red patches and what doesn’t. I tolerate chemical sunscreen just fine, but cleansers are another story! Sodium lauryl sulfate makes my skin go crazy.)

What ingredients do rosacea patients need to avoid? 

So, even though I just said everyone has different rosacea triggers, there are some topical treatments that tend to be irritating. 

(Don’t let this list overwhelm you! You’re probably not going to change every single thing at once. Making one change at a time helps you figure out what your personal triggers are. 

So, if you’re searching up salicylic acid, you’re probably interested in acne treatment first.

Some of the active ingredients in some skincare products for acne-prone skin are too harsh for rosacea. Products that seek to dry out oily skin are too irritating. (And we tend to have dry skin anyway!)

Witch hazel toners that might balance other people’s skin is also far too drying for rosacea. 

The rosacean skin type – sensitive, reactive, easily inflamed – can’t handle that kind of skin irritation. So part of your rosacea treatment, even if you have acne, is going to be sticking to soothing products and gentle cleanser. 

If you’re wondering, is salicylic acid good for rosacea…in a cleanser, it’s generally going to be too harsh, because it’ll be slightly drying and used potentially twice a day. That’s going to be too much. 

Benzyol peroxide is also much too irritating and oxidizing for rosaceans. This is one ingredient almost all of us with rosacea need to avoid. It’s a common ingredient – Clearasil, for example, is benzyol peroxide. 

Similarly, daily use of alpha hydroxy acids like glycolic acids is going to be way too much for you. 

Even if you have papulopustular rosacea, you should remember: you aren’t having acne, exactly. Someone with acne is trying to treat bacteria in their skin. You aren’t breaking out because of bacteria, you are breaking out because of an allergic reaction. So adding more of an ingredient that you’re allergic to is not going to help your situation! 

Let’s look at some more specifics of salicylic acid and try to figure out if and when salicylic acid is good for rosacea. 

Is salicylic acid good for rosacea?

Some acids are great for rosacea. Azelaic acid is terrific for rosacea–I wrote a whole post about it! 

So, salicylic acid is a beta-hydroxy acid that dissolves and clears oils from the skin. It’s a chemical exfoliant, not a scrub. Will it cause rosacea flare-ups? Or is salicylic acid good for rosacea? 

It really depends – if it’s too harsh or too much, it can be really drying for rosacea sufferers. But there are also accounts of people with rosacea thriving with salicylic acid in their treatment plan. 

Salicylic acid in cleansers

Overall, salicylic acid cleansers like Clean and Clear are not the best choice for rosacea if you’re using them twice a day. They may have lower concentrations of salicylic acid, but 

Salicylic acid peels for rosacea

So, it may sound like salicylic acid is just another one of the treatment options that is just no good for rosacea. But that’s not necessarily it! Is salicylic acid good for rosacea if it’s a peel?

Even though it can be irritating if used too frequently, salicylic acid has anti-inflammatory properties and can actually be helpful for rosacea in certain uses. The key is to make sure that you aren’t using is often enough to be drying. 

Many users online report good outcomes from salicylic acid peels used weekly: 

“I use salicylic acid about once per week, it helps reduce blackheads. The one I buy is stridex pads in the red box-its the only one that’s alcohol free. This is really important for me for avoiding irritation. Also, I gently swipe them across my face, never scrub.” 

• u/rhinoballet on reddit

For papulopustular rosacea specifically, a salicylic acid acid peel has been testing and found to be effective for managing rosacea! (To refresh your memory, that’s the acne-like rosacea phenotype.) In 2022, a study performed a series of three 30% salicylic acid peels on 30 people with papulopustular rosacea. In addition to the peels, patients used metronidazole gel in both the peel group and the control group.

It’s worth noting here that they used a specific form of salicylic acid called supramolecular salicylic acid that is smaller and more easily dissolved in water. I wasn’t able to find anywhere you could purchase supramolecular salicylic acid online. 

The outcomes were positive! The researchers found an overall decrease in erythema and redness, and no negative impact on skin hydration. This is likely a combination of the anti-inflammatory ingredients and the lower frequency of use not dehydrating the skin. 

So, if you’re dead set on using a BHA like salicylic acid, a peel may be the best way to slough off some dead skin cells without risking excessive irritation. 

(Personally: I use the Stridex pads that the reddit user describes above and I do fine with them, but I limit it to when my skin is looking clogged. I wouldn’t use it more than once a week myself.) 

Personal rosacea triggers

So honestly there are an infuriating number of rosacea triggers: spicy foods, sun exposure, alcohol intake, chocolate, aged cheese, very hot beverages, very cold beverages……

(And don’t even get me started on learning that they miiiiight be caused by demodex mites living on your skin. We don’t think about that, we don’t talk about that….)

But if you’re new to learning about rosacea, don’t spiral. All of these things are rosacea triggers but not every single one is one of YOUR rosacea triggers. 

You’re going to have your own list of things that are setting off your rosacea, and you can develop that list a little at a time. Not every single thing on this list will set you off. 

You can make this list one of two ways: 

• Keeping a diary of your rosacea symptoms and what you ate and did that day for about six months (the sane route)
• Or doing an elimination diet and closely monitoring your activity and symptoms in a diary (the intense route)

My rosacea trigger journey

I have actually done both! I did the rosacea diary years ago when I was first treated for rosacea at age 23. And then years later, when I had to do an elimination diet for a health reason, I also monitored my rosacea as I re-added foods. 

My personal list of rosacea triggers: 

• Sun exposure
• Sugar and white flour
• Cooked tomato sauce
• Stress (this is so unfair)
• Alcohol (one of the best parts of getting sober has been the improvement in my complexion!)
• Very spicy food
• Very hot temperatures

But moderately spicy food, chocolate, cold, and hairspray don’t bug me at all. 

(About the elimination diet: just the concept can be triggering for people! If it’s going to hurt your mental health or overall wellness, don’t even do it. But it did help me to identify my triggers, because I had not really properly associated the sugar connection in my diary. (That’s mostly on me and the fact that I didn’t know enough about added sugars – someone more informed could do this a lot more successfully without a full elimination!)

So, does that mean I never touch these things? Of course not! (The day I’m writing this, I had three slices of cake at a work baby shower!) But I’m more careful about balance, and I’ll be much more conscious of these triggers in the days before a photo or event. 

Rosacea used to make me feel so crappy and self-conscious on occasions where I wanted to look my best, and knowing how to manage that has been so important to me. 

Final thoughts

Salicylic acid might be right for you if you limit how frequently you use it and prioritize protecting your skin barrier and hydration. 

It also might be too harsh and irritating, even used just sometimes. 

One of the most frustrating things about rosacea is you can google every ingredient in the world like “is salicylic acid good for rosacea” and you’re not going to get a good answer. 

Because it won’t tell you about your rosacea, personally. And your response to almost everything is going to be different than other people. 

Even though there’s research that supports the use of salicylic acid for papulopustular rosacea (and the erythema that exists in all four phenotypes!), you don’t know how you’re going to respond until you test it. 

(If I was going to try this theory myself, I’d go buy the Stridex in the red box and use it once per week for a month without scrubbing. That way, if it doesn’t work, you’re out less than $5.)

Two pieces of mental health advice in all this: 

if you try something and it triggers your rosacea, you haven’t ruined your face. It’s a progressive disorder over decades not weeks. The flare-up will pass, and you’ll be more careful around that trigger in the future. It’s so easy to feel like one flare up has messed something up permanently, but it hasn’t.   

And, rosacea treatment is slowwww. It took years to get my triggers down. This is so, so frustrating and so not how we think other people get to do skincare. It seems like people with other conditions get to buy a slate of new products and get results in a week. That isn’t us! And the sooner you get your head around that, the sooner you can start focusing on the changes that are actually going to make you look and feel better. 

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