Dr. Somji Skin has reviewed at least 30 products for acne-prone skin, and his approval rate sits at 80%. That means he found something worth recommending in most of what he tried. The products he skipped are just as telling as the ones he approved.
What does Dr. Somji Skin recommend for acne-prone skin?
Across his approved picks, Dr. Somji Skin keeps coming back to actives that do more than one job at once. He praised The Ordinary Azelaic Acid Suspension 10% for tackling redness, pigmentation, and congestion all at the same time, and said it should go on right after cleansing. He rates The Ordinary Salicylic Acid 2% Solution as a strong option for congested skin, especially for people with darker skin tones dealing with post-acne marks. On exfoliation, he explained that products combining AHAs and BHAs, like Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 25% AHA + 2% BHA Exfoliating Peel, work by removing dead skin from the surface and encouraging new cell growth, which also helps the rest of a routine absorb better. He also makes a practical point about retinoids. He recommends The Ordinary Granactive Retinoid 2% Emulsion as a gentler starting point for beginners with oily skin. He notes that Granactive retinoids sit closer to prescription-strength retinoic acid than standard retinol, so results tend to come more reliably. That said, he is clear that not every retinoid suits every person.
In his words
"Azelaic acid makes it into most of my routines mainly because it helps with redness, pigmentation, it helps with open and closed comedones, it's great for the functioning of the skin and this you want to put on the skin immediately after cleansing and drying and that's really going to help that redness that you get within the skin."
"CeraVe is a good one because it's got the ceramides in there so you're going to cleanse the skin but the ceramides are going to feed your skin barrier so you don't over strip it. It's really really quite nice."
"The Ordinary Salicylic Acid [...] is fantastic for acne prone skin. [...] If you've [...] got slightly darker skin type and you've got really a lot of congestion then salicylic acid is going to be a good option."
"There are some clinical studies to show that alpha arbutin, which is a glycosylated form of hydroquinone, can actually be quite useful. [...] The Ordinary do some great alpha arbutin, which is great."
"You've got the Granactive Retinoid 2% Emulsion, which is more for patients with oily skin. It's creamier in texture, it's better for beginners, that's what I would start as a beginner. [...] Because the Granactive retinoids are more close to retinoic acid, it's much more likely that you will get a better result with the Granactive range than you would with the retinol range, but as I said, not every retinoid is good for each patient, so you have to try each one out."
"I've compared both of these, and if I'm going to use one and I've got the budget, then I'd probably use Paula's Choice one over the ordinary one. When you're doing the exfoliation with the AHA and BHA, you're degreasing skin, you're softening skin by removing that keratinized layer, which allows more ingredients to penetrate through with other products. You're also improving skin cell turnover by encouraging those cells to turn over and promoting new cell growth."
How many products has Dr. Somji Skin reviewed for acne-prone skin?
Dr. Somji Skin has reviewed 30 products for acne-prone skin, for an approval rate of 80%. 24 approved, 2 mixed, and 4 skipped.
What has Dr. Somji Skin skipped for acne-prone skin?
The products Dr. Somji Skin skipped mostly fell short on ingredients that either do too little or carry a real downside. He flagged La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo for having salicylic acid so far down its ingredients list that he doubted it could do much. He also pointed out that the same niacinamide benefit is available from cheaper options without the irritation risk. He skipped La Roche-Posay Lift Active C10 because of denatured alcohol and fragrance in the formula, which he said would partly inactivate the vitamin C before it even reaches the skin. He noted that Differin Adapalene Gel 0.1% is best avoided during pregnancy, since vitamin A derivatives, even in small topical amounts, have appeared in published case reports linked to birth defects. And for Clinique Clarifying Lotion One, his concern was the witch hazel, which he said can make sensitive skin more reactive over time, plus added colourants he found unnecessary.
"On their website it's designed for people with very dry sensitive skin. [...] If we look at the ingredients of this clarifying lotion, it does have witch hazel in it, which [...] I'm not a big fan of because of the tannins involved and how it can actually make sensitive skin like this a little bit more sensitive over time. It does have coloring in there with yellow coloring and blue coloring, which is a little bit disappointing."
"When I'm looking at the ingredients list, niacinamide is very high up but salicylic acid is quite low down, so I actually don't think it's that effective. [...] You can get a nice niacinamide serum from The Ordinary or The Inky List and it'll pretty much do the same thing without irritating the skin. [...] This is quite expensive, it's about £20, so you're paying £20 just for some niacinamide and some silicone really and very small amounts of salicylic acid."
"The thermal water is pretty cool, but the addition of denatured alcohol to make sure it sits on shelf properly and for a longer period of time without ruining and paging, and the packaging is not so good and the perfume. [...] I'm going to give this a two. You can get 10% or 15% vitamin C from The Ordinary and Inky List. I just feel that if you're going to partially inactivate the vitamin C, you lose probably what you can get. 10% vitamin C and EGF from the Inky List is better than this."
"This includes things like retinol night serum such as Differin Gel. [...] While they're effective ingredients for various skin conditions, they're best avoided during pregnancy as high doses of vitamin A have been known to be associated with birth defects. [...] The amount of drug absorbed from the skin when you're using the product is actually very low, but there are four independent published case reports of birth defects in literature associated with topical tretinoin use."
What should you take from Dr. Somji Skin's picks?
Dr. Somji Skin's record on acne-prone skin is one of the more useful ones out there, because he is specific about why something earns his approval or not. His through-line is simple: pick actives with a real mechanism, check where key ingredients sit in the list, and be honest about who a product is actually right for. Anyone working through retinoids, exfoliants, or vitamin C for acne-prone skin will find his reasoning genuinely practical.
Watch Dr. Somji Skin say it
Every verdict here comes from a video. These are the moments themselves, each one jumping straight to the bit about that product.
- Clinique Clarifying Lotion OneSkipped itWatch at 5:49
- La Roche-Posay Effaclar DuoSkipped itWatch at 4:06
- La Roche-Posay Lift Active C10Skipped itWatch at 3:50
- Differin Adapalene Gel 0.1%Skipped itWatch at 1:09
- The Ordinary Azelaic Acid Suspension 10%Rated itWatch at 3:46
- CeraVe Foaming Facial CleanserRated itWatch at 1:43
- The Ordinary Salicylic Acid 2% SolutionRated itWatch at 4:31
- The Ordinary Alpha Arbutin 2% + Hyaluronic AcidRated itWatch at 8:07
- The Ordinary Granactive Retinoid 2% EmulsionRated itWatch at 7:16
- Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 25% AHA + 2% BHA Exfoliating PeelRated itWatch at 2:38
- Epiduo GelRated itWatch at 16:34
- The INKEY List Mandelic Acid + Hyaluronic AcidRated itWatch at 8:50
- The Ordinary Granactive Retinoid 5% in SqualaneRated itWatch at 7:38
- iS Clinical Cleansing ComplexRated itWatch at 3:05
- Dermalogica Active Clay CleanserRated itWatch at 2:32
- Obagi Nu-Derm SystemRated itWatch at 6:00
- The Ordinary AHA 2% + BHA 2% Exfoliating SerumRated itWatch at 4:30
- Finacea Azelaic Acid Gel 15%Rated itWatch at 1:21
- Drunk Elephant T.L.C. Framboos Glycolic Night SerumRated itWatch at 3:30
- Nizoral A-D Anti-Dandruff Shampoo (1% Ketoconazole)Rated itWatch at 2:49
- The Ordinary Salicylic Acid 2% MaskRated itWatch at 5:40
- The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%Rated itWatch at 5:50
- The Ordinary AHA 30% + BHA 2% Peeling SolutionRated itWatch at 2:35
- La Roche-Posay Niacinamide 10 SerumRated itWatch at 3:19
About this expert
See everything Dr. Somji Skin has reviewed
Related guides
This guide reflects what Dr. Somji Skin said across his videos about 30 products for acne-prone skin, aggregated by The Guru Index. Sponsored takes are excluded. The approval rate is the share of these products he approved. It is general information, not medical advice.