e.l.f.

e.l.f. SKIN Blemish Breakthrough Clarifying Cleanser.

Cleansers

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About this product

A gel cleanser with 1% salicylic acid designed to remove makeup, control oil, and clarify pores for blemish-prone skin.

Full ingredients

Salicylic Acid, Niacinamide, Zinc Pca, Tranexamic Acid

Guru Score

75%

Yay

Early verdict · Few reviews so far

2Gurus

1Yay

1Mixed

0Nay

What they liked

Froths well even on dry skin
Rinses clean without a washcloth
Good for oily, congestion-prone skin

What they flagged

Stings the eyes
Feels a little drying
May be too stripping for daily use

What the gurus are saying

This cleanser's 1% salicylic acid makes it effective for oily, congestion-prone skin, though it can feel drying on some people, so those with sensitive or dry skin may want to ease off to every other day or save it for summer months. It froths well and rinses clean, but stings the eyes a little, so it works best as a morning or second cleanse. The niacinamide and tranexamic acid are present at lower concentrations than typical, so they offer less extra benefit than you might expect.

Synthesized from 2 expert reviews · most recent take December 2024

Best for

Oily skin Acne-prone skin

Type

CleansersGel

Key actives

Niacinamide Salicylic acid (BHA)

Formula notes

Fragrance-freeNo drying alcohol

Where to buy

Ulta → Amazon → Google →

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What the gurus are saying.

Every take we've logged from this product's reviews across YouTube. Click any row to watch the moment they said it.

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Dr Dray

2.69M subs

✓Yay

"The cleanser is clear, colorless, and as you can see it generates kind of a bit of a clumpy unwieldy lather, but it does end up lathering quite nicely. I have no issues with this cleanser. I thought it was great. It's fragrance free."

Doctor Anne

56k subs

✓Mixed

"It also has Glycerin for hydration and effective surfactants, probably the reason it felt a little drying. The 1% Salicylic Acid makes this a good cleanser for oily, congestion prone skin, but it needs to be watched for being too stripping, in which case using it every other day instead is recommended."

What the evidence says.

Independent of what the gurus think, this is what the published research supports about the main active ingredients here.

Niacinamide

Niacinamide has evidence behind it for redness, uneven tone and supporting the skin barrier, and it is usually well tolerated even by skin that reacts to most things.

Source: DermNet

Salicylic acid

Salicylic acid dissolves in oil, so it can get into a pore rather than just working on the surface. That is why it has long-standing evidence for blackheads and milder acne.

Source: DermNet

Tranexamic acid

Tranexamic acid has a growing body of clinical evidence for melasma and the stubborn patches of pigment that other ingredients struggle with.

Source: DermNet

Frequently asked.

What is e.l.f. SKIN Blemish Breakthrough Clarifying Cleanser?

A gel cleanser with 1% salicylic acid designed to remove makeup, control oil, and clarify pores for blemish-prone skin.

Is e.l.f. SKIN Blemish Breakthrough Clarifying Cleanser worth it?

Mostly yes. 1 of the 2 gurus who reviewed it give it their stamp of approval, for a Guru Score of 75%.

What is e.l.f. SKIN Blemish Breakthrough Clarifying Cleanser's Guru Score?

e.l.f. SKIN Blemish Breakthrough Clarifying Cleanser holds a Guru Score of 75%. That is our read on how warmly the experts talk about it, based on the verdicts of 2 expert reviewers we have collected.