All scans / Serums / Clean & Clear Advantage Acne Spot Treatment
Clean & Clear Advantage Acne Spot Treatment ingredients: is it worth it?
This is a function-first salicylic acid spot treatment that can help acne but trades efficacy for a fairly harsh, stingy base.
This is a function-first salicylic acid spot treatment that can help acne but trades efficacy for a fairly harsh, stingy base.
READ MORE
The formula does contain a well-established contact-active (salicylic acid) in a leave-on format, which is appropriate for targeting individual pimples, but the heavy use of denatured alcohol and additional alcohol plus witch hazel makes this more aggressive and drying than modern acne treatments built around gentler solvent systems and barrier-supporting humectants; overall efficacy is driven almost entirely by salicylic acid, with very little support from soothing or barrier-repair ingredients, so you get short-term lesion reduction at the cost of potential barrier stress and irritation, especially on sensitive or already compromised skin.
We may earn a commission from qualifying purchases. Links never influence scores.
DemythSkin rates Clean & Clear Advantage Acne Spot Treatment 3.7/5 for efficacy and 3.5/5 for safety.
ACTIVE INGREDIENTS BY TIER
Gold Standards
High clinical proof | Skin-transformativeReliable
Proven resultsPotent
Developing evidenceOverhyped | Marketing
Hype | Limited dataDocumented Irritants
Evidence-backed flagFORMULATION BASE (10)⌄
FULL INGREDIENT LIST⌄
Salicylic Acid ., Water, Alcohol Denat., Hamamelis Virginiana (Witch Hazel) Water, Polyacrylamide, Glycerin, C13-14 Isoparaffin, C12-15 Alkyl Lactate, Alcohol, Phenoxyethanol, Cetyl Lactate, Cocamidopropyl PGDimonium Chloride Phosphate, Laureth-7, Polysorbate 20, Sodium Hydroxide, Phenethyl Dimethicone, Xanthan Gum, Propylene Glycol, Benzalkonium Chloride, Tetrasodium EDTA
WHAT EACH INGREDIENT DOES (20)⌄
- Salicylic Acid
- Beta hydroxy acid acne active
- Water
- Solvent for formulation
- Alcohol Denat.
- Solvent, penetration enhancer
- Hamamelis Virginiana (Witch Hazel) Water
- Astringent botanical solvent
- Polyacrylamide
- Thickener, film-former
- Glycerin
- Humectant for hydration
- C13-14 Isoparaffin
- Texture enhancer, emollient
- C12-15 Alkyl Lactate
- Emollient, skin-conditioning agent
- Alcohol
- Solvent, enhances dry-down
- Phenoxyethanol
- Preservative
- Cetyl Lactate
- Emollient, skin-conditioning agent
- Cocamidopropyl PG-Dimonium Chloride Phosphate
- Conditioning, anti-static agent
- Laureth-7
- Surfactant, solubilizer
- Polysorbate 20
- Emulsifier, solubilizer
- Sodium Hydroxide
- pH adjuster
- Phenethyl Dimethicone
- Silicone-based skin conditioner
- Xanthan Gum
- Thickener, stabilizer
- Propylene Glycol
- Humectant, solvent
- Benzalkonium Chloride
- Preservative, antimicrobial agent
- Tetrasodium EDTA
- Chelating agent, stabilizer
EXTERNAL CITATIONS
Salicylic Acid: Kligman AM. An overview of acne therapy. J Invest Dermatol. Salicylic acid is a well-established comedolytic and anti-inflammatory agent for mild to moderate acne in leave-on formulations.
DISCLAIMER: THIS ANALYSIS IS FOR INFORMATION ONLY. NOT MEDICAL ADVICE. AI-GENERATED DATA BASED ON PUBLICLY AVAILABLE INGREDIENT LISTS. VERIFY WITH A MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL.
A cheaper serum with a similar formula
A partial ingredient match (37%), not a close dupe.
Clean & Clear Advantage Acne Spot Treatment: common questions
Is Clean & Clear Advantage Acne Spot Treatment worth it?
Clean & Clear Advantage Acne Spot Treatment scores 3.7 out of 5.0 for efficacy (Modest) and 3.5 out of 5.0 for safety (Mostly Gentle) on DemythSkin's independent ingredient analysis. This is a function-first salicylic acid spot treatment that can help acne but trades efficacy for a fairly harsh, stingy base.
What are the key active ingredients in Clean & Clear Advantage Acne Spot Treatment?
Clean & Clear Advantage Acne Spot Treatment contains these gold-standard actives with strong clinical evidence: Salicylic Acid.
Does Clean & Clear Advantage Acne Spot Treatment contain fragrance or known irritants?
DemythSkin flags these ingredients in Clean & Clear Advantage Acne Spot Treatment as documented irritants: Alcohol Denat..
How is Clean & Clear Advantage Acne Spot Treatment scored?
DemythSkin grades every product on two independent scores: efficacy (whether the ingredients have clinical evidence of working) and safety (irritation and sensitisation risk). Ingredients are graded S through D against a database of over 3,000 compounds. Brand and price are not part of the score, and no brand pays for one.
Free scores for every product in the database, or see them on Sephora, Ulta and Amazon with the Chrome extension.