Dr. Shereene Idriss is a dermatologist who has reviewed more than 50 acne-focused products, landing on an approval rate of 74% for this category. She approved most of them, had mixed feelings on some, and skipped only a handful. Her category winners include Finacea 15% Azelaic Acid Gel and Glossier Super Pure Niacinamide + Zinc Serum.
What does Dr. Shereene Idriss recommend for acne-prone skin?
Dr. Idriss loves a product that does more than one job. Beauty of Joseon Relief Sun: Rice + Probiotics SPF 50+ PA++++ won her over partly because it doubles as a moisturiser. She also called it fragrance-free and cheaper than a McDonald's meal. She has a clear soft spot for azelaic acid when it is well made. She praised Peach Slices Redness Relief Azelaic Acid Serum for its elegant formula and its extra barrier-supporting ingredients. She was just as impressed that Finacea 15% Azelaic Acid Gel hits the 15% concentration she considers the sweet spot for rosacea. Barrier support, anti-inflammatory ingredients, and fragrance-free formulas keep showing up in her approvals. For acne scars, she pointed to Isntree Onion Newpair Gel Cream, citing its onion bulb extract and silky, lightweight texture, especially for anyone prone to keloid scarring.
Dr. Shereene Idriss's acne picks, in her words
"Love it, love it, love it, love it, love it. I would not be scared of it at all. It has some niacinamide in here as well so just make sure that you don't really overdo it with the niacinamide in another step of your skincare routine if you're going to use this on your face."
"If you have rosacea you really want to be at 10% or above, but above that is prescription and prescription is 15% which is the sweet spot. I don't know how the prescription is formulated but it's so elegant. Finacea is so elegant."
"If you have active acne and you're extremely oily, maybe a couple times a week when you wash your face at night you want to use benzoyl peroxide. This is PanOxyl at 10%. The percentage of the benzoyl peroxide doesn't really actually matter anywhere from 5 to 10%, you're going to get more or less the same effects. But when you put this on your face, let it sit on your face before washing it off. Note to the wise, it will bleach your towels, hence why I only have white towels."
"Paula's Choice Pro Retinal Serum is a high potency retinal, and it's stronger than a retinol and adapalene, because [...] retinals tend to be more potent than retinols. It comes in a pump, and as you can see, it's yellow. It's much more lightweight, I would say, in texture. This one has the percentage disclosed. [...] If you're a beginner and you just want to know what to try, I would try this one."
"I was showering at night and I would put this patch on my face so that it would last 12 hours on my face, ideally it's really like 5 and a half if I'm telling you the truth. It helps to suck it out when a blemish is flat and deep or a pimple is flat and deep. You're never going to get the gunk out completely with a hydrocolloid patch, it just doesn't work that way."
"It [...] helps with scars and the appearance of scars. It has a light lavender color to it, it does not look or smell like onions, and it also has Huwenia Cordata extract, which is a flowering plant native to Southeast Asia, [...] and it helps exhibit anti-inflammatory, antioxidants and antibacterial properties. It also has been shown to decrease the damage from UVB rays, the rays that cause burns, and to minimize that damage on your skin."
How many products has Dr. Shereene Idriss reviewed for acne-prone skin?
Dr. Shereene Idriss has reviewed 58 products for acne-prone skin, for an approval rate of 74%. 43 approved, 10 mixed, and 5 skipped.
What has Dr. Shereene Idriss skipped for acne-prone skin?
Her skips usually come down to concentration or misleading claims. She flagged The Ordinary AHA 30% + BHA 2% Peeling Solution as genuinely too strong for regular use, warning that using it several times a week will damage your skin. She did allow that once a week may work for some people. Florence by Mills Pimple Patches got a firm skip because they combine tea tree oil, peppermint oil, and salicylic acid. She said that trio adds up to a real irritation risk and possible contact dermatitis, which is an allergic skin reaction. Neutrogena Stubborn Texture Cleanser frustrated her for a different reason: she found the marketing misleading. It highlights glycolic acid while calling itself a salicylic acid treatment, and she did not think it was strong enough to actually even out skin texture.
"This can burn your face off. If you do this way too much, you are going to over strip your skin of its natural oils, making you then have an inflamed barrier, making your inflammation probably worse, and making you then overproduce oils because you're basically stripping your skin of what it naturally produces. [...] Don't overdo this—you don't really want to burn your face off. I don't usually recommend this one [...] on a regular basis at all. Thirty percent is a lot."
"I do not like the ones with darts. Whenever I see micro darts and somebody who's putting it on an inflamed pimple or blemish, even though the idea is nice that yes it's going to help treat dark spots especially if it does have any sort of active ingredient in it, the darts itself can be extremely irritating and can worsen the marks. So not something that I love, especially if you're sensitive."
"These are by Starface and they have salicylic acid. Putting salicylic acid in close contact and closed contact with a patch for a very long period of time can be irritating to your skin and can be drying, so it's not necessarily my favorite."
"I don't love these ones because it has tea tree oil, peppermint oil, and salicylic acid, which is a lot of irritation. The tea tree oil is actually a very big irritant and can cause contact dermatitis. So I'm not a huge fan."
What should you take from Dr. Shereene Idriss's picks?
Dr. Idriss backs products that are honest about what they do, gentle on the skin barrier, and formulated to match their claims. Her approval rate for acne-prone skin products is high, but her skips are pointed. Anything with a stack of irritating ingredients or a concentration high enough to cause real damage gets a clear pass from her. Her record suggests starting with the basics she trusts and being careful with anything marketed as extra-strength.
Watch Dr. Shereene Idriss say it
Every verdict here comes from a video. These are the moments themselves, each one jumping straight to the bit about that product.
- The Ordinary Azelaic Acid Suspension 10%Named a winnerWatch at 2:13
- Finacea Azelaic Acid Gel 15%Named a winnerWatch at 10:51
- Glossier Super Pure Niacinamide + Zinc SerumNamed a winnerWatch at 17:04
- Bioderma Atoderm Intensive Gel-CreamNamed a winnerWatch at 9:34
- The Ordinary AHA 30% + BHA 2% Peeling SolutionSkipped itWatch at 11:08
- Starface Hydro-Star Microdots Plus Salicylic Acid PatchesSkipped itWatch at 3:46
- Starface Salicylic Acid Pimple PatchesSkipped itWatch at 4:11
- Florence by Mills Pimple PatchesSkipped itWatch at 15:11
- SudocremSkipped itWatch at 9:16
- PanOxyl 10% Benzoyl Peroxide WashRated itWatch at 5:09
- Paula's Choice Pro Retinal SerumRated itWatch at 11:18
- Neutrogena Stubborn Acne Hydrocolloid PatchesRated itWatch at 2:45
- Isntree Onion New Pair Gel CreamRated itWatch at 8:02
- Dr Sam's Flawless Nightly Pro SerumRated itWatch at 11:33
- PanOxyl 2% Salicylic Acid Liquid ExfoliantRated itWatch at 16:46
- Sophie Pavitt 8% Mandelic Acid SerumRated itWatch at 2:15
- YSL Touche Éclat ConcealerRated itWatch at 14:37
- SkinFix 2% BHA Acne Spot TreatmentRated itWatch at 12:36
- Soolantra Ivermectin Cream 1%Rated itWatch at 18:17
- Kate Somerville EradiKate 10% Sulfur Acne TreatmentRated itWatch at 0:56
- Sofie Pavitt Face Mandelic Clearing SerumRated itWatch at 5:56
- CeraVe Acne Foaming Cream Cleanser with Salicylic Acid and Glycolic AcidRated itWatch at 1:58
- Kate Somerville Eradicate 3% Daily Foaming CleanserRated itWatch at 8:19
- Drunk Elephant T.L.C. Sukari BabyfacialRated itWatch at 14:54
About this expert
See everything Dr. Shereene Idriss has reviewed
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This guide reflects what Dr. Shereene Idriss said across her videos about 58 products for acne-prone skin, aggregated by The Guru Index. Sponsored takes are excluded. The approval rate is the share of these products she approved. It is general information, not medical advice.