The INKEY List Succinic Acid Acne Treatment.

Acne

About this product

A spot treatment for acne from The INKEY List, built around succinic acid and other blemish-targeting ingredients and designed to be dabbed onto individual pimples.

Full ingredients

Water (Aqua/Eau), Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Glyceryl Stearate SE, Stearic Acid, Cetearyl Alcohol, Colloidal Sulfur, Glycerin, Succinic Acid, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Salicylic Acid, Phenoxyethanol, Squalane, Benzyl Alcohol, Sodium Hyaluronate, Polysorbate 60, Ethylhexylglycerin, Sodium Hydroxide, Dehydroacetic Acid, Malachite Extract, Sorbitan Isostearate, Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate, Ci 75810 (Chlorophyllin-Copper Complex)

Guru Score

70%

Mixed

6 experts · Moderate agreement

What the gurus are saying

Succinic acid gets the spotlight, but several experts point to sulfur and salicylic acid as the ingredients doing the spot-fighting. Fans say it calms an emerging pimple, shortens healing and feels gentle next to harsher spot treatments. Critics found the succinic acid hype overblown, questioned the brand's claims, and noted the price has climbed while you get less product. Several suggest dabbing it only on spots, since whole-face use can irritate.

Synthesized from 6 expert reviews · most recent take January 2026

What they liked

Gentler than benzoyl peroxide
Used all over as a serum
Soaks in after application

What they flagged

Succinic acid claims under fire
Low succinic acid concentration
Price has risen recently

Best for

Acne-prone skin

Type

Acne

Key actives

Hyaluronic acid Salicylic acid (BHA)Squalane

Formula notes

Fragrance-freeNo drying alcohol

Where to buy

Sephora → 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.

All takes Yay takes Nay takes Mixed takes Hide sponsored

Dr. Vanita Rattan

1.23M subs

~Yay

"The Inkey List has got a very good succinic acid."

James Welsh

1.58M subs

~Nay

"They haven't been shy of controversy, however, with a lot of cosmetic chemists and scientists who work in the cosmetic world calling them out for their alleged misleading claims about their Succinic Acid Blemish Spot Treatment, and in turn, their response to those claims. [...] I think it's fair to say that it did leave a bit of a bad taste in a lot of skincare creators' mouths."

Mad About Skin

731k subs

~Nay

"There was a lot of talk about The INKEY List Succinic Acid Acne Treatment, with people saying this was just bad marketing. This product relies on sulfur to deliver the spot-fighting benefit, but sulfur isn't sexy. So, oh, it's succinic acid, let's make that front and center to sell the product. A lot of people called them out on it and said it's fancy marketing over actual quality formulations."

All 3 takes from Mad About Skin

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"The succinic acid blemish treatment was a great product, and I absolutely loved it, but people focused on the succinic acid because it sounded new, innovative, and sexy, and it had that appeal. Actually, it was in a very low concentration, and a lot of the other ingredients were doing the heavy lifting. [...] People got quite quickly bored of this sort of marketing and thought, we want skincare that works, we don't want skincare that's overhyped."

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"When I saw a pimple emerging, I'd slap some of this on, and it worked really well to calm it, soothe it, and shorten the healing time. The issue is that it's gone up in price a lot recently, and you don't get a lot of product. I also think The INKEY List was guilty of overpromise and underdelivery when it came to this product. They really hyped it, and it was probably the best on the market until about six months ago."

Cassandra Bankson

2.46M subs

~Yay

"The INKEY List actually creates two of my favorite spot treatments, one is the succinic acid spot treatment which is basically a little green leprechaun to kill blemishes on your face."

All 2 takes from Cassandra Bankson

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"The INKEY List actually creates two of my favorite spot treatments, one is the succinic acid spot treatment which is basically a little green leprechaun to kill blemishes on your face."

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"It has succinic acid as well as salicylic acid as well as other ingredients that help to annihilate breakouts in a very gentle, easy way. [...] A lot of acne spot treatments have benzoyl peroxide and they can just be so harsh on the skin, [...] so drying and irritating. [...] If you have more mature skin or dry skin and acne, it can be nearly impossible to deal with. This is a spot treatment, but as you can see I use it all over like as a serum. It's green and then it kind of soaks in."

Dr. Jenny Liu

323k subs

~Yay

"I still have a little bit of residual acne here, so this is just one from The INKEY List. It's their Succinic Acid Acne Treatment, and it also has a little bit of salicylic acid. With these treatments, I kind of just apply where I need to. You can certainly apply it to the whole face, but I find that to be very irritating, so I usually am able to tolerate it with this 1% salicylic acid spot treatment."

The Budget Dermatologist

724k subs

~Yay

"I love this as a spot treatment and it is a very unique product because it pairs some lesser known ingredients. It has two percent sulfur in it, which is one of my top four over-the-counter ingredients to treat acne, and it is actually hard to find really quality products with this ingredient in it. [...] Sulfur works to clear acne by drying up the blemish, which is why this is ideal for a spot treatment. Sulfur can also reduce the oil on your skin, so if you have oily skin this works great."

What the evidence says.

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

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

Humectants and emollients

Ingredients like these draw water into the surface layers and slow how fast it leaves. The evidence is for comfort, softness and hydration rather than for changing the structure of the skin.

Source: DermNet

Frequently asked.

What is The INKEY List Succinic Acid Acne Treatment?

A spot treatment for acne from The INKEY List, built around succinic acid and other blemish-targeting ingredients and designed to be dabbed onto individual pimples.

Is The INKEY List Succinic Acid Acne Treatment worth it?

The gurus are split. 4 of the 6 gurus give it their stamp of approval while 2 would skip it, which lands it in the middle at a Guru Score of 70%.

What is The INKEY List Succinic Acid Acne Treatment's Guru Score?

The INKEY List Succinic Acid Acne Treatment holds a Guru Score of 70%. That is our read on how warmly the experts talk about it, based on the verdicts of 6 expert reviewers we have collected.