Thayers Blemish Clearing Cleanser for oily acne-prone skin
Salicylic Acid
Witch Hazel
LemongrassAverage
- HighOily Skin Fit
- AverageEffectiveness
- HighSafety
Works for oily acne-prone skin; other cleansers fit it better.
This fit is calculated for the concerns frequently associated with oily acne-prone skin: shine, breakouts, blemishes, and enlarged pores. For scores and recommendations based on your full skin profile, including your 12D face scan results and any goals or preferences you have, please use the Lovi app.
Page built Nov 8, 2026How the Fit score works
Lovi Assistant explains
- Offers moderate cleansing for your acne-prone skin, as salicylic acid and witch hazel provide mild exfoliation and astringent properties to help decongest pores.
- Lemongrass and aloe barbadensis offer additional soothing and hydrating benefits, complementing the primary cleansing action for your oily skin.
- The formula is safe for your oily skin, with no risks of irritation due to the absence of harsh ingredients.
How to apply
- Use this cleanser as part of your AM and PM routine. Start using it daily to help clear your breakouts.
- Apply this cleanser as the first step in the morning and right after your pre-cleanser in the evening. Follow it with your toner and moisturizer.
- Gently massage a small amount of the cleanser onto your face using circular motions. Rinse thoroughly with lukewarm water and pat dry.
- Apply the cleanser on slightly damp skin to help clean deeply and remove excess oil. This works best for oily skin types.
- Avoid the sensitive eye area during application. Do a patch test before your first use.
People Say
★4.5Overall rating based on 900+ reviewsUsers frequently report that this cleanser effectively manages acne and blemishes, clearing breakouts without causing dryness or tightness, making it suitable for sensitive and dry skin types. Some users note a strong lemon scent, and a few mention issues with packaging and the small size of the product.
Highlights
Effective acne clearing Often Mentioned
- “Clears acne and helps prevent new breakouts.”
- “Keeps my acne calm, face clear.”
- “Helped the swelling and reduced the size of the cyst.”
- “Started clearing up my face after just one wash.”
Gentle on skin Often Mentioned
- “Gentle for my sensitive skin.”
- “Doesn't bother my skin or make me feel dry.”
- “Easy on my skin.”
- “Doesn't leave skin feeling dry and tight.”
Lightweight texture Sometimes Noted
- “Very lightweight and easy to rinse off.”
- “Creamy gel formula.”
- “Does not leave an oily feeling.”
- “Easy to rinse away.”
Non-drying formula Sometimes Noted
- “Doesn't dry my skin out.”
- “Leaves my skin feeling clean and moisturized.”
- “Doesn't cause a lot of dryness.”
- “Leaves skin feeling soothed and hydrated.”
Strong lemon scent Sometimes Noted
- “Smells similar to a household cleaner.”
- “I just have a sensitive nose.”
- “The lemon scent... smells like a household cleaner.”
Packaging issues Rarely Noted
- “Need to be cautious when squeezing the package.”
- “A lot runs out of it quite quickly.”
Small tube size Rarely Noted
- “Very small tube for the price.”
- “I wish there was more product.”
Sources: lovi.care, mynavyexchange.com, iherb.com, walgreens.com, thayers.com, walmart.com, and more
Questions and answers
How well does THAYERS Blemish Clearing Cleanser work for oily acne-prone skin?
THAYERS Blemish Clearing Cleanser works reasonably well for oily acne-prone skin, as salicylic acid and witch hazel help clear out pores while aloe and lemongrass calm and hydrate. It has a safe profile with no harsh ingredients, though cleansers of this type for this skin need soothing and effective ingredients like niacinamide and ceramides or probiotics to balance oil production and keep the skin clear without irritation.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2024Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 2023
Which ingredients make this cleanser a good fit for oily acne-prone skin?
Salicylic acid and witch hazel make this cleanser a good fit for your oily, acne-prone skin by providing mild exfoliation and astringent properties to help clear out pores. Lemongrass and aloe add soothing and hydrating benefits, while avoiding harsh ingredients that could irritate your skin. A cleanser for this skin type needs soothing and effective ingredients like niacinamide, ceramides, or probiotics to balance oil production and keep the skin clear without causing excess dryness.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2024Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 2023
What does Salicylic Acid do for oily acne-prone skin?
Salicylic acid helps clear breakouts and keeps oily skin balanced by reducing oil levels and calming inflammation. It is well suited for oily, acne-prone skin because it targets pimples while helping keep the skin hydrated and protected.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2025Experimental Dermatology, 2019
What does Witch Hazel do for oily acne-prone skin?
Witch hazel helps calm redness and balances irritated skin by reducing inflammation and soothing acne-prone areas. It is unlikely to cause irritation and may support clearer skin when used in your routine.
Where does this cleanser go in a skincare routine for oily acne-prone skin?
This cleanser fits into your morning and evening routine as the main cleansing step, helping to clear pores without causing irritation. For this skin type, an effective cleanser needs gentle exfoliating acids and soothing botanical ingredients to keep oily skin balanced and calm.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2024Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 2023
Can I use this cleanser with retinol, and in what order?
You can use this cleanser with retinol, but because it provides only moderate cleansing for oily acne-prone skin, your routine needs a gentle hydrating wash and a soothing moisturizer to keep your skin calm and smooth.
How often should I use this cleanser?
You can use this cleanser twice a day as part of your morning and evening routine for your oily acne-prone skin. It helps clear pores with salicylic acid and witch hazel while keeping your skin calm, though this skin type needs extra oil-balancing and blemish-reducing ingredients to work best.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2024Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 2023
Can this cleanser clog pores, cause breakouts or purging for oily acne-prone skin?
This cleanser is unlikely to clog pores or cause breakouts for your oily, acne-prone skin, as salicylic acid and witch hazel help gently clear out pores. However, because this product offers only an average fit, acne-prone skin often does better with a cleanser that provides stronger pore-clearing ingredients and oil-balancing benefits.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2024Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 2023
Can I use this cleanser around the eyes or on my body?
This cleanser works for oily acne-prone skin, but it is not ideal for the thin skin around your eyes and needs a gentle, hydrating formula with ingredients like ceramides or hyaluronic acid for that delicate area. It is generally safe to use on the body, though a body wash with higher-strength exfoliating acids may fit body skin better.
What the research says
Twice daily application of a multitargeted dermocosmetic cream provided comparable efficacy to benzoyl peroxide 5% gel in reducing inflammatory, non-inflammatory, and total lesions in 150 Caucasian subjects with mild-to-moderate acne over 56 days, while demonstrating superior skin tolerability.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2024The use of a salicylic acid-based dermocosmetic significantly reduces the needed quantity of benzoyl peroxide without impacting efficacy in mild to moderate acne, and as maintenance post-benzoyl peroxide allows a significant reduction of acne relapse compared to vehicle.
Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 2023A moisturizer containing licochalcone A, 1,2-decanediol, L-carnitine, and salicylic acid significantly reduced noninflammatory, inflammatory, and total acne lesion counts compared to a vehicle control in Thai patients during a 12-week maintenance phase.
BioMed Research International, 2020A topical emulgel formulation containing lemongrass essential oil and olive oil showed good stability, a moderate SPF value of 5.5, and significant improvements in cooling effect, odor, smoothness, and moisture in 20 volunteers.
Journal of Cosmetic Science, 2021Cryotherapy with liquid nitrogen achieved a higher cure rate (39%) than salicylic acid (24%) and a wait-and-see approach (16%) for cutaneous warts at 13 weeks in primary care patients.
CMAJ, 2010Treatment with 2% supramolecular salicylic acid hydrogel resulted in a regression and markedly improvement rate of 51.01% compared to 43.10% for Adapaline gel in patients with mild to moderate facial acne vulgaris, showing no significant difference in efficacy.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2024Topical 5% benzoyl peroxide plus salicylic acid achieved the greatest lesion reduction at early 2 to 4 week time points compared to benzoyl peroxide, clindamycin, and combination benzoyl peroxide/clindamycin, while 5% benzoyl peroxide plus salicylic acid and combination benzoyl peroxide/clindamycin showed similar efficacy at 10 to 12 weeks in acne patients.
Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 2010A Hamamelis virginiana leaf extract increased LOXL1 expression twofold, decreased elafin synthesis, restored functional elastic fibers, reduced nonfunctional elastin aggregates, decreased wrinkles, and improved skin firmness.
Journal of Cosmetic Science, 2018Hamamelis bark proanthocyanidins strongly increased the proliferation of cultured human keratinocytes and reduced transepidermal water loss and erythema formation in SLS-irritated skin, whereas the polysaccharide fraction had no effect.
Phytochemistry, 2001Witch hazel bark extract and hamamelitannin showed pronounced anti-inflammatory activity, supported keratinocyte migration in a wound healing assay, and inhibited Staphylococcus aureus growth, whereas their skin microbiota metabolite ellagic acid stimulated inflammatory mediator release.
Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 2025Lemongrass essential oil treatment demonstrated similar efficacy to chlorhexidine and doxycycline in treating periodontitis, gingivitis, and oral malodour, while also showing potential for treating pityriasis versicolor, preventing skin aging, and providing anti-dandruff effects.
Pharmaceuticals, 2024Lemon grass essential oil demonstrated in vitro antifungal activity against pathogenic yeasts and filamentous fungi alongside in vivo topical and oral anti-inflammatory effects in animal models.
The Libyan Journal of Medicine, 2014Lemongrass essential oil significantly inhibited inflammatory, tissue remodeling, and immunomodulatory biomarkers and modulated global gene expression in pre-inflamed human dermal fibroblasts.
Biochimie Open, 2017
Ingredients
Behind this fit score
Lovi calculates every fit score from the full ingredient list with brand-independent rules our dermatologists and cosmetic chemists build and review, and personalizes every pick with AI trained on the real results of millions of users. Lovi trains its fit score models on a proprietary dataset built from more than 10,000 expert-labeled products and more than 100,000 simulated examples, following an internally consistent methodology presented at Cosmoprof, AMWC, and Skin of Color Update.
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Co-founder, Medical Director
Cosmetic chemist, cosmetologist, aesthetic products developer
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Co-founder, CEO and CTO
PhD in computer science, 3x US patent holder, ex-Google, ex-Yandex
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Dr. Sofía Perea Pérez, MD, MSc
Medical Board
Aesthetic medicine practitioner, MSc in Longevity and Anti-Aging Medicine
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Medical Board
Specialist dermatologist, MBBS, MD, IFAAD
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Medical Board
Cosmetic chemist, SCS, IFSCC member
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Medical Board, Medical Advisor
Dermatology MD
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Elina Nazarenko, MD
Medical Board
Dermatology and diagnostic consultant
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Victoria Derkova, MS
Medical Board
Cosmetic chemist, cosmetic development technologist
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