SKINFOOD Black Sugar Perfect Essential Scrub 2X for oily acne-prone skin

How to apply

Questions and answers

What the research says

• The combination of sucrose dilaurate and sucrose laurate suppressed HMGB1 release, melanin production, melanocyte dendricity, and melanosome transfer in vitro, and reduced the appearance of facial spots compared to vehicle in an 8-week human use test.

  Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology, 2022

• Sucrose ester in an ibuprofen hydrogel increased skin hydration and ibuprofen penetration more intensely than a gel without sucrose ester without causing greater alterations in the stratum corneum structure in hairless mice.

  Pharmaceutical Development and Technology, 2012

• Topical application of the nonsugar fraction of brown sugar prevented chronic UVB-induced skin thickness increases, elasticity loss, wrinkles, pigmentation, and vascular changes in melanin-possessing hairless mice, which may be mediated by inhibiting MMP-2 and VEGF expression.

  Journal of Natural Medicines, 2009

• Clay jojoba oil facial masks reduced total skin lesions by a mean of 54% after 6 weeks in 133 participants with acne-prone, lesioned skin and mild acne compared to baseline.

  Forschende Komplementarmedizin, 2012

• Topical application of jojoba wax reduced LPS-induced secretion of IL-6, IL-8, and TNFα by approximately 30% and increased the synthesis of pro-collagen III and hyaluronic acid compared to untreated skin in an ex-vivo human skin organ culture model.

  Frontiers in Pharmacology, 2024

• Topical jojoba oil application in male mice decreased exercise-induced pro-inflammatory gene expression (Il-1b and Il-6 in soleus, Il-1b in gastrocnemius) compared to untreated exercised mice.

  Biomolecules, 2025

• Topical papain treatment may slightly decrease pain within 30 minutes in humans stung by Chrysaora chinensis compared to placebo.

  Wilderness & Environmental Medicine, 2016

• A fixed combination of hydroxypinacolone retinoate, retinol glycospheres, and papain glycospheres in aqueous gel applied once daily for 12 weeks achieved a 41% mean reduction in GAGS score and a 40.8% mean reduction in total lesions, with 15.3% of patients experiencing mild to moderate local side effects, in 94 evaluable patients with comedonal-papular, mild to moderate acne of the face.

  Giornale Italiano Di Dermatologia E Venereologia, 2015

• Reflux extraction of Carica papaya leaves yielded higher antioxidant capacity and superior in vitro wound-healing activities including fibroblast proliferation, cell migration, and collagen synthesis in human skin fibroblasts compared to ultrasonic-assisted extraction and agitation.

  Molecules, 2020

• A combination cream of stimu-tex AS and saccharide isomerate reduced erythema, increased skin capacitance, and reduced transepidermal water loss compared to placebo in 20 subjects after fractional CO2 laser procedure without causing serious adverse events.

  Lasers in Medical Science, 2025

• A skin barrier restoring cream with shea butter, silkflo, and vitamin E increased type I procollagen synthesis, enhanced antioxidant enzyme activity, decreased reactive oxygen species generation, and promoted hyaluronic acid production in H2O2-stimulated human keratinocyte cells compared to untreated cells.

  International Journal of Cosmetic Science, 2025

Why other products fit oily acne-prone skin better

• Adapalene 0.1%-benzoyl peroxide 2.5% fixed-dose combination gel provided significantly greater, synergistic efficacy and a faster onset of action compared with the vehicle, adapalene monotherapy, and benzoyl peroxide monotherapy in patients with acne vulgaris.

  The British Journal of Dermatology, 2009

• Topical benzoyl peroxide 5% gel treatment improved acne severity, sebum, stratum corneum hydration, and transepidermal water loss, while significantly reducing microbial diversity and the prevalence of Cutibacterium in 33 patients with acne vulgaris.

  Dermatologic Therapy, 2022

• A cream combining propolis, tea tree oil, and Aloe vera reduced erythema scars, acne severity index, and total lesion count better than erythromycin cream in sixty patients with mild to moderate acne vulgaris compared to placebo.

  Clinical Pharmacology, 2018

Ingredients

Sucrose, Glycerin, Peg-7 Glyceryl Cocoate, Macadamia Ternifolia Seed Oil, Candelilla Wax, Caprylic Capric Triglyceride, Cetyl Ethylhexanoate, Lanolin, Stearalkonium Hectorite, Limnanthes Alba Seed Oil, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter Shea Butter, Water, Sorbitan Laurate, Caramel, Ethylhexylglycerin, Butylene Glycol, Oenothera Biennis Oil, Olea Europaea Oil Fruit Olive Oil Fruit, Camellia Oleifera Seed Oil, Jojoba Seed Oil, Black Sugar Extract, Rice Ferment Filtrate Sake Ferment Filtrate, Lemon Fruit Extract, Pyrus Malus Fruit Extract, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis Fruit Extract, Carica Papaya Fruit Extract, Lepidium Meyenii Root Extract, Sarcodon Aspratus Extract, 1,2-Hexanediol, Phenoxyethanol

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.