Salicylic acid for skin: uses, side effects and pregnancy

What salicylic acid is

Salicylic acid has been used to treat skin disorders for more than 2,000 years.¹ It exfoliates the stratum corneum, the outer layer of the skin, and it is comedolytic, which means it helps clear the plugs that form blackheads and whiteheads. The review describes it as a desmolytic agent: it works by disrupting the links between cells rather than by dissolving keratin.¹

Skincare calls it a beta-hydroxy acid, or BHA, to tell it apart from the alpha-hydroxy acids such as glycolic acid.

What it does for acne

The strongest summary we found is a Cochrane review of topical acne treatments, which included salicylic acid. For people’s own rating of their acne, it found that salicylic acid may make little or no difference compared with tretinoin, based on one study of 46 people and low-quality evidence. For other comparisons the quality was low or very low.² The review searched up to May 2019.

Most of the better-known results are for peels done by a clinician, not for home products. In a study of 35 Korean patients, 30% salicylic acid peels every two weeks for 12 weeks reduced inflammatory and non-inflammatory lesion counts and acne grade, with side effects that were tolerable in most cases.³ A review of salicylic acid peels says efficacy and safety have been documented in lighter skin (Fitzpatrick types I to III) and in darker skin (types V and VI).¹

Those peel results do not tell you what a low-strength cleanser or serum does at home.

Side effects, and when it is too much

Salicylic acid can be absorbed through the skin. A 2014 review in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology says salicylic acid toxicity, called salicylism, is rare but can occur from topical application, and that how much is absorbed depends on the vehicle and pH.⁴ In practice that is a reason to take care over strength and area: a small spot treatment is not the same as a high-strength product over a large part of the body.

Unlike glycolic acid, salicylic acid did not make skin more sensitive to simulated sunlight in a small study. In 14 people, 2% salicylic acid applied for 3.5 weeks produced no significant change in redness, DNA damage or sunburn cells, while 10% glycolic acid did.⁵ That was a short study in a small group.

The EU’s safety committee notes that salicylic acid is an eye irritant with the potential to cause serious eye damage,⁶ so keep it away from your eyes.

Using salicylic acid with other products

We did not find a source saying salicylic acid must be kept apart from another active. What exists is mostly small studies of finished products, or treatments compared against each other rather than combined.

Those studies do not show what happens when you layer two products you bought separately, so read each row as what has been tried, not as proof of a good match.

Salicylic acid in pregnancy and breastfeeding

The advice is graded, and the grade follows strength. A low-strength product is a different thing from a high-strength product or a peel. The reason for the line is absorption: salicylism, the rare toxicity from salicylic acid on skin, depends on how much gets through.⁴

A 2026 review of cosmetic dermatology in pregnancy and lactation says that during pregnancy elective cosmetic interventions are deferred, and that high-quality safety data and formal guidelines remain limited.⁸ Chemical peels are one of the treatments it covers.

Ask your doctor or midwife about the specific product you use.

How the EU limits salicylic acid, and what that means in India

The EU’s Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety describes the current limits for uses other than preserving a product as 3.0% in rinse-off products, 2.0% in leave-on products other than body lotion and oral products, and 0.5% in body lotion and oral products. It notes that the Cosmetic Regulation does not allow salicylic acid in products for children under 3.⁶ In the Cosmetics Regulation, Annex III, entry 98 sets these limits for uses other than preserving a product, and says not for children under 3, not in oral products and not for uses that may expose the lungs to inhalation; Annex V, entry 3 allows salicylic acid as a preservative at up to 0.5%, not in products for children under 3 except shampoos.⁹

In 2025 that committee looked at children aged 3 to 10. It found that using salicylic acid at those maximums across several products at once was not safe for that age group, and that a lower concentration, for example 0.1% in dermal products, would be.⁶ We have not checked whether the Commission has acted on the opinion.

Snifff’s summary says both regions restrict salicylic acid. We have not set out the Indian limits on this page.

What you will see on the label

Salicylic acid is usually listed as Salicylic Acid, and sold as “BHA” or “beta hydroxy acid”. Capryloyl salicylic acid is a different ingredient, and so are salicylate salts. The EU committee’s conclusions apply only to salicylic acid itself, not to other salicylates or salicylic acid salts.⁶

Snifff shows salicylic acid as Low risk. For the rest of the formula, see what the score means and how to read the list.

As Snifff shows it

Salicylic Acid

Low risk

Pregnancy and nursing

Use with caution during pregnancy and lactation: low-strength topical salicylic acid can be acceptable, but high-strength products and peels should be avoided.

Regulatory gap

Both regions restrict salicylic acid. The EU adds product- and age-specific rules, including a 0.5% body-lotion cap and a ban for children under 3 except in shampoo.

Wording as it appears in the extension, which can change between releases.