I've been purchasing the Humane salicylic acid toner for over 3 years now and feel like it's a highly underrated product. I love the minimal ingredient list and lack of fragrance and coloring. It works great for my sensitive skin and keeps the whiteheads at bay (esp. while masking during and in post Covid era). You just can't beat the ingredients. Every time I think to look for another toner (say Paula's Choice, for example), I just don't see the point when this one is better priced, non-irritating, and non-drying. A big disclaimer is that I do not rely solely on this product for my skin's needs (I use quite a bit of other actives & brands) which is EXACTLY why I rely on this toner for my salicylic acid application - because it doesn't irritate and does just what I need it to do. It's seriously a great product worth trying. I only wish I had come across it in my early 20's and teens (it would've saved me a lot of scarring!). I will continue to subscribe to it for as long as they keep that ingredients list nice, simple and to the point! Read more
Alright, so this review is a first (third?) impression, because I just got it a few days ago and have been using it nightly as part of my routine. I didn’t really think I needed a toner. I’ve used alcohol-free ones for hydration in the past and they’ve made my face softer, but I didn’t think that was a huge benefit overall. I do, however, suffer from an army of blackheads, so I did some research into how to help my skin in that department. I was already using an exfoliating cleanser with 2% salicylic acid, but I don’t use it regularly. I feel like my skin dries out too much if I use an exfoliater more than once or twice a week. But all the places I turned to were saying I should use 2% salicylic acid, so I turned to amazon. I figured it was best if the stuff could safely sit on my face without being washed off, so I went back to toners. So far, I’m very glad I did! I feel like this stuff really loosens up my blackheads and makes them look clearer. There’s no strong smell, no strong sting, and it glides right over my skin without feeling oily. It does make my forehead look a little shinier than I like, but it’s no big deal. So here’s what my routine generally looks like: - wash my face with Cetaphil every day—sometimes morning, sometimes night, depends on how tired I am when I’m getting ready for bed. - exfoliate once a week when I remember to, sometimes twice if I have particularly flaky skin—and then, sometimes I forget to do this. I’m really not that meticulous when it comes to washing my skin, which is probably why I have such a blackhead problem. - use a clay mask once or twice a week—which basically translates to: whenever I remember to. - follow the cleans/exfoliation/mask with the toner. - use 30 SPF face cream every morning. I’ll update this review if anything changes. Read more
October Update - sadly I had to set this product aside after 1 month of consistent use , The product is effective for acne but it might still be too irritating for severely hypersensitive and dehydration prone skin ( though it seems a bit less irritating than other salicylic acid products I've used, perhaps due to the lack of denatured alchohol) YMMV you guys! I still approve of the formula since it did help with my acne but my skin is simply too sensitive for salicylic acid in general (it tends to dry me out even though my skin is very oily because I'm super prone to dehydration) Also , since my skin is an aberration (one that stumps my own doctors) ill be nice and leave it at 4 stars for the formula itself. BELOW IS THE OLD REVIEW- i wasnt going to comment on this at all but I was ordering stuff on amazon and felt guilty for not saying anything so here I am. I just wanted to say kudos to the formulator who designed this product! I love their choice of ingredients for this, its simple straightforward effective and its alcohol free! And smells like green tea extract (literally). This might be a good choice for sensitive skin types who dont like other BHA products or have issues with certain solvents (Humane uses propanediol which I 100% approve of. I've never noticed any sensitivity with propanediol so when I saw this product I knew I needed to try it) but ALWAYS take caution and introduce it slowly into your routine, and cut back as soon as you even see any hint of dryness redness or any kind of irritation (you should do this with any and all topical exfoliants like AHA BHA retinoids etc. do NOT underestimate the damage overexfoliation can do to your skin barrier) I've struggled with acne for many years (10+ years of cystic acne) and all my derms gave up on me cause no medication they prescribed worked on me (due to my reactive hypersensitive skin) so I'm on my own. This product (unexpectedly) actually seems to be working (I've used it for about 2 weeks so its still early) and this is slowly reaching holy grail status. (those of you who know what it is like to deal with chronic cystic acne know this is a huge deal deal . few if any products will ever reach holy grail status for us lol.) if theres one bad thing about this its that the packaging does make hard to dispense/control how much product comes out when i use it? frankly i can always just transfer the product into a better bottle so I dont care much, im just glad a formula like this exists on the market LOL Anyway, i rarely comment on products, but I just wanted to say thank you to the formulator of the product for designing this product. and uh, please dont change the formula? lol if this product continues to work, then I'll continue to repurchase this =) Read more
