Salicylic Smoothing Cleanser

Dermacare

Where to buy Possibly in stock

About this product

The Dermacare Salicylic Smoothing Cleanser is a cleanser. Our analysis of its 26 ingredients (19 low-risk) rates it Excellent (89/100). Based on its ingredients, it looks well-suited to oily / acne-prone skin.

Vegan-friendly Reef-safe

Summarised from our ingredient analysis — not brand marketing copy.

At a glance

Type
Cleansers
Ingredients
26
Low-risk
19
Fragrance
Fragrance-free
Origin
South Africa
Data updated
Jun 2026

The evidence

Quick Product Notes

Paraben-Free Sulfate-Free Alcohol-Free Silicone-Free EU Allergen-Free Fungal Acne (Malassezia) Safe

PH Level

(Know the PH? Submit it here! )

N/A - No submissions yet

Notable Effects & Ingredients

No Notable Effects & Ingredients

Ingredients Related to Skin Types

Good   Bad — tap a skin type to see which ingredients · estimated from ingredient functions
Dry Skin 3/7
Good for dry skin
Glycereth-26 Sodium Hyaluronate Cholesterol
Caution for dry skin
Decyl Glucoside Sodium Lauroyl Lactylate Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate Xanthan Gum Salicylic Acid Cocamidopropyl Dimethylamine Triethanolamine
Oily/Acne-Prone Skin 1/0
Good for oily/acne-prone skin
Salicylic Acid
Sensitive Skin 0/3
Caution for sensitive skin
Salicylic Acid Triethanolamine Methylisothiazolinone

Ingredients list

26 total
Lower hazard (1) Higher hazard (7)
All26 Skin Conditioning18 Hair Conditioning9 Viscosity Controlling8 Emulsion Stabilising7 Surfactant5 Viscosity Increasing Agent4 Emulsifying4 Solvent3
EWG CIR Ingredient Name & Cosmetic Functions Notes
1
Water
(Solvent)
1
B
Decyl Glucoside
(Cleansing, Emulsion Stabilising, Surfactant)
4
B
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
(Antistatic Agent, Hair Conditioning, Skin Conditioning, Sufactant, Foam Boosting, Viscosity Increasing Agent, Viscosity Controlling)
1
A
Niacinamide
(Hair Conditioning, Skin Conditioning, Smoothing)
1
B
Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate
(Cleansing, Foaming, Surfactant)
Fungal Acne
Fungal Acne Trigger
1
Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer
(Emulsion Stabilising, Film Forming, Viscosity Controlling)
1
Glycereth-26
(Humectant, Viscosity Decreasing Agent, Solvent, Viscosity Controlling)
1
Ceramide NP
(Hair Conditioning, Skin Conditioning)
Ceramide AP
(Hair Conditioning, Skin Conditioning)
Ceramide EOP
(Hair Conditioning, Skin Conditioning)
1
A
Sodium Hyaluronate
(Skin Conditioning, Humectant)
Good for Dry Skin
Good for Dry Skin
2
Cocamidopropyl Dimethylamine
(Antistatic Agent, Emulsifying, Hair Conditioning, Surfactant)
4
B
Salicylic Acid
(Antiacne Agent, Antidandruff Agent, Corn/Callus/Wart Remover, Denaturant, Exfoliant, Fragrance, Hair Conditioning, Skin Conditioning, Keratolytic, Masking, Preservative)
Good for Oily Skin
Good for Oily Skin
Bad for Sensitive Skin
Bad for Sensitive Skin
1
Phytosphingosine
(Hair Conditioning, Skin Conditioning)
1
A
Disodium EDTA
(Chelating Agent, Viscosity Controlling)
1
Sodium Lauroyl Lactylate
(Emulsifying, Surfactant)
1
A
Pentylene Glycol
(Skin Conditioning, Solvent)
1
A
Xanthan Gum
(Binding Agent, Emulsion Stabilising, Skin Conditioning, Surfactant Emulsifying Agent, Viscosity Increasing Agent, Binding, Gel Forming, Viscosity Controlling)
1
A
Ethylhexylglycerin
(Deodorant, Skin Conditioning)
1
Magnesium Nitrate
(Hair Conditioning)
5
B
Triethanolamine
(Fragrance, Ph Adjuster, Emulsifying, Surfactant, Buffering Agent, Masking)
1
A
Carbomer
(Emulsion Stabilising, Viscosity Increasing Agent, Gel Forming, Viscosity Controlling)
1
Magnesium Chloride
(Viscosity Controlling)
1
A
Cholesterol
(Emulsion Stabilising, Skin Conditioning, Viscosity Increasing Agent, Emollient, Emulsifying, Stabilising, Viscosity Controlling)
6
B
Methylchloroisothiazolinone
(Preservative)
7
B
Methylisothiazolinone
(Preservative)

My Ingredient Notes

No personal ingredient notes yet. Save ingredients to your profile to get good/bad alerts here.

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Key ingredients

Ceramides
Locks in moisture and supports skin barrier.
BHA
Unclogs pores and reduces excess oil.
Niacinamide
Strengthens, smooths, and brightens skin.
Hyaluronic Acid
Hydrates by attracting and holding water.

Benefits

Barrier RepairStrengthen and restore your skin's natural barrier.
HydratingBoosts hydration and relieves dry, tight skin.
Anti-AgingSoftens lines and helps skin look youthful.
Redness ReducingSoothes visible redness and calms irritation.
Reduces IrritationEases discomfort and supports skin resilience.
Acne FightingFights acne and helps prevent breakouts.
BrighteningRestores radiance to dull, tired skin.
Good For Oily SkinBalances oil and helps reduce shine.

Concerns

Not fungal acne (malassezia) safe
Methylisothiazolinone — higher EWG
May not suit dry skin
May not suit sensitive skin

EWG flags hazard, not real-world risk — ratings don't account for how much of an ingredient a product contains. Treat these as things to research, not verdicts. How we score →

Ingredients explained

Water
Solvent
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 Solvent
Decyl Glucoside
Cleansing, Emulsion stabilising
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR B CleansingEmulsion stabilisingSurfactant
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
Antistatic agent, Hair conditioning
Low-to-moderate hazard.Read moreShow less
EWG 4 CIR B Antistatic agentHair conditioningSkin conditioningSufactantFoam boostingViscosity increasing agentViscosity controlling
Niacinamide
Hair conditioning, Skin conditioning
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR A Hair conditioningSkin conditioningSmoothing
Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer
Emulsion stabilising, Film forming
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 Emulsion stabilisingFilm formingViscosity controlling
Glycereth-26
Humectant, Viscosity decreasing agent
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 HumectantViscosity decreasing agentSolventViscosity controlling
Ceramide NP
Hair conditioning, Skin conditioning
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 Hair conditioningSkin conditioning
Ceramide AP
Hair conditioning, Skin conditioning
Limited public safety data.Read moreShow less
EWG N/A Hair conditioningSkin conditioning
Ceramide EOP
Hair conditioning, Skin conditioning
Limited public safety data.Read moreShow less
EWG N/A Hair conditioningSkin conditioning
Cocamidopropyl Dimethylamine
Antistatic agent, Emulsifying
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 2 Antistatic agentEmulsifyingHair conditioningSurfactant
Phytosphingosine
Hair conditioning, Skin conditioning
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 Hair conditioningSkin conditioning
Disodium EDTA
Chelating agent, Viscosity controlling
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR A Chelating agentViscosity controlling
Sodium Lauroyl Lactylate
Emulsifying, Surfactant
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 EmulsifyingSurfactant
Pentylene Glycol
Skin conditioning, Solvent
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR A Skin conditioningSolvent
Xanthan Gum
Binding agent, Emulsion stabilising
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR A Binding agentEmulsion stabilisingSkin conditioningSurfactant -emulsifying agentViscosity increasing agentBindingGel formingViscosity controlling
+ 5 more — see the full ingredients list above
Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate
Cleansing, Foaming
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR B CleansingFoamingSurfactant Fungal-acne trigger
Sodium Hyaluronate
Skin conditioning, Humectant
Low-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 1 CIR A Skin conditioningHumectant Good for Dry Skin
Salicylic Acid
Antiacne agent, Antidandruff agent
Skin irritation can occur at high concentrationRead moreShow less
EWG 4 CIR B Antiacne agentAntidandruff agentCorn/callus/wart removerDenaturantExfoliantFragranceHair conditioningSkin conditioningKeratolyticMaskingPreservative Good for Oily SkinBad for Sensitive Skin
Triethanolamine
Fragrance, Ph adjuster
Moderate-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 5 CIR B FragrancePh adjusterEmulsifyingSurfactantBuffering agentMasking
Methylchloroisothiazolinone
Preservative
Moderate-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 6 CIR B Preservative
Methylisothiazolinone
Preservative
Higher-hazard ingredient.Read moreShow less
EWG 7 CIR B Preservative

How to use

How to use

  • 1 Where it fits: Use as the first step, on clean hands, before the rest of your routine.
  • 2 Morning & evening: Suitable for both AM and PM use.

General guidance from this product's category and active ingredients — always follow the directions on the package.

Trust & honesty

Pregnancy & breastfeeding

Contains ingredients some choose to avoid or double-check while pregnant or nursing.

Use with caution
BHA (salicylic) (Salicylic Acid)

Low-strength topical salicylic acid (BHA) is generally considered fine. Caution is usually reserved for high-strength leave-on products and salicylic peels.

This is general information, not medical advice. Pregnancy guidance varies and depends on concentration and your individual situation — always check with your doctor, midwife or pharmacist. How we flag this.

Effective levels — general guide

The concentrations these actives are typically effective at in research — not a measurement of this product.

Niacinamide 2–5% (up to 10%)

Most research uses 2–5%; some formulas go to 10%. Very high levels can cause flushing in sensitive skin.

Niacinamide

BHA (salicylic) 0.5–2%

Salicylic acid is OTC-capped at 2%; 0.5–2% is the usual leave-on range. Much below that it acts more as a soothing agent than an exfoliant.

Salicylic Acid

INCI lists don't disclose amounts, and we don't claim to know this product's levels — these are the ranges these ingredients are usually effective at, so you can tell a real formula from "fairy-dusting" a marketed active. How we estimate this.

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