Paula’s Choice 2% BHA vs The Ordinary Salicylic Acid comes down to what you want the bottle to do and how much of it you’ll go through. Both are leave-on liquids with 2% salicylic acid in a water base, at nearly the same pH. Buy The Ordinary Salicylic Acid 2% Solution if you want the lowest price and a product labeled for acne: it’s about $7 for 1 ounce, though the price changes often, and it’s sold as an over-the-counter acne treatment. Buy Paula’s Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant, about $37 for 4 ounces, if you want a thin, toner-like exfoliant for clogged pores and texture that you can use over your whole face, with green tea extract in the formula. Per ounce, the gap is smaller than the price tags suggest.
Side by side
| Feature | Paula’s Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant | The Ordinary Salicylic Acid 2% Solution |
| Price (changes often) | About $37 | About $7 |
| Size | 4 fl oz (118 mL); also a 1 fl oz travel size | 30 mL (about 1 fl oz) |
| Price per ounce | About $9.25 | About $6.70 |
| Salicylic acid | 2% | 2% |
| How it’s sold | Cosmetic leave-on exfoliant | Over-the-counter acne treatment, with salicylic acid 2% as the active ingredient |
| Other ingredients | Water, methylpropanediol, butylene glycol, polysorbate 20, green tea leaf extract, sodium hydroxide, tetrasodium EDTA | Water, chlorphenesin, citric acid, glycerin, isoceteth-20, pentylene glycol, phenoxyethanol, saccharide isomerate, sodium citrate, sodium hydroxide, xanthan gum |
| pH, per the brand | 3.2 to 3.8 | 3.2 to 4.0 |
| Format | Liquid with the texture of a toner | Water-based serum |
| How to apply | Cotton round or hands, on clean skin, morning and/or night. Don’t rinse. | A thin layer over the affected area on clean skin |
| How often, per the brand | Start every other day; up to twice daily if there’s no irritation | Start once daily; the label allows up to three times daily if needed |
| Fragrance and alcohol | Fragrance-free, alcohol-free | Alcohol-free; no fragrance on the ingredient list |
Directions and claims are each brand’s own. Prices are approximate, and both move around.
What Paula’s Choice 2% BHA is
Paula’s Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant is a leave-on liquid that Paula’s Choice also calls an exfoliating toner. The whole formula is eight ingredients: water, methylpropanediol, butylene glycol, salicylic acid, polysorbate 20, green tea leaf extract, sodium hydroxide and tetrasodium EDTA. Salicylic acid is fourth. Paula’s Choice describes methylpropanediol as a solvent that helps other ingredients absorb and adds some hydration, and the green tea as an antioxidant with soothing properties.
It’s sold as a cosmetic. Salicylic acid sits in the regular ingredient list, and Paula’s Choice talks about the product in terms of pores, blackheads, oil and texture. The brand says the formula is “clinically proven to visibly reduce pores, control oil & support skin’s barrier,” and gives a pH range of 3.2 to 3.8. It also says the formula is fragrance-free, alcohol-free, vegan and gluten-free, with a caveat: the ingredients have a faint scent of their own that fades quickly.
Our Paula’s Choice 2% BHA review rates it a Buy and names The Ordinary as the dupe. This page is the closer look at that pairing.
What The Ordinary Salicylic Acid 2% Solution is now
The Ordinary Salicylic Acid 2% Solution has been reformulated, so an old review may describe a different product. The Ordinary calls the current one an “updated formulation made with pure powder form of Salicylic Acid as well as an enhanced texture.” It’s a water-based serum in a 30 mL bottle.
In the US it’s an acne product by its own label. Salicylic acid 2% is listed as the active ingredient with the purpose “acne treatment,” and the inactive ingredients are water, chlorphenesin, citric acid, glycerin, isoceteth-20, pentylene glycol, phenoxyethanol, saccharide isomerate, sodium citrate, sodium hydroxide and xanthan gum. The Ordinary describes it as “formulated for acne-prone skin” and says it’s suitable for teenagers with mild to moderate acne. The stated pH is 3.2 to 4.0.
Don’t confuse it with the Salicylic Acid 2% Anhydrous Solution, a separate squalane-based product from the same brand. It’s in the table further down. For the rest of the line, see our list of the best The Ordinary products.
Where they differ
The active. There’s no difference to find here. Both have 2% salicylic acid, both are water-based, both are left on the skin, and the two pH ranges overlap almost entirely. Salicylic acid is a beta hydroxy acid, which is what the “BHA” in the Paula’s Choice name stands for, and it’s oil-soluble, so it can work inside a pore as well as on the surface. Our guide to benzoyl peroxide vs salicylic acid explains what that’s good for and what it isn’t.
The label. This is the difference that gets missed. In the US, a leave-on with 2% salicylic acid can be sold as a cosmetic or as an over-the-counter acne drug, and under FDA rules the claims decide which. The Ordinary’s bottle is the drug: it names an active ingredient, says it treats acne, and carries the standard acne-drug warnings. Paula’s Choice sells Skin Perfecting as a cosmetic exfoliant. That doesn’t make one stronger. It does mean only one of them is labeled to treat acne, so we won’t tell you the Paula’s Choice clears breakouts.
The base. Paula’s Choice builds its liquid on two glycols, methylpropanediol and butylene glycol, and adds green tea extract. The Ordinary’s base has glycerin and saccharide isomerate, both humectants, plus xanthan gum, a thickener. Neither has added fragrance or drying alcohol. If you react to a specific ingredient, read both lists in the table, because apart from water, salicylic acid and the sodium hydroxide that adjusts pH, they share nothing.
Texture and how you put it on. Paula’s Choice describes a “lightweight, liquid texture” like a toner’s and says to apply it with a cotton round or your hands to the face, neck and chest. The Ordinary calls its product a serum, with a thickener in the formula, and its directions are to cover the affected area with a thin layer. One is designed to be swept over a large area. The other is designed to go where the breakouts are.
How often. Paula’s Choice says to start every other day and work up to twice daily if your skin isn’t irritated. The Ordinary’s label says to start with one application a day and allows up to three if needed, cutting back to once a day or every other day if dryness or peeling bothers you. Its own FAQ is more conservative: once daily, in the evening. Both brands tell you to wear sunscreen during the day while using it.
What you can layer with it. The brands disagree. The Ordinary lists other direct acids, retinoids, peptides, copper peptides and direct vitamin C under “do not use with.” Paula’s Choice says no ingredient is universally off-limits with its BHA and names niacinamide, vitamin C, retinoids and glycolic acid as fine to pair, introduced gradually. If your routine already has a retinoid, alternating nights is the cautious reading of both. Our guide to the signs of over-exfoliating covers what too much looks like.
Sensitive skin. Paula’s Choice says its 2% BHA is generally suitable for sensitive skin if you start slowly. The Ordinary says the exfoliating effects of its solution may not suit sensitive skin and recommends a patch test. Each brand is describing its own product, and neither has compared the two.
Sizes and price per ounce. The Ordinary comes in one size, 30 mL, for about $7. Paula’s Choice comes in 4 ounces for about $37 and a 1-ounce travel size for about $15. That works out to about $6.70 an ounce for The Ordinary, about $9.25 for the big Paula’s Choice and about $15 for the small one. Four bottles of The Ordinary would run about $27 against $37 for the same volume. It’s a real saving, though not the fivefold gap the two price tags suggest.
Who should buy which
The Ordinary suits you if breakouts are the reason you’re shopping and you want a product that says so on the label. It also suits anyone trying salicylic acid for the first time. For about $7, you’ll find out whether your skin gets along with it before you’ve spent much.
Paula’s Choice suits you if you’re after smoother texture and clearer-looking pores across your whole face, and you like the idea of a thin liquid on a cotton round. The 4-ounce bottle makes sense once you know you’ll use it most days, because that’s where its per-ounce price gets close to The Ordinary’s.
A few readers should buy neither yet. If your skin is raw, peeling or stinging, wait until it’s calm. If you’re already using a prescription retinoid or another acid every night, you’ll have to alternate, and adding a third active rarely helps. And if you have a salicylate allergy, Paula’s Choice says to check with your physician first, which applies to both bottles.
What else to consider
Paula’s Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant, travel size (1 fl oz)
The same Paula’s Choice liquid in the small bottle. It costs the most per ounce of anything here, but it’s the cheapest way to find out whether you prefer it before buying 4 ounces.
PanOxyl Clarifying Exfoliant 2% Salicylic Acid (4 fl oz)
A 4-ounce leave-on liquid sold as an acne treatment, with salicylic acid 2% as the active ingredient. PanOxyl says it’s alcohol-free and adds blue algae extract to calm the look of redness. About $3 an ounce.
The Ordinary Salicylic Acid 2% Anhydrous Solution (30 mL)
The water-free version: 2% salicylic acid in a squalane base. The Ordinary calls it a gentler formula that releases the acid over time and says it’s ideal for new users. It’s aimed at congestion and texture.
Paula’s Choice CLEAR Extra Strength Anti-Redness Exfoliating Solution (4 fl oz)
The 2% salicylic acid liquid from Paula’s Choice’s acne line. Paula’s Choice says it’s the same formula as Skin Perfecting and positions it for acne, as one step of a three-step system.
Prices move constantly, so we link to live listings instead of printing a number that is wrong by the time you read it. Links go to Amazon, which is where a referral gets credited.
The PanOxyl is the one to look at if you liked the sound of a big bottle but not the Paula’s Choice price. It’s the same size and the same strength, labeled for acne, at about a third of the cost. It’s a similar kind of product and not the same formula: the base is different, and PanOxyl’s claims are its own.
If I Were You
If you’ve never used an acid, buy The Ordinary and use it once a day at most, in the evening, as its FAQ suggests. Seven dollars is a fair price for finding out how your skin responds.
If blackheads and rough texture across your nose, chin and forehead are the complaint, buy the Paula’s Choice. A thin liquid on a cotton round covers that much skin easily, and the 4-ounce bottle lasts.
If you want something labeled to treat acne, buy The Ordinary, or the PanOxyl if you want four times the volume. Both name salicylic acid 2% as an active ingredient.
If you already own The Ordinary and it’s working, don’t upgrade. The acid and the strength are the same, and what you’d be paying for is the base and the bottle.
If your skin is dry or easily irritated, start with the Paula’s Choice travel size every other day, or try The Ordinary’s Anhydrous Solution, which the brand describes as its gentler option. Moisturize after either.
If your breakouts are deep, painful or leaving scars, skip this aisle and see a dermatologist. A 2% leave-on is for mild, surface-level trouble.
FAQ
Is The Ordinary Salicylic Acid a dupe for Paula’s Choice 2% BHA?
It’s similar where it matters most: the same acid, at the same 2%, in a water-based leave-on at a similar pH. It isn’t the same formula. The bases are different, The Ordinary’s is a serum where Paula’s Choice’s is a toner-like liquid, and The Ordinary’s is labeled as an acne treatment while Paula’s Choice’s is a cosmetic exfoliant. It costs about $7 against about $37, or about $6.70 an ounce against about $9.25.
Can I use either one every day?
Both brands allow it once your skin tolerates it. Paula’s Choice says to start every other day and build to as much as twice daily. The Ordinary’s label says to start once a day and reduce to every other day if you get bothersome dryness or peeling. Start low with either, and wear sunscreen in the daytime.
Results take a while to judge. Our guide to how long skincare takes to work has realistic timelines.
Can I use them together?
There’s no reason to. They deliver the same acid at the same strength, so layering them doubles the exfoliation without adding anything new. The Ordinary also advises against using its solution with other direct acids. Pick one.
Is 2% salicylic acid safe during pregnancy?
That’s a question for your doctor. Paula’s Choice says 1 to 2% salicylic acid is generally considered safe during pregnancy when used on small areas, and tells customers to consult a healthcare provider before using it. We’d do the same before starting either product.
Why did my skin break out more after starting?
Paula’s Choice says BHA can temporarily cause what’s called purging, as clogs already in the pores come to the surface. That’s the brand’s explanation. If the breakouts come with stinging, redness or peeling, or they keep going for weeks, cut back or stop. That’s irritation.
Bottom line
The acid is the same, so you’re choosing a label, a texture and a bottle size. The Ordinary Salicylic Acid 2% Solution is an acne treatment in a small serum bottle for about $7. Paula’s Choice 2% BHA is a cosmetic exfoliant in a thin liquid, about $37 for four times as much. Start with The Ordinary if you’re unsure, and move to the big Paula’s Choice bottle only if you want that texture on your whole face every day. There’s more in our Buy, Dupe, or Splurge archive and the skin archive.
