The best sulfur acne treatment for the occasional breakout is a 10% spot treatment, and The Ordinary Sulfur 10% Powder-to-Cream Concentrate is the one we’d buy first because it’s cheap and easy to put exactly where you need it. For a wash, Proactiv Clean Mineral Acne Cleanser has 3% sulfur. For a mask, PanOxyl Pore Refining Acne Mask has 5%. The other five cover a splurge spot treatment, a leave-on lotion, the sulfur and resorcinol combination, a 10% mask and a 10% bar soap. Every pick is an over-the-counter acne drug with sulfur as a listed active ingredient, and we give the strength for each one. None of them is a cure.
The eight at a glance
The Ordinary Sulfur 10% Powder-to-Cream Concentrate
A first sulfur product on a small budget
Kate Somerville EradiKate Acne Treatment
The splurge spot treatment for oily skin
Rezamid Acne Lotion
The classic sulfur and resorcinol combination
Peter Thomas Roth Therapeutic Sulfur Mask
A stronger mask, including for chest and back
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.
What sulfur does, according to the label
Sulfur is one of a short list of ingredients the FDA’s over-the-counter acne monograph allows in an acne drug, alongside benzoyl peroxide and salicylic acid. The monograph sets the strength: 3% to 10% sulfur on its own, or 3% to 8% when it’s combined with 2% resorcinol or 3% resorcinol monoacetate. Rezamid, at 5% sulfur and 2% resorcinol, sits inside those rules.
What can a sulfur product claim? The required use is “for the treatment of acne” or “for the management of acne.” Labels may add lines such as “dries up acne pimples” or “helps prevent new acne blemishes,”. That’s the whole story the label tells, and we won’t promise more.
Sulfur labels also share a set of warnings. Don’t use it on broken skin or on large areas of skin. Apply it only to areas with acne. Irritation and dryness are more likely with another topical acne medication at the same time. Products that pair sulfur with resorcinol add two more lines: rinse right away if it gets in your eyes, and stop and ask a doctor if irritation starts or gets worse.
The smell, and who sulfur suits
Sulfur has a smell, and brands work around it. The Ordinary says its colloidal sulfur, which has a smaller particle size, helps keep the odor and the visibility down. PanOxyl calls its mask low-odor. Others add fragrance instead: Peter Thomas Roth and Rezamid both list it.
Sulfur suits anyone who can’t use benzoyl peroxide. Benzoyl peroxide labels must say not to use them if you have very sensitive skin or are sensitive to benzoyl peroxide, and they warn that the drug can bleach hair and fabric. Sulfur labels carry neither of those required warnings. The Ordinary calls sulfur a gentle approach that’s ideal for sensitive skin, though Kate Somerville’s EradiKate label tells people with very sensitive skin not to use it. For the two other big actives, see benzoyl peroxide vs salicylic acid.
If your bumps are tiny, itchy and all the same size, they may not be acne at all. Our post on fungal acne vs regular acne explains how to tell them apart.
1. The Ordinary Sulfur 10% Powder-to-Cream Concentrate
The Ordinary Sulfur 10% Powder-to-Cream Concentrate is our first pick: 10% sulfur, the top of the monograph range, for about $10 (prices change often). It comes out as a powder and turns into a light cream when you press it into the spot, easy to dose on a single pimple. Kaolin and niacinamide are on the inactive list. The Ordinary says it targets a pimple’s height, diameter and redness. Start once a day and build to two or three times if your skin is fine with it.
2. Kate Somerville EradiKate Acne Treatment
Kate Somerville EradiKate Acne Treatment is the splurge spot treatment, also 10% sulfur, at about $29 for a one-ounce bottle. Isopropyl alcohol leads its inactive list, with camphor, salicylic acid and zinc oxide further down. That’s a drying formula, which suits oily skin and a single angry spot more than dry skin. Remember the label line: if you have very sensitive skin, or you’re sensitive to sulfur, it says not to use it.
3. Thayers Rapid Acne Treatment
Thayers Rapid Acne Treatment is a 10% sulfur cream you spread in a thin layer over the area that breaks out, rather than dotting on one pimple. Niacinamide, glycolic acid, licorice root extract and aloe are among its inactive ingredients. Glycolic acid is an exfoliant, so with an acid toner or a retinoid already in your routine, this is a lot for one face.
4. Rezamid Acne Lotion
Rezamid Acne Lotion is the one combination product here: 5% sulfur with 2% resorcinol. Its label lists two uses, drying up acne pimples and helping prevent new ones. Iron oxides, zinc oxide and titanium dioxide are on the inactive list, so it goes on with a tint rather than clear. It also contains alcohol and fragrance. At about $27, you’re paying for the tint and the combination, not more sulfur.
5. PanOxyl Pore Refining Acne Mask
PanOxyl Pore Refining Acne Mask is 5% colloidal sulfur in a kaolin clay base, and it’s the medicated pick in our roundup of the best face masks for acne. The directions are to leave a thin layer on clean, damp skin for 10 to 15 minutes, up to two times a week. Bergamot peel oil and menthol are on the inactive list. It’s also the only label in this roundup with a pregnancy line: if you’re pregnant or breastfeeding, it says to ask a health professional first.
6. Peter Thomas Roth Therapeutic Sulfur Mask
Peter Thomas Roth Therapeutic Sulfur Mask doubles the strength to 10% sulfur, with bentonite, kaolin and aloe. Its label covers face, chest and back: apply, let it dry for 5 to 10 minutes, rinse, and repeat two to three times a week. It has fragrance. At about $53 it’s the priciest pick, and for the face alone we’d choose the PanOxyl. Where this one earns its price is body breakouts, as long as you keep it to the spots and off large areas, as the label says.
7. Proactiv Clean Mineral Acne Cleanser
Proactiv Clean Mineral Acne Cleanser is a 3% sulfur face wash, the lowest strength the monograph allows. It rinses off, so it’s a reasonable first step if you’re unsure how your face will react. The label even includes the optional sensitivity test: use it on one or two small areas for the first three days before going all in.
8. Dermaharmony 10% Sulfur Soap
Dermaharmony 10% Sulfur Soap is a bar with 10% sulfur, about $7 for four ounces. The label calls it an acne medication soap: lather the affected area with warm water for one to two minutes, rinse, pat dry. It’s the budget way to try sulfur on a breakout-prone patch of chest or back. The label still says to keep it to areas with acne, not large areas of skin.
How we picked
Every pick is an over-the-counter acne drug with sulfur listed as an active ingredient and its strength printed on the label. We wanted a real spread of formats (spot treatment, cream, lotion, mask, wash and soap), strengths from 3% to 10%, and prices from under $10 to over $50. No brand got more than one slot. Products that contain sulfur without listing it as an active ingredient didn’t qualify.
How to use sulfur without wrecking your skin barrier
Pick one sulfur product, not three. Every label here warns that layering acne medications makes dryness and irritation more likely.
Start slow. The leave-on labels all say the same thing: once a day at first, then two or three times only if your skin handles it, and back to once a day or every other day if it gets dry or peels.
Moisturize around it. A plain, fragrance-free moisturizer can help skin put up with a drying treatment, and wear sunscreen in the morning. Keep sulfur away from your eyes and off broken skin, which means not on a pimple you’ve just picked.
If I Were You
- If you get a few pimples at a time, we’d buy The Ordinary and use it only on the spots, once a day to start.
- If benzoyl peroxide always leaves you red and flaky, try Proactiv’s 3% wash for a couple of weeks before moving up to a 10% leave-on.
- If your breakouts are on your chest or back, the Dermaharmony bar or the Peter Thomas Roth mask, applied only where the acne is.
- If you’d rather your spot treatment not show, Rezamid has a tint and pairs sulfur with resorcinol.
- If you’re already on a prescription acne cream, ask the doctor who prescribed it before adding sulfur. If your acne is deep, painful or leaving scars, a board-certified dermatologist is the right next step, not another tube.
FAQ
Is sulfur better than benzoyl peroxide?
Not better, different. Sulfur is the pick when benzoyl peroxide is too irritating or bleaching your towels is a deal breaker. For a fuller rundown of spot actives, our guide to spot treatments that work matches each one to the kind of blemish it suits.
What strength of sulfur should I buy?
Anything from 3% to 10% is within the monograph. Every leave-on spot treatment here is 10%. A wash like Proactiv’s can sit lower, at 3%, because it comes off in a minute, and it’s the gentler place to start.
Can I use sulfur with resorcinol?
Yes, in one product built that way. The monograph allows sulfur at 3% to 8% with 2% resorcinol or 3% resorcinol monoacetate, and Rezamid uses 5% sulfur with 2% resorcinol.
What about Mario Badescu Drying Lotion?
Mario Badescu Drying Lotion contains sulfur, salicylic acid and calamine, but it’s sold as a cosmetic, with no Drug Facts panel and no sulfur percentage, so it didn’t make our list. Isopropyl alcohol is the first ingredient. If you like it, dab the pink sediment only on surface spots, as Mario Badescu directs.
Is sulfur safe in pregnancy?
Of the labels here, only PanOxyl’s addresses it, and it says to ask a health professional before use if you’re pregnant or breastfeeding. The other labels don’t mention pregnancy, so we’d follow the same advice for all of them.
Bottom line
Sulfur is the quiet acne active: 3% to 10% under the monograph, no bleaching warning, and a smell brands have learned to tame. Buy The Ordinary for spots, Proactiv for a wash, and PanOxyl if you like a weekly mask. Use one at a time, start once a day, and stop if your skin stays red or raw. There’s more in our skin care archive.
