The Ordinary Is Relaunching its Salicylic Acid Serum With a Waitlist of 400,000

If you’re a skin-care nerd,  you’ve probably heard about these two things time and time again in skin-care parlance: salicylic acid and The Ordinary. The former is an ingredient found in skin-care that “dissolves skin debris that clogs pores, [acts] as an anti-inflammatory, and also helps red, inflamed pimples and pustules go away faster,” Naissan O. Wesley, M.D., a board-certified dermatologist in Los Angeles, previously told Allure. 

Meanwhile, the latter is a popular brand praised for its affordable and effective skin-care products. One of the brand’s most popular and long sold-out products, the Salicylic Acid 2% Solution, which is named after the famed acne-fighting ingredient, is now making a comeback to deciem.com and The Ordinary’s stores on January 20. 

The updated relaunch of what is considered to be the brand’s “best product” among skin-care enthusiasts comes a month after the launch of the brand’s Salicylic Acid 2% Anhydrous Solution and the Salicylic Acid 2% Masque. You may notice that one of the newest members of The Ordinary’s line of salicylic acid products has a name similar to its longtime counterpart, but cosmetic chemist Ginger King says there’s a distinct chemical difference between them. 

First of all, the Salicylic Acid 2% Solution is formulated with water whereas the Salicylic Acid 2% Anhydrous Solution isn’t — “anhydrous” literally means without water. Because of this formula difference, each of the products will react differently to the skin. When mixed with water, King tells Allure that “[salicylic acid] can also be more irritating on [the] skin,” but without water, “it can reduce the potential of irritation from free acids in the water system. Additionally, the anhydrous system can provide a more emollient feel to skin without overdrying,” she explains.

Like we said before, the re-formulated Salicylic Acid 2% Solution will be back on deciem.com and in The Ordinary’s stores on January 20 for $6. But there’s a catch: the product currently has a waitlist of 400,000 eager customers, so we strongly suggest getting your hands on it as soon as it’s available (and if you can’t, at least you can fall back on its waterless counterpart).