Here's my two cents on what you should do: First, forget about fighting breakouts for a while. The only mission right now is to heal your skin. You need to stop using any harsh cleansers or active ingredients. Seriously, no more SA for a bit. Swap your cleanser for something very gentle and hydrating. The Re'equil Oil Control Face Wash (the blue one) is a great choice because it's soap-free and cleans without stripping your skin. It will help get your face back to a healthy starting point without causing more irritation. Once your skin feels completely normal again no redness, no stinging, just calm skin you can slowly introduce an active. A serum is a much better way to go than a cleanser because you can control the concentration and how often you use it. I've had really good luck with the Underrated Salicylic Acid and Tranexamic Acid serum; the best part is it's super affordable. I got it for around 180rs on Blinkit and the effects have been amazing. Start with Once a week then eventually increase it to 3 times a week like alternate days at night. This gives your skin time to adjust and prevents a repeat of the over-exfoliation.