Is Salicylic Acid Effective at Treating Acne?

Salicylic Acid gets rid of the proteins in skin cells.  This is why you see this ingredient in common acne treatments such as soaps and spot creams, as well as corn and callous removers.  In acne treatments, it tries to get rid of the debris that form pimples but it takes a long time for it to work – about 90 days for the debris to be removed.  90 days is a long time to wait for clear skin.  Most of us want results right away.

If you have problem acne or very large comedones, it’s not worth your time or money on products that contain salicylic acid for existing acne.    However, if you want to help future breakouts by keeping the skin follicles clean and helping to prevent further breakouts, you may want to consider using it – but you’ll have to use it everyday.

So, it’s best to only use this ingredient if and only if you have very mild acne.

There is one big benefit to using salicylic acid: it is an anti-inflammatory agent and it can help with redness of pimples.

Did you know that over the counter acne treatments that contain salicylic acid are usually referred to as a beta hydroxy acids?  This isn’t quite true, though.  It’s really an “aromatic compound”.  So, don’t be fooled.

It’s very difficult to find a good salicylic acid product that works for you and won’t irritate your skin.  Because this ingredient will not dissolve in water, many will contain a lot of alcohol which will make acne-prone skin worse.

For acne treatments to be effective, it should have 2% salicylic acid with a pH of 3-3.5
But, try finding a product that lists both the % of salicylic acid and the pH.  It won’t be easy.


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5 Tips for using Acne Products Effectively

How do you use Benzoyl Peroxide products to gain the most benefit?

1.  Because it can be hard to the skin (causing redness and dryness), you have to know how best to use products that contain this ingredient.  Find the product that works with your skin.  There are a lot of different products that contain benzoyl peroxide:  like “spot treatments”, face washes, and masks.  Choose one to try – don’t buy a whole medicine cabinet full of products.

2.  You may have used it before and have not found it effective – this can be because you either used it every now and then instead of on a more consistent basis or you found it too drying.  You should always start with the lowest dose available – usually 2.5%.  See how this works first before you go to the 10% solutions.  Use it every second day anywhere you usually have acne issues.

3.  Work up to using it once per day without any redness or dryness issues.  Then, move to 2 times a day.

4.  If your skin responds well to an application of 2 times a day at the 2.5% level, stay there – there’s no need to move up to the higher concentrations.  If you have really oily skin, you can  try the 5% solution.  Most people don’t need to try the 10%.  Stop use all together if you have any signs of a true allergy to it:  burning, itching, swelling, etc.  Then, talk with your doctor.

5. Maintain your fundamental skin care habit:  wash your face twice a day, exfoliate, moisturize, if needed.  Next, have beautiful skin!!