Using Salicylic Acid For Acne

One of the chemical compounds used in acne cure products is salicylic acid. The first step in acne breakout breakouts is the clogging of the pores on your skin with follicles and salicylic acid prevents this from happening. Moreover, it has the power to penetrate the follicles, acting as an exfoliating agent, and thereby catalyses the process dead skin being removed from within the follicles. This way, it ensures that the follicles are kept free of cellular debris at all times. All of these results in the fact that your follicles remain free, number of pores being blocked by debris is reduced greatly, and thus the number of acne breakouts comes down.

Typically, salicylic acid based acne-cure products have a concentration of salicylic acid ranging from anywhere between 0.5% to 2%. These products contain salicylic acid in a number of forms – such as pads, gel, lotions, or creams. It is strongly advised that you use only one type of product at any given time – using multiple products may result in cross-reactions, something that you do not want to happen on your face. Moreover, increasing the amount of salicylic acid beyond that which is found in these products does not increase the efficiency significantly. You should apply these topical treatments over the affected areas and make sure that you rub it over the entire area, and not simply on the enlarged pores – this is because there are many micro pores that you cannot see and that will give rise to acne breakouts in a few days.

Salicylic acid can also cause dryness of skin, along with peeling and flaking. In a few extreme cases, applying salicylic acid on the skin starts a stinging sensation, irritation of the skin, or a burning sensation. Thus, it is very crucial that you start with a low concentration medium and first ensure that your skin is not unduly sensitive to salicylic acid. After that, you can slowly increase the concentration for better results. If you are a pregnant (or nursing) woman it is strongly recommended that you consult your doctor before using a salicylic acid based product, especially if you are going to apply it over a large area.

After using salicylic acid on your skin, you should ideally follow it up with a mild face wash, and pat your skin dry after that. Then, apply a soothing moisturizing lotion in order to tackle the dryness caused by the salicylic acid based product.