Salicylic Acid Acne Treatment

Posted by John

March 24, 2010

What is Salicylic Acid Acne treatment?

Salicylic Acid is another common active ingredient used in acne treatments. Wikipedia describes it as a beta hydroxy acid, which is a little complicated but in the cosmetics world a beta hydroxyl acid is used as an anti-aging product. Although, anti-aging is not the main reason we are here, it is a nice side affect to what some people find to be an effective acne treatment.

How does a Salicylic Acid Treatment for Acne Work?

Salicylic acid works as a “keratolytic” which basically means it has 2 advantages. Firstly it softens the keratin (a major component of the skin) which means that excess skin and dead cells are shed easily which in turn reduces blockages and environments where bacteria thrive.

Secondly, it reduces the production of skin which in turn means that there are less blockages in the hair follicles and clears the way for other active ingredients to kill bacteria and remove excess sebum which is the cause the oily skin.

In short, it works as an antibacterial exfoliate eliminating 2 of the 3 main causes of acne thus elimminating the symptoms that occur (as can be seen in the Causes of acne page on this website)

There are also some anti-inflammatory properties to a Salicylic acid acne treatment. This means that not only will it help reduce the frequency of your acne symptoms but will also stop the pimples that you have from becoming larger, inflamed and red as infection sets in.

Concentrations of Salicylic Acid Acne Treatment

When used as an acne treatment, the concentration of Salicylic Acid is usually between 0.5% and 5%. If you have a product that is around 2-5% the normal recommended use of this is once daily. If you have treatment from 0.5% to 2% than this can be used 2 or even 3 times daily. We would recommend using the little and often method because it will reduce your chances of side effects and make them more controllable.

Side effects of Salicylic Acid Acne Treatment

The majority of people will experience little or no side effects when keeping to the directions of use that come with the product. However, in some cases when people are sensitive to Salicylic Acid or are overusing the product they can experience dry, scaling, peeling and red skin and inflamed hair follicles. In extreme cases these symptoms can increase to cause rashes and other allergic reactions.

If you do experience negative side effects it is advisable to see your doctor but if they are mild they can usually be solved by reducing the use.