Sick of Acne? Looking for clear, clean and radiant skin? Salicylic acid may be the answer to your problems.

Image source: http://www.salicylic.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/iStock_000010022977XSmall-300x199.jpg (accessed March 23, 2016) 

Acne is quite a common skin problem, especially seen during the teenage years. Whenever we face skin problems, we tend to grab over the counter acne treatments to see fast and effective results. However, we never consider what all these acne products have in common. Salicylic acid, is one of the frequently found ingredients in acne treatment products. This compound is most commonly used in the production of pharmaceuticals like aspirin due to its properties of preventing clot formation and blood coagulation.^1,2 Another place where salicylic acid is used is in the treatment of fungal skin infections because of its fungus killing properties.²

Salicylic acid in skin:

Particularly in skin, salicylic acid has many uses like destroying warts, and treatment of diseases like hyperkeratotic which is a scaly skin condition.^2,3 In many acne products which contain salicylic acid its function is to reduce pimples and skin blemishes by exfoliating skin (getting rid of dead skin cells) and removing excess oils in the pores.^4,5 In general, salicylic acid is more useful for people with oily skin whereas it makes dry skin drier because it extracts oils from the skin.⁶

Too much is not always good

It is important to consider is how much salicylic can be found in these products. It is commonly noted that in most major skin problems there is about 2-6% concentration of salicylic acid used.^2,3 Yet, in cases of more sensitive skin and for everyday use 0.5-2% salicylic acid products can be found and used.⁶

Some considerations before buying any acne products                      

Salicylic acid in general is not a harmful compound, if used in moderation and not consumed.⁷ Depending on the concentrations and skin conditions there could be allergies and irritation to the skin and eyes.⁷ This makes it essential that before using the products that are found on the market, consumers need to consider the type of skin you have and use products that contain the right amount of salicylic acid. Another thing that consumers need to keep in mind is that not all products are going to work for everyone and type of skin (dry, oily) could definitely influence the way your skin reacts to them.

Salicylic acid acne, skin treatment products are definitely worth the try but, if they are not effective there are always alternative solutions. Lastly, acne is not just going to go away completely by using these acne treatment product, you might need to consider making changes to lifestyle (sleep, diet, stress and overall care of skin).

References

¹Salicylic Acid. In Ullmann’s Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry [Online]; Wiley-VCH Verlang GmbH & Co., Posted June 15, 2000 http://library.mtroyal.ca:2183/doi/10.1002/14356007.a23_477/full (accessed on March 15, 2016)

²Salicylic acid. Toxinet [Online]; U.S. National Library of Medicine. http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/sis/search2/f?./temp/~qcAOJW:1 (accessed March 15, 2016)

 ³Salicylic acid. CHEMINFO [Online] CCOHS; http://library.mtroyal.ca:2536/cheminfo/records/4189E.html (accessed March 15, 2016)

⁴ Salicylic acid. In Paula’s choice skincare. http://www.paulaschoice.com/cosmetic-ingredient-dictionary/definition/salicylic-acid (accessed March 16, 2016)

⁵ U.S. National Library of Medicine. Salicylic Acid Topical https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/meds/a607072.html (accessed March 15, 2016)

⁶ Salicylic Acid and Acne: The Pro’s and Con’s http://www.facingacne.com/salicylic-acid-acne-pros-cons/ (accessed March 16, 2016)

⁷ Lewis, R. J. General Chemical Entries, in Hazardous Chemicals Desk Reference, Sixth Edition, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, NJ, USA, 2008; pp.1217 http://library.mtroyal.ca:2183/doi/10.1002/9780470335406.ch1/summary (accessed March 16, 2016)