Salicylic Acid: An acne prone skin’s favorite ingredient

Most acne prone people have sensitive skin, so knowing what ingredients you put on your face is vital. “Just wash your face” doesn’t work here, Betty, we’ve tried!

So keeping that in mind, today we’d like to shed some light on one of our favourite ingredients, you guessed it, Salicylic acid! 

Salicylic what now?

If you’re into skincare you must have heard of AHA's and BHA’s (if not, you have been living under a rock, my friend!). Salicylic acid is a kind of Beta Hydroxy Acid (BHA) which naturally occurs in plants. Unlike AHA’s, BHA’s are oil based which allows them to penetrate deep within our skin and exfoliate much more extensively. This property makes Salicylic acid perfect for oily acne prone skin.

How does it work?

Salicylic acid goes deep within the skin and pushes out all the dirt and sebum/oil that is clogged deep within our pores, the same dirt and excessive oil/sebum if left in our pores, clogs them and this is what eventually leads to whiteheads, blackheads and pimples (yeap, you heard that right). Along with cleaning out pores, Salicylic acid also exfoliates the surface of the skin, by loosening the glue between the fresh and dead skin, making it easy for the dead skin to be removed (and the skin to breath!).

The Sweet Benefits!

If you use Salicylic acid on a regular basis these are the benefits that you’ll get to enjoy: 

• Keeping the acne at bay: thorough exfoliation will keep your pores clean which means lesser acne!
• Tighter pores: a regular deep cleanse leads to tighter, less visible pores.
• Fading acne scars/pigmentation: Salicylic acid increases the cell turnover by removing the dead skin cells on the surface, which allows our body to produce newer, healthier skin cells at a faster rate.

The Usage

Salicylic acid can be found in many over the counter products and also in prescribed medicine. How strong the Salicylic acid is depends on the percentage of this ingredient in the products and the pH of the products. 

If you’re someone that has never used Salicylic acid before (it’s high time you start tbh), it’s better and safer to start slow and either use a wash-off treatment like a cleanser or if you want to use a leave-on product make sure it’s not very strong in its concentration. 

Another way is to get your skin accustomed to the new ingredient by slowly introducing it on a weekly interval and then slowly moving it up to a daily regimen. It’s better to be safe than sorry, Poofers!