If your skin type is dry or sensitive, it's more likely that salicylic acid could cause some irritation, so be sure to follow Desai's advice as stated above and test the product on your skin every other day before committing to it on a daily basis. "I personally have quite oily skin, and I find that salicylic acid daily on my skin type works totally fine," he says. Salicylic acid-based products are safe to use daily if used as directed and tolerated by your skin, says Dr. So just don't apply a layer of it all over - stick to only acne-prone areas. What can be serious: "Applying salicylic acid or any salicylate to very large portions of your body can lead to salicylate poisoning," says Schueller. When starting a new salicylic acid-based product, he advises his patients to begin slowly by using the product every other day (or otherwise half as often as the product directs), then working their way up to daily once they know how their skin reacts to the ingredient. “If used appropriately, it can be tolerated quite well,” says Seemal Desai, M.D., a board-certified dermatologist in Texas. Still, the concentration of most over-the-counter salicylic acid creams and cleansers - often two percent - is low. It's also not the best choice if you are pregnant or taking certain medications, including blood thinners. For this reason, those with skin that's already severely dry or sensitive should consider avoiding SA altogether. "Depending on the concentration and the number of applications, some people may experience dryness, peeling, redness, and some skin irritation," says Schueller. "The primary negative side effect of salicylic acid is its ability to irritate and dry skin in those who are very sensitive or those who overuse it," says Dr. You can actually use too much salicylic acid. "It does have some effectiveness against cystic acne due to its antibacterial activity, but less so than the classic blackheads and whiteheads." Can salicylic acid damage skin? "Salicylic acid can directly dissolve the keratin plugs and regulate the skin cells," says Dr. Therefore, salicylic acid is ideal for treating blackheads and whiteheads. "Salicylic acid helps with the first cause by dissolving the type of skin debris that clogs pores and causes acne," he says. Schueller says there are three factors that contribute to acne: an abnormal sloughing off of skin cells, excessive oiliness, and the action of P. "Salicylic acid aids in removing and loosening these skin cells and helps to dissolve the blackheads." Salicylic acid works best on blackheads and whiteheads. "One thought etiology of acne is that the skin cells do not behave normally, and rather than sloughing off through a healthy skin cell cycle, they stick together and clog the pores, creating cysts and blackheads," says Dr. "This 'desmolytic' action encourages exfoliation of skin and unclogging of pores," says Sue Ann Wee, M.D., a board-certified dermatologist in New York City. Salicylic acid also loosens and breaks apart desmosomes (attachments between cells in the outer layer of skin). "Keratolytic medications cause softening and sloughing of the top layer of skin cells," says Rachel Nazarian, M.D., a board-certified dermatologist in New York City. Salicylic acid is considered a keratolytic medication, which means that it's perfect for supreme exfoliation. This breaking down of skin cells promotes exfoliation. "Once it has penetrated the skin, the acid part of the molecule can dissolve some of the intracellular 'glue' that holds skin cells together," says Schueller. The ingredient can penetrate so deeply into skin that actually breaks down the connections between skin cells, according to Schueller and Dr. Wesley, M.D., a board-certified dermatologist in Los Angeles. Once it penetrates the skin, salicylic acid "dissolves skin debris that clogs pores, as an anti-inflammatory, and also helps red, inflamed pimples and pustules go away faster," explains Naissan O.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |