Salicylic Acid Skincare
Acne's Greatest Enemy
SALICYLIC ACID BENEFITS
- Clears and calms active acne breakouts
- Helps prevent future comedones from forming
- Oily skin – can actually slow down your skin’s oil production
- Large pores – help unclog them reducing their size
- Softens blackheads, making them easier to extract
- Helps prevent new blackheads from forming
- Inhibit melanin formation with a low risk of irritation to reduce hyperpigmentation
Inflammation? Clogged pores? Breakouts? Acne?
Meet the wonder ingredient that can banish them all – Salicylic Acid. Skin Care with Salicylic Acid is used to treat mild to moderate acne and to provide supreme exfoliation results for the skin.
What is Salicylic Acid?
In the skincare world of exfoliants, you’ve got more than a few options to choose from based on what your skin needs. Salicylic Acid, an ingredient extracted from willow tree bark, wintergreen leaves or sweet birch bark, is one type of chemical exfoliant called a beta-hydroxy acid (BHA). Before explaining exactly how salicylic works, here’s a quick refresher on how breakouts form: when bacteria, debris, sebum, and dead skin cells mix together, a clog forms inside your pores. Unlike the chemical exfoliants called alpha-hydroxy acids (AHA’s), which are water-soluble and ideal for surface exfoliation, salicylic oil is oil-soluble, which makes it capable of cutting through oil and exfoliating deep within your pores to remove blockages. It works by increasing the amount of moisture in the skin and dissolving the substance that causes the skin cells to stick together. This makes it easier to shed skin cells.
There are several salicylic acid derivatives and related ingredients that exert a similar effect on the skin, and you may find these products listed on skincare ingredient lists as Betaine Salicylate; Willow Bark extract; Salix Nigra Bark Extract; Beta Hydroxybutanoic Acid; Sodium Salicylate; Trethocanic Acid or Tropic Acid.
Salicylic Acid is a salicylate, meaning it belongs to the same ingredient family as aspirin. People with salicylate allergies (which are rare) should avoid salicylic acid.
How does Salicylic Acid work?
There are three (3) acids that work well in the fight against acne; Glycolic Acid, Lactic Acid and Salicylic Acid. Both Glycolic Acid and Lactic Acid are water-soluble whereas Salicylic Acid is oil-based. So, what does that mean? It means whilst Glycolic and Lactic are great at cleaning up the skin surface removing old dead skin and replenishing with new skin, Salicylic Acid can actually penetrate deep into the pores of the skin to unclog them, targetting blackheads and whiteheads, and acting as an anti-inflammatory that helps red inflamed pimples and pustules go away faster.
Benefits of Salicylic Acid
Thanks to its unique properties, salicylic acid is used to treat a range of skin conditions outside of acne, from skin lightening and brightening to anti-aging and even dandruff. Here’s a breakdown of exactly how skincare with salicylic acid works to benefit the skin:
- Exfoliates Dead Skin – Salicylic acid is keratolytic, and as such, it encourages cellular turnover and helps to slough off dead skin cells, which in turn can improve skin dullness and texture.
- Softens the contents of clogged pores – The oil-soluble ingredient is able to penetrate the pores, loosen the “glue” that causes the skin cells to stick together, and remove the contents of clogged pores that lead to superficial acne, like whiteheads, blackheads, and small red pimples.
- Removes excess oil – since salicylic acid is oil-soluble, it can penetrate beneath the skin’s surface to clean out excess sebum from the pores and reduce oiliness. This can, in turn, also lead to an improvement in the appearance of pores.
- Prevents whiteheads and blackheads – Not only does salicylic acid treat existing breakouts, but because salicylic acid targets whiteheads and blackheads directly, it prevents them from returning to the surface level of your skin.
- Reduces inflammation – salicylic acid belongs to the same class of drugs as aspirin (salicylates). Because of salicylic acid’s anti-inflammatory properties, it helps to address irritation and redness related to breakouts.
When you think of acids, you probably think of dangerous substances and not something you’d apply to your skin on the regular. But chemical exfoliants like Salicylic Acid have a whole host of skincare benefits. With skin ailments like acne, blackheads and inflammation, for example, applying an acid might seem counter-productive. But salicylic acid is a great anti-inflammatory agent and blemish treatment, which is why you’ll find it in many of the best spot treatments and skincare products for oily skin.
But it’s not all just about Acne
Our skin’s natural shedding process can become faulty due to age, sun damage, and problems like acne and excess oil. Exfoliating helps restore this natural ability and Salicylic Acid is the perfect vessel to deliver this exfoliation process.
Salicylic acid is considered a keratolytic medication, which means that it’s also perfect for providing supreme exfoliation on top of the skin surface. Keratolytic medications cause softening and sloughing of the top layer of skin cells. They also loosen and breaks apart desmosomes (attachments between cells in the outer layer of skin). This ‘desmolytic’ action encourages exfoliation of the skin and unclogging of pores.
The end result is a smooth new skin surface on which your serums can now start the processes of delivering their skin-replenishing and skin-restoring ingredients.
In order to exfoliate, it must be within the pH range research has shown is most effective. The best leave-on products have a pH between 3 and 4, ideal for effectiveness but also gentle on skin, whose pH is naturally acidic. Rinse-off products tend to have a higher pH, so you won’t get much of an exfoliation benefit, but your skin will reap soothing and calming benefits.
Along with the pH, concentration matters, too! For exfoliating and dealing with clogged pores and rough texture, use a leave-on exfoliant that contains a 1-2% concentration. If you have more stubborn or advanced concerns around pores and signs of aging, concentrations between 4-9% can make a beautiful difference.
What about products with 0.5% salicylic acid? This amount can provide slight exfoliation if the pH range is right and it’s left on the skin for a while, but whether rinse-off or leave-on, you can primarily count on this amount for their skin-soothing benefits only.
If you’re using acids for the first time your skin might feel a little tingly, but over time it’ll become accustomed to salicylic acid and its benefits.
NOTE: Salicylic Acid is NOT SUITABLE if you are pregnant or lactating. Persons having an Aspirin allergy should also AVOID Salicylic Acid products.
Please Note: Aspect Dr products feature higher-level active ingredients to ensure maximum efficacy without a prescription. These products are only sold at select physician, skin clinic and spa locations. If your purchase contains any Aspect Dr products – our Skin Specialist is required to speak with you regarding the use of these products before your purchase can be authorised and shipped.
Our skincare products containing Salicylic Acid
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A Guide to Selecting the Best Skincare Products
Your skin is the bodies largest organ. Its major functions are protection, regulation and sensation. If our skin is not functioning to its full ability, these functions may become compromised.
It’s easy to get lost in the sea of skincare options these days. Not only are there doctors, dermatologists, skin professionals and aestheticians telling you this or that, you also have YouTubers, bloggers and beauty enthusiasts flooding you with thoughts and ideas too. It’s no wonder there are so many skin issues and concerns these days. When you don’t know where to start or what information is reliable, how is your skin really going to respond? More importantly, the use of incorrect skincare products can actually exasperate your condition or cause additional skin problems.
The use of professional active ingredient skincare is recommended. The “Professional” skincare products we recommend on this site can only be purchased through certified stockists and practitioners who are required to provide their professional advice on the application of these products, (as opposed to those you can purchase over the counter (OTC) in the department stores and supermarkets). These recommended professional products contain;-
- higher levels of active ingredients to boost your skin’s health and correct skin problems
(OTC product lines have less active ingredients to minimise the chance of irritation to protect the buyer) - are backed by clinical studies
(not exaggerated unsubstantiated claims) - are made in small batches and distributed to trained or licensed skin therapists, spas and salons to be supplied with professional advice on their use
(OTC products are made for the masses and sold in department stores and supermarkets) - contain small molecule technology for dermal and epidermal penetration
(OTC products that lack active ingredients, have large molecules which are not able to penetrate the skin. When a product can’t properly penetrate the skin, it will only “superficially” treat and temporarily provide relief to skin concerns. This gives the illusion that the products are working without actually treating the skin. Professional lines use molecular technology that penetrates the skin producing clinical results) - are packaged in airless pump packs to eliminate spoilage of ingredients when exposed to the air
- have pH balanced and adjusted ingredients – skin functions at its prime when the natural pH is between 4.5 and 5.5.
(Often OTC products don’t take pH into consideration and will leave the skin in an alkaline state. When the skin is alkaline, bacteria and free radicals (such as pollution) can invade the skin) - do not contain unnecessary fillers and preservatives
Professional skincare often has a reputation of being “too expensive” but that is more often than not actually far from the truth. A good professional line will price their products according to the concentration of active ingredients versus fillers and are actually overall more budget-friendly. It is a common mistake to overuse products which leads to the perception that professional skincare is more expensive. Our Skin Specialist will advise you on the appropriate amount and when to use the products according to your skin condition and type.
When used properly, professional skincare products will last longer and work better giving you the ultimate bang for your buck. OTC products will have a lower upfront cost but over time can be similar in price or more expensive than professional skincare and won’t actually repair the skin condition being treated.
