If you are someone who has been suffering from acne and pimples for quite some time, you might have either heard about this magic potion called salicylic acid or even used it sometimes in desperate methods to try and get rid of your acne. However, if you are someone who just recently heard of it, you are probably looking for some clear perception and actual views about salicylic acid, how does it work, and how exactly you should use it to clear your acne and scars. We are here with just the right article for you, covering up everything you should know about salicylic acid.
What Is Salicylic Acid?
If we were to tell you salicylic acid is a colorless organic acid and a type of phenolic acid, with the chemical formula C7H603, you would probably want to find us and strangle us to the ground. But we don’t want to go into organic chemistry and lecture you. So, we can tell you that salicylic acid is usually used as medicine for removing the upper layer of the skin. It is used to treat various problems like calluses, warts, psoriasis, ringworm, dandruff, and of course, acne.
Salicylic acid is present in various everyday things that we eat for example eggs, oils, fish, meat, dairy products, sugar, flour, etc. Some amount of salicylic acid can also be found in vegetables, fruits, herbs, nuts, teas, and spices.
Salicylic Acid Uses For Skin
Throwing some light on to our basic and main motive here – how does it work on your skin? Salicylic acid is known to penetrate deep into your skin after some application of it. This is precisely the major reason why it is an important ingredient in the treatments targeting acne, blackheads, or whiteheads. As it penetrates your skin, it dissolves the skin debris that is responsible for clogging pores, acts as an anti-inflammatory, and thus helps get rid of red inflamed pimples and pustules faster. It is known to penetrate deep enough into your skin that it can break down the connections between skin cells. On penetrating it dissolves the intracellular glue that is responsible for holding skin cells together.
This breaking down of skin cells is a great medium to provide efficient exfoliation to the skin. Therefore, it can be considered a good keratolytic medication, meaning that it is perfect for supreme exfoliation. This helps in softening and sloughing the top layer of your skin cells.
Salicylic Acid For Blackheads And Whiteheads
Acne is mainly caused by any of the following three reasons – excessive oiliness, abnormal sloughing off of skin cells, or the action of P acne bacteria. It comes to rescue your skin by dissolving the skin debris that clogs your pores and causes acne on your face. It is known to work best for blackheads or whiteheads.
Using Salicylic Acid
As you might know by now, salicylic acid can be used to treat mild to moderate acne. It can be used in combination with other acne treatments. You should probably contact your doctor before deciding to apply it to prevent any side effects or further harm.
Also Read; Salicylic Acid Face Wash
Salicylic Acid Salicylic Acid For Dandruff
Ladies, this wonder potion comes with a bonus. Yes, it can help with your dandruff problems too. Suddenly it feels like the one thing you have been missing from your life right? Salicylic acid at lower levels is known to speed up the desquamation process and aid in conditions like dandruff or seborrheic dermatitis, which is caused by slowing down skin cells that are sloughing off. Therefore, it is good to use salicylic acid if you want to get rid of dandruff from your hair too.
So now that you know you can use salicylic acid to treat blackheads, whiteheads, acne, and dandruff too, you are likely to use it now. But we would like to remind you that do not overuse this on your skin as high doses can be problematic too. It can irritate your skin and lead to various health problems. Therefore you are advised to use it as per the instruction of your doctor or dermatologist only.
Also Read; Benzoyl Peroxide And Salicylic Acid
